WHY are you old style?......

Cornishpixie_2

Hi, I used to be a nurse working in a really stressful job and shifts. I resigned in January and find money really tight. It got to the situation that I almost had a breakdown and hated the job. (Boss on my back all the time etc,). Its one of the best things I've done.(speaking to people, still working there). I am doing a class in the evening at college, to learn new skills to get a job I will be happier in. To the OP, I would question what you need the 2nd job to finance?. And I also resent being ripped off by the Supermarkets, and also I enjoy cooking and spending more time with my family.Being more organised gives you time to do other things you enjoy. I am also healthier and much happier.:D

mardatha

Well.....for you I think its a bit like joining the brownies/boyscouts. YTou learn daft things like how to start a fire without matches. You think what the hell is the point of all this rubbish !--then one day you find you've no matches....and you're glad you joined the brownies !

Lalaladybird

I'm a SAHM, my husband works and we both love the idea that I can be here with our daughter rather than paying for childcare and having someone else get the benefit of spending their days with our little blessing:o. I'll gladly work once she is in nursery/school. In the meantime I'd much rather live the OS way so we can have our life like this (and save up for a house:D). I can't actually imagine ever going back to wasting money. When I was living at home with my parents I wasted so much money (on expensive cosmetics/clothes/books/dvds) that I now wish I had saved for the future :rolleyes:

SarahShattered

mardatha wrote: »

Well.....for you I think its a bit like joining the brownies/boyscouts. YTou learn daft things like how to start a fire without matches. You think what the hell is the point of all this rubbish !--then one day you find you've no matches....and you're glad you joined the brownies !

LOL. :T That's the best analogy I've heard to describe OSing!!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

juliapenguin

Like many people on this board, I've also done the spend spend spend thing (because you're worth it....) and lived with pointless, heartbreaking debt. The problem with living beyond your means at your age when you're relatively able to service your debt is that financial responsibilities WILL come in time - whether a mortgage, kids or both - and you'll find it ten times harder to live within your means then, when your choices are more limited. By learning to 'do' instead of 'buy', 'be' instead of 'have', you can build up the sort of savings and hence security that most of us on the OS board wish with all our hearts that we'd done when we were younger.

Last year I had a breakdown and realised that I needed to completely change my life. Before I left my awful job, I managed to negotiate working there part time and we experimented for six months on how little we needed to live really well, not using any of my part time salary. With a bit of thought and planning, our life was far richer - we found endless ways of supposedly 'making do' which turned out to be far more enjoyable. For example, instead of driving miles and miles to do something for entertainment also involving one or two meals out, we chose to find out what was happening locally and invited friends to come with us and have a picnic there or come back to ours for food which was delicious but happened to be cheaper. Basically we found that we could, if we needed to, live without me earning anything at all. That was such a huge relief to me, as it freed me to go back to university and do an MA, and basically change career. So, at 44, I'm having a wonderful time at Manchester University and also teaching English part-time, and we're now trying to sell our overly big house so that my husband also will have the chance to do something he absolutely loves rather than working long hours to pay the mortgage on a house that is bigger than we really need (now that we've got rid of all our carp and aren't buying any new stuff!).

The point of this long story is that YOU DON'T NEED TO STRUGGLE THE WAY MOST OF US ON THIS BOARD HAVE HAD TO!!! If I'd planned things better when I was your age, and developed good spending and saving habits, life would have been easier in many ways! You will soon get used to buying less stuff when you see your debts decreasing and then your savings increasing, and you'll probably be able to end up living where you want, doing a job that you love and having satisfying interests, not working all hours to service your debts and not being able to enjoy your 'stuff' because you're never at home long enough! You can still do a lot of the things you really love (I still love going to read in Starbucks and watch the world go by) but you'll choose the really pleasurable stuff and not just let money slip through your fingers without you getting full value for it.

Good luck! I'm sure the fact you're asking this question means that deep down you know that spending less doesn't mean having a miserable, 'cheapskate' life.

Pitlanepiglet

Interesting topic....

I too have enjoyed the rush of spend spend spent and I have now just finished paying off the debt! We now have little savings behind us but a future that is debt free. I now realise how false and unsustainable that lifestyle was. I also realise that having a wardrobe full of shiny clothes didn't make me any happier than I am now with my Peacock cardies (you've gotta love a bargain ). Perhaps though it's an age thing? I've been there, done that, have a drawer full of t-shirts so feel able to move on to what I consider to be a better way of living?

With regard to OS'ing and the cooking and shopping side of things...I think you're wrong to consider that it's long winded and a time stealer, I think it's exactly the opposite, bulk cooking is about cooking something that you'd normally cook, say spag bol, but instead of having to do that once a week for a month I do it once, it takes me the same amount of time as once a week but I freeze enough for the rest of the month. Not a time stealer a time saver!

I've cut down how often I go food shopping, I used to go most lunchtimes and spend a few quid, I now do a big bulk shop once a month or once every six weeks (delivered) and then top that up with little shops once a week - the result is that I save money and time.

Even when I was single and in a shared flat I would cook "meal of the week", my flat mates thought it was really funny! I'd cook a huge lasagne, spag bol, risotto, pasta bake or similar and eat my way though it for the week, either as lunch or as dinner. It save me cooking every day and I knew I was eating home cooked food.

I think as you get older you become more aware of what you put into your body and you learn not to trust those "experts" who say that preservatives, chemicals etc. aren't harmful. Cooking from scratch allows me to have a better idea of what I'm eating. I had to do this from 18 years old as I have a couple of food intolerences so ready meals and processed foods were always difficult.

I have a stressful job but well paid job (fingers crossed that I keep it over the next year), it's well paid but it keeps me out of the house for twelve hours each day. Now the debts have gone we could afford to buy ready meals etc. to avoid cooking but we don't want to, we've both adapted to an OS style of living, and making bread on the odd weekend a month that we're home gives me a warm fuzzy glow!

I think an OS lifestyle is what works for you as an individual, make of it what you want to!

Bunny200

As you read these posts I think you'll agree that there are common themes. The most important thing I think ANYONE on MSE will tell is it not live beyond your means, there are many examples, some quite traumatic and upsetting of the consequences of this.

When I was in your position I did exactly the same thing, moved out, went to uni, lived wildly, ate takeaways all the time etc etc. My OH and I then both got very well paid jobs so we carried on doing that but the important thing was we also saved so that now we don't have any debt.

I started becoming more OS about a year ago and over that time I've stopped using fabric conditioner, use less washing powder, switched to many value products, and embraced lentils (which I NEVER thought would happen!!!). We changed our habits because I got redundant and decided to stay at home with the kids. Although OH has a well paid job we have a certain level of expectation from years of well paid jobs (new cars, nice house, etc) so we have to cut back in some areas. Another aspect is that my attitudes have matured and I am now longer as materialistic as I used to be so not bothered by having new clothes, music, stuff anymore. As cliched as it sounds I'm much happier in the kitchen making healthy food as cheaply as possible than blowing cash in town on Saturday afternoon! I'm turning into Nigella! I'm not saying that you should do this but I would NEVER have thought I'd be where I am 10 years ago and you never know where you will end up. Part of me wishes that we'd been a little more frugal all those as I'm horrified by the money we WASTED for all those years.

Whether you OS or not ultimatly is up to you and your livestyle but if you have reached your earning potential and things are still tight then OS can provide a solution. One that isn't a quick fix, its more long haul and requires changes but the best way to do that is gently, baby steps all the way. All thats required is a little planning and perserverence but can change things for people.

belfastgirl23

I too have been through the trolley fling shopping experiences, just going in and spending whatever I wanted on stuff that quite often we wouldn't even eat. I was lucky that we never really spent above our means but it is annoying to think of all the money I wasted on stuff that we never used. My first motivation for cutting down was a huge increase in our gas direct debit to cover a big debt (our company only reads once a year and we had moved house!) at a time when DH was self employed and things were a bit tight. But I've had a growing awareness about environmental issues as well and this has tied into it too.

But I have to stress that I will try anything once but if it doesn't work for me I don't keep it up. For example meal planning is a great concept but I can never plan more than a few days ahead - I find it too restricting. Similarly I know people grow their own stuff whereas I like the idea I'm rubbish at the follow through. But I have developed a huge regard for stardrops and soda crystals, use a breadmaker, and I do mostly cook from scratch (baked beans being about the only convenience food in the house). So I'd say try everything but only keep doing what suits you.

Magentasue

I was brought up OS and it feels right to me. When my kids were little, I stayed at home with them so OS was a necessity.

Since then, I've qualified as a teacher and have worked part-time, full-time or had a couple of terms off. Part-time at the moment. I take my job very seriously and put in a lot of work at home, albeit interspersed with surfing these boards.

When I'm working, I spend more money than time. When I'm at home, I pick up all the lost arts of bread and yogurt making, soap making and shopping around for BOGOFs. When working, I still do some OS - making my washing powder mix, chicken keeping etc but we have more takeaways and shop bought puddings.

Blairweech

I am young and single (21). I live on my own - despite moving out at 18, I have always lived with ex-OH's until about 6 months ago, so now it's just me. I work 50 hours a week.

For me, OS is about experiences and memories, which is what I believe make life worth living. Last weekend, my mum came down to see me - we could have spent the day going shopping but instead we stayed in and baked cakes, made chutney, painted a cabinet I had just bought from the 2nd hand store. We had a fantastic time, and chatted and laughed as though we were old friends (I have never had that kind of 'friendship' with my mum before). I will remember it always. Next weekend, we have to go to IKEA to buy furniture - I am sure that this will be fraught with stress and aggro, and will be an experience to forget.

I would rather live my life than buy a lifestyle, and if OSing is the way to do it, then so be it.

I OS because I want to retire early. I want a smallholding, I want to buy my own house. I can't even imagine doing that if I waste my money now.
I also OS out of necessity - after all my bills are paid, I am left with £50 a week to buy petrol, food and anything else I 'want'. Petrol alone costs me £35 a fortnight, so I can't afford to be frivolous with my money. When I buy something I ask myself 'How long do I have to work to pay for this?' I soon change my mind about wanting it!

It is interesting that you mention not having insurance, mortgage etc so you have to cut back on your basics. I don't mean this to cause offence but when you DO have those expenses...how are you going to cut back then? That is when things start getting serious - if you are living beyond your means now, you will find life very difficult when you are not a student and have those kinds of expenses. So, if you get into the habit of living within your means now, you will not have a problem later in life.

I am no way a die-hard OSer, far from it. I can't make bread by hand to save my life, I don't have a garden let alone chickens, and I have yet to try making yoghurt. But I do clean with stardrops and vinegar, cook from scratch, batch cook at the weekend etc.

The BEST thing about OS is that there is so much to it, you can pick and choose what works for you. You don't HAVE to do everything (there are lots of things on here which I would not adopt e.g.not flushing the toilet every time). I have been here 5 years now and am not even a quarter of the way through all the information. So, just try one thing at a time and if it works, make it a habit. If it doesn't, try something else

Good Luck!

Edit: Also, I find I enjoy and appreciate things more when I save up for them, rather than buying them on credit. This way of thinking also encourages resourcefulness and creativity in the meantime I have spent 6 months saving up for a bed and mattress that I LOVE (about £1200) and I am going to sleep so much better in it knowing that it's MINE and not the CC companies!