Has 'moneysaving' genuinely changed anyone's life here?

chevalier

Hi there
Out situation is a bit different to others on here, as we are lucky enough to pay our debts off ok etc. But what it has done is to reaffirm that the way we live is a good one. Ie saving for things, getting things second hand, not being proud.

The site has also saved us a lot by questioning how we buy things. Ie not just going along with the car insurance renewal, but questioning it and checking we could get it cheaper, saved us over £100! I also have regular money coming in from survey sites, quidco etc, which I wouldn't have had without this site.

I am humbled by how people pull themselves up by their boot straps and pay off their debts, (IA AND LYNZPOWER YOU ROCK!!!:T :T :T ). And their journeys have ensured that mine is smoother.

When a big expense has come in (bl**dy oil leak), we can cope with it because we have already been living frugally, so the money is there. It might not have been without this site.

Now if I can just convince my OH that overpaying the mortgage is a good idea.....:rolleyes:
chev

postingalwaysposting

A big yes from me too... when i joined this site nearly 2 years ago i had just started new job after coming off JSA. It was min wage and mundane but it was a job. At that time i was in debt (not a lot but when you earn pennies its massive) living at home, qualifications that wouldnt get me a job and no hope for the future..... Now i am debt free (twice), have savings, nearly learnt to drive (just the test to go nopw), retraining for a better job, have a life ~ 2 years ago i had no 'real' friends or online friends ~ i now have both, helping my mother out of debt and i am the worlds best budgeter :rotfl:

yes its been tough, yes i needed alot of support from people on here however the feeling once you are debt free and knowing that 100% of your wages are yours ~ nothing can beat that.

Badger_Lady

The thing that brought me here was when I first saw/heard Martin Lewis and he said "most people could effectively give themselves a 30% payrise by being clever with their money..."

OP wrote:

It seems to me that debt/poor financial habits are something which can come from the personality of the individual and therefore very hard to change. I would guess that there must, for example, be such a thing as backsliding/returning to bad habits even for those with strong enough willpower to make the initial breakthrough.

I agree, sometimes it can be a very fixed-in habit. I have a friend who knows she's truly terrible with money... she earns a decent wage, lives with her Mum for token rent, but she went bankrupt at 22 and still has the constant urge to spend money she hasn't got - the only thing stopping her is credit rating (thank god!).

I actually had a conversation with her earlier this year when she said that she'd been looking online for a loan for ex-bankrupts. I asked what the hell she needed a loan for, she said "only a £1000 for shopping". What kind of shopping? Clothes and stuff. I gave her a proper yelling at for that!

But I just can't help my friend - she knows exactly how bad she is but is apparently incapable of changing her inherent personality. She has a spare room full of things she's never worn/used - in fact, she often tries to give me things that she doesn't really like or that don't even fit.

Me, on the other hand - my bad spending habits have been through sheer ignorance. Merely paying attention to what's coming in and out is enough for me to start looking for ways to cut back, and I visit these forums daily to keep that spirit alive!

My wake-up call was when I first laid out my budget and realised that I was spending over £90 a week on food. Just for me, alone, single me! I had to cut back on a lot of luxuries after that day - but it was easy when I thought about all the things that money could have been used for.

CharliesAngel

In a word... yes it has!

Bought property (studio flat) at a young age, found furnishing, maintaining and paying service charges too much, along with the monthly £840 mobile bills..

two and a half years from lightbulb moment, moved to a 3 bedroom house, no service charges, halved my debt, bought a car, i'm in credit this month for the first time in five years and looking forward to the day I'm debt free with an extra £300 a month in my pocket!

:beer:

Badger_Lady

CharliesAngel wrote:

monthly £840 mobile bills

:eek: There are no words

lauren_1

YES absolutly :j

My whole life has gone full circle, i am so much happier, confident, i look totally different and my whole outlook on my newlife is much better.

I started my frugal challenge earlier this year just to see if it could be done and tbh i didnt think i would last the month and here i am ..new life and all and have stuck to it 90% of the time.

Its not just about saving the money and paying off debts its about teaching my children the value of money, also teaching myself that money does not rule me and i really genuinly dont need half of it.

it's imensly sattisfying when you can kits your kids out for an entire year for less than £30 (you just need to know where to look and have cousins 1 year older than each child ) and because of that we can spend more time as a family rather than working all the hours to make the ends meet.

I am 100% happier now than before i started my challenge, my kids are happier and healthier and although it has been hard its taught me than no matter what happens we can cope easily.

The only downside is i tend to get pittied on by so called freinds because they think i am genuinly poor :mad: and they think it's mean that i only 'get' a few ££ to spend a week off of my significant other but they just havn't seen the light yet!!!!

Sagaris

Definately!
Up till April this year, we were happily spending way too much in Tesco's, doing all the bad, non money saving things - OH was on a DMP but my credit cards were under control - or so I thought!
Then a chance find bought me to this site, then I realised we were spending way over the odds for everything - and my credit cards were costing us too much money every month!
I'm not as good as some people on here, but have changed our ways considerably - we now know exactly what's in our current account at any time, prepare and stick to a budget, meal plan, batch cook a little bit, compare what we pay for everything and are just a bit more savvy financially.
I was going to get a consolidation loan for my cards and to pay for our wedding - now I've changed them to a low interest rate and am paying them off - and OH is looking at a second job to help out.
We're so much happier to know we are in control of our money and it won't be long before everything is paid off - even the DMP is looking healthier!
Thank you to Martin and all the posters on here - so many people here have made a difference to us!
Looking forward to our debt free date and to bringing it closer - not something I would even have been thinking of a year ago, without this site.

Charlton_King

Yes, yes and thrice yes. I agree with the OP's thought that personality may be involved but for me the 'transformation' has been relatively painless. I think, at its heart, this matter is one of 'growing up' and finally realising that the world doesn't owe anyone a living.

Taking responsibility, basically.

taka

I'd say yes too. For me moneysaving is just 1 part of me generally trying to change my life for the better. It means I thinking about what I'm doing and why. My former overspending was partly due to feeling unhappy and wanting to "cheer myself up" which wasn't really working! I feel much calmer and in control of what I am doing when I keep a good eye on my finances. Moneysaving and this site in particular has helped me to reasess what I do and don't NEED to do with my money and spotting where I was just wasting it for no reason! I now have a propper plan about where I would like to be in several years time eg Loan and Mortgage free!!

Moneysaving has also made me aware of ways of raising more cash or putting what I have to the best use. Its very addictive and is much more fun trying to stretch things a bit more and reading about others doing the same!

I was contemplating adding to my mortgage to do repairs and renovations to my flat that needed done. I went from contemplating taking this on over 20yrs then 10yrs to an unsecured loan for 5 years. I finally took out a 3 year loan which is overpayable (by £100/month) :rotfl: after working out that I could afford it and still have money to live on fine. In fact I'm about to make my 2nd overpayment which I've managed to scrape together out of nowhere and I've only had the loan for just over 6 weeks!! I love it!

Moneysaving will give me freedom for the future to be able to cope with more of the things life may throw at me.

Skeksis

Hi Lynzpower

How long did it take for you to 'turn it round' and what would be your main tips/tricks for doing so?

Cheers