NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

black_cat

Not going out today. OH has to go out - something to do with finishing off my Christmas present - so he's also going to brave the supermarket for loo rolls. I was waiting for the next offer so I've left it late (only 3 left). I'm sure we'll survive but as they're now on offer... It also means that we'll only need milk after Christmas - desperate to keep out of the shops for as long as possible! (I'm very excited about this challenge)!

Just about to start wrapping the presents with naff Christmas films for company - love them! All paper from previous years' sales, gift tags recycled/made from Christmas cards, ribbon etc bought in previous sales or recycled from received presents. Managed to get all my presents under budget too - so pleased with what I got and overall cost. Going to have a great time!

Enjoy your day
🎅

CAFCGirl

Any recommendations for books or blogs that people have found inspirational or that offer practical advice on trying to cut down on the 'consumer noise' in your life?

I'm hoping to be able to get them via our library or order them in through the library. I feel I need more practical 'systems' to manage it at the moment, over the more emotional inspirational.
I thought I'd ask you lovely shipmates

7_week_wonder

Phew! I've finally caught up with all the posts - I keep having intentions of posting more often, but things move so fast that I'm always out of date.

GreyQueen - your Christmas plan is brilliant, I will definitely be book-marking it.

One thing I've decided I'm going to do next year is get a jam-jar and put a small amount in it each week. Then in the run up to Christmas I will empty it out into my purse and use it to donate to all the charities that seem to be collecting throughout December. I normally try and donate to people rattling tins, but I found myself getting really grumpy at all the collections and bag-packing fund-raisers that are around at the moment. Hopefully if I plan for it I won't feel so irritated next year.

We're just about to baton down the hatches. I nipped out this morning to get the last shopping (non-alcoholic drink for tee-total elderly relative who is with us for Christmas). I went to a certain up-market supermarket (to get my free hot drink and newspaper) and wasn't really paying attention to the bloke in front of me. I was vaguely aware that all he was buying was two Christmas birds (I couldn't tell exactly what they were at that point). So I was gob-smacked when I heard the check-out assistant say to him "That'll be £150 please" :eek: I looked a bit closer and it was two geese - but honestly how could they be £75 each? The scary thing was he didn't even bat an eyelid.

Have a lovely frugal Christmas everyone and I look forward to following all the adventures on the high sea next year.

katkin

CAFCGirl wrote: »

Any recommendations for books or blogs that people have found inspirational or that offer practical advice on trying to cut down on the 'consumer noise' in your life?

I'm hoping to be able to get them via our library or order them in through the library. I feel I need more practical 'systems' to manage it at the moment, over the more emotional inspirational.
I thought I'd ask you lovely shipmates

Not for everyone but I find the zen type blogs inspirational such as http://zenhabits.net/ Goggle zen blogs if you fancy it...

For the practical side of things I keep a budget book, noting every spend and set this against "cost centres" (one for direct debits, another for food, household, savings etc) in my monthly budget. I have a household book where I menu plan and organise. Here I note ideas (from here and elsewhere), recipes, goals etc

I refer to these notebooks daily - only takes 10 mins or so to update and also check my budget against my accounts online. It keeps everything under control and I find that helps me to be mindful and reduce costs, bad habits etc.

This post makes me sound like a freak! :eek:

Minimalist

CAFCGirl wrote: »

Any recommendations for books or blogs that people have found inspirational or that offer practical advice on trying to cut down on the 'consumer noise' in your life?

I really like Amy Dacyczyn's Complete Tightwad Gazette - this was a big inspiration for me about 10 years ago when I was paying off my debts (shame I didn't stick with the programme once I'd done that ). In true tightwad style, they don't turn up second hand very often, but you could try somewhere like Abe Books, if you can't get it from the library.

It's based on a frugal tips newsletter she produced in the 90s - and is really inventive and entertainingly written, very DIY style, with some nifty line drawings (she was a graphic designer). It explains her strategy for becoming mortgage free and creating a good life for herself and her family. There are some great ideas - but more to dip into than a "how to" guide I would say.

Some of it is quite extreme - but it's still a really good read, even if you think, "NO WAY!!!" about some of the more hardcore frugal tips! I wouldn't have wanted to be her teenage kids :eek: It's also very US-orientated (not many yard sales round here! and the food measures etc are all US) but I still found it useful, even if you can't do everything she suggests.

One of the best things is her "Universal Muffin" recipe - a kind of template system for creating lovely breakfast muffins out of different types of ingredients, as available. You'd probably be able to Google it.

lilian1977

Hi all

Hubby finally decided what he wanted for Christmas today (a book) - so had to brave the crowds in Waterstones. Was annoyed that he'd left it so long and I'd have to pay RRP but thankfully it's the same price on Amazon! Cheaper on WHSmith but no time to get that delivered. Never mind.

Anyway, I have a similar story to 7 Week Wonder's - was stood behind people in the queue who all seemed to have stacks of hardback sporting autobiographies - one woman spent over £120 on them! They'll all be destined for the CS or dustiness on a shelf in the New Year no doubt. What a shame.

Also collected a personalised jar of Nutella that I won on the Metrolink Twitter page so that is OH's present from DS alongside some homemade gingerbread biscotti in an upcycled kilner jar!

black_cat

Absolutely love the Tightwad Gazette! Bought mine new online but worth every penny. Mine's covered in notes and I've highlighted particular bits. Some would say that it is too American, extreme or out-dated in parts but it's still inspirational.

Other books I've found helpful/motivational:
Not Buying It - Judith Levine
Consumer Detox - Mark Pawley ( Christian but you can ignore those bits if you want too!)
The Ultimate Cheapskate - Jeff Yeager
The Cheapskate Next door- Jeff Yeager
Broke is Beautiful - Laura Lee
How to Survive Without a Salary - Charles Long
America's Cheapest Family - the Economides family

Haven't got time to write about each one - but I can do if you want to know about a specific book. They all have their positives and negatives depending on how far along the frugal path you are eg I Didn't get much out of the last one.

I'm afraid I bought each one new - not very MSE - but I re-read them to keep me going.


Must get back to the wrapping...

7_week_wonder

CAFCGirl wrote: »

Any recommendations for books or blogs that people have found inspirational or that offer practical advice on trying to cut down on the 'consumer noise' in your life?

Hee hee - one thing that I haven't reduced since joining this thread is my list of blogs - it has been growing almost daily with suggestions from the lovely folk here!

The first three on the list are books which I've had for around 15 years - they are probably out of print but I keep re-reading them. The rest are blogs which I've had recommended or have found through following links etc:

Living Lightly: Travels in Post-Comsumer Society by Walter Schwarz and Dorothy Schwarz

Getting a Life!: The Downshifting Guide to Happier, Simpler Living by Polly Ghazi and Judy Jones

Urban Dreams Rural Realities: In Pursuit of the Good Life by Daniel Butler and Bel Crewe

http://skintdad.co.uk/
http://www.meanqueen-lifeaftermoney.blogspot.co.uk/
http://frugallife101.blogspot.co.uk/
http://shoestringcottage.wordpress.com/
http://frugaldom.blogspot.co.uk/
http://thriftylesley.com/
http://agirlcalledjack.com/
http://www.nomorespending.net
http://lovingourfrugallife.blogspot.com
http://notjustgreenfingers.wordpress.com
http://justa-littleless.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.donebyforty.com
http://livingrichonthecheap.blogspot.co.uk
http://ournewlifeinthecountry.blogspot.co.uk
http://mrsfinancialfreedom.co.uk
http://www.zerowastehome.blogspot.co.uk/
http://zenhabits.net/
declutterbug uk
http://goinguncomplicated.com
http://wherethejourneytakesme.wordpress.com
oneemptyshelf.com

Sorry about the poor formatting - but I've just cut and pasted from various notes I've written to myself!

GreyQueen

and breathe.

On a day with a 2.5 hour gap between coming in and going out for the Xmas break, GQ, as little miss efficiency, decides to strip her bed and wash the mattress protector and pillow protector, plus a few other bits, with the idea that they will be on an airer and drying whilst she is away.

OK, that was the plan. Home, washer on, packing, lights and washer go off. All power off. Go outside - neighbours have power. Go to the trip switches and it's off. Unplug everything, sockets off, replug one by one after re-setting the trip and bingo, tis the washer.

Into shoebox where the pkt of 13 amp fuses live. Change the fuse (imagine the resetting of the trip etc between these episodes). No dice. Try another fuse in case it's duff. No dice. Go to neighbourhood hardware store for more fuses. No dice.

Me washer is poorly but at least I can get the door open. Have bailed water, am draining the rest via the hose and am mustering strength to wring out the sopping wet stuff in the bath tub. All against the clock and feeling frazzled, hence me taking a time out here for a breather.

OK, going to get as much water out as poss and will put airer over bath and the beggars will have to drip. And I won't have time to investigate what ails the washer until after New Year, whereupon I shall try some youtubular diagnosis. Might as well, it's a minimum call out of £60 for the repairman, and it might be something really easy, it was running smoothly before it stopped. These council trip switches are set pretty sensitively, so it might just be a loose wire.....

.........or a loose screw, of which I have a few, personally.

Not too much on the grand scheme of things, but I find myself wishing I hadn't decided to run that load so I wouldn't have found out about this when I am flat out of time to deal with the problem. Never mind, worse things happen all the time, it's trivia.

And keep on breathing, and mebbe have a cuppa, once I've wrangled the sodden washing into so semblence of order.

Minimalist

GreyQueen - sorry to hear of your washer probs, how frustrating! Hopefully it will be straightforward to resolve when you get back, but most unfortunate timing. I'm impressed at your diagnostic approach, especially under Xmas time pressure - I'd have caved and rung the engineer by now

Good luck - and now I'm heading off too...

All the best, shipmates!

:xmastree: