Not Buying It- A Consumer Holiday 2016

Happytravelling

Frugalsod, its only January of course its not too late Its good to feel there's nothing you really need in the year and sounds like you've had a fab start.

Kerfuffle, what a tough call to make! Good job :T

chirpycheap

Yesterday I found an expensive watch so had to take it into town to hand it into the Police Station. It meant a trip into town and a car parking charge but I managed to avoid the shops and had a wander around the museum. The artist whose paintings were being exhibited was talking to visitors about her work. So that was a great free activity. We did stop for a cup of tea but we said no to cakes or other empty calories.

It was my birthday in the week and I cooked a couple of lasagne the night before to serve on the day. We are still finishing off leftovers. I usually spend a fortune buying stuff like quiches/pizzas etc when the family are coming around to eat but I was very strict with what I bought. It took a little more thought and preparation but there were no complaints! I decided not to bother with a birthday cake as there is always loads leftover. My family just aren't great cake eaters and I'm always watching my waistline!
Sometimes thrift is about not doing what is expected or tradition but in doing what suits your own circumstances.
So glad the weather is getting a little milder as it will keep everyone's heating costs down. Mum left a jigsaw for me (Sweets and Chocolates from the 1960s) so I'm looking forward to snuggling up under a blanket and doing my jigsaw. Perhaps not everyone's idea of a wild Saturday night but I'm a very cheap date these days!

pm2326

Evening

I've had a bit of a spendy day but it was enjoyable.

Went with a friend into town, first stop was a Turkish supermarket, managed to buy my herbs & pulses in big bags at a fraction of the cost of main supermarkets :T

Then we went to an indoor market for fruit & veg, again so much cheaper than supermarket.

We ended the afternoon in Nando's, but I was good and had a chicken wrap, a side of sweet potato wedges, washed down with cloudy lemonade.

Back home now, in my pjs and a cuppa

All in I spent £25 today but it's the first 'me' day since Xmas

Skint_yet_Again

Am off to do my weekly shop in aldee this morning - its a pain they don't open till 10am on Sundays but I suppose the staff at least get a lie in ! I've meal planned and written a shopping list so I shouldn't go too off piste


Then I need to scoot up the motorway to shoe shop to return a pair of unwanted boots bought online - ordered 2 pairs for size - read last night on here that they have gone into liquidation :eek: so hopefully if I return them to store I will get my money back !


We are having pulled pork in the slow cooker today for dinner, so I will get some wraps and make some coleslaw with a bit of cabbage and carrot and onion I have lurking in the fridge to use up. At least I can try and rest in the afternoon Have still lost my voice and chest was v achy yesterday


I've got lots to do as I'm off to a friends wedding so will be away Thursday to Monday. I am going to batch cook some meals for DS tomorrow so whilst I am away so he can bung them in the microwave and doesn't resort to takeaways !


Lots of washing and one set of bedding done yesterday, lots more still to do so hoping to get some done today and some tomorrow as I'm due back at work on Tuesday


Have a good Sunday everyone x

[Deleted User]

Good Morning fellow matelots well done on resisting spending. I know sometimes it can be a bit boring, but how much better do you feel with a slightly fatter purse.

I feel pretty good today, I went food shopping for only the second time this month yesterday, and spent a whopping £10.63 :):) mostly on fruit and veg and a couple of essential bits.

I went Lidls and was very pleased with everything I bought so my purse has clanged shut until the end of the month hopefully, and nothing more to buy. Its surprising what you can find in stock already in the cupboards and freezer when you start to dig and delve.I have found things I had forgotten I had in the freezer :):)

I shall have a nice wodge to stick into the holiday account by the end of the month (that's where my surplus dosh is stashed) :):)
Onwards and upwards chums
Cheers JackieO xx

dND

Kerfuffle wrote: »

Hello everybody,

I don't get chance to post very often as basically I only go shopping once every 8 days and my posts would get very boring if I posted every time I didn't spend any money.

However today is different because it's not a supermarket day but it is the day that my online ancestry research account is due for renewal, and I haven't renewed it :j. Ever since I got the email notifying me of the renewal I've been debating whether to renew it or have an hiatus and as much as I enjoy doing the research my intention to pay the mortgage off in the next 2 years was stronger.
I'll resume the research once the mortgage has gone but for now that's 179.99gbp that I haven't paid out.

I'm with you there Kerfuffle, I try to stretch out my shopping trips to as great a gap as possible to minimise the 'little spends' that always seem to end up in the trolley
The downside is that when I do go in to buy stuff it is always a big spend as I stock up on basics - usually the triggers is a good set of deals in one of the supermarkets.
Thankfully that is only every few months and I very rarely am tempted in for a 'single' good deal - the cost of getting there normally outweighs the saving on one or two items.

I too have been looking a the ancestry sites but have made the decision that while I have some free time here, I am going to wait until I return to the UK and can work with my sister and get birth certificates more easily etc. Then out of the blue came a 'free' weekend access. So I have spent about 12 hours researching some of the basic timeline and have a really good base to start from once I'm UK side :j

chirpycheap wrote: »

Yesterday I found an expensive watch so had to take it into town to hand it into the Police Station.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sometimes thrift is about not doing what is expected or tradition but in doing what suits your own circumstances.

Firstly, well done chirpycheap for taking the time to take the watch to a police station. Times have changed; not only is it rare for people to do that but also you have to travel so far to get to a police station

Secondly you are, in my opinion, so right about the expectation bit. Advertisers have used the media to invade our lives and through fear/shaming messages persuaded us that we have to buy their products, not because we want to but because we think we have to.

I think NBI isn't so much a blanket not-buying-it but a movement to reclaim our right to buy what we want. Meaningful purchases, be they necessary ones or whimsical ones, as long as you have the money and have thought about why you want it and could you use something else that you already have.

Ooh, that's enough deep thought for the day :rotfl: I shall now go back to nursing my sinusitis which I think is finally on the way out after a week of discomfort :j Have a good week everyone. :beer:

elona

I ended up spending quite a lot on a birthday meal at a restaurant last night for the five of us but as we were celebrating youngest dd's birthday, middle dd's salary increase and oldest dd and husband buying their first house - it was well worth it.

I am making a special lunch of leg of lamb and onions in red wine with thyme and parsley, roast potatoes, sweet potato mash, green veg and yorkies. SIl will have YS pork loin steaks in onion gravy as he does not like lamb.

If I end up moving house next month then it is likely to be costing me money till I get things the way I would like but will be saving quite a bit of money in the end with two band lower council tax and hopefully cheaper bills and easier to manage.

[Deleted User]

As an amateur genealogist I have used the 'net and the free sites available for research and found the the Anc**try.com site a bit of a waste of cash to be honest.If I have ever had to use it there is a copy online at my local library which is free for an hour at a time .A lot of libraries have this facility.

I have been researching since 1976.back in those days it was a case of looking in the phone books to see who I could find with the same name .easier for me I think as my maiden name was an unusual one and my Dads family all came from roughly the same area .But posting a query on Roots web or a lot of similar sites often helps when you have a 'brick wall'
I have all four grandparents trees plus my late OHs family on both side found,but then again its so much easier now with the net.Mormon site is a good one as well for finding long lost ancestors

Aril

Day 23/366 Beyond the weekly shop small spend on a set of new measuring spoons. Tried the charity shops but to no avail- somehow over the years I have lost all bar the 1/4tsp and dessertspoon sized ones neither of which are terribly useful! We had a bowl of soup out at our local Wetherspoons- we only used half the butter on our bread so the other pats came home with us to use in cooking. That plus a couple of coffees and a half pint of cider came to £6 for two of us. Not bad for the expensive South East. Last night more wassailing and a free pint by way of a thank you from the organisers. Arilx

GrannyKate

Kerfuffle - long term family history researcher -30 years. Lucky enough to have worldwide membership of A**y and Findmy****. Prefer the latter as the former has too much duplicated and/or inaccurate information. I recommend during your sabbatical from membership that you look for free weekends and offers on various sites and that you search randomly on Google - I have found all sorts of information for free including lots about places ancestors lived, their jobs, how their lives were affected by world and UK history.