What’s an “unpopular” spending or money decision that actually works well for you?

i did but they are grown now.

Lottery/premium bonds. Let luck be your investor.

Stayed in our small house with tiny mortgage even when children arrived and we could have got something bigger. Now they’ve gone, it’s more than big enough. Spent the money on family holidays, cars, nights out, kids uni expenses.
I spend a ridiculous amount of money on handbags and people
are shocked by how much, but they make me happy so I will continue as long as I afford them. DIL will enjoy inheriting them all when the time comes!😃

Which cards, if you don't mind me asking?

I did all the right things but critical illness and divorce messed it all up . Living on tenterhooks now which is not nice . But to cheer myself up I often buy expensive shoes that I don't need and don't really go anywhere with them on. Crazy but just surviving day by day and hoping something turns up.

I’ve use to have expensive new cars on pcp - then I had a break in and one stolen. It totally changed my opinion on fancy cars and I brought a nice cheap fiesta, clean with low miles for cash. I’ve had it neatly 9 years (so avoided 3 deposits/balloon payments, and no ridiculous monthly repayments. It’s also passed every mot with no expensive work needed (just tyres 😁). Saved me thousands, and really reduced my stress levels.

Some would say that, but i find it really cheap.

💯 I agree and do the same

We have income from pensions. DH pays for all bills and most meals out, as he has more income. I pay for supermarket shopping. We keep our own bank/saving accounts and compare occasionally verbally and appear to have the same amount but in different products.

Also never had a credit card.

Me and Dh having separate finances.

I cannot imagine my DH and I not knowing how much the other earns! How on earth can you plan for the future, how much to give your DC for uni etc or even get a joint mortgage? What if something happened to one of you, would you know how much you had to survive on your own? Where each others pensions etc are?

We’re the opposite, everything goes into one account and we divide up what’s left into savings pots etc.

We do have some separate investments and accounts but I have a big spreadsheet with every item on it, how much and where it is which I update regularly. I can’t imagine not having this information.

‘No spend days’ can get in the sea. There are plenty of days where I don’t spend money but if I start this ‘no spend day’ nonsense and say I need petrol it gives me the green light to go get petrol…then because I’ve already spent why don’t I get a little petrol station chocolate bar and head over the road to B&M, oh I don’t fancy what I’ve got planned for dinner let’s go to Asda and get something else, might as well get a book or magazine whilst I’m there.

whereas if I just spend money when I need to I don’t have FOMO and overspend.

We are exactly the same. He prefers to pay 50/50 and over the years our relative salaries have changed (he supported us during my maternity and I supported him taking a cut to retrain). We save together and make all significant financial decisions as a team but have separate accounts for our personal spending and don't pay our bills proportionally

I'm similar, all my direct ct debits come out at the same time and I know exactly how much they are, I menu plan and have "no spend days", check my banking app every morning and that's about it. So basically I know what it coming in, what is going out, what it is being spent on and what my balance is. Having said that I did my mid week top up food shorp and was horrified at what it cost

We do this too, I thought loads of people did it.

We chose not to move when we could have because our spacious but not posh house has nice neighbours and is a 5 min walk from the tube which now our DC are teens is worth so much more than a house in a posher road where we’d have the drive them everywhere.

We bought our 2 bed terrace in the 90s . We recently paid off out mortgage. Everyone, including us, assumed we'd upgrade to a bigger house but our rooms are generous and we went into the loft.
Ofcourse id love a drive, garage and a utility room (sigh) but being mortgage free is great. and this will be our forever home, it is perfectly set up for elderly living as well!

It’s not bragging at all. 15k covered all regular monthly outgoings and all major ad hoc spends eg holidays, cars, a new boiler, house maintenance etc. We have a Victorian house my DH is also renovating which anyone who has done similar knows is a money pitt. We make regular contributions to savings, pensions and investments outside of the 15k.

Also there is no such thing as a “high interest” account for a few thousand.

I just don’t worry about it. Fritter my money from 1st-15th and then struggle for the next two weeks. 😆

Same. He doesn’t know how much I earn.
There are no trust issues, I just don’t discuss it.

I know you are trying to brag & all that but actually its financially stupid.

having 15k sat in a current account earning peanuts over a high interest account

ok then

Agree.
I put whatever is left into my savings the night before I get paid.

Bought a large house in an unpopular area, been here for ever and love it.
Can’t get my head round the idea of living in a tiny squished house so I can go on holiday to a tiny squished room in a hotel.
( Disclaimer, do still go on holiday when i can bear to leave my horses)

Agree on separate finances with DH, we have a joint account for bills and kids and then our own personal finances to do as we like with.

Also no meal planning in this house and we love a Gousto box, it’s great to have a wonderful delicious meal together that no one has had to shop and plan

Also I enjoy and live my life to the full every day, if it makes my day brighter buying that flat white out then I will. But equally we don’t spend lots on material goods, gadgets, fancy cars etc, lots of clothes etc. I spend money on what enriches my life like travelling, eating out or new experiences with friends

We rent an incredibly cheap house with no heating.
Never had a credit card.
My car was an MOT failure with something wrong with the engine so we put a new engine in.

I love budgeting and although I’m tight in many areas I don’t mind paying for things that I do love like beauty treatments and expensive perfumes. I spend lots on a PT.
Perfume over food!