Scrimp or Splurge - What Is A False Economy?

Larumbelle

We all have our own personal philosophy, and different priorities, I am quite surprised by how similar most people's opinions have been so far. My family do not, for the most part, scrimp on anything, and I was brought up with the 'buy cheap, buy twice' mantra. My income and lifestyle are considerably different to theirs though, and my own philosophy is to have the best I can for my budget. I have to scrimp on almost everything, but though I don't have much money, my time is what I really 'splurge' on what is important to me.

I don't compromise on food, it is the only thing that I buy that literally becomes a part of me! I have an allotment, and as well as growing my own produce I barter for eggs from people who keep chickens there, which allows me to budget more for better quality and higher-welfare foods. I don't use much meat because I prefer to buy a little less from a good butcher than more from the supermarket. In terms of time, I definitely 'splurge' a lot on my allotment, but it has become my happy place and does a lot for my mental and physical health as well as feeding me.

I am lucky in that there are a good number of charity shops with pretty good stock, even though this is not a particularly affluent area. Clothing-wise, I only buy knickers, bras and tights new, everything else is from the charity shops, I have a lovely wardrobe of quality clothing (a lot but not necessarily all designer, but all well made and mostly natural fibre) but I think the dearest thing in in cost me £8 and that felt pretty extravagant at the time! Charity-shopping does take a little time I suppose, you can't wait until you need something urgently then go and buy it, you have to keep an eye out in advance. But that said, I pop into my few favourites whenever I pass, and it takes me very little time on each visit to check out what is new. I have also picked up most of my homewares, soft furnishings etc up from charity shops over the years, so again, the 'time splurge' is definitely worth it to me! (Incidentally, those who mentioned good coats and/or shoes - I see these all the time, fantastic quality and often unworn, it is worth keeping an eye out!)

Hobbies and social time - I helped to form a club for people who share one of my hobbies/interests. As a group we buy and share tools and equipment. Having a fantastic social circle within this group means that my social life is cheap! It also means that I get to play with a lot of 'toys' that I could never dream of affording on my own. However, I do dedicate time and energy to helping run the organisational side of things, so I suppose this is a 'splurge' as well. I definitely recommend it though, to anyone thinking of starting a club or group!

Upsidedown_Bear

tessie_bear wrote: »

interesting point op if you read a lot of the ahem frugal blogs anything the authors heart desires is a sensible money saving purchase where as any purchase anyone else makes is a vile waste of money and shame on you

Exactly that ^^

I can't count the number of "frugal" blogs I've given up reading for exactly that reason.

Other than Ilona's blog has anyone found any "real frugal" blogs? :think::question:

jackyann

Something that I would add is that sometimes, buying cheap isn't necessarily a waste. Obviously because sometimes cheap things are perfectly good.
But also, I remember buying cheap camping equipment because there were no pennies for better. It was fine for a year or two (and we were young!). As we got enough money to buy better, we were experienced enough to recognise quality and what was worth paying for and what wasn't. So we did well overall.
I would also add that the curtains I was so proud of making with good quality fabric 40 years ago will not wear out! But I did finally get new ones, and the old ones do the rounds of the youngsters who need temporary curtains!

maman

Interesting thread.


I've always noted that there are several types of posters on mse. The majority just don't have much money to spare. This could be because they are paying off debts or just don't earn much. They have very little option but to be more frugal. There are a number of older people who while they don't have a great of money often don't have to buy things like clothes (compared with children growing out of things) and perhaps have more free time so can make savings.


I have great sympathy for those with low incomes or health problems and I often pick up tips from those elderly people.


Then there's people like me who aren't short of money but resent being ripped off. So I'm happy to spend on what I think is worth it but resent a supermarket trying to sell me something at a ridiculously inflated price because they hope I'm too lazy or stupid to go elsewhere.


A few of my 'splurge' items would probably be my hairdresser, theatre tickets, holidays and eating out with friends. I might pay more for a meal out than it costs to feed us for a week but that's my choice just as is voting with my feet in the supermarket.

LameWolf

JackieO wrote: »

Good quality shoes and bed as if your not in one your in the other I also prefer best ground coffee that I can find and best sausages

Ah, not necessarily. Being a wheelchair user, and having 'orrible arthritis in my feet, I only wear shoes if I absolutely have to; and always go barefoot at home. I recently got my "Granny Weatherwax boots" repaired at the menders - £11 for fixing the worn-out heels, and a 30-year-old pair of boots is as good as new, vs buying a new pair for gods know how much money, and going through the agony of breaking them in - no-brainer really.

You're right about a decent bed though; we bought ours eight years ago, and have religiously turned the mattress every eight weeks to make it wear evenly and hopefully last longer.

Interesting that a few people have mentioned haircuts - that's one area I don't spend on - I get my DH to help me dye my hair about once every three months (or when I can't abide the silver badger-stripe any longer) and he also trims it for me. So probably £20 a year, on hair dye. :money:
Even that may become a thing of the past before much longer; having lupus, my hair is falling out in handfuls, and it's only a matter of time before there's none left to worry about. :eek:

tessie_bear

upside down im quite chuffed you agree normally when you read the comments on the blogs they are so grovelly its eyes straight to heaven and are these people real ?

diary of a frugal family is nice do you like vintage if so vintage vixon is a brilliant upbeat read...empty nest full tum is lovely the cooking .pics and ideas are fab...facebook feed yourself on £1 a day is full of ideas

i have given up on so many blogs because dont like holier than thou approach they take...do you follow any others ? tessa

charlies-aunt

http://mymakedoandmendlife.com/


I am an Ilona fan but I do like this one too.


We are on low income so its scrimping all the way for us - never been rich so I guess I don't know what I might be missing

RockersWAG

tessie_bear wrote: »

interesting point op if you read a lot of the ahem frugal blogs anything the authors heart desires is a sensible money saving purchase where as any purchase anyone else makes is a vile waste of money and shame on you

iona being the exception..i love her realness I take the opinion i will try anything once but dont go back if its grim

With you on the bloggers! 99% of the time they're only posting products that the manufacturers have paid them to write about and recommend. They're now not even called bloggers, they call themselves 'influencers' and companies will pay big bucks to those with a big readership to promote their wares. It's quite sad really, as it makes it hard to see which are genuine blogs set up to help and advise and which are just money-spinning tools for the author the companies they work with.

tessie_bear

rockers thats very interesting on the blogs....some are so hard to look at even with all the adverts i click them away if they are overloaded with adverts...tbh i dont mind people sharing summat that they think is good and worthwhile BUT when a frugal blog is saying ready cooked jacket pots are better than making your own and coinstar is a sensible way to get rid of change its too much for me and i stop reading....must think we are mugs

Slowly57

VfM4meplse wrote: »

This is one I disagree with, much as I love candles myself it is literally burning money so I stick to tealights, etc. I can't remember if it was Mrs MoneyPenny or Meryn Somerset-Webb's book that confirmed the same...!

Ummm - can't quite see the difference between candles and tealights in terms of burning - except for price maybe lol? If you like candles but don't want to be budgeting for them - I can recommend the battery-powered alternatives. We have both tealights and pillar candles - they use pill batteries which you can replace quite cheaply.

I use 'real' candles to start each day with intention (and for other stuff) - I spend a lot to have a good fragrance and a clean burn. I often get them as gifts and I quite like to find them on holiday. Like most things in life, good candles last well and if you keep them properly more so.

As to frugal blogs - some of them are terrific but some are a bit judgemental and a bit joyless tbh. Just like real life then :rotfl: Same with 'clean' eating ....