Not Buying It- A Consumer Holiday 2016

Aril

One of my clients has given me a jar of homemade marmalade today which I shall enjoy in the forthcoming weeks and my Mum has passed over a pile of books. Grapes are usually a treat rather than a regular thing here at GBT [I buy lots of fruit but cheaper types] but I found some reduced to half price yesterday. The teenogre and I scoffed the lot at lunchtime..yum. Mr GBT has excelled himself and presented me with two lots of ys chicken. We don't eat a lot of meat or fish so I shall try and find something really good to use it for. It's gone straight in the freezer for now.
Arilx

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone! I also haven't posted in a while but thought I'd check in with everyone - hope you've all been well!

Last week I was able to quit the job I hate which has been a long time coming and I have a trial day for a job which is going to kickstart my career next week which I'm so excited for!

As I left my job last week, this weekend is my first off in about 9 months so DH and I are having a chilled day. We took a trip to Aldi this morning and I'll admit I did buy some cakes which I didn't need, and I also bought a beautiful mug with Toucans on during the week fro Paperchase which I also didn;t need but I feel like I'm on cloud nine from quitting my job that a few treats won;t break the bank!

I also sold a load of DH's Playstation games he didn't want during the week so that freed up some space and brought some money in.

Hope everyone is doing well with their NSDs! Now to catch up on posts...

Happytravelling

Its really frustrating when things aren't made to last, even when they do cost a bit more. Its not just the expense, its all the wasted materials and resource used to make it. It try to recycle whenever I can but just wish it wasn't necessary. I remember a samsung mobile that I had for 5 years and when I changed it, my mum had it for another 3! My last phone I had to replace after 2 years because one of the buttons broke and couldn't be fixed. :mad:

We're currently considering our next board game purchase- we haven't had a new one since last summer and still have some money that we received for Christmas... there are sooo many options but researching what they are and whether they're worth buying is distracting me from mindlessly perusing other websites for things I don't need (I know I don't 'need' a game, but we do get loads of use out of them and its good to exercise the brain!)

Sounds like everyone is doing well at careful considered purchases and not buying rubbish- great start to 2016 :j

RicardaRacoon

Hello folks

Lynn, your Germany-trip sounds great and is prove that you don't have to spend a lot to have a nice time! I went to Disneyland with two friends last year and we went into all the souvenir shops. All I bought were two teatowels, a keyring (since I was looking for a new one for a long time) and a cup for my sister. I love to buy things when I'm on holiday, but being away is not my excuse for accumulating stuff I do not need. My friends bought all sorts of fun but pretty silly and useless stuff which I guess they've binned two months later...

I decided to give a capsule wardrobe a try and sorted out my wardrobe lately, doing project 333 (33 pieces for 3 months) I'm currently on 29 pieces for spring, but can't think of much to add to it. Another blouse would be lovely, but only if I find one I really like.

Will go and have a look around for some fabric tomorrow, as my sister asked for a bag for her swimming stuff too. So will see if I find something nice.

Bathory, I think the NSDs aren't always showing if you're doing well or not. You can do one groceries shop a week spending 35£ or you can spend 5£ each day... You might happen to do the weekly groceries round the same day you go out for a meal and have a NSD the next day or you do the groceries today and go out tomorrow and haven't spend a penny more...

I think doing up the house is an investment, not a spend, so noone should feel guilty about it!

Have a nice evening everyone!

Aril

I have most definitely been buying it but not for me for others. I've just bought a skydiving voucher for the teenogre's 18th and a vintage pewter pig brooch from Etsy for a friend's special birthday [did buy from the cheaper of the two sellers though] and still need to book and pay for the present for my parents Golden Wedding...I am getting a professional photo of the grandchildren taken but I did check with all parties concerned first. Think it falls into the mindful spending as have really considered the people I'm spending on rather than just grab any old thing. Beyond that we enjoyed a free wildlife walk and tonight our 17yo son has taken us out for a meal. He's received a bonus from his part time job and his staff discount card gives him a reduction in specific restaurants. We booked early so we could benefit from the set menu and we picked up the drinks tab. He's about to start his exams so it was a good break for him.
Arilx

[Deleted User]

Well 11 out of 12 days so far NSD :):) as I only had a top-up shop to buy.

I still have a full food purse at the moment, but as I am going away on a self-catering break on Friday for a week I'm not too sure how much I will be spending whilst away. I have sorted out a few ods and ends to take with me tinned bits and as I will have a cool-bag as well I shall take some stuff from the freezer to feed my friend and I over the weekend.

Fingers crossed I shan't go mad ,but we are inveterate C/S browsers and we both like books :):) so I may come home with a few if I spot a bargain or two

milasavesmoney

Jackie you are such an inspiration. Enjoy your holiday and your friend. I'm hoping you find some great bargains!

blackcatsx2

jackie - I hope you are having a lovely weekend away.
I've been logging my spends on a phone app this month - I'm finding it very interesting looking at the spends in the various categories. I'm spending more than I think, so I will wait til the end if the month, total it all up and set a realistic budget for May. Basic money management I know but a bit if a revelation for me.

wildthing01

thank you all for your words of support and guidance re spends on furniture etc for the house - I do feel much better after reading them all! It made me remember that the main reason I am doing NBI and MMM is so that we can afford to make the house nice.

And we want to do it properly this time - we have done up two previous houses, first was a quick super-cheap tart-up job, second was much bigger - total refurb but done on a small budget, and given the likely re-sale price ceiling in the area we lived in, we didn't see much point spending on stone work-surfaces or stone floors etc.

However, we are planning to stay in this house for the foreseeable future, hopefully till retirement at least (which, despite me feeling really old, is still depressingly far off!!) so we are investing in quality, and despite the long wait for results, we have made some good progress and I love what we've done so far!

Aril

Still more spending going on here but not on things. We have just booked a short trip away to celebrate my big birthday later on in the year and the teenogre's 18th. Promise we sought out the best deals we could find on the flights and accommodation. Other than that we carry on pretty much as normal. Mr GBT is currently digging up the awful boggy lawn and will replace it with gravel and raised beds he'll make from railway sleepers. By doing that we'll save £50 rather than buying the premade ones. He also made a brass ring smaller for me as I was quoted £25 by a jeweller. I continue to poke around GBT finding things to declutter and a whole host of other things I've lost or forgotten that I had. That alone saves me money as it means I'm not buying in replacements unnecessarily. Arilx