Living below your means

merlinormartin

I reuse wrapping paper, when i actually dont need to, i could afford to pay for new stuff

[Deleted User]

I have always lived within or below my income.I was brought up during the war years when debt was frowned upon, and the debt-collect at the door told everyone that you were in Carey Street.It depends what your outlook is on life .Life is for enjoying, and you don't always need money to do that.walking is free,Libraries are as well.Its a challenge to find thing to do that entertains and educates yourself without spending too much cash.
Food is important to keep you alive ,but its really only the fuel that keeps your body working.You can be just as full on beans on toast, as on a fillet steak.
I like to think that life is for living to the full, and to worry about money really is very unimportant as at the end of the day its only pieces of paper to be shuffled from one bank to another.
But if you really want to tighten your belt then but a small booklet and write everything down that you spend your cash on in a week,and I mean EVERYTHING.Then go over it and see where your cash has been sliding away to.
its usually day to day living expences that dribbles away your money
i e a newspaper whilst waiting for the train or bus.got to be around 50p per day thats £.3.00 per week at least x52 = £156.00 per year.Thats a nice week-end away instead of £156.00 thrown in the rubbish bin everynight. Why not draw out £156.00 and tear it up in bits and throw it away !
That was just one example, but look at all your expences, and see where all your hard-earned cash goes to .You maybe surprised

thriftlady_2

JackieO wrote: »

You can be just as full on beans on toast, as on a fillet steak.

Good point :T

BrandNewDay

jazzyjustlaw wrote: »

Do you live below your means if so how do you do this. Do you cook from scratch, make your own cleaning products, go to more than one supermarket to do your shopping, walk to work. What won't you do. What do your family and friends think?

I cannot seem to manage it I avoid spending them somehow the money I saved gets used up. I try to cook from scratch, I havent bought clothes for months. I try to mend things. On the plus side I do not use my overdraft and I can pay off my credit card in full each month if I have to use it.

Where are you saving your money? I have this problem, too. Money burns a hole in my pocket. I have to "spend" it on savings... buying a savings bond for $25 when I was in America was one easy way I used to do it. Here, I put it in an ISA at the Post Office. I am not really sure how to get the money back out - I know it can be done, but I've never done it or even read the instructions on what to do - so that money feels like it's "gone."

sammy_kaye18

Well I live below my means. I have leanrt to budget int he last 3 years sonce my son arrived and especialy last year gave me a huge kick up the bum with regards to watching what i spend etc as bf lost his sight for no explained reason adn i was the sole provider for my family. Now that was a hard year. 1....I walk everywhere i can (granted less nwo since little one is in school and i cannot make it back and forth to town and do all my shopping in the 2 hours that he is in there), 2....I dont buy new clothes - either charity shopped and only when absolutely necessary which thankfully isnt often.3....I cook from scratch,freeze leftovers, home bake etc4....I only use a home phoen if it is a dire emergency5....Never eat out6....Dont own a car full stop so no petrol,tax or insurance,7....bf cycles back and forth to work between the train station/work and home and even that is a budget monthly ticket.8....refuse to put hte heating on until at least november if i can to save gas/electirc9....have a money/price book10....shop in various places - lidls, mr T, Iceland, Wilkinsons, poundland and the local market (luckily they are all located int the local town centre!)11....do a rough price guide shop on Mr T online before i actually venture to the shop as delivery is like £6+ now somedays and a taxi ride home is only £5.12....am planning to open a post office account to start saving money in.13....take full advantage of my staff discount in a local coop and let famiyl use the card so i can incure the points from their discount too - plus i am lucky that the coop has a few days every november and december where we get 20% discount instead of 10% so do a fair bit fo christmas prep on these days14....save money stamps when i can so chrismtas treats arent so much of a struggle15....make alot of gifts myself so have somethign if an unexpected event arrivesam also hoping to grow my own veg next year to help out with the money situation and will be glad to get christmas out of the way.

moanymoany

Back when I was a nipper - 50/60's many people were very hard up, but they had to live with their means. The debts people had were mainly catalogues and the tally man.

There is a myth that 'back then' everything was cheap and food was excellent quality. It was not like that as far as I can remember. My grandmother lived on £4.50 a week. Her rent was £1.50, no housing benefit then. A jumper bought from the local market was about £1.25, nearly half of her disposable income. What she and many others did was to knit their own and buy the wool week by week.

She never borrowed or bought on credit. She simply didn't buy anything that was not ABSOLUTELY essential. She was an excellent manager. Most of her meals were based around potatoes and bread. She preserved eggs in the summer and made jam, chutneys and pickles, essential to help all that stodge go down!

What has happened to us is that what were undreamed of luxuries have become essentials. Phones of any kind, cars when people would have had a bike, meat every day, holidays - most people I was at school with had a day at the seaside, televisions, fridges and washing machines.

I would hate to have to go back to those times, but I think I could. It certainly made you think about how often you changed your clothes when they were washed with a dolly tub and a ponch! Most people didn't change their underwear every day. All clothes and household items were mended to within an inch of their lives.

It was all very different - but it was very cheap!

Sarahsaver

re. the potatoes I had spuds nearly every meal last week and nobody noticed.
We had Boulangere potatoes (like dauphinois but with chicken stock instead of cream) chips, gnocchi, mash and roast potatoes. I saved no end of money by being creative with my £5 sack of spuds instead of going to the shop for more food:)

Hardup_Hester

Things I don't need that others do.
I don't need to have my nails done.
I don't need to have my hair cut, I wear it up.
I don't need new clothes (I'm wearing ordinary work clothes I've had for a year that I bought 2nd hand, to my DD's wedding.
I buy a huge cheap bottle of bubble bath & use it as hand soap & shower gel.
I do need to spend £4 every 2 months to keep the grey hair at bay, lol.

jazzyjustlaw

BrandNewDay wrote: »

Where are you saving your money? I have this problem, too. Money burns a hole in my pocket. I have to "spend" it on savings... buying a savings bond for $25 when I was in America was one easy way I used to do it. Here, I put it in an ISA at the Post Office. I am not really sure how to get the money back out - I know it can be done, but I've never done it or even read the instructions on what to do - so that money feels like it's "gone."

Oops two years too late but I am saving in an ISA.

I re-read this thread and its very good and I have seen that people do what do live within their means.

I have improved since I started the thread. I saved for a deposit on a flat. I still put money away in my ISA but not as much as I did. I find it easier to save than spend these days although december will be a challenge.

[Deleted User]

isn't it strange that today two years later we are tightening our belts still.I definitely am, and still manageing to live within my means.Practice obviously makes perfect,;) how are the rest of you doing?