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

alec_eiffel

Glad you feel better for getting it off your chest.

I don't class myself as Old Style, I am frugal. I don't do the stuff that lots of folk do here I don't grow things, make chutney, knit, stockpile or any of that stuff, can't stand the idea of the simple life etc. I save on what doesn't matter so I can spend on what does. It started as the only option - I gave up my job, we had loads of debt, we'd just bought a house and things were scary. We cut to the bone to get out of the mess we'd created for ourselves and turned it round.

Now we've been debt free for a few years some things are different. There are some money saving things that are second nature so I wouldn't know how to give them up. There are some things that have just been a great benefit to us and they just so happen to be money saving - like not eating meat, cooking from scratch and all that. And there are some things that we spend money on now that we couldn't spend money on when we were paying off the debts. But the thing is we have the money at the minute because we're frugal, not because we have loads of money. We tell the money what to do so it will always go further than having a bigger income and not being the boss of it.

It's tough but you are making it better as time goes on. It's not forever and there will be a time when you feel you have choices again.

ginnyknit

I am O/S because its a challenge to be so. We have had times of prosperity mixed with times of living on the breadline but I hate waste of any kind and need something to keep my mind occupied. Every penny I save is a victory to me, every whoopsie makes me feel good. I am lucky in that between me and OH theres not much we cannot make or repair. Oh was a builder before he got ill and I have an inate ability for crafts of all kinds - don't know where it comes from? I watch from the sidelines all those people who think a new handbag or bigger tv is the secret to happiness and I pity them.

Butterfly_Brain

I have lived OS for all of my married life firstly because we had a mortgage then children but I still worked after having the children and things were still tight.
Now I am disabled and DH is on an excrutiatingly low wage (Council £14,500 pa) Things are tighter than ever before, but I can cope because I have had so many years of living as cheaply as possible and make do and mending. We still have a mortgage but it is only £250 pm. What worries me more is the extortionately high cost of Gas, Electric, Water, Council Tax, and Insurances plus the massive food price hikes in the last year and VAT rise which affects a lot of everyday items such as soap-powder, toothpaste etc. We have a car but only use it when we have to go shopping or hospital visits DH uses his bike to go to work.

Waxy_Bean

I'm a half hearted OS'er (pretty good with food, but less so with the other stuff) - I try hard but fall off the wagon fairly regularly and do lots of things that the real OS'ers wouldn't do. We don't need to financially, but it means we can afford more, and manage to save more too - especially since I dropped down to working part time after DS was born. I also enjoy cooking from scratch most of the time, and DS is allergic to so many things it actually makes life easier to know exactly what has gone into things.

laineyc_2

I started being more OS a couple of years ago when money was tighter. Now I continue by choice because I feel much happier not spending money needlessly.

Sambucus_Nigra

I've been OS for years; I was OS when I was on £50k and also when I was on the dole for a few months.....I'll be OS until I die!

OS doesn't always mean being on the breadline, it's about doing things your way and for us, having an allotment helps muchly. So it means I am in control of spend, not the supermarkets or other people and their opinions. My main tool to being OS is not watching TV; you'd be surprised how much you stop spending when you stop watching advertising.

Living_proof

I am living OS on the whole because for a while when my marriage broke up many years ago there was a very limited income and I had a serious illness. At first OS didn't come into things but I cut right back on expenditure, starting with direct debits which were not essential, budgeted fiercely and stopped smoking. When I saw how much I was managing to save not buying cigarettes (I put the money into a separate account) I could see that by even more careful money management I could have a good sum behind me for emergencies. Since then my income is much higher, my children are grown and flown and I am able to save a large proportion of my salary.

I never buy new if I can source from car boots, CSs etc. I don't grow much food now as it is difficult to ask someone to water it when I am away, but I will in future when I have more time. I plan everything I buy and there is seldom waste of any kind. My family laugh at me but I feel that you never know what is round the corner and having the frugal skills to live simply might one day be the secret between success and failure. I will only have the basic state pension and my savings in a few years but it doesn't worry me because I know I will cope.

Frugality is a hobby for me now as I am not living from hand to mouth any more but still plan my spending so that I am in control. I can't imagine being anything different now!

adelight

Hmm, a little bit? Some OS values I just want in my life, like home cooking and not being wasteful. This is for my health, enjoyment, values, and some things like knitting and gardening(is it still gardening when done in the windows of my flat?!) are good fun.

When money is really tight I go flat out OS with everything. Other times, I'm more leniant and spend more on clothes and some nice food(more expensive ingredients like nice fish or a meal out), but still quite saavy and a die hard bargain hunter.

quintwins

for us it's a choice, were trying to save for a house, however we used to be very hard up and learnt to cope on very little and that mentality stayed with me, it might seem that there is no end in sight but one day thinsg will come good

tara747

Interesting thread!

It's a choice for me as I am saving for a future house purchase, although the more I save, the less I want to blow it all on a pile of overpriced bricks!! I fancy setting up a business or moving abroad... or maybe just upping sticks and travelling around the world.

Anyway, it's pure choice and I know that I am lucky in that. But I think (and hope) that it will stay with me for life!! I dread to think of what I used to spend :eek: although I was never in debt. I'm not perfect now, I still treat myself to things and I love to travel, but I have cut out ALL unnecessary spending on things that don't really mean anything to me (e.g. magazines, takeaway coffees, taxis, makeup that I use once and then leave in a drawer, lunches etc). I have started crafting and love it. So it's been a positive experience.