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

MATH

AAAW Thanks Bogof. I came back to this thread with bated breath half expecting to have been shot down in flames. I've tried to be frugal and ethical and natural and self sufficiant and I can't do it all at the same time.

Ticklemouse

S'Ok MATH - we still love ya

MATH

Thanks TM:D

mah_jong

careful with money ...thats how I have been described, but with good reason.

Not a choice, nescessity.
So ..... economy 10

jennyjo_2

I look for tips on here mainly to save money, but not because I have to but because it's nice to save on essentials so I can spend that money on luxeries instead,

so thanks for all your great tips

apple_mint

It started off as a bit economy and a bit health. Found that we can't even afford to buy even an entry level home with our current commitments and that we both have high cholestoral.

Soooo ... a big change in lifestyle and for the better I have to say.

OH has lost over 1 1/2 stone and his cholesterol is now normal - still working on mine but feeling better. Starting to pay off debts (a little at a time but every little helps). The big thing is, we are both enjoying life more. Old Style cuts out stress. We have fun working out what to create for our meals (and are forward planning through preserving). We know we can make a lovely meal from very little. We know exactly what we are putting into our bodies. We know we are cutting down on the evironmental cost. The bin has very little in it nowadays - most of our waste is in the composter!

It is such a creative lifestyle ...

Economy 9
Ecology 7
Feel Good Factor 100%
Creativity 10
Health 10

Allexie

Having jumped off the of a high-earning, high-stress lifestyle I now enjoy a cash-poor, time-rich life and am much, much happier. I follow some 'old-style' principles such as thrift, bargain hunting and re-cycling :- for instance, I find it much more fun to find a bargain in a charity shop than ever I did going shopping in expensive shops. I'm not greatly into domesticity, homemaking and cooking - preferring to spend my time in the countryside, with friends and travelling. My somewhat frugal ways enable me to splurge on a few luxuries every so often which I appreciate all the more these days. So, all in all I am one very happy bunny!

Economy 10
Enjoyment 10

hornetgirl

Economy does it for me too - not because of lack of money, but because I wanted to escape the chains of wage slavery. By making do on less, my life is so much more.

I take great satisfaction from being able to live well without having to "conform", but do also like the way this kind of lifestyle tends also to have an environmentally friendly slant.

So my ratings are:
Economy 10
Individual 10
Enjoyment 10
Ecology 6

Thanks too for a very interesting thread everyone.

tootles_2

For us it is a case of being brought up that way and also because when we retired we took a huge dive in income.......

We did have our own house, but sold it back in the 1990's when I had to take a job at the other end of the country, and we made no money on it at all, we had only been in it for 3 years. What we made paid off the mortage, we were in the endowment trap.... and had we stayed we would have been faced with having to find a huge sum at the end of the line, and nothing to pay it with.

We both started over at the beginning of the 90's and had to work very hard neither of us came out with much after our divorces.......

At times I feel frustrated having to plan meals etc..... and I do occasionally rebel.... but for us:

economy 10
ecology 10

and the sense of satisfaction it gives us 10.

We are economic because we have to be........we are ecolocically minded becasue we see what is happening to the weather patterns and recognise that something HAS to be done.......... and the great sense of satifaction when we have eaten a home cooked meal or achieved a saving in some way.

chickadee

I suppose I like the OS ways because they feel right for the way I was brought up. There were 4 siblings and dad worked in fairly poorly-paid jobs whilst mum looked after us all. She made all our meals from scratch and a pudding every day too. My older sister used to make most of our clothes or else we wore those my cousins had outgrown. I never had a foreign holiday until I could afford to pay for it myself. I now really really appreciate how hard it must have been and the sacrifices mum and dad made for us.

So now that feels like the right way to do things. Also I don't want to get sucked into a consumerist lifestyle. I hate waste and always do my best to re-use something or recycle it before resorting to binning something.

I also have a goal of paying off my mortgage early so that features heavily in my priorities.

So my scores would be:

Economy 9
Ecology 8
Health 5
Creativity 10
Feel-good-factor 10

I also hate the way society seems to be so focused on the superficial rather than on deeply-held values and that seems to sit well with this forum too.