Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2016

DawnW

mumto2monkeys wrote: »

This is exactly the conclusion I am reaching. I'm 36, so have another 30 years in front of me in work (at least) unless we break this whole addiction to buying things. We've come a long way from what we were like a few years ago, before MSE, but I still haven't tightened up enough and I'm a pest for falling into buying what I think are solutions to why I'm so unhappy: if I buy this book/item of clothing/cleanser etc, suddenly my life will be transformed. It sounds really stupid writing it down, yet I think we have been incredibly brainwashed. I'm a child of the glossy magazine 90s, believing if I worked hard, I could buy the life of my dreams. Sadly, I've worked so hard I've made myself sick and I had the life of my dreams all along, I was just too busy to realise it.

Change is happening now before I collapse under the weight of it all.

It is not just buying things though, but the cost of essentials such as accommodation that people have to work so hard to pay for

I was lucky enough to be able to take early retirement from my stressfest of a job at age 60 on a reduced pension, but only because our mortgage was by that time paid off.

mumto2monkeys_2

I'm lucky in that I earn enough to give me the flexibility to make the choice to reduce my hours and live on less.

I feel for people on low incomes who don't have that kind of choice. It makes me incredibly angry that there are many working hours like me, but can just afford to survive. It should not be like this in our affluent, 'modern' society.

candygirl

savingpennies wrote: »

Good morning all.
Thank you Bubblesmum for the recipe. I have only just seen it but have already copied it and put it in my recipe file for when I cook curry next.
Mumto2monkeys - I'm just about to retire after 32 years as a teacher. I've seen lots of teachers leave because of ill health, and it's the reason why I am now throwing in the towel. I think the kind of lives we live now, working full time, running homes, bringing up families and the long hours associated with many jobs cause a lot health problems. The trouble is everything costs so much so we have to work to pay for things. I'm convinced that at the bottom of it is our obsession with 'stuff' -most of which we don't need.
Several years ago I lead a group of students and staff to India where we worked together in schools and orphanages. When we got back the students had to put on a presentation to the principal, governors and parents. When they were asked what they had learnt, one boy's answer stood out: 'What I have learnt is that you don't need stuff to be happy.' Says it all really.

India made me feel exactly the same.O ne of my happiest memories there, was buying a gang of about 15 street kids a football, and seeing the joy they got out of it, after previously kicking coconuts around

nursemaggie

You can live on a lot less than you think. You don't have to go without the essentials. Two of us live quite well on only £160 a week to pay for everything but accommodation because we do get housing benefit. My other income is 80% of state pension and a small pension from work.

We do not have a car but I never have had one of my own so I don't miss it. I do have a bus pass so that helps a lot. I do occasionally use taxis which when used appropriately works out much cheaper. I think if we had a car it would cost most of my income.

I do a big monthly shop at Ald! every month and we come home in a taxi. I now do most of my shopping there. I hardly buy any brands now.

We agreed if there was little difference we would change and where the difference was bigger eg often as much as 4 times the price we discuss if it is worth 4 times the price. Mostly it is not and we treat ourselves when it is on offer.

I buy all my cleaning and laundry stuff from Ald! I have cut down on all the different cleaners I used to have and only buy stardrops. It lasts over a year.

I buy all of my meat from my local market. I know not everywhere has one but if you so have a decent food market then use it. On Thursday I bought 5k of chicken breasts for £19. You may even find it is cheaper to shop at your local butcher and do deals like that with them. that £19 worth of Chicken has been trimmed to two the same size fillets put in plastic bags and I had 21 meals in the freezer. They should last us for 4 to five weeks maybe longer.

I also buy fresh fruit and veg in the market between visits to Ald! I buy a lot of frozen for in between.

I keep my eye out for bargains when doing other shopping. You have more time when you are retired.

I don't go out much but I may go out more when I have finished my cancer treatment in July, it makes me very tired. You have to look round for free or cheap things to do. I have got a nice park only a few minutes walk away and a nature reserve about ten minutes away.

You do not have to keep replacing things for the sake of it.I wear things out or replace when they won't repair.

I have no debts, I would rather be happy managing on what we have. We do manage a few luxuries like chocolate, biscuits and other treats. I do manage to save up to buy a flight to Malta once a year to visit my daughter and family. I hope I may manage it twice a year as they move permanently to Malta next Saturday. They are retiring from the British Council and settling down before GDS goes to school.

That is of course if we don't come out of the EU. When you think about all the immigrants from the EU do remember it is both ways. If we come out there will be millions of expats coming home within the space of a few weeks. That's 50,000 a year for over 40 years. :eek:

Our biggest luxury is the internet. DS is a gamer and so we have fibre. I cut the speed because of our move but we will have to put it back up when DS gets a job. I am sick of using up the band width.

wildthing01

Hello All, not been on tinternet for a while, and way behind with this thread as busy busy busy as usual: I work full-time hours, do all the school runs and childcare etc etc - I'm the main (and sometimes sole) earner in our house and with two young children, it gets a bit overwhelming sometimes! I have a good job and earn a decent amount, but because DH doesn't earn very much, it has to stretch further than usual.

In terms of the consumerism debate, I think we're doing well with Not Buying It, i.e. not filling our house with stuff, but, you know, we do need food and school uniforms, and cars to do our jobs. I do feel a bit resentful sometimes that I've done it right, worked hard, got a good education (including my professional qualification paid for out of my own pocket), been in paid employment since the age of 18 (including all the way through 2 degrees), saved the pennies etc, yet I'm nearing middle age and we still cannot afford a traditional foreign holiday, or to pay someone to renovate our very tired and scruffy house, so we're doing it ourselves bit by bit and living in a scruffy semi-building site in the meanwhile. I've had no pay rise (even cost of living) now for over 4 years, and later this year my pay will reduce by several thousand pounds (for doing exactly the same job) due to organisational cost savings (I work in the public sector). And then I've just found out due to changes in the pension rules, my NI contributions are about to increase, yet my state pension (if I ever get it!) will probably reduce, while my organisational pension will stay the same. It does sometimes make me wonder why I bother.

But, then I remember that I'm extremely lucky in may ways: we're all healthy, we have a roof over our heads in a lovely area, which we chose to move to so that our kids could grow up more outdoors and have more positive life experiences. When I talk to my friends, we're all, richer or poorer, having to make choices and prioritise how we spend our money - and having more money doesn't mean fewer problems: a friend who bought a large, new, executive home at a similar time to us buying our relatively run down house, has had no end of problems with it and with the developer, and a lot of stress as a result.

So I try to stay philosophical, and do what I can to free up as much money as possible for home renovations, which is why I really need to get to grips with MMMing!

Talking of which, not sure if this counts, in the making do and mending categories, but today I made a start on cleaning the outside of our conservatory - it doesn't appear to have been cleaned for many years, as it has a build-up of thick green sludge on a lot of it! DH did mention getting a professional valeting company in to tart it up, but I thought it can't be that hard. So, with the specialist equipment of a small stepladder, long broom, large bucket of water + laundry liquid and a hose, I've done two roof panels and all of the windows/window sills, and it's looking masses better already! Feeling really pleased that that will be one less aspect of my house that I am embarrassed about when people come round!!

iamsalt

Hello,

I am still trying to minimise my cold, so a store cupboard / freezer meal of sausage casserole with plenty of chilli and turmeric is in the oven while I had a nap.
I also work in the public sector, and am the main earner and "doer" at home, and understand the same issues wildthing. My oh is doing his masters (and probably his PhD) but only doing bits and bobs of work since he left his IT job due to the stress - it was well paid, but his mental health is worth so Much more than the money. We have reined in spending, and were reflecting how much fun we have making do, things like growing veg, making our own beer and wine and bulk cooking. We have also realised how much less we need, although we are only getting rid of things that we don't enjoy at the moment, while we are using what we have till it falls apart.
We don't go shopping at weekend like friends do, as we save our spare money to pay off the mortgage and have a holiday. I can't imagine that would change back when he does work again, but I am glad that I have him well and healthy for now.
S x

mrs-moneypenny

Made a Mother's Day card and a card for the kids to give my mum. Both made from stash.
Dd2 took the hat and pullover I'd knitted for DGS and I sewed another two little knitted hats together.
Dd2 has bought a binbag of her old Tshirts round for me to konvert into a throw for her.

Had a good tidy up in the stash cupboard it looks so much better and I can see space in there.

Have a great Sunday evening all.

HOWMUCH

Well my spending certainly went down when I started thinking where I was spending my money when getting ready for retirement at 60. I thought I was a savvy shopper but I trimmed even more off our spends. I have a flexible food budget where if I see something at a very good price then I'm able to buy more than just a weeks worth thus saving more money in the long run. I had a years trail run living on the reduced income just to give me the confidence to pack it all in 6 years before state pension kicks in. We don't qualify for any help I get my small NHS pension and DH will get his private pension in August when he's 60 but his is much larger than mine. Being a child of the 50's I've just gone back to the way we were brought up back then, we didn't have treats every day OS ways have allowed me to live the life I wanted to live and retire at 60. I'm debt free, mortgage free and control my spending. x

wildthing01

Salt and Howmuch - you're both right and your replies have reinforced my conviction that even if we did have pots of money, we'd still want to live a life of not spending in a profligate manner! I only get annoyed like that occasionally - I've only just found out about the pension thing so am on a bit of a downer about it currently, but generally, I quite enjoy living frugally, as I love a challenge and am quite competitive, so every time I don't buy something, or fix something myself, I feel as though I've 'won' somehow. Plus it's great for encouraging creativity!

My own OH now works part time following a period of severe anxiety disorder caused by a very bad experience with an employer - he is a teacher, which is a very stressful job at the best of times, and he was working quite literally all hours, as well as having a bad time at work, but rather than go off sick or give up, he now does supply work. As Salt said, his mental health (and mine by extension) is worth more than the money. Plus he's very handy, so he pays his way by doing up the house, so we don't have to pay too many professionals (e.g. he fitted our kitchen, tiled the floor, built some additional cupboards/breakfast bar etc).

And I'm quite positive about the future despite the pension thing: our mortgage will be paid off by the time the kids are 18, and when they leave home, I'll reduce my hours (no way can afford to do that currently), or give up entirely and work in a coffee shop or something, and get some time back. We'll obviously have to help them through Uni, but I worked all the way through my degrees, so I'll be strongly encouraging that!

mumto2monkeys_2

Some really inspirational posts on here.

Make do: did not chuck out massive tub of cottage cheese that went OD yesterday. Made quiches for lunch for next few days. Hopefully will not get food poisoning . I've also meal planned carefully for the coming week around what's in to try and make do with what we have and minimise spends on groceries.

Mend: none, but will be crocheting to Call the Midwife in 5 minutes.

Minimise: not today, but I have plans! BIG plans!