NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

Butterfly_Brain

Effy at least they have something, sadly there are children a lot worse off. Your children have loving parents, will have a Christmas dinner and they will understand.

One year when we were struggling because I didn't have a penny in my purse let alone 50p I remember leaving my DD a note from the tooth fairy saying that she was on holiday but that she would not forget her and 50p would be under her pillow when she got back, which it was when the family allowance was paid.

She is 25 now and still remembers the note and not the 50p.

Could you not look in Charity shops? They have lots of good condition games and toys, just to boost their gifts a little.
I did that when we were skint as well and it didn't bother my two, at least they had games or books that they wanted.

Dee2

Afternoon shipmates!

Since this thread started I have been thinking about it a lot (not kidding) and was discussing it with a friend yesterday. Her children are still small and she has made some great little gifts for family (probably grandmas and grandads) using her childrens little socks. The tiny ones were saved and have been stuck onto cards to make a Christmas stocking card, and the bit bigger ones have been filled with lavender and sewn along the top to make "smelly socks" . I think thats a genius idea of repurposing something that also is a bit of a keepsake. I shall not be trying it using my other halfs size 9s. But to use littlies socks I think is great - they could even be bought from the cs or car boot to make them.

This thread is so motivating - I'm questioning all my purchases now and finding ways to buy differently,if at all, or use something I already have.

And I feel very much at home here - thanks mateys.

Boomfloom

Effyb4 wrote: »

I'm feeling a bit sad today. All I hear at the moment is what people are buying for Christmas and on the radio this morning, they were going on about children getting everything that they ask for.

The media and companies are trying to make you spend so they can profit. Other people are making you spend so that they can justify their own spending forgetting that it's the people who make Christmas, not presents.

You, on the other hand, are at the vanguard of financial responsibility and not giving in to the bullying ways of the season. Be proud of yourself! Christmas will pass in a matter of days but debts stay around for a long time.

By not buying into the hype, you are actually giving your children the best gift ever because it is modelled on your own behaviour - being responsible with money. The lesson will stay with them forever and give them courage to say "no" to unnecessary spending in the future. Besides, I am sure they would rather forgo gifts than have you stressing about money being tight for the rest of the year.

Butterfly_Brain

We did our weekly shop this morning and I was really surprised how quiet the shops all over town were.
There were no heaving trollies with goodies, just normal stuff.
In fact lots of biscuits goodies had all been put into dump bins all through the shop, I think that they are struggling to get rid of it all.

I think that everyone has had enough of the over commercialisation of Christmas.

I know that I have!

Rose_Wood

Fuddle - why not try charity shops for some workwear. You can usually pick up some really good brands for not very much. Virtually everything I wear is from a charity shop and I often get complimented on my outfits.

Going back to the car discussion. We downsized from two cars to one in October. I'd never used mine much but had it for emergencies and the odd trip out with my Grand-daughter. We traded my little one in and sold DH's big one and bought a medium sized car to share. We chose one with low road tax (£20 per year), low mileage and that did over 60mpg and are saving on 2 lots of road tax and 2 lots of insurance. I have always walked or biked most places anyway. Out of interest I worked out how far I walked yesterday as I walked to work and my aerobics class but also had to take DGD to school and pick her up. Even though they were all short walks (less than a mile each time) I ended up clocking up 7 miles and my 4 year old DGD did a couple. Far healthier than jumping in the car and we had real fun racing each other to school and walking home via the park and through the woods.

Rose

purpleshoes_2

Id also second the charity shops for workwear, if you have one near you that sells goods for decent prices (and I appreciate lots don't), Id try there first.

Well today I was almost tempted by 50 per cent off at the body shop until I wound my neck in, realised that my mum is getting me perfume for christmas, found some while decluttering as well so all is well. I also remembered that I bought some from ebay last week and had a couple of vouchers to use so the bottle only cost me £6.40 for 100ml

Im also sucked in by groupon way too often and Ive had some really good bargains, but talking about supporting local businesses, theres an Indian restaurant near me that does a £5.99 all you can eat buffet so rather than groupon my life away Im going to suggest to my mum that we go there in the new year if we want a lunch out.

I dont do turkey at christmas either, we get a takeaway, the one near my mum does monster portions so last year we got one each, shared them out and kept what was left for the following day and just got extra rice or chips (I rarely eat chips but enjoy them over the festive season).

Same again at Hogmanay and we buy a few nibbles from aldi, couple of bottles of wine and that is it. No spending a fortune we don't have and very little food waste if any.

Butterfly_Brain

Unfortunately we need a car because I am disabled, it is an old banger that we have had for a long long time, in fact it is 22 next year, nearly a classic
It keeps going strong and DH can fix most problems without having to put it into a garage and it usually gets through the MOT without much cost, it doesn't have fancy pants computers or electric windows or gadgets, but it runs on a whiff of diesel and DH is very attached to it.

fuddle

NewMe2015 wrote: »

Fuddle: Just wondering if there is a dress code? If not, you could start a new trend for more relaxed office gear?

I ditched the office gear as it was uncomfortable and totally pointless as 90% of my meetings were either video conferences or phone conferences. Surely, how you do your job is far more important than what you look like....

Thanks for your input. Don't get me wrong it isn't stuffy work wear that I need. It will be relaxed and comfortable but I do need to be a little smarter than what I own. When I say office, I mean the base for the care company I work for. We aren't an agency, we're private, and that means customers and/or their families can come through the door at any given moment. The office consists of our manager, two supervisors and care coordinator. Of course how we do our job is of the utmost importance but I doubt our customers/their family would appreciate coming in to pay their care bill/liaise with us if we were not in respectable work wear. We are to be trusted for the care of their loved ones and it's important for the company I work for that we are smart and professional. The same can be said for me now, as a carer. My uniform is clean and well pressed, always. I am an advocate for the company and our customers appreciate that as we approach their homes. They are paying for a professional service and have expectations.

littlegreenparrot

I'd like to second the idea of work wear shopping at Supermarkets.

Sainsbury's is great, they have some lovely stuff, its affordable, washes/wears well and I have a few things I often get compliments on. Sale on at the moment

For items, lots of suggesstions have been made already. I would recommend a jacket, bit smarter than a cardi, even worn with fairly casual trousers/t-shirt. That and/or a good lipstick often stops me looking to scruffy!

Also handy to choose a base colour black/grey/navy/chocolate brown so that everything co-ordinates.

And many congrats on the promotion :beer:

greenbee

Rose_Wood wrote: »

Going back to the car discussion. We downsized from two cars to one in October. I'd never used mine much but had it for emergencies and the odd trip out with my Grand-daughter. We traded my little one in and sold DH's big one and bought a medium sized car to share. We chose one with low road tax (£20 per year), low mileage and that did over 60mpg and are saving on 2 lots of road tax and 2 lots of insurance. I have always walked or biked most places anyway. Out of interest I worked out how far I walked yesterday as I walked to work and my aerobics class but also had to take DGD to school and pick her up. Even though they were all short walks (less than a mile each time) I ended up clocking up 7 miles and my 4 year old DGD did a couple. Far healthier than jumping in the car and we had real fun racing each other to school and walking home via the park and through the woods.

I walked into the village today (about 1/2 mile) for a coffee - my neighbours were there, and they had driven. Separately. I imagine by the time they'd faffed about with parking at either end it probably didn't take me much longer, and I got fresh air and exercise (and rained on!) and probably felt better afterwards. I don't EVER drive if I'm only going somewhere within the village (most of the time I'd probably end up parking near home anyway!).

Fuddle - good for you on taking a pride in your appearance, and understanding the importance of it in conveying a sense of professionalism. You're right that it doesn't have to be formal, but scruffy doesn't instill confidence in office work (makes you wonder whether people will be scruffy in their working habits) or care work (you don't want people who might be relaxed about standards). You need to think about a style that would suit you. Pick the colours you want to work with, and a few key items you already have that are suitable, and then you're in a position to start looking for things to expand your wardrobe. I like colour, it cheers people up (I was at pilates yesterday with purple leggings and a turquoise top and everyone complemented me, saying it made them feel happy!). But go with what you are comfortable in.