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As discussed on the 'look more groomed and polished' thread, a few of us are toying with the idea of being more conscious and intentional about our purchases in 2024. Something along the lines of:
You see [product] being advertised. You think "I simply must have that!" 2023 you would have ordered it on the spot. 2024 you thinks: "Did I want this before I saw the ad? No. Do I need this? No." You put the money in your savings account and give the purchase some consideration and time.

The idea being that we purchase less, more intentionally and less impulsively. Let's see where this goes! I for one will be using my trust phone notes to keep tabs on this, and likely a spreadsheet as it grows. I dread to think how much shit I've bought this year that I didn't really need.

Well guys I have an announcement (cue parping trumpets) I have got to payday with nearly £500 still in the bank!!!

THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE.

It’s amazing what being more money aware can do. Is not like I didn’t spend this month, I got stuff from the garden centre and spent £100 in IKEA. However, the difference is that I didn’t waste money and I considered my spending carefully. In the past I would have bought makeup I didn’t need, made random impulse purchases and ended up with clothes that I shouldn’t have bought.
I also made nearly £100 on Vinted this month too so overall I’m happy.

I used to be in debt and I changed my ways. One thing that helped me was this quote, I had it next to my payment cards, and it used to make me pause for thought.

I always make a point of not buying stuff that benefits already rich people.

So, no bedsheets from Kylie or Holly W. No saucepans from Jamie Oliver. No wine from Graham Norton. Etc No novels by Shirley Ballas or Michael Ball (they wouldn’t be my cuppa but there is a proliferation of titles by celebrities, particularly kid’s books, which have nothing to do with the celeb who has stuck their name on them).

In a way these celebrity products are just the same as influencers trying to flog us stuff.

On the lovely note of using the good things, not waiting for a ‘special occasion’. I sadly lost both of my wonderful Grandmothers over the last few years.

One had used every lovely tablecloth or set of napkins or fancy throw and happily shoved them in a chest when they’d been partied out or stained. One kept everything untouched.

I know which one enjoyed her life more fully (for many reasons). I think if we can encourage ourselves to live with joy and meaning with the things we already have, or well within our means and leave happy memories and well-worn best tablecloths - we’ll have gotten the most out of life. 🤍

Saw this and thought of this thread

it’s so damn true though

I’ve realised something very useful recently- money is power.

What I mean is that having money means I can deal with eventualities and feel comfortable in my day to day life. Giving away all my money to crap pointless purchases means I have less of that power. I would rather look at my bank account and feel relieved that I’ve got a decent amount of cash in there than anxious because I’ve got fuck all and feel guilty for buying a load of crud. Having money makes me feel safe and less anxious. More reassured.

Can I just say how helpful and motivational I am finding this thread. It has made me change my mindset around purchasing needless items and now finally with Jan over I've managed to put £500in my savings. This would be unheard of before, I was living month to month and putting random shopping on my credit card every month. I've finally realised I need to use all my shampoo and skincare and not buy the newest thing I see because it's on offer etc. The amount of toiletries I have is ridiculous 🫣 I have stopped walking around home bargains and spending £50 on shite and instead finding useful things to do! Takeaways are also totally gone, I am always so disappointed with them and after spending £52!! on the last one i have realise once and for all I am sick of lining someone else's pocket for no reason! They aren't even worth it, never are,
Anyway thank you all

I really feel lately like I just want to live a ‘small life’. I don’t want to keep shopping all the time, I just want to save my money, be better off and have quieter weekends, chilling out and enjoying the little things. I get caught up so much in consumer culture and zipping from shop to shop when really what I have is enough. I have enough clothes. Enough entertainment. What my brain needs is calm and peace and to not worry about money. I need more quiet, less stimulation. I actually really would like to just sit down with a hot chocolate and do a puzzle. Yes I know that makes me sound about 90 but a quiet peaceful life is what I’m craving, and continuously spending money isn’t helping at all.

Unfortunately we live in a really snooty area where there is a real urge to keep up with the joneses. Flawless front gardens, pretty coloured front doors, 4x4 cars, Teslas, you name it. It’s hard not to get sucked in to all that shit and feel like you’re not good enough if you don’t have all that. Our house is an average size but I keep feeling I need to make it ‘up to scratch’ by endlessly gardening and spending money on it I don’t have.

Im tired and I just want to go and do a puzzle and listen to the birds singing.

I'm a Postie and on Thursday got absolutely drenched including my feet (the worst) went into a cafe with their post and the lovely owner offered me a free coffee so I had an espresso. Honestly made my week.

For those thinking of cutting down on Amazon...

In 2023 I had 138 parcels delivered. My daughter (3 at the time) used to shout "mummy's parcels!" if she saw an Amazon van through the support of threads like these I decided to cut down dramatically as one of my resolutions..

2024.... 7 parcels

I've also started withdrawing and carrying cash for things because I find I am more careful with this than I am at tappa-tapping my card.

Small achievement but I’m pleased that I got to payday with over £100 left in the account- and that’s with a super long payday month, Christmas expenditure and an expensive meal out too. Looking forward to seeing how well I can do next month.

I am very proud to say I received my first Christmas Bonus, and I didn't spend it on unnecessary rubbish - instead, I paid off my credit card and put the rest in savings

I was out for dinner for a friend's birthday yesterday evening and with the meal and the gifts, I feel like I've been punched in the gut a bit

It's not a regular occasion and it was pricey because we also treated her the dinner but another friend also nipped it in the bud and said that he no longer can participate in the whole gift rituals and he neither wants to receive nor give presents for future birthdays anymore.

I couldn't agree more because we're in our 30s and the entire ordeal becomes so stressful. Nobody lives in a mansion with ample storage, we already buy what we need and panic searching for a present for a month is too much stress for our barely functioning social group members.

That solves the future gifting stress for me, now I'll only buy for my parents, and only if I see something that I know they'll love or really need. After a certain point it becomes meaningless and we're either saddling someone with an item they don't love but keepmout of obligation or the chore of exchanging/returning. If I never receive a package from my family and friends again, I don't think I'll miss it. I don't enjoy getting presents and I feel like a cunt for saying this but I'd rather go out for a meal or a drink with people than deal with more stuff. Hopefully this will help with the low buy efforts on my part

It dawned on me recently that one way to combat the urge to buy more stuff is to take better care of the stuff you have. So the stuff you have makes you happier and you don't feel the need to buy more.
For example, yesterday I was thinking that I need to replace my Adidas because they don't look very nice anymore. And then I just thought...if I wash the shoelaces and scrub the shoes, they're gonna look much better. And obviously I was right.
Maybe it's just me but sometimes when I get the urge to get nicer stuff, it's just because I'm too lazy to take better care of the stuff I already have so that it looks/works nicer.

Little essay from me about a bit of a realisation…

when I started the ‘do I want it’ thread I referenced social media a lot. I have since gone on to unfollow every influencer I was following which has helped a lot. However, I do still follow some ‘home’ accounts as we live in a project house and I need ideas. One of the things I keep seeing is perfect spice jar organisation - identical jars labelled and stored somewhere visible.

my spice jars are in a drawer and are a mix of brands and sizes, but all have the name on the top so I can find what I need in seconds. I was so close to spending £3/jar (£200 ish) to replace all of these and make it more aesthetically pleasing but honestly…why?? It’s not solving a problem. It’s buying shit for the sake of buying shit.

I feel like it’s not really about the spice jars but an analogy for my purchase habits up til the birth of this thread. I would get sucked in to the idea that I needed this thing to be more efficient/organised/tidy/presentable when actually I dont need it at all.

My new approach is that if I have an actual issue - e.g. need somewhere to store x, buy storage for it - that’s fine! But I have to stop letting shops/socials create issues that lead me to spending.
Rant over.

TheArtisticMouse said:

Well done everyone! I love this thread so much. Despite our expensive month I made it to pay day with money in the account. We had a bit of a frivolous day yesterday with lunch out and the husband had a night out in London, but both activities are a complete rarity for it, it was a nice treat.

Click to expand...

This thread has genuinely been the best thing I have done financially ( Martin Lewis should include it in his weekly round up)
I said back at the beginning of the month (well, almost two weeks in) that we spend £1000 per month on groceries.... Well, I shook our heads, used tips here and started properly budgeting. We have spent £550 less this month!

Just saved myself £20 by not giving in and going to Wagamamas. Instead I ate what I had at home

My Gran used to always say “ if it needs an Ad you don’t need it”
Saved me a lot of nonsense
She died before influencer culture but it always makes me smile to think of her rolling her eyes

I am having a health scare at the moment. It really concentrates the mind. What is, and isn’t important. Any thoughts of treats of any kind are out of the window. It makes you realise how much time and money we waste for what reason? Boredom, unhappiness, fill a void?