Is frugal the new normal?

Austin_Allegro

I have noticed that people are being a bit more careful with money - but I think this is just because credit is harder to get, salaries are static and house prices (except in the alternative universe of London) are not rising so people can't 'put it on the mortgage'. There's also the cup cakes/vintage bunting Cath Kidston frugality, but really that's just another consumerist fashion.

So I don't think frugal is the new normal by any stretch. To me, frugal means a conscious lifestyle choice to have a better life by spending less and stepping away, at least a little, from the consumer rat race. Most people who are just 'cutting back' haven't made this choice; they are still stuck in the work/consume/debt treadmill.

Will this change? Possibly. There's little room for improvement in western economies and importing millions of people from the near east is only going to make things tighter for everyone.

By the way someone asked if chipboard veneer furniture can be painted. Yes it can, you need to use something called melamine primer first though. If you add mouldings or fake panelling (using glue) then paint an artificial woodgrain on and change the knobs, handles, etc for 'antique' ones, it can look really good.

Lynplatinum

Maybe values will change over time so that we can all realise that kindness and caring are more important than things. Like Kitty's OH taking the time and care to preserve those wonderful memories and photos :-)

It is a buzz to manage and such a relief to have something behind you! I have had the back up removed from me several times so I am trying to build it up again -so am frugalin on!!
Ridiculously I have over £21,000 worth of credit available to me (overdrafts/catalogs/available on credit cards) because I keep on paying back things on a regular basis!! How on earth I would pay all that back I have NO idea! that's why I rarely use this credit! (order the odd thing just to keep the levels up/pay for my petrol on the card and then pay it off etc) But I want to have actual cash back up available so that I never have to use it again!

Anyone else like me - loads of credit but no intention of using it?

Jo4

Caterina wrote: »

It's a lifestyle, really, even now that we can afford the posh stuff (within reason), it gives me such a thrill to make my own fishcakes with tinned tuna, allotment potato and garden herbs, and when I cost the meals they come to pennies per head.

Would you mind sharing the recipe for fishcakes with tinned tuna?

Jo4

Lynplatinum wrote: »

Maybe values will change over time so that we can all realise that kindness and caring are more important than things. Like Kitty's OH taking the time and care to preserve those wonderful memories and photos :-)

It is a buzz to manage and such a relief to have something behind you! I have had the back up removed from me several times so I am trying to build it up again -so am frugalin on!!
Ridiculously I have over £21,000 worth of credit available to me (overdrafts/catalogs/available on credit cards) because I keep on paying back things on a regular basis!! How on earth I would pay all that back I have NO idea! that's why I rarely use this credit! (order the odd thing just to keep the levels up/pay for my petrol on the card and then pay it off etc) But I want to have actual cash back up available so that I never have to use it again!

Anyone else like me - loads of credit but no intention of using it?

Hubby & I have over £28,000 worth of credit available to us (overdraft and available on credit cards) and we have no intention of using any of it. I never realised it was so much until you asked. :eek:

[Deleted User]

I upped the available credit on one of my two cards, I did it just before I had the kitchen done and it was `just in case`. I always pay the cc back in full, every month but once, two years ago, someone stole £2000 from a smile card, soon after I ordered something from a shop. The bank paid me back but I believe it is harder and harder to prove innocence these days, so now I am going to ask to reduce that smile card limit by a lot, it is not worth the risk for me. If I am going to get a considered purchase above my new limit and I use cc as insurance for goods, then I can ask for a higher limit or transfer the cash in first. Thanks for the reminders

mardatha

I've never had a credit card and wouldn't touch one with a bargepole. We use cash only- although in some shops salespeople take a step back as if you're contagious, and redirect you to a wee till hidden in a corner We even buy cars with cash but they seem used to dealing with it. For me, credit is bait in a trap, and once you're hooked then it's an anchor round your neck.

Goldiegirl

Between us, we have overdraft and credit card limits of between £25-£30k.

These limits were set during our working life - on our reduced retirement income we wouldn't be granted anything like these figures.

I've always been of the opinion that the limits are just that - limits and not targets.

Our overdraft limit is £5000, but we've never used it.

But the credit cards are useful money management tools. We do most of our spending on credit cards, so we can earn additional loyalty points etc, and clear in full at the end of the month. By doing that, the money we've spent earns interest for a little while longer.

We keep a small amount of cash on hand, but I prefer to spend money on cards. Once cash is out of my account, it's gone as far as I'm concerned, so it's actually easier to spend cash than spend the same amount on a card.

I put it down to a lifetime of working in banks. Back as far as the 1970's we'd bundle up hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of notes to send off to the cash centre. So bank notes are just work - what was in my bank account was real, and still is.

mardatha

This is why thousands of people get in a mess Goldiegirl, they don't see using a card as spending money. But it is, plus interest.

Goldiegirl

mardatha wrote: »

This is why thousands of people get in a mess Goldiegirl, they don't see using a card as spending money. But it is, plus interest.

I actually said that it was easier to fritter cash, as once it's out of your account, the balance of the account has reduced, so it looks like it's gone already

With credit cards there's no interest chargeable when you pay it off each month.


Maybe it's not for everyone, but if used wisely, a credit card is just another budgetary tool, which has worked for me for over 30 years

mardatha

yyy we all find what works for us, I was just speaking generally.