Stop Spending! Article Discussion Area

Former_MSE_Andrea

This thread is specifically for discussing the How to stop spending article.

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Ches

oops wrong thread

MPwannasavemoney

This advice is brilliant if you have a partner who sees things the same way.

I have been struggling for years with the OH to get her to see the reality of our overspending.

It has driven me mad.

I have been diagnosed with clinical depression now. Plus my only income is freelance I only have part-time income and there is no work I can find from December.

She does not want to see a counsellor with me, so the only way out is to divorce - I feel sorry for the 3 kids :-(

The only other alternative is to let the banks take everything back and see if she learns then, if so we just start from scratch.

Lula-Hula

Great article :T but, as the above poster says, will only work if you actually want to clear your debt :rolleyes:.

I truly feel for those with partners who are either still in denial or just unwilling to change their ways. I too live in 'very expensive surrey' & think this location is particularly hard to make the changes in, so many here appear to be so wealthy & shopping, coffee & lunch out seems to be a pastime for many of the surrey housewives I know. There is a hugely competitive culture in this area & for those who are slightly insecure it is a trap.

A friend of mine with over £4,500 of CC debt has just booked a £2,500 holiday for next year on the basis that everyone else she knows went away this summer & she feels left out. She is a single parent who works part time but because of the property boom has plenty of equity in her house & is therefore unconcerned about the debt :rolleyes:. Yes, I have given her the details of this site, & she now has a 0% card but is still paying just the minimum & has now effectively given herself more money to spend each month. I tried.

I faffed about for a good year after I supposedly had my lbm, thinking that I had changed my ways ... & only now am I really really determined. I still get pangs of 'Wanting' now & then but usually find someone on here to talk me out of it . Found a fab pair of boots I wanted in River Island for £90 ... just bought a pair off ebay for £14.95 . I am learning, albeit slowly

brokeinwales

Yep great article, but as others said you can read it, know it's all true, but still not really act on it.

Personally I found myself going through the lists and filing the tips into categories in my head:

- Not applicable (Surprisingly I found about half of the tips fell into this category: I haven't got a car, my utility bills are included in my rent, I don't have kids, so on, so on...)
- Do already (I alway fell vaguely disappointed reading these. I think I was secretly hoping the article would reveal lots of amazing relevant ideas I hadn't thought of yet that would help magically halve my expenditure! I guess most "spend less" ideas really are quite obvious!)
- Will probably start to do (the good ideas I haven't considered, or have considered but needed a reminder!)
- Probably should do but can't bring myself to! (I love my hairdresser even though I know I could get a student to do my cut for half the cost - I feel very guilty when I read this tip!)

Although it was a good reminder article, I did feel like I could recite a lot of it by heart. That probably shows that it's just tried and tested advice.

I get a bit defensive sometimes when I read the old chesnuts ("Why not take a packed lunch to work?" I do! Shut up!!) Anyone else get that?!

gropinginthedark

That says convert the cost of an item into the number of hours you'll need to work to pay for it.
I use a more aggressive version. First work out how much of your weekly pay must go on essentials, housing, food, electricity etc. Include everything you MUST spend - although not really "essential" you are going to give the kids christmas and birthday gifts. Don't forget annual payments like car tax and insurance. Let's say you're taking home £6 an hour for a 40 hour week and your unavoidable spend is £200 a week, that means there's £40 left for "discretionary" spending. That's £1 an hour so it's going to take you not 2 days but two solid weeks work to pay for that £80 fashion item - as long as you don't make ANY other discretionary spending.

make-do=and-mend_2

You can only spend money ONCE - think how long you had to work to earn it before you part with it! SIMPLES! :money:

Hannah_10

Never take your children to the supermarket with you.

“I want” doesn’t save you money.

Neither does getting a childminder at £4 per hour per child Martin!

Oh and if I don't take the kids to the supermarket how will they learn to shop responsibly?

Not everyone has kids they have no authority over y'know. Tsk Tsk.

MSE_Laura_F

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🚫 How to stop spending 🚫

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