Every penny counts

Pollycat

krlyr wrote: »

I think there's a time for scrimping and saving, but you do need the odd blow-out or to relax the rules.

I've posted on the thread you linked because my relationship went a bit sour over money too. It wasn't the cause of the break up (him going on dates with other women did the most damage, funnily enough...) but looking back, I think we would have been in a completely different position in our relationship had we (he had anxiety over money) not obsessed so much with overpayments on the mortgage.

But, overpaying for years a £160k mortgage vs. avoiding putting a £5k(ish? Just a guess) stamp duty payment on credit card are two different things. I spent the last 6 months being pretty cautious with money because I was buying a place on my own and wanted to come out of the purchase with nothing but the mortgage owed..and I achieved it. I've learned my lesson on the importance of not getting too obsessed though, and given myself a bit of time off - but come next year I will work on finding a good balance between saving and letting my hair down financially.

Of course it's a very different thing.

But it does show that unless both people are on the same page (I'm assuming the OP has a partner as she says 'us' in the first post) scrimping and saving can have disastrous results in a relationship.

monnagran

JackieO, I think that what we do is a result of living through the war years and the austerity afterwards. Rationing and the dreadful shortages after the war must have taxed our parents to the limit and the habits that they cultivated then lasted for the rest of their lives and were passed on to us.
I often say that my father had thrift running through him like Brighton through a stick of rock. He was the Cost Clerk for the Southern Electricity Board, and I bet they didn't get away with a penny of needless spending while he was there.
My mother did her budgeting with the aid of typewriter ribbon tins. I can see them now, lined up in the drawer of her treadle sewing machine, all neatly labelled........mortgage, rates, gas, electricity, church, food....

That sort of upbringing never leaves you and although I am modern enough to do my banking online, when it comes to my personal spending I still have a purse for food, tins for expenses like hairdressing, dentist, rail and ferry fares....
Like you Jackie, anything left over at the end of the month (and there always is some) gets stashed away. This is my 'mad' money that is for treats and a bit of a splurge now and again.
My sons have caught my habits and they both regard advertisements with a jaundiced eye. I taught them to look out for the weasel words "might" "may" "could" "should".

Perhaps it is just as well everyone is not like us or trade would grind to a standstill.

[Deleted User]

:):):) indeed it would monnagran I have small jars (ex,aldi yogurt jars) labelled with Quiz money (£8.00,£2.00.pw,) ,History club,(£20.00,£5.00pw) Gardener,(£24.00 £12.00 per fortnigh)t all filled on the first of the month to pay as needed during the month. Then I have my food budget purse (£60.00) on the first of the month in cash and that buys only food during the month.

Any other bills the exact cash is in the current account to cover all D/debits. every other penny goes into an instant access account which gives me a bit of interest,I also have a longer term savings high interest account that gets topped up on the first of the month so its my 'rainy day money' for only using in dire emergencies :):)

I like to shuffle it around now and again to get the best deal I can so my cash works for me and not the banks after all it is my money

You are right, being a war baby and living with austerity that was nothing like today's austerity, it makes you darned careful to ensure that there is enough to cover all eventualities and if things go wrong you can sort it out

No one gave anything away to the rubbish bin that hadn't been recycled to the limit back then. Today its a throw away society, I bet you could probably lay your hands on string or wrapping apaper if you had to.

It makes me chuckle to hear youngsters going on about recycling as though it had just been invented.


My Dad would mend my brothers shoes with stick-on-soles or blakeys,or even cut the leather or rubber out himself and he had a 'last' on which he repaired stuff, and he was a chemist by trade

No one threw away anything ,everything was saved and reused if possible I remember the brown paper carrier bags that cost 2d which were reused over and over then eventually used to light the fire with, or my Mums old string potato and veg bag that she had for years.

I would love to find a place that sold them now :)I bet they would cost a bomb,hers had thin leather handles.

The spud peelings ended up in the mash for the chickens feed, and although we had a dog we never bought the tinned dog food as todays folk do
If the food didn't end up in the kids then the dog got lucky he ate our left overs ,such as they were.

I kid you not my son in law buys best lamb mince for the dogs !!! and he will even buy gluten free dog food because he believes the dogs need it.

As I have been there during the upbringing of four of my DGS they have caught the frugal bug from me and even the youngest will hunt out a bargain on the internet if he can before he buys something. I think we know the value of money and how hard it is when you haven't got much

monnagran

Oh gosh Jackie, I can remember when recycling didn't even have a name. It was just called 'living'. I still do it. My boys used to reduce their friends to hysterics describing how I used to stand over them while they were unwrapping presents and whisk the paper away, iron it flat again and reuse it.
I hurts me when I see people ripping open presents and throwing the ruined, expensive paper away.
I still pick up the rubber bands that post men throw all over the pavements. Goodness knows what I will ever do with them but old habits die hard.

I still remember the smell of the chicken food cooking. It was ghastly, but mixed with meal and taken down to the chickens steaming hot, they loved it. And anything the chickens couldn't eat was composted or put in the pig bin at the end of the road.

My dad had a last too. One of his first jobs when he came home on leave was to check the shoes for repairs needed.

We didn't have a dog, but the cat survived on scraps and the occasional fish head from the fishmonger.

Lamb mince for the dog? Whatever next? I will only buy it for me if it's on offer.

I think that you and I should have our own thread where we could reminisce to our hearts content.

Nonnadiluca

Monnagran and JackieO: I for one would read it with great interest!

bouicca21

My dad had a last too ... And I seriously thought ours was the only family that reused wrapping paper. My ex was astonished at the thought and my kids, who are otherwise quite MSE, can't believe that anyone would do such a thing.

[Deleted User]

I have several old legs of my DGS jeans that I use for storing rolls of paper in stops them falling all over the place I just cut the tops off run an old trainer lace round and turned it down so it made a drawstring at the top ,the bottom of the leg I just sewed up and on a hook on the back of my study door I have about 4 legs swinging around holding all the left over paper which I managed to salvage before it was torn and iron flat :)Usful of there are any reduced price rolls after xmas as well :):)
By the way what was the name of that red powder that was put into the chicken mash, its been bugging for ages as I can't remember its name ,but boy it did stink a bit.

wonder what we could call our 'Pictures from the Past' thread Monnagran :):) Perhaps 'Rave from the Grave' :):)
have a good day chums

JackieO xx

monnagran

Mmmmm! Rave from the Grave sounds a bit spooky. I'll give it some thought. My boys have always urged me write all my stories down for the grandchildren. They find it all fascinating. It will seem like ancient history to future generations. I imagine it will be like the Battle of Waterloo seems to us..

culpepper

If you can make it ..don't buy it.
Water down liquid soap type things.
Eke out foods with breadcrumbs . Make spreads and soups and curries.
Look on freecycle and freegle when you need to replace machines.
Keep an eye on the reduced sections but don't become a slave to them (sometimes the remains are not even worth the cut prices).
Every pound you save is a pound that you can put in your savings jar without taking off the income tax first YAY

[Deleted User]

culpepper I like that 'if you can make it ,don't buy it ' I grate the almost worn out slivers of soap, and make into new bars when I have enough with a little water in a jam jar to make them a wee bit slushy, a quick minutein the microwave then put in the bottom half of a soap holder to get the 'bar shape' and leave in the airing cupboard to dry out. Voila ! a newish bar of soap for free from the left over bits.