Is frugal the new normal?

lessonlearned

Ah thanks ladies for all your well wishes for my holibob.

caterina - your 25th wedding anniversary celebrations sounds lovely. I hope you have a wonderful time and many more.

I miss my husband so much.........

Oops mustnt get maudlin. Got to soldier on, chin up, best foot forward and all that.....;)

Jackie - im not a food snob either, but I do like good grub. Like you I do lash out on good filter coffee.

Tonight I'm cooking for my futures DILs parents. They are on a visit from Venezuela and they just love all things English. So far they have been introduced to a traditional cream tea, they lapped that up, a full English breakfast, and a traditional seaside fish and chips. They think it's great.

TonIght its a full on English roast beef with all the trimmings.......just going to go and forage some blackberries and then I can do a crumble for pud.

Caterina

(((((Lessonlearned))))) I am so sorry if my post brought you sadness. i hope you have a great time on your holiday and look forward to reading all about it.

JackieO, as I said to you before, you are Frugal Royalty! See Ivyleaf's post above, a London meet will be in the offing when I get back, start saving books, vouchers and other bits and bobs to swap!

VJsmum

JackieO wrote: »

I am not in the least snobby about food, its a means of keeping your inner engine going and I am just as happy to eat a big bowl of HM soup as eat a fancy meal . I like to see whats on offer in the shops and then think 'crikey I could make that for half the price' I treat my food spending as a business, and therefore wouldn't dream of binning or wasting any assets of my 'food company'.

There are those who are happy to spend shed loads of cash on things they want ,good luck to them, but I am just cut from a different cloth I think.

So its different strokes for different folks. Good job we're not all the same,otherwise the big supermarkets would take a hiding. Although it seems a lot of them are at the moment, as people are voting with their feet and the contents of their purses

JackieO xxx

I am snobby about food, but not the branding of it - but the quality (particularly the added ingredients). Therefore I too would rather eat a bowl of homemade soup than anything manufactured. I have an intolerance to MSG and sulfites so have to avoid processed as much as poss.

An omelette is the fastest fast food I know, in any case

Caterina your holiday sounds wonderful - I love the Marais

Yesterday DD and I went to see Hamlet at the Barbican, but aside from the tickets themselves, I spent little else. We ate in a diner for which I had a voucher for 50% off, OH works for a train company so we are very lucky to get free train travel, and we stayed at DDs halls of residence in Essex for free :T

moments_of_sanity

GreyQueen wrote: »

You know there is/ was a Smart sports car, don't you? A few years ago, it seemed that every other forty-something female friend of mine was buying one of these as a self-depreciating midlife crisis car and thoroughly enjoying themselves zooming around in them.

:eek: I've had some interesting rides as a passenger in these sports cars, including one very memorable white-knucke trip..............! :eek

So even if I had asked for a 2 seater convertible sports car I could still have ended up with a Smart car?....:rotfl:

My eldest DD is at uni but lives at home and to get into Uni she needed a minimum of 12 weeks work experience before they would accept her application and in the last 2 years of her A levels We ferryed her around and she completed 28 weeks, sometimes either my DH or myself were driving for 4 hours a day and petrol costs were horrendous but we played around with our budget, shaved money off everything we possibly could so that she had every opportunity to get into her chosen Uni and I am so proud of her, she managed to get 2 offers in her first year of applying for Uni (almost unheard of in applying for veterinary). This year she has completed 10 weeks of her required 12 weeks so more ferrying needed but I have no objection to paying the costs involved as I see this as an investment in her future.

Like everyone here, we all have things we will think twice about spending on and some areas we will gladly splash the cash on. I budget for my shopping, I am careful on electricity and gas use, don't waste water, don't drink, don't smoke, consider all purchases before going ahead, make do and mend, caravanned in Dorset this year (very lucky to get away and to such a beautiful place) but will spend whatever is necessary to enable both of my DD's to achieve their career choices. To some this might seem that we have our priorities wrong but investing in their future is the best investment I have made

moneyistooshorttomention

I think we all have different takes re food. Now when I'm buying food for myself its organic/real coffee/what new foods are available I haven't tried yet? etc.

On the other hand - and I was just calculating how much my "other take" on this has saved my grocery bill over the last week. The "other take" being I grow what I can (still at Start Up Stage - but its helping already), I accept donations, etc, etc.

Now the Other Take I have on this has - at a very rough guesstimate - saved me around £10 over the last week on the grocery bill I think. That comes from present from friend of packet of nuts (I've already started using) - and fair 'nuff - as I've passed on stuff to them they can use. Some bananas I've been donated and about to be made into banana icecream. A main meal I've had whilst out doing voluntary work. Some produce from my garden.

Waste not ...want not basically being my 2nd take on things.

Its down to a balance - and, if I'm in the supermarket over the next week deciding to treat myself to a packet of smoked salmon (of the real - ie organic - variety) then I will.

Its down to making best use of resources.

**************

My other angle on this is that I will spend what it takes to get a brand new book I particularly feel the need of (ie as a reference book) on the one hand BUT in the next breath I will just want some light reading and will be scanning what books I can get for free or literally pennies for a bit of bedtime reading and I would think twice/thrice/many times about spending more than a quid or so at most for a quick read and "pass it on" type book.

Both "takes" on this have their place imo.

PenguinOfDeath

I think generally yes it is now more 'normal' to have frugal ways that a few years ago.

I've lost count of the amount of times someone at work has mentioned that they tried shopping in lidl/aldi and it was actually too bad, then for others to join in that they also shop there and being proud of it, rather than having fear of being ridiculed for it.

Same with vouchers and coupons, people seem more happy to announce what they've saved using them more bragging about them instead of bragging that they don't need them IYSWIM

mardatha

The one thing I won't skimp on is heating. I refuse to sit in a cold house. A coal-fired multiburner takes a lot of money to keep on 24/7, but by god it's worth it to have a cosy house, a big deep hot bath daily and washing dried overnight.

moneyistooshorttomention

It is very true - and absolutely astonishing to me personally - that there is a huge difference to how one feels from a bit of "creature comforts". Those being a nice full stomach of reasonable food/a bit of warmth/generally a bit of comfort.

Personally - it "gets me" rather as to just how dependant my moods/feeling of comfort can be according to things like how well I've eaten/how warm I am/how comfortable I feel (at whatever level). However, I have to accept that, at root, we are just a "higher" form of "animal" and its not surprising therefore if our moods/thoughts/etc get influenced by things as basic as that.

Ultimately - we have to accept they do - and that full stomach/warmth/literally comfortable surroundings make a huge difference to most of us. No point in beating ourselves around the head for that being the case - it is what it is.

Rainy-Days

We don't splurge very often. I do allot of meal planning and that helps hugely in reducing waste right down. If things are on offer that can be frozen then I buy to put by.

I use the tumble dryer sparingly - mainly for fluffing up the towels and in the winter when I have to; other than that it is out on the washing line drying.

I am a huge believer in looking after my things, whether that is clothes, furnishings to garden furntiure I really do look after my stuff. I spent about £35.00 on paint stripper and Sadolin for the garden table, chairs, bench and bird table to be done. They will last a couple of more years before the next big rub down and sand on them is due. In the meantime they are protected and even in the shed when they are stored in winter they will still be protected from damp.

I don't wear the frugal thing as a talisman around my neck, but more something that I have had to do through the years. If I want nice things I save for them or wait until they come into the sales. My work suits and clothes I always got in the Next sale and I used to queue up at stupid-o'clock in the morning to get it and I did that since 1992! I don't do that so much now.

Make do, mend and minimise for me should also be added on for look after and protect to the hilt. I am absolutely sure it has paid huge dividends to me through the years, by not having to constantly replace through laziness arnd carelessness!

ivyleaf

Caterina wrote: »

(((((Lessonlearned))))) I am so sorry if my post brought you sadness. i hope you have a great time on your holiday and look forward to reading all about it.

JackieO, as I said to you before, you are Frugal Royalty! See Ivyleaf's post above, a London meet will be in the offing when I get back, start saving books, vouchers and other bits and bobs to swap!

**starts panicking, what on earth to bring? :eek: **