Scrimp or Splurge - What Is A False Economy?

maman

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...

Slowly57 wrote: »

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.

I suppose the difference is that using tea lights for a glow is hugely cheaper than Yankee candles or most other scented candles.


I'd love to buy Jo Malone but I keep dithering over which scent to go for and they're too expensive to make a mistake.


I find dinner candles can be a rip off. For my candlesticks I buy a box of plain ones from Ikea.

Towser

I splurge in the scrimping shops. My favourite are Aldi and the charity shops. I wish there were more categories, not just Food and Clothing. The key to a good splurge is quality and the key to a good scrimp is price.

LameWolf

If I've used a candle and there's a pile of wax left afterwards, I save it, buy wick in H0bbycraft, and make new candles.

I use tealights when we have dogs staying with us - safer with wagging tails around.;)

Candles are important to me, for reasons I won't get into here, and although I don't spend vast sums on them, I wouldn't be without them for all the tea in China.

Upsidedown_Bear

tessie_bear wrote: »

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

I'll check out those blogs thank you :)

At the moment I'm not reading any blogs. I got really fed up of the ones I was reading so I stopped. There are millions of blogs so you'd think it would be easy to find some to read but apparently not. Maybe I'm too picky :cool:

tessie_bear

yes we must both be choosy

life is too short to have people make up a load of nonsense and then try and rub my nose in it...i hope you like those suggestions let me know what you think if you get a minute

tessa

Money_saving_maniac

Scrimp:
Toilet roll - Lidl's cheap stuff for me, it only goes down the bog!
Shower gel, except as presents
Tinned food
Frozen veg
Always shop at Lidl
Use up all food, no chucking anything away unless it's walking
No takeaways

Splurge/Buy cheap in sales:
Free range eggs
Always buy ground coffee
Cook in olive oil (too many questions around other oils)
Butter not marge
Furniture
Bedding
Asda CYO pizza!

moneyistooshorttomention

One thought here - my priorities are changing as I get older.

When you're young - you are out so much one way or another (work or social life) that your home is pretty much just a "base". As you get older - then chances are that you spend longer there (retirement, CBA so much re "social life" as such) and so the home needs to be nicer. So - it's a case of having a home that's warmer/cosier/more attractive/works better/etc as one gets older.

Clothes have to get to be more attractive of themselves/better quality to make up for no longer having an attractive face at the top of them imo:(. My wardrobe is in the process of a revamp now - still awaiting to some extent losing the rest of the surplus weight (still going very gradually). I figure it will then be down to "Don't look neck upwards any longer - but all still looks as normal from the neck downwards (as long as you don't look at the hands)".

So - homes and clothes take rather more money as one gets older imo...
.

Former_MSE_Matt

kboss2010 wrote: »

Just wondering what people feel is worth spending a bit of money on and what can be scrimped?

My splurge list would be:
Toilet roll
Shoes
Bedding

Just gonna leave this 'bedding' deal here
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/boston-duvet-and-pillow-company

grunnie

Can someone please send me the link to Iona's blog as she sounds like a woman after my own heart

Upsidedown_Bear

grunnie wrote: »

Can someone please send me the link to Iona's blog as she sounds like a woman after my own heart

Ilona's blog