Spending It

ali_bear

Like any major change you need to do it gradually, purposefully and mindfully. 

cfw1994

Smudgeismydog said:

My approach has been to pay myself a monthly allowance. I effectively give myself ‘permission’ to spend it, as I’ll have another payment the following month. I knew if I just had a capital pot, then my years of saving would psychologically make it difficult for me to access. 

I have even kept to my former pay date.

Your state pension will jigger that up…..every week or four weeks 🤪

zagfles said:

michaels said:

artyboy said:

....ALWAYS to a nicer seat on the plane. The sort that goes flat when you are traveling long haul.

We each have our red lines. That's mine!

So I am fine in economy in the day time for up to about 8-10 hours but overnight I can't hack it.  Last trip to California we did LAX to Newark one day and Newark to LHR the second, both about 7 hour flights with an evening in NYC as a bonus, 2 x 7 hours in economy on consecutive day beats 1 x 13 hours overnight even in J class.  And of course unlike while working the extra day travelling is part of the experience not a day of leave wasted.

Doing CPT next year, there are no direct day flights, may do a night in AMS on the way out to get that day flight or alternatively may do J there, economy back as that is a day flight.

Yup, can even get to Aus/NZ without having to sleep on the plane, written about it loads of times here. To me flying business class would almost be giving up, if I felt I couldn't hack economy or even enjoy it then I've lost something I used to love. I almost think of BC as disabled class, most people I know who travel BC do so because of physical or mental conditions which mean they can't cope with economy. 

It was a bit like going from hostels to hotels, by far the best holidays of my life were backpacking on the cheap, staying in often grotty hostels, but it was so much fun, the people you meet, the nights in the hostel bar, everyone was so friendly and so much fun. Then started travelling on business and staying in 4/5* hotels, SO boring, in the bar everyone kept themselves to themselves, reading a paper or discussing serious issues, such a lack of smiles and laughter compared to hostel bars. 

On the more general point, the idea of setting a spending target is silly IMO. Why feel obliged to spend a certain amount? The hobbies I enjoy most are very cheap, I can play badminton or bridge for the cost of a coffee, or I could go to the opera, theater or concert for 10 or 20 times that, I know what enjoy more. Spending more doesn't necessarily mean more enjoyment. 

Interesting!
We are planning a 2 month trip Down Under from around next October.  Opening up possibilities with relatives & friends to visit (& stay for a while).
We were considering splurging on some business class seats, but it is the multiple cost that kills our brains!
Agree with the livelier possibilities of hostels v hotels, but not yet sure.
Might have to seek out your other threads!

bjorn_toby_wilde

zagfles said:

michaels said:

artyboy said:

....ALWAYS to a nicer seat on the plane. The sort that goes flat when you are traveling long haul.

We each have our red lines. That's mine!

So I am fine in economy in the day time for up to about 8-10 hours but overnight I can't hack it.  Last trip to California we did LAX to Newark one day and Newark to LHR the second, both about 7 hour flights with an evening in NYC as a bonus, 2 x 7 hours in economy on consecutive day beats 1 x 13 hours overnight even in J class.  And of course unlike while working the extra day travelling is part of the experience not a day of leave wasted.

Doing CPT next year, there are no direct day flights, may do a night in AMS on the way out to get that day flight or alternatively may do J there, economy back as that is a day flight.

Yup, can even get to Aus/NZ without having to sleep on the plane, written about it loads of times here. To me flying business class would almost be giving up, if I felt I couldn't hack economy or even enjoy it then I've lost something I used to love. I almost think of BC as disabled class, most people I know who travel BC do so because of physical or mental conditions which mean they can't cope with economy. 

It was a bit like going from hostels to hotels, by far the best holidays of my life were backpacking on the cheap, staying in often grotty hostels, but it was so much fun, the people you meet, the nights in the hostel bar, everyone was so friendly and so much fun. Then started travelling on business and staying in 4/5* hotels, SO boring, in the bar everyone kept themselves to themselves, reading a paper or discussing serious issues, such a lack of smiles and laughter compared to hostel bars. 

On the more general point, the idea of setting a spending target is silly IMO. Why feel obliged to spend a certain amount? The hobbies I enjoy most are very cheap, I can play badminton or bridge for the cost of a coffee, or I could go to the opera, theater or concert for 10 or 20 times that, I know what enjoy more. Spending more doesn't necessarily mean more enjoyment. 

I’m with you on the small hotels too.

We took a small group guided tour to Japan earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed it. There were only ten of us but from 3 different countries.  It was great to mix with people of different ages and life experiences.

Our local guide was wonderful. With his help we got so much more from the holiday and if we’d stayed 4/5* we would have missed the Japanese ryokans and onsen which were a key part of the experience.

I did a lot of the chain hotels when I was working and they’re all the same. You could be anywhere in the world and the hotels are identical.

ColdIron

jim8888 said:

I'd agree with Business Class flights on long haul

It's not the fast check-in with no one else in the queue, the VIP security, the free booze and champagne, the nice food on real plates, the mini-duvet thing, the gift pack or the soapy massage (OK I made that one up). It's that lie flat bed. That's the whole point

I could do long haul when younger but now I'm closer to 70 than 60, no more. It's why you spend 35 years commuting, sitting in endless meetings, getting home late etc. If you can't treat yourself, or turn something you dreaded into a pleasure, what was the point?

Things I still can't face spending on are: Kindle books at over a tenner

£9.49 for Kindle Unlimited. It's secret pleasure for me. Dozens of authors I'd never have discovered. There's nothing nicer than coming across a writer that you really like and then seeing they've got another 10 or 20 books for you to read. I may never run out of books again

Silverbullet036

£9.49 for Kindle Unlimited. It's secret pleasure for me. Dozens of authors I'd never have discovered. There's nothing nicer than coming across a writer that you really like and then seeing they've got another 10 or 20 books for you to read. I may never run out of books again

My wife does what she calls her ABC , basically she goes through the alphabet in order and finds an author/book . She reads stuff that she wouldnt have looked at in a million years cos thats all that is available at the time. Some letters obviously have very few authors but she copes admirably haha

zagfles

zagfles said:

michaels said:

artyboy said:

....ALWAYS to a nicer seat on the plane. The sort that goes flat when you are traveling long haul.

We each have our red lines. That's mine!

So I am fine in economy in the day time for up to about 8-10 hours but overnight I can't hack it.  Last trip to California we did LAX to Newark one day and Newark to LHR the second, both about 7 hour flights with an evening in NYC as a bonus, 2 x 7 hours in economy on consecutive day beats 1 x 13 hours overnight even in J class.  And of course unlike while working the extra day travelling is part of the experience not a day of leave wasted.

Doing CPT next year, there are no direct day flights, may do a night in AMS on the way out to get that day flight or alternatively may do J there, economy back as that is a day flight.

Yup, can even get to Aus/NZ without having to sleep on the plane, written about it loads of times here. To me flying business class would almost be giving up, if I felt I couldn't hack economy or even enjoy it then I've lost something I used to love. I almost think of BC as disabled class, most people I know who travel BC do so because of physical or mental conditions which mean they can't cope with economy. 

It was a bit like going from hostels to hotels, by far the best holidays of my life were backpacking on the cheap, staying in often grotty hostels, but it was so much fun, the people you meet, the nights in the hostel bar, everyone was so friendly and so much fun. Then started travelling on business and staying in 4/5* hotels, SO boring, in the bar everyone kept themselves to themselves, reading a paper or discussing serious issues, such a lack of smiles and laughter compared to hostel bars. 

On the more general point, the idea of setting a spending target is silly IMO. Why feel obliged to spend a certain amount? The hobbies I enjoy most are very cheap, I can play badminton or bridge for the cost of a coffee, or I could go to the opera, theater or concert for 10 or 20 times that, I know what enjoy more. Spending more doesn't necessarily mean more enjoyment. 

Interesting!
We are planning a 2 month trip Down Under from around next October.  Opening up possibilities with relatives & friends to visit (& stay for a while).
We were considering splurging on some business class seats, but it is the multiple cost that kills our brains!
Agree with the livelier possibilities of hostels v hotels, but not yet sure.
Might have to seek out your other threads!

If you haven't found it already see Please help me get to Australia this year — MoneySavingExpert Forum

zagfles

ColdIron said:

jim8888 said:

I'd agree with Business Class flights on long haul

It's not the fast check-in with no one else in the queue, the VIP security, the free booze and champagne, the nice food on real plates, the mini-duvet thing, the gift pack or the soapy massage (OK I made that one up). It's that lie flat bed. That's the whole point

I could do long haul when younger but now I'm closer to 70 than 60, no more. It's why you spend 35 years commuting, sitting in endless meetings, getting home late etc. If you can't treat yourself, or turn something you dreaded into a pleasure, what was the point?

Yup agreed the only real advantage of BC is the bed, the rest being superficial fluff, but IMO a much better solution if you aren't pressed for time is to avoid having to sleep on the plane, by either getting daytime flights or using the transit hotel as in the thread I linked above. If you want comfort, a private hotel room with ensuite facilities is far more luxurious than a bed in a "dorm" with shared toilets, no shower etc. 

saajan_12

Smudgeismydog said:

My approach has been to pay myself a monthly allowance. I effectively give myself ‘permission’ to spend it, as I’ll have another payment the following month. I knew if I just had a capital pot, then my years of saving would psychologically make it difficult for me to access. 

I have even kept to my former pay date.

THis is the perfect way to exercise what i've been loosely thinking. Often I think people need a budget both ways - to limit spends or to target spends. I find it hard to justify trimming my capital pot on things that don't feel worth it, but your way essentially changes it from a 'whether' to spend into a 'which one' to spend the allowance on. 

Albermarle

I wondered if anyone has any practical tips about how to transition from a saving mentality to a spending one? 

The impending inclusion of unused pension pots into IHT calculations has changed my view to some extent.
I now see that every ( significant ) expenditure has effectively a 40% discount !

diveunderthebonnet

michaels said:

artyboy said:

....ALWAYS to a nicer seat on the plane. The sort that goes flat when you are traveling long haul.

We each have our red lines. That's mine!

So I am fine in economy in the day time for up to about 8-10 hours but overnight I can't hack it.  Last trip to California we did LAX to Newark one day and Newark to LHR the second, both about 7 hour flights with an evening in NYC as a bonus, 2 x 7 hours in economy on consecutive day beats 1 x 13 hours overnight even in J class.  And of course unlike while working the extra day travelling is part of the experience not a day of leave wasted.

Doing CPT next year, there are no direct day flights, may do a night in AMS on the way out to get that day flight or alternatively may do J there, economy back as that is a day flight.

OK have thought about it for 10 mins but still cannot work out CPT , give us a clue.