save it : Most liked Posts

Silverback said:

I’m glad we are talking about trips away actually. I’ve booked a trip to Paris for August and it’s gnawing away at me. Every year I kick myself that I haven’t gone anywhere but there is a reason we don’t- it’s so fucking expensive these days! 4 nights in Paris at a half decent hotel plus Eurostar and eating out etc is going to come to over 2 grand for us and the kids. Is it worth it? Is it only worth booking a trip if you can comfortably afford it without scrimping for it? I don’t know. Answers on a postcard please.

Click to expand...

You've already booked the trip, I say you come to peace with the amount it'll cost and make the best of your time together in Paris If you're mindful about your spending until then, I see no reason why a few days of break at a pretty city should make you feel guilty. It can also serve as a checkpoint in the year where you can reduce that amount (or come close to it) from any frivolous, unnecessary shopping and go on your holiday with a peace of mind. I hope you have a great time

Thanks to the encouraging comments on this thread I have successfully completed my first ever low/no spend challenge. I've just got a little bit of spare cash left, but enough to get myself some premium bonds. Normally I would waste it on unnecessary clothes or cosmetics.

I’m in my 50s now but in my adult life I’ve done a grand total of 7 no spend years. It’s astonishing how much it can help household finances. Tbh it can be a bit depressing but you just need to stay focused on the bigger picture.

Just had some sad news shared with me and immediately started shopping for an unnecessary gift for the person affected. Why?! They won’t be expecting anything and probably don’t have time or energy to care. So strange how that’s my first instinct, to spend to show love. I probably do it for myself too. Need to practice just sitting with difficult feelings, not spending to make them go away (temporarily).

fishyfishfish said:

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.

Click to expand...

Totally understand this realisation, I had it a few years ago. And anyway, those fancy spice jars are a pain because they get dirty and smeared, the labels come off, and you have no idea how old the contents are. Ask me how I know

These days I just look around the house for things I can repurpose. For instance all my jewellery (I don't have much really) is in the bottom half of a few egg boxes in a drawer. No, I haven't painted the egg boxes or upcycled them in any way, I just ripped the lids off. I feel like it's a little rebellion against buying a bunch of fancy drawer inserts or 'crafting' something, haha.

Edited to add: every time I open that drawer I have a little moment of "fuck you Pinterest" - it feels good!

As part of my no buy January, instead of popping into town and getting a serotonin boost from shopping, I’m aiming to declutter one storage space each Saturday.

I get the same serotonin boost but from seeing how neat and organised it can be, and, one cupboard in, it’s already making me confront how wasteful I am. There was so much unnecessary stuff in just one cupboard, cluttering up the space and showing me how much of my money ends up going on things that are shoved away, not needed, in a cupboard once the ‘new thing’ buzz has worn off.

For the first time in 2 years we’ve made it to pay day without using our overdraft

my husband’s Xmas bonus has helped (he wasn’t eligible for one last year) but often that gets eaten up paying off credit card bills. This month I moved some into savings and we still have a bit of a buffer in our current account.

Also we were going to get McDonald’s as a treat yesterday (my 4yo was asking to get a drive thru) but we resisted and just took her to Aldi to buy some dinner instead. Tbf she counts this as a treat as well everyone is a winner.

I'm coming on this thread to keep myself accountable. My current ridiculous habit involves Just Eat. I allow myself a McDonald's breakfast once a month is kind of ok BUT as a sweet and chocolate addict it's more of a problem.
When I'm home (live alone) and there's no chocolate etc I end up using JE to get it delivered and add in overpriced other stuff to justify my behaviour.
A gain of a stone in weight and this harmful practice means I've deleted the app & resolve to conquer both problems, chocolate & JE.

Made it to pay day without going into overdraft or withdrawing from savings! It’s my second month of maternity pay, I normally earn £900 more a month when I’m not on maternity and I’d spend every penny of it, always dipping in to savings. This is the second month where I’ve managed to save £500 and also £190 in our joint savings for being strict with food budget and having money left over I love this thread it’s like weight watchers holding me accountable for my actions lol

Silverback said:

Is it only worth booking a trip if you can comfortably afford it without scrimping for it?

Click to expand...

This subject reminds me me of this clip I saw (on tiktok) of post war era children speaking about pocket money - you know how they all talk other worldly like “well I rather” etc. But what struck me was just how anti consumerism/spending they were? Like they were appalled at the idea of a little girl spending 8 shillings on sweeties, stunned that one kid got £1 pocket money and only saved ten shillings of it, any kid receiving pocket money mentioned premium bonds, idk it just stunned me what a shift in mindset we/even children have had over the past however many years. The only relevance of these ramblings to your post is that I personally wouldn’t prioritise travel over other items on my to do list or financial security/comfort, I think this is a super new phenomenon tbh, but also acknowledge we all need to find joy in our life too! There’s a balance to be struck.

I seen a thing last night that said 'do you really want the item or do you want people to know you have the item'

Its a form of seeking acceptance. It hit me hard.

Ilaariaa said:

I'm starting a new job next week with a longer commute and I'll have to bring a packed lunch too (at my previous workplace we had a cafeteria, quite common in Italy)
I'm trying to resist the temptation to buy a lunch box set and a backpack for my commute. Realistically my shoulder bag and my Tupperware containers will be enough for my purposes, I just need to convince myself and stop looking at bento boxes on Amazon

Click to expand...

You won’t use it, and if you do, someone might take/break a specific bit of it go with Tupperwares for x amount if lunches, and if you get to say, 15 and you STILL need a bento, then get one. Yours truly, a lunchbox addict xx

Don't laugh but I feel like you are all walking round the shops and on the internet with me, so I'm mindful of my spending.
I can't believe how little I buy, but I love what I do.

I completed no buy January and it was so useful for forcing me to pay attention to my spending, track my money and deal with not being able to impulse purchase things. I thought I’d reflect on what I gained from it because it felt like a very positive start to 2024.

Writing down things I wanted in the notes app on my phone and forcing myself to wait worked. Often the stuff I wanted I didn’t even care enough about to write down, and there’s only two things still remaining that I still want a few weeks later.

I also started tracking my spending in a notebook rather than just relying on my budgeting app. The daily check in was really good for keeping an eye on what was going out and I felt more in control and aware of my spending than I have in ages.

I’ve shuffled my money around so my emergency fund is now in a high interest account with a different bank so I’m not seeing that money every day and easily able to transfer it back into my current account. Out of sight out of mind. And I’ve set up an account with Starling so my sinking fund is now separated into specific spots for each thing.

The other thing that really helped me were massively limiting my time on TikTok and who I follow on IG. I was consuming so much less content about what I should be buying and how I should be living my life and it’s made me want a lot less than I usually do.

Obviously a no buy isn’t sustainable forever but I feel like the month really helped me start building some good habits - and seeing my savings increase significantly has been a very good reward.

Feeling quite pleased with my little self … almost the month has gone by without me buying clothes, footwear, jewellery or anything frivolous

Curiouscupcake said:

That next TikTok buy won’t actually change your life. We are all sucked into this consumerist mentality of buying all these things will improve our lives when actually it’s the total opposite.

Click to expand...

This is so true, it can also be applied to other areas of life. E.g. a friend was so determined to buy her first house it literally consumed her. She was constantly having viewings, making offers, checking Rightmove day and night. It was obsessive. She got a house, moved in, just under a year. Now she thinks the house is too small and she wants to move to a bigger house, que Rightmove/viewings/offers.

My point being, we are all guilty of 'the grass is always greener' and whether that's something small like a Tiktok buy, or big like a housepurchase. We really need to unlearn the toxic mindset of thinking you'll be happy/satisfied once you reach the next material goal because it will literally never end

This thread is exactly what I need this year. I like to think I’m quite good with money - I pay off my credit card in full each month, I don’t have any debt - but I forced myself to sit down and review my savings and it was depressing how much I failed at saving money last year. I might not overspend but I definitely don’t underspend either.

It’s so easy to justify a £20 purchase here and a £30 there but it all adds up and I end up with a bunch of stuff I didn’t need and quite a lot of stuff that, depressingly, I don’t actually want.

I’m doing a no spend month to help reset everything and top up my savings and, this year, I really want to focus on correcting some bad habits that lead my spending astray:

This thread is def saving me money. I went to Sainsbury’s the other day and I would normally come away with extras- a houseplant, something from the clothes bit, and maybe something from the habitat section. These bits probably come to another £30 at least. I felt proud of myself for avoiding the extra expenditure.
I’m normally always feeling the urge to go to a shop as well- Dunelm or whatever. I feel the need to go there for some reason that doesn’t really matter and come away with stuff that doesn’t really matter. I haven’t done that for a week or two.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and reading up on the psychological aspects of why we purchase certain things excessively. Regarding my multiple food shops I believe it’s because I grew up in a household where food was used as a controlling weapon. Do the wrong thing and you don’t get to eat etc … I need my traumatised brain to understand that nobody can starve me anymore. I’m 50 years old FFS you’d think I’d be over it by now

Been thinking about other purchases recently that were a waste of money. £40 on a Charlotte Tilbury foundation that goes cakey in my pores. £8 on an Essie polish that chips off after 5 minutes. £35 on an Uniqlo jumper that is too cold to wear in winter (will be useful for spring tho). I’m sure there is other stuff that I’m forgetting.
Dunno about anyone else but I get bored by the grind of life- work/ kids/ responsibilities/ bills etc and get myself bits and bobs to bring a little brightness. There’s probably other ways to cheer myself up that don’t involve wasting cash…