£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

DawnW

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

So I've been undertaking an interesting (to me. Please don't expect to be gripped by this) experiment for the past few weeks. Every time I've fancied buying something, I've pinned it to a Pinterest wishlist instead. It hasn't in any way had the desired result of me no longer wanting the items after a few days - I still want to order lots of things - but it has made me realise how much I would previously have spent. I'm not saying I would have bought every single one of the items on the list, but I probably would have given in on a fair few...

The list (I think the first item was pinned about 3 weeks ago):
£21 Thermos mug (I will get this at some stage, DH has one and it's ace)
£355 surfboard
£25 floor desk
£8 dry shampoo
£20 nail polish
£20 nail polish
£15 nail polish (sensing a theme?)
£60 small fan heater (for winter yoga)
£55 travel yoga mat
£50 floor cushion
£28 yoga mat rug (don't ask)
£144 roof rack (for camping gear)

So that's a cool £801 I could easily have spent this month. In reality I wouldn't have bought all of that in one month, but pre-LBM it's reasonable to assume I might have bought the roof rack and some other bits, and then waited for next month (being 'sensible') before buying the surfboard, and probably a couple of other bits there too.

It's really frightening to see not just how those big purchases - roof rack, new surfboard - add up, but also how I could easily have sunk £300 on 'extras' without really thinking about it. And that's before we get started on the clothes I might have bought in the same time frame.

Sadly none of this is making me swear off shopping for eternity - the chances are that at least half of this list will make it into my life at some point in the coming months - but it is really helping me to see how unconsciously I was shopping before, and how even though I thought I was being frightfully sensible and not making loads and loads of 'big (£100+) purchases in a month, I was making at least one big purchase most months, and then another few hundred in 'little'(!) purchases in between times.

As it stands, I haven't ordered anything off the list, and I'm going to continue to add stuff as I find it and want to buy it, and then when I have the money I can browse through it and decide what the top priority is.

I thought it was interesting. Do these things REALLY cost that much? I have a thermos mug / travel mug thing, and it cost about £8 in a supermarket. It is red, and has 'Thermos' written on it. Are you looking at top of the range type items, or really expensive lifestyle type web sites? Not getting at you, just genuinely curious I don't use nail polish now, but see it in Boots etc for considerably less than £20?

boxofpaws

That's a good idea treading.

Are nail polishes really £20? It's not something I ever buy, I used to not even be allowed long nails at work let alone nail varnish. I'm astonished at £20.

Will you take things off if you change your mind about them? Or leave them to remind yourself how restrained you've been?

Treadingonplaymobil

DawnW wrote: »

I thought it was interesting. Do these things REALLY cost that much? I have a thermos mug / travel mug thing, and it cost about £8 in a supermarket. It is red, and has 'Thermos' written on it. Are you looking at top of the range type items, or really expensive lifestyle type web sites? Not getting at you, just genuinely curious I don't use nail polish now, but see it in Boots etc for considerably less than £20?

I'm sure the thermos mug I like is no better than any others, but it's very pleasing to look at and hold - not big and chunky and plasticky, and I've never seen another one quite like it. Also amazing at keeping things warm/cool, but I'm sure it's not alone in that skill.

boxofpaws wrote: »

That's a good idea treading.

Are nail polishes really £20? It's not something I ever buy, I used to not even be allowed long nails at work let alone nail varnish. I'm astonished at £20.

Will you take things off if you change your mind about them? Or leave them to remind yourself how restrained you've been?

It's gel polishes - normal ones in the brands I use are cheaper, but I'd like to add a few gel polishes to my collection since buying my lamp. Probably not three at £20 each though! I've been using the same two cheap £7 polishes since buying the lamp, and they last well but the colours aren't quite as good as I want them to be. One of my favourite normal polish brands is Barry M though - super cheap!

I will probably delete things as I go off them - no need to encourage myself to buy things I don't absolutely love!

ellen_vannin

Been reading through your diary , love the style of writing.

It helps when considering purchases I have found to consider the total cost
e.g. if you are buying an item for £100 but putting it on an interest bearing card , ultimately it is costing nearer £150 by the time you have paid it off.

mfmaybe

I do think it's interesting. I also think, when everything is in negative figures, that it is much harder to notice that you have no money left. When all the numbers are positives, I think in some ways it is easier to curb the spending, because you can see that you just don't have the money.

(Or you might, but in which case that's fine )

Honeysucklelou2

What a good idea to see what you haven't spent. Has it helped you to feel encouraged too about how well you're doing?

PhilStation

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

So I've been undertaking an interesting (to me. Please don't expect to be gripped by this) experiment for the past few weeks. Every time I've fancied buying something, I've pinned it to a Pinterest wishlist instead. It hasn't in any way had the desired result of me no longer wanting the items after a few days - I still want to order lots of things - but it has made me realise how much I would previously have spent. I'm not saying I would have bought every single one of the items on the list, but I probably would have given in on a fair few...

The list (I think the first item was pinned about 3 weeks ago):
£21 Thermos mug (I will get this at some stage, DH has one and it's ace)
£355 surfboard
£25 floor desk
£8 dry shampoo
£20 nail polish
£20 nail polish
£15 nail polish (sensing a theme?)
£60 small fan heater (for winter yoga)
£55 travel yoga mat
£50 floor cushion
£28 yoga mat rug (don't ask)
£144 roof rack (for camping gear)

So that's a cool £801 I could easily have spent this month. In reality I wouldn't have bought all of that in one month, but pre-LBM it's reasonable to assume I might have bought the roof rack and some other bits, and then waited for next month (being 'sensible') before buying the surfboard, and probably a couple of other bits there too.

It's really frightening to see not just how those big purchases - roof rack, new surfboard - add up, but also how I could easily have sunk £300 on 'extras' without really thinking about it. And that's before we get started on the clothes I might have bought in the same time frame.

Sadly none of this is making me swear off shopping for eternity - the chances are that at least half of this list will make it into my life at some point in the coming months - but it is really helping me to see how unconsciously I was shopping before, and how even though I thought I was being frightfully sensible and not making loads and loads of 'big (£100+) purchases in a month, I was making at least one big purchase most months, and then another few hundred in 'little'(!) purchases in between times.

As it stands, I haven't ordered anything off the list, and I'm going to continue to add stuff as I find it and want to buy it, and then when I have the money I can browse through it and decide what the top priority is.

That Pinterest idea is great, I tend to bookmark item pages in Chrome with the thought that I will make the purchase when I can. It is amazing how few of the items end up in my life and end up simply being deleted.

As an example, I went to Japan in June, a long planned and saved for trip with a friend. When I returned from our travels, I bookmarked a load of things that came to mind as things that would have made the trip easier (new walking shoes etc). Today? They are all gone. Why? Because I don't have a similar trip on the horizon, so why do I need these things?

armchairexpert

I think having a Pinterest wish list of all the things I haven't bought would be like making a buffet of delicious food and then trying not to eat it!

Where do you find the things you want to buy? I mean do you see them in magazines, in shop windows, etc? I suddenly thought, if you work in fashion and journalism, you're probably bombarded with glossy adverts.

I very rarely shop, I don't look at magazines and I don't work in a city where I see display windows, and I think all of those things help the wanting - because they just don't occur to me. I mean of course sometimes I want a nice new nail polish or a soft throw blanket or something, but I want them in the abstract, rather than seeing a specific product and immediately desiring it. Can you try and cut off some of the sources of the marketing?

Mummy_bear

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

So I've been undertaking an interesting (to me. Please don't expect to be gripped by this) experiment for the past few weeks. Every time I've fancied buying something, I've pinned it to a Pinterest wishlist instead. It hasn't in any way had the desired result of me no longer wanting the items after a few days - I still want to order lots of things - but it has made me realise how much I would previously have spent. I'm not saying I would have bought every single one of the items on the list, but I probably would have given in on a fair few...

The list (I think the first item was pinned about 3 weeks ago):
£21 Thermos mug (I will get this at some stage, DH has one and it's ace)
£355 surfboard
£25 floor desk
£8 dry shampoo
£20 nail polish
£20 nail polish
£15 nail polish (sensing a theme?)
£60 small fan heater (for winter yoga)
£55 travel yoga mat
£50 floor cushion
£28 yoga mat rug (don't ask)
£144 roof rack (for camping gear)

So that's a cool £801 I could easily have spent this month. In reality I wouldn't have bought all of that in one month, but pre-LBM it's reasonable to assume I might have bought the roof rack and some other bits, and then waited for next month (being 'sensible') before buying the surfboard, and probably a couple of other bits there too.

It's really frightening to see not just how those big purchases - roof rack, new surfboard - add up, but also how I could easily have sunk £300 on 'extras' without really thinking about it. And that's before we get started on the clothes I might have bought in the same time frame.

Sadly none of this is making me swear off shopping for eternity - the chances are that at least half of this list will make it into my life at some point in the coming months - but it is really helping me to see how unconsciously I was shopping before, and how even though I thought I was being frightfully sensible and not making loads and loads of 'big (£100+) purchases in a month, I was making at least one big purchase most months, and then another few hundred in 'little'(!) purchases in between times.

As it stands, I haven't ordered anything off the list, and I'm going to continue to add stuff as I find it and want to buy it, and then when I have the money I can browse through it and decide what the top priority is.

Oooo think I'm going to try this pinterest idea. Like I need more excuses to use pinterest hahaha

XSpender

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

So I've been undertaking an interesting (to me. Please don't expect to be gripped by this) experiment for the past few weeks. Every time I've fancied buying something, I've pinned it to a Pinterest wishlist instead. It hasn't in any way had the desired result of me no longer wanting the items after a few days - I still want to order lots of things - but it has made me realise how much I would previously have spent. I'm not saying I would have bought every single one of the items on the list, but I probably would have given in on a fair few...

The list (I think the first item was pinned about 3 weeks ago):
£21 Thermos mug (I will get this at some stage, DH has one and it's ace)
£355 surfboard
£25 floor desk
£8 dry shampoo
£20 nail polish
£20 nail polish
£15 nail polish (sensing a theme?)
£60 small fan heater (for winter yoga)
£55 travel yoga mat
£50 floor cushion
£28 yoga mat rug (don't ask)
£144 roof rack (for camping gear)

So that's a cool £801 I could easily have spent this month. In reality I wouldn't have bought all of that in one month, but pre-LBM it's reasonable to assume I might have bought the roof rack and some other bits, and then waited for next month (being 'sensible') before buying the surfboard, and probably a couple of other bits there too.

It's really frightening to see not just how those big purchases - roof rack, new surfboard - add up, but also how I could easily have sunk £300 on 'extras' without really thinking about it. And that's before we get started on the clothes I might have bought in the same time frame.

Sadly none of this is making me swear off shopping for eternity - the chances are that at least half of this list will make it into my life at some point in the coming months - but it is really helping me to see how unconsciously I was shopping before, and how even though I thought I was being frightfully sensible and not making loads and loads of 'big (£100+) purchases in a month, I was making at least one big purchase most months, and then another few hundred in 'little'(!) purchases in between times.

As it stands, I haven't ordered anything off the list, and I'm going to continue to add stuff as I find it and want to buy it, and then when I have the money I can browse through it and decide what the top priority is.

I think this is a really good idea. I am guilty of been an impulse spender my self and DH is even worse. Anything that delays the spending and gives you time to think if you really want it is a good idea. We need a new bed as ours is very uncomfortable and had a look in a bed shop yesterday. DH would have bought one there and then but to do so we would have had to add to our debt (0%) but I was prepared to wait until we have paid more of our other debt off. Previously I would have just gone with DH and bought it!

I bought my DH a Thermos branded travel mug for his birthday last year as he has an early start every morning. They are very good and keep the coffee hot all day. His was £16 I think from Sainsburys. If you have nectar points collected maybe you could get it for free