Living below your means

thriftlady_2

There are many things I do to help us live below our means:
baking
cooking from scratch (apart from the odd emergency stash of Swedish meatballs)
all my own preserving
not buying make up or cosmetics -except own brand shampoo and soap
having a very limited wardrobe -hating clothes shopping helps here
buying books and dvds second hand
limiting the stuff we buy the kids -we say 'no' a lot, it's good for them:D
using the library hugely for books and borrowing dvds
saving up for things instead of buying on credit
not having a credit card or store card
having cheapish self-catering and camping holidays in this country
running a fairly old car
eating out 3 times a year- our birthdays and wedding anniversary

But the biggest way we stay under budget is by resisting the temptation to
stretch ourselves financially by buying a bigger house.

We have a 3 bedroom house which is lovely and a lot more than many people in the world have. It means our 2 boys have always shared and could do with a bit more space.

But, when we weigh up the advantages of living in our affordable house -not having to worry about every penny, buying a few bottles of wine a week, having a fairly flexible food budget, being able to afford back to school expenses without worrying, being able to pay for school trips etc-and compare them with the slight inconvenience of 2 lads sharing a bedroom we're glad we didn't overreach ourselves by buying the next house up (like everyone else we know).

It's very easy to believe that everyone else around you can afford to live in bigger houses, have more gadgets, go out more, have new clothes every season, go on expensive holidays -but how much in debt are they ? We feel very smug as our only debt is the mortgage.

mossstar

Thriftlady - i so utterly and totally agree with you!

We have friends that have stretched themselves so that their TODDLERS of opposite sexes can have different rooms! I (a girl) shared a room with my brother till I was 10! and i enjoyed it...

My two boys share a room, and they'll continue too because we love this house! My dp and I have a study, which might seem selfish (it could be an extra bedroom) but it means that we can get all our work done (he is a teacher and works most evenings) and the boys get the big 'rumpus' room mainly to themselves... since they really only sleep and get dressed in their bedrooms, I really don't see the point of making them sleep apart?!

Anyway, i've wandered off topic a wee bit, but just to say that i think families are SO MUCH happier if they can have their 'couple of bottles of wine' or 'wee holiday' or 'school trips'... I think you're absolutely doing the right thing!!

waffle over

x

judderman62

mah_jong wrote: »

I have been told I am careful !!! Oh yeah!

The truth is I am a low wage earner, I have a mortage and bills and I have very very little disposable income. So I dont choose to live below my means, I have to, just to survive!

I dont buy a lot of things others take for granted...cds books..clothes make up magazines, newspapers ...there are no impulsive purchases ..well...very few :-) unless I need then !

No car, no hols you name it I do it on the cheap or I dont bother!! But to be honest I am happy enough! I hope I dont sound like a an old misery guts!

My latest cost saver was buying my spes from hong kong ! ;-). i could list them all but you would be bored !!!!
ma

I wouldn't I'd be interested :T

brummiebabe

thriftlady wrote: »

But the biggest way we stay under budget is by resisting the temptation to
stretch ourselves financially by buying a bigger house.

We have a 3 bedroom house which is lovely and a lot more than many people in the world have. It means our 2 boys have always shared and could do with a bit more space.

But, when we weigh up the advantages of living in our affordable house -not having to worry about every penny, buying a few bottles of wine a week, having a fairly flexible food budget, being able to afford back to school expenses without worrying, being able to pay for school trips etc-and compare them with the slight inconvenience of 2 lads sharing a bedroom we're glad we didn't overreach ourselves by buying the next house up (like everyone else we know).

It's very easy to believe that everyone else around you can afford to live in bigger houses, have more gadgets, go out more, have new clothes every season, go on expensive holidays -but how much in debt are they ? We feel very smug as our only debt is the mortgage.

Just wanted to say thanks for this....my DH is obsessed about moving to another area near 'the best' schools - but I keep telling him we just can't afford it (well...not if we want to eat aswell!!)

We have a small(ish) 3 bed semi, my 2 DSs have to share a room, but I love my house!!! Yes, in an ideal world,we could afford a massive house with a huge garden...but realistically, we struggle to live within our means now....so could not afford to borrow another £80,000 + to live in the area he wants. Our local senior school is fairly good anyway!

Am now going to read back over the thread for any extra 'tips'

judderman62

Queenie wrote: »

LOL Nope you are absolutely right ... it is me getting Portillo mixed up with that other one (whose name I still can't remember ... grrr! ... I hate it when that happens). One day you too may have a brain as mushy as mine :rotfl:

I hereby retract statement a) but stand by statement b)


Psst: anyone seen any loose marbles rolling around? They may be mine

Yes I have but they are def Mine

judderman62

Curry_Queen wrote: »

Sorry, and I don't mean to be picky but I don't know of anyone who would want to claim benefits, although allegedly some people do, but for the majority it's a necessity rather than by choice.

Then, with genuine respect, you have lived a rather sheltered life

judderman62

Definitely Anna

a lot of that was very useful.

would you be prepared to send me a copy of that spreadsheet ? (with your figures removed clearly) sounds most interesting

Thanks

Judders

Loadsabob wrote: »

Hello Jazzyjustlaw,

I think you're doing well to pay off your credit card in full every month and not use your overdraft. I'm the same, and I know a lot of people aren't, so we've got a headstart there!

I cook from scratch, and often make up large batches of chilli or bologense and freeze in portions for future "ready-meals". I often buy second hand clothing, but that's generally because I find so much of the high-street fashion horrible. I often change brands of good depending on which is on offer, and sometimes stock up a little when things are three for two or BOGOF.

Things I won't do:

get taxis unless unavoidable (one per year maybe, at most)
buy brand goods JUST because of the brand
wear sportswear or any other "labelled" clothing
shop as therapy (easy, because I hate shopping!)
Buy non-recycled / aloe enriched toilet paper. However cheap, it's absolutely outrageous to not buy recycled for something so throwaway!!!
replace items that aren't broken (although the 1997 PC is about to be upgraded...with a freebie built one from my brother, so that's okay!)

I am quite lucky in that I've never been interested in fashion, so not spending money on clothing trends is easy, I detest being an advert for manufacturers, so won't wear branded clothing. I hate the throught of what goes into ready-made and convenience foods, so cooking from scratch has always made sense to me.

Life is a balance though, and I DO spend a little more to get organic food, I DO spend a little more to buy from my local healthfood shop instead of the supermarkets. But I think it balances out into quality of life. SO, if I buy a bag of organic bread flour from the healthfood shop, when I could get it much cheaper and non-organic from Tesco, I'm still saving on what it would cost to buy loaves ready-made, so all I'm doing is bumping up the cost of each loaf I make, a little. I think it's worth it.

My way is to have a budget spreadsheet with my income at the top, all regular monthly outgoings all the way down, and a figure left at the bottom. That way pay increases (ha!) can be figured in, additional outgoings given their own line etc. But I include in this a weekly spend figure, which is for food, entertainment, clothing, anything I want after all the regular expenses are paid. I COULD just take everything away from my monthly income and divide the rest by weeks in the month and spend that...but I don't, I choose a figure I feel is reasonable - currently £50, and factor that in as an outgoing, and in theory, what's left each month rolls over or gets transferred it into my cash ISA. I have a regular SO to this account, as well as to a little building society account that I keep for unexpected household things and annual TV licence. My BT line is DD each month, and I enter in the actual amount each month. My mobile is PAYG, and rarely used. My electric is on a meter, and based on previous spend I charge the key with £25 each pay-day, a factored in outgoing. Rent and council tax are DD, contents insurance annually figured in, so there are no unplesant surprises.

I used to give myself £40 a week to spend, which was a struggle, but £50 is easier. I draw that out at the start of the month (either five lots or four lots, depending on how many weeks in the month), pop it away in the house, and put £50 in my wallet each Saturday. When it's gone it's gone, til the next week. A week is a short space of time, so usually I'm only "broke" for a couple of days if I've spent alot at the weekend! Ocassionally I may start the new week on a Friday, things like that.

Of course, I also buy some things online with Switch...those things are extra, and go in my "sundries" row, so I have a record and they're taken off the total left at the end of the month.

It works well for me, though I don't go without things. I'm pretty careful, got rid of the car, and I'm always looking for smart ways to cut back but still enjoy life, and I always keep in mind that I'm working in my job to give myself a good life, so I must enjoy my money as well as save it!

I think I learnt good money-managment as a penniless student, and it's stayed with me.

I don't know whether any of this is of use!...

Anna

judderman62

Mics_chick wrote: »

I'm just posting in this thread so I can find it again

you don't need to do that LOL. You can just subscribe to a thread.

Just click on thread tools and then pick, subscribe to thread.

hth

Judders

judderman62

I have just stumbled across this thread tonight and love it.

I don't do any of the things mentioned and def could spend a fair bit less - but there's some good points that I would like to take on board (whether I will or not ..... )

One thing I would contest though is when a few have mentioned about not having a credit card

I have a cash back one and use it whenever possible - I always pay the bill in full and don't spend any more than I would without it so I am quids in

moanymoany

Great thread

DH got a bee in his bonnet about upgrading the house. This was back in the late 80's. The mortgage rate was 15% and the mortgage was huge. 5 years later the house was worth half as much, I had lost my well paid job because of all the mass redundancies going on at that time and the interest rate was still 15%. And it was impossible to sell a house, so there was no going back.

We have paid our mortgage - just - but it gave us many years of money being very tight. The low interest rates allowed a bit of leeway. So now it's all hands to the pump to save for retirement in a couple of years

Given my time again, I would have resisted the move to a bigger house much more. This would have given us a easier life when the kids were going through their teens. I don't think either of us had any idea just what an enormous difference the extra payments would make. Also, those payments go further than the extra mortgage - utilities, council tax, insurance ......

The grass is not always greener.