Is frugal the new normal?

Goldiegirl

fuddle wrote: »

The car I have just given up was 14 years old. It was taken away for £50. I had to pay more for cancelling the insurance. No car is an investment unless you're able to play the classic car game succesfully.

I can't remember what I paid for my previous car - maybe about £12000, and I got £2000 trade in.


So that's about £10,000 spent on 12 years of faithful service and my peace of mind about owning a car that was reliable and economical.


It's a good enough outcome for me.

Goldiegirl

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

We are very lucky to have the frugal/thrifty/do it yourself/don't need it/ save as much as you can philosophy as that approach to life enabled us to save what we needed before we decided on the newer car. Being frugal is not totally about abstinence for me, it's about having enough but not excesses, not going without and struggling, sack cloth and ashes is not comfortable whereas being prudent and careful and contented with 'enough' and making the most of opportunities in all areas gives you the slack in the system to purchase what you DO need without making you totally broke!

Exactly - we paid cash for our car, because we had put money into savings for when a replacement car was needed

[Deleted User]

Hey FUDDLE you have, for the best of reasons, prioritised what IS important in your lives, you do wonders with what you DO have available to you and you improvise when you need something and it's beyond reach when you need it, like your new curtain. That's the best of OS lifestyles and you do it without making a fuss or moaning. Bless you, you are an example to ALL of us long may it continue, more strength to your arm love!!!

fuddle

I'm not about to have a go at you about buying a new car. What I'm doing is putting myself on the line about my past to show that anyone from any walk of life can adopt the OS mentality and that if you have felt judged by OS members in the past then please look beyond that. We're not all like that, and as I hope to have shown, we can't be boxed and judgements can't be passed on what appears to be face value. I am now pretty OS, not perfect, but pretty good and by gum I have a past that, in theory, OSers should have told me to blither off! They didn't. They helped me.

There's a wealth of information on these threads and a lifetime of knowledge to gain. There's normally a very good OS way of solving a problem for very little pennies. I just feel that's all we're about. We're not ones to judge, we're just honing our skills and if we do come across as polishing our own bread knife at what we've achieved... it's probably because there's no where else we can express our glee

[Deleted User]

We may have a new car now but you should see the rest of what we have, it's all pre loved, none of it is smart and it's all seen MUCH better days but it's home and we love it! It's not about the status it's about being comfy and being content isn't it FUDS?

fuddle

Sure is. When I needed to use my car it was getting really quite expensive also. It would shudder as if to cut out when in traffic and at lights. I don't blame anyone for, if they're able, getting piece of mind.

Contentment is what I strive for, as you know. I don't need anything else. It's took 6 years to eradicate all the snob but being honest, although I'm happy about my life and what I do have, how we live etc I feel very self conscious about what my fellow snobs will think when they come over. I have a generic home and nothing to be ashamed of. It's all in the mind. I just don;t like being judged in anyway really.

[Deleted User]

The only opinion that counts is yours pet, no one else be it friend, acquaintance, relative or the meter man has the right to any say in YOUR home,, you've made it as nice as it's possible to do on the resources available to you. It's YOUR home love, hold that head up and ignore any adverse comments because if it's comfy for you and yours, well that's all that matters!

117pauline

I have been reading this thread with interest.

For me, the bottom line seems to be consuming with mindfulness. For each of us we have our own thoughts and beliefs about the way we live our lives.

I struggle with the consumerism and commercialism that seems to promise everything as long as you have the next best thing - because of course yesterday's is past it!!

Consuming mindfully seems to be my answer to it. I have my frugal foibles yet will happily splurge on MOTOGP tickets or going to see Bruce Springsteen in concert.

I like to think I make the best of what I have, given my interests and skills. I spend on the garden because it gives me pleasure and even more so when I can share it with others. I cook from scratch because I enjoy it and am reasonably good at it too.

Perhaps all this comes with age as we get to know ourselves better and the opinion of others matters less. I now know pretty much what gives me pleasure and where it doesn't. I do weigh things up when I have to make choices but I feel like I can make those based on knowledge. And if it goes wrong, well, so what? At least we try to do our best

cyantist

I went on a cruise to the Galapagos and because all the islands are fairly close you were off the ship by 7am, back on for lunch by about 12, sail to another island over lunchtime and then spend the afternoon on another island. There really was no time to miss land!

It cost a lot but for what we got to see (including Lonesome George before he died) it was worth every penny. Having breakfast on our balcony with whales swimming alongside the ship and albatrosses overhead is amazing and yes, we could have bought a brand new car with the money, but I didn’t want a brand new car and I would never prioritise a thing (except my house which unfortunately costs me a lot) over an experience.

It’s why I’m careful with what I spend I other aspects of my life – so I can afford trips like that. But other people have different priorities and I know a lot of people who would rather have 10 cheaper holidays than the one we chose, or who would rather spend the cost of that holiday on takeaways over a 2 year period and that’s their choice and I do understand it.

I think most people have something that they will splurge on that makes them happy and I just feel very lucky to be married to someone who is happy to splurge on the same things I am.

[Deleted User]

I would never consider spending what must be a considerable sum on a holiday, even to somewhere as amazing as Galapagos, I can find some pretty amazing wildlife (although not nearly as exotic as Lonesome George) here in the UK if I want to. The car for us is not precisely a necessity but with both daughters living at least 2 and a half hours away in different directions it's more sensible to run a car than pay the price for train fares. We wanted the estate model because we trundle up and down to the allotment with considerably large amounts of tools, sacks of compost, plants etc. and it's OUR priority and will be the last car we buy so getting it new and with a warranty means we should get the benefit of it for as long as we drive . He Who Knows is 70 and hopefully this would see us through at least the next 10 years, perhaps even longer as we'll look after it and make sure it is well maintained. I guess it's horses for courses and is an individual choice for what is most sensible for our needs.