Stopping shopping

dionysia

Finally managed a NSD today! And I'm out after work tomorrow, at a work event which shouldn't have any spends, so hopefully another cheap one. Then payday. I think I need to teach myself to get my shopping high off boring stuff like topping up the Oyster card and buying milk!

@gonebust fivers piling up does sound nice! I have had a little look at some hotels - the dream is to stay in a 5* hotel for a night or two but that's very expensive so we'll see! By then I might be very thrifty and think it's a waste of money .

gonebust

dionysia wrote: »

Finally managed a NSD today! And I'm out after work tomorrow, at a work event which shouldn't have any spends, so hopefully another cheap one. Then payday. I think I need to teach myself to get my shopping high off boring stuff like topping up the Oyster card and buying milk!

@gonebust fivers piling up does sound nice! I have had a little look at some hotels - the dream is to stay in a 5* hotel for a night or two but that's very expensive so we'll see! By then I might be very thrifty and think it's a waste of money .

Did I mention my dream is at least business class flights , at least two months, and not scrimping a single penny whilst there?

That's my dream. That's my motivation.

Perhaps I won't get all that but I'm motivated to get as much of that I can So my business class may be downgraded to a 12 HR stopover so we can sleep halfway, so our 5*hotels may become b&bs but I refuse to skimp on the time there, or to get into debt to fund it.


Do you meal plan at all? Know what food you have at home already?

I shop for only what is needed. Breakfast lunches and dinners. All accounted for so its only a once a week shop. I've learned, go to the shop for milk, come out £20 lighter and sod all to show for it

GeorgianaCavendish

Hi Dionysia Good luck with your debt free journey, it sounds like you are have a solid plan in place and are ready to make big changes to your old spending habits.
If you are still interested in a spending diary, I recommend OnTrees. It's a free app/website run by MoneySupermarket. You can link it with your bank accounts and CCs, it will show you every transaction over the past 12 weeks which you can then categorise into things like Rent, Bills, Groceries, Clothes etc. I did this early in my debt free journey and it was such an eye opener to see how much all those little impulse purchases on coffee, stationery and taxi rides added up!

Meal planning and switching to a cheaper supermarket made a huge difference to my food spending. I switched to Aldi and I absolutely love it, I think that the quality of food is much better than Tesco and it is so much cheaper than Waitrose or M&S. I've been slowly converting all my friends & family, even my in-laws who are huge food snobs

Another thing that made a lightbulb ping for me were the BBC programmes Shop Well For Less and Eat Well For Less (the blurb says they "help families change the way they shop without changing their lifestyle"). It inspired me to try cheaper brands for lots of things, from laundry detergent to my moisturiser and I've made some big savings that way without compromising on quality. I've always told myself that if I didn't like the cheaper product then I could switch back and so far there hasn't been anything that I've switched back on. I've applied it to other things as well, like switching from the senior stylist at my hairdresser to a regular stylist for a £20 per cut saving - it gets addictive

dionysia

Payday! Feels like it's been a long time coming :rotfl:. This month is going to be a very tight one. When I looked at my annual expenses almost all of them fall March-September so because I'm just starting my annual-expenses pot I'll be more or less chasing it for the first few months rather than seeing it grow. And I still have a few holiday and moving expenses I'm paying off this month, all accrued pre-LBM! And some other things coming up I need to pay for in the next few months. So my available money for the month is pretty low.

What is making me feel positive is that I feel in control of it! Previously I would have known I had expensive things coming up and vaguely felt I ought to save up for them, but I wouldn't have sat down and done any sums and worked out how much, just 'tried' to spend less and then ended up pulling money from savings (the good months) and putting it on credit (the bad ones) when I couldn't afford the expensive plans :eek:. This time I've written down everything I can think of that's coming up and although it leaves me with a small amount, at least I know that and I can make informed decisions about where I spend and what on. The other upside is that if I have this very low-spend month (and next month will be low as well) right now at the beginning, my usually budgeted amount to spend later in the year is going to feel like a fortune! :j

dionysia

@gonebust Business class, two months, and spending freely would be amazing! Obviously my back-up plan to this paying off debt and saving thing is to win the lottery . I meal plan in a similar way! I usually know what I'm going to have and then shop for it a few days in advance. I'm not much of a cook and also now have a very small kitchen (a two-shelf freezer and not much space for store-cupboard stuff) so it's a very shop-eat-shop-eat cycle. In winter I do make big bolognaises and stews and things to freeze.

@Georgiana thank you! Unfortunately I'm right in central London so no Aldi or Lidl anywhere near (and no car!) - it would cost me lots in travel and time to shop there. Although I could possibly do a fish/meat/staples run every few weeks to stock up... I'll have another look at that! Switching hairstylists is a good one, I'm looking at the possibility of modelling for learning hairdressers which would get me my cut and colour cheaply. I was very, very sad the day I faced up to the fact that I couldn't afford getting my colour done and would have to go back to the boxes - I never quite get the colour I want and the condition of my hair is already quite bad. I'll have a look at iPlayer and see if I can get the shows!

LadyP01

Hey Dionysia

Thought I'd pop by after your comment on mine and see your journey.

Same debt total as me and same deadline so we will get there!!!!!!!!!!
I'm having kids of fun working out cheaper ways to do things like gifts and nights out as I'm truest dedicated to getting this debt gone.

Iv found that googling debt free articles online and reading lots of hints tips etc has been amazing to keep me motivated so I do that alongside reading people's diaries so I'm truly motivated.

gonebust

I don't do the lotto, I'd rather save the £2:D

Actually I save all coins , I've lovely ceramic money boxes I've collected over the years and save all year round in them. I don't carry a handbag any more due to a disability so tend to shove as much as I can in my pockets. I also have a little phone case on a strap that takes my cards and a small amount of cash. End of the day when I change clothes, all coins are put into their money boxes, just leaving me the few coins I might need for the next time I'm out. That money goes towards car insurance or Christmas. You would be surprised how it all adds up

When I was totally broke I used to book into my nearest beauty college for hair cuts, colouring, eyebrow shaping, waxing etc. Only once did I ever come out thinking what a mess but that was only because the cut ended up being shorter then I thought I was going to get. Most I paid was around £8 for a colour. Once you start going you get known and often get asked by girls doing their exams will you model for them

GeorgianaCavendish

I totally get where you are coming from re: Aldi/Lidl. I live in Zone 4 and there is an Aldi about 20 mins away which makes it worthwhile but if you have to travel for hours then its not worth it.

I used to go to some of the big salon academies for hair cuts & colour when I first started working in London where you pay a reduced fee for a trainee to do your hair. It was good because the tutors would be on hand to make sure the trainees got everything right (and step in if needed!) and I didn't have to get a crazy cut or colour done because that was what they needed to practice. Here are links to the two I went to (although it was about 8 years ago) :
Sassoon Academy : https://www.sassoon-academy.com/en/academy/uk/Models-Wanted
Toni & Guy Academy: http://toniandguy.com/education/model-for-us

If you can get to a salon in off peak hours it might be worth checking out Treatwell. I noticed the other day that my salon has off peak slots at a £20 reduction on certain days, but the appointment times tend to be 10am or 2pm. I will keep it in mind though, my boss is quite flexible and I'm sure I could take a late lunch one day every few months if it means saving more money on my haircut!

For beauty treatments the London College of Beauty Therapy is quite good (although sometimes slow), I've been there for facials and massages https://www.lcbt.co.uk/salon/

dionysia

@LadyP01 we will! It is nice and encouraging to see others on here with similar goals. For extra motivation I've got into listening to Dave Ramsay podcasts when I'm walking to and from work. It's especially helpful on the way back when I pass a lot of shops that are open! Definitely stops me popping in just for a look when I've got Dave in my ear yelling 'you don't see the inside of a restaurant unless it's to work there, you sell so much stuff the kids think they're next' :rotfl:.

@gonebust I like a go on the lottery occasionally when there's a big jackpot! Always lucky dip though, I don't want to end up in that trap like my parents where you do the same numbers every week for years and then have to carry on because if you stopped and your numbers came up the next week it would be so terrible. I should start a little money box again, I did have one and just put pound coins in now and again, I never missed them but it meant when I opened it up I had a decent chunk to spend on something treaty. Perhaps I'll use a mug for now, rather than go out and spend money on a money box so I can save money .

LadyP01

Iv herd loads about Dave Ramsey I really want to get one of his books, I keep looking when I'm in charity shops etc.

I also use the expensive money pots and there great I usually have about £1000-£3000 in them when I break them. Also a handy tip is if you break it at the bottom you just need to buy some cheap pottery clay and fill in the gaps then you have saved yourself £20 on a new money pot. Alternatively when mine completely breaks I plan on just getting a big tericotta plant pot that has a slot big enough for a 50p and glueing it to a terracotta plate and then painting it... be cheap if I can grab the pots from the garden that aren't being used or a few quid from a shop.