Not Buying It- A Consumer Holiday 2016

tatabubbly

Having so spend money today to redo my visa until I'm under my hubbies (I'm abroad and it's such a pain).. Needs must!

Doing some pro active saving and going to look at some cheaper houses today, the one we are in is just too much for us, as they are hiking our rent by +10% and I refuse to give it to them!

Other than that it'll be eating from stores and staying away from the shops!

Aril

Missed yesterday's post as we went to see the latest Star Wars film. I resisted the ridiculously priced snacks- they put stickers on them to make sure that you don't sneak your own in!

Anyway day 4/366. No spends. Have come home with a bag of teacakes that are at date from one of my clients. She gives them to me as she knows we'll eat them whereas she would throw them out. Also managed to find a very reasonably priced cottage for our self catering holiday in the summer. We have managed to add it onto a Morris dancing event I'm attending so we'll be half way there already. Less fuel needed.

Arilx

mavvymoo

Hello all

Can I join please.
I went into a shop yesterday to buy something for £80 and then thought about it and walked back out again Was so pleased with myself.
This year I AM NOT BUYING IT
May need your very good advice if the willpower weakens

Mav x

butterfly2507

Sooo the family decided to drive to a big drugstore tomorrow and my struggle is real :eek: We only go there maybe once every 2-3 months so it might be a good time to stock up on things (shampoo, hand soaps etc) but then again I don't want to go too overboard with it :rotfl:

RicardaRacoon

Evening everyone

Survived the first two days at work and it was almost boring. I expected a high pile of mail but there wasn't much, obviousely we weren't the only ones not working for 10 days...

Christmas tree was sent flying today, quite literally, out of the window... So now all the christmas decoration has gone, there are just some christmas sweets around, but not for long I suppose.

Suki, hope you'll feel better soon!

butterfly, I too would try to guestimate how much you will need for the next two, three months. I always stock up on foundation, concealer and powder in January when that brand has a 50% off. So I check what I have and decide what I need and then there is no more thinking about having to buy any of these for the rest of the year.
good luck on avoiding the temptations!

Have a nice evening everyone!

Aril

Day 5/366 A NSD. Day off work so had a friend over here for coffee and then walked into town to view a free exhibition at the local museum. Sated my book wants with a trip to the library:D
Arilx

Superdopsa

A low spend day today. £1 bus fare to work (used a different bus company today). Walked home via L!dl - spent just under a fiver on a small top-up shop, which saved me going to Mr M and spending more than I needed to.


Hoping to keep up the good work.

VJsmum

A low spend day for me too, despite a day out in London.

We get free rail travel (and food on board) which helps obviously (OH works for a train company). So full English this morning, took DD and her stuff back to uni, then she and I got train back to London (after lunch in Nandos, most of which was a gift voucher - I spent £3.50 in cash!); we went to a radio 4 comedy recording (free) back on train (DD went the other way ) and hopefully food to arrive soon.

Boogar - I just remembered the £100 worth of shopping I got for DD :eek: scratch that....... :rotfl:

wildthing01

Hi All

I'm joining in this thread as I am about a year into a NBI re-think. (And apologies, having re-read this, it's quite a long post!)

I've always prided myself on being thrifty/bargain hunting etc, but I finally had a bit of an epiphany last year after around 6 years of MSEing, when I realised that although I wasn't spending a lot on individual items, I was spending quite a lot in total on stuff that I didn't really need or even want.

My biggest weakness was:
- the children (plastic tat that they might have expressed a passing interest in),
- junk food (a trip to the Co-op most evenings to buy massive bar of choc or tub of expensive ice-cream. I even used to drive to the Co-op),
- and the supermarket shop, where as well as all the food, I'd come home with loads of non-food 'bargains' (e.g. from the Aldi Aisle of Doom).

We've now moved to a nicer area, so I'm a lot happier and feeling less need for 'stuff'. I can now walk to the Co-op as it's a much pleasanter walk, but I rarely do unless we need milk, and if we need milk, I'm more inclined just to buy milk, and not a reduced bags of cookies too.

However, our house needs a massive amount of work so we really need to reduce spending even more, and I'm looking here for inspiration and ideas - thanks for all the ideas posted so far!

I've really tried hard this Christmas:
- we're a couple of years into a 'presents for the children only, not adults' extended family pact,
- not buying lots of stuff for our own kids - instead, buying them each the one thing they were allowed to ask Father Christmas for (which is more about keeping the magic alive than the actual item), one item from us, plus stockings (again about the magic rather than the stuff). Otherwise they just get overwhelmed: they get lots of presents from our large and very generous extended family, and have birthdays close to Xmas, and they struggle to take it all in as it is. I'm trying to follow Aha Parenting and have learned that children want their parents' time and attention far more than 'stuff'.
- and not over-buying on food - just as well since we had a couple of people pull out of Xmas dinner at last minute, plus DH got loads of chocs from work.

I'm trying hard with the sales too:
- have bought 4 items of clothing, from one small shop (couldn't face any more) in a mindful way, i.e. considered very carefully, and only bought stuff that looked and felt good on, in a Konmari way, they give me joy when I put them on! Plus good quality brand and I know from experience that the clothes will last for many years.
- Also loads of fruit and veg that Asda were selling off at 10p a lot (e.g. whole broccoli head, bag of 7 bananas, whole melon etc), have given some to my mum and used the rest to try and counteract some of the Xmas choc and up my fruit and veg intake to maybe 2 or 3 a day (currently often nil!)

chirpycheap wrote: »

My money goals in 2016 will be:
4) This is the hardest one. I am going to try and be proud to be thrifty. My saving secrets are hidden behind closed doors and when colleagues talk about all of the stuff that they have bought I nod and pretend that I have a clue what they are talking about! There is an element of embarrassment and worry that people will think badly of me. Which is ridiculous as I should be proud rather than ashamed that we manage well on a lower than average income and still manage to put some money into savings. So I will try not to be embarrassed to admit that my clothes are second hand, that my shopping comes from discount supermarkets and I like a rummage in a skip! This thread (and last years) has really helped me as I feel that there are other people out there who are proud and unapologetic about their thrifty ways!

Chirpy, I am trying to be unashamed about my thrifty ways, and the fact that we are also managing on a lower than average family income (and actually, having a relatively nice lifestyle out of it too), and have found that most people aren't 'sniffy' about it. I've grown up in a family who have never worried about talking about money, how much we do or don't have and how much things cost and so I'm quite pragmatic about it, and was shocked once when an acquaintance (from a well-off background) told me it was 'vulgar' to talk about money!

So, when I've been complimented on an outfit by colleagues, I've always been open and said which charity shop it came from, and when I've complimented colleagues' outfits, have been surprised to find that several of them have also come from the charity shop! Possibly the culture around money is different in the public sector where I work though.

I can see your point though, and for me the stigma I worry about is less the admitting to being thrifty (which is a positive quality even in the well-off), but more about admitting that I *have* to be thrifty, which I worry in some way implies I've not done as well with my life as I ought to have, made the wrong choices etc.

However, when I think about it properly, I realise this is just part of the whole 'keeping up with the Jones' culture, with me believing all the make-believe ads full of perfect houses and perfect lifestyles, that leads to overspending in the first place, and so I try every day to focus on all the positive things in my life (and there are very many), not least of which is that despite having a lower than average income, we afford a (will-be-when-finished) nice house in a nice area, with plenty of activities for the kids, and we're spending far less on it than many of people I know who have similar lifestyles!

Lynplatinum

Ahoy there me hearties

Firstly message for Jackie O (repeated from MM&M): Which crackers is it you eat that you refered to re your lunch? I have Ry!ta in but always feel hungry afterwards?

tatabubbly - 10% is disgraceful!!! After 2 years recently I put up one tenants by £50 but over those 2 years she had cost me £450 worth of repairs!!! Definitely move and find yourself a decent landlord!!!

NBI is, for me at least, a philosophical as much as a practical stance. I object to being conned into buying what I dont need - either by advertising/product placement or someone persuading me.

But also I object to wasting the earth's precious resources on tat that I will not need or children's toys that will soon be discarded.

I also object to the fact that the plastic we use will take millions of years to brake down in waste disposal sites or will leach into the sea - in both cases causing pollution the effects of which we do not fully understand, as yet.

However, I bought lego for my children - my 32 year old son is expecting a daughter in February and is looking forward to playing with lego with her - not only new but using their old stuff too and re reading his childhood books to her. Yep they had tat and throw away toys - I then knew no better but now I do and he and DIL are very 'green' and conscious of giving their child a less polluting start in life.

So NBI the tat and go for lasting quality. Talk to your children - play i-spy; car number plates; 1st windmill etc - do not rely on electronics! Today I advised a parent who was facing an 8 hour plane flight with her medium level autisic son to take a plain pad and a pencil with them (not just the i-pad; games consul and mobile phone) 'Why?' she said. 'because you can give him practice on his shapes; adding up and taking away; play battleships and hangman; noughts and crosses; he can draw; he can write about what he is doing (I have just got him free writing!); he can learn to shade - make patterns with dots and dashes; make a flick book etc etc
What would folks do if all the electronics went down??? :eek:

Mind you I would certainly miss you folks on here :rotfl::rotfl: so I cant talk!

But I take care of what I have and refuse, from a philosophical stand point, to buy everything that is expected of me. This ethical viewpoint is one to refute people who think being frugal is weird - or if you find yourself in the company of avid consumers. I quietly state that I am inclined to restore and treasure the craftmanship of the past and make no comment on their daft and debt-inducing behaviour!

Now I sound sanctimonious - but I have fun too - I love my real ale - my trips to Co!ta coffee - my occasional burger - decent new shoes etc etc so I am not immune but I do try to be rational!

Rant over
4 mins till bedtime!
Nite all!