17.10.12

Cheapskate

I've been thinking today about some of the things I used to regularly spend money on. Each one of these items used to be a spending habit and has been dropped gradually one by one. 

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Tumble drying
Foil highlights at a top hairdressers
Up dos for the Xmas work's party
Grocery shopping without a list
Buying clothes/home ware items in 24 hour super stores 
Clothes from closing down sales
Complete new outfits for weddings, parties etc.
Full priced ready meals
Magazines
Any magazine with a free gift
Expensive face cream
Charity shop browsing (I never left empty handed)
Annual spa day with girlfriends
Fabric conditioner
Every 'Buy One Get One Free' offer
Flowers - weekly
Two Saturday newspapers

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This list isn't exhaustive and I will still spend on some of these items  from time to time. I'll buy a magazine or flowers but I no longer do it  out of habit, boredom or compulsion. I love shopping in charity shops but I don't go every week now. I'll often do my grocery shopping on line so that I can keep editing it and I avoid the overly big supermarkets. At the moment we are buying some items to make our new house work but these are considered purchases.

It's an odd thing that although our joint income has reduced significantly 
I don't feel that our standard of living has. I feel more grateful than ever for what I have, not what I don't have. Even if we had more income I wouldn't spend my money on these things again. I have thought long and hard about how and why I spend money and can now recognise a 'want' from a 'need'. I just don't feel comfortable with mass consumption any more. And I feel a lot happier now that I'm not chasing the empty promise of shopping as a leisure pursuit. 

Because I don't think the waste, debt or guilt is worth it.


It is possible to develop more sensible spending habits and rein in your extravagances. 


No Gangnam style for me - I'm proud to be a cheapskate.







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4 comments

  1. My treat is Grazia magazine when it is on offer at £1. This only happens every so often and I enjoy it much more than when I bought it full price every week. Just thinking about every purchase is really helping us stop wasting so much. Really good post :)

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  2. Moderation is the way! A magazine fix is a real treat now x

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  3. I get a couple of magazines on subscription (to make them cheaper), but we've cut nearly all the same things out.
    Our income was greatly reduced when I quit my corporate job but we feel much better off in a lot of ways :)

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  4. Love being frugal!

    I love that sense of a few euros saved here and there and when something comes up, unexpected, I'm not freaking out where the money is going to come from! All from making simple/small changes to our lifestyle... which I will agree, has not been upheaved in any huge way! Hazel x

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