Stuff - how much do you spend on yourself each month?

[toycar]

Obviously I know it depends on income and your expenses each month. I dont want to ask what your situation re your income is, more just how often you pick up "stuff" and your shopping habits.

DH and I are trying to save more and he is adamant that if i stopped buying "all the crap" i do, we would be quids in. I dont think Im excessive. An average month I spend about £150 on eg (excluding things like coffee out with friends, gym or hair appointments if I actually did those things):

• make up

-a woolly jumper from tesco -a book -fashion items like an oversized hair clip

• candles
• neom products

-body shop bath things -a scarf

Are you constantly buying shit you don't need? How do you stop buying?

Thanks!!!

I have the bad tendency to buy stuff because it’s on sale. Esspecially clothes for myself and DS.
So silly. I have been eyeing a gorgeous cashmere scarf that costs £40 for over a month but didn’t buy it because its not on sale and seems excessive but would spend that money without a second thought on a cardigan that I don’t need if it was £40 instead of £120.

I'm trying to think what I've bought myself in the last month:
A new Emma Bridgewater mug that I've had my eye off (it was 20% off)
A jumper and a pair of trainers (also on sale)
A new PHA serum skincare product
A couple of books and a DVD, all second-hand from Amazon

I guess that totals about £120 and is probably average for me. So yeah, about the same as you OP!

Walk away from the item and if you are still thinking about it and wanting it then fair enough buy it.However I do think you would have probably forgotten about i

Heh I do that, it's quite effective. Especially if you couple it with the one in one out policy I also follow Hard to pick something to leave sometimes it stops clutter quite well.

I found it helpful to move to a very expensive country (Switzerland)! I am now much less likely to buy pointless crap than I was in the UK where things are so cheap. I'm talking about things like candles and Halloween decorations, seasonal ornaments, kitchenware, stationery, homeware like kids bedding, toys etc. Those things are probably about 3 times the price here so much more likely to think carefully before buying rather than thinking "that looks nice, and it's on offer, I'll chuck it in the trolley".

When I came back to the UK recently I found myself surprised by things I previously accepted as normal. For example in ASDA I saw a large-ish remote control monster truck reduced to £5. Five pounds for something made with a substantial amount of plastic, electronics, lots of packaging, etc. Bad for the environment, presumably bad conditions for the factory workers who helped make it, will likely break easily, will be used a few times then tossed. I know I am privileged enough to afford better Christmas gifts and for some families a £5 truck in the sale is the best they might hope to afford for their kid's Christmas present, but this sort of thing is so wasteful in every way.

I buy almost nothing for myself anymore now apart from new clothes when needed.

I have cut right down, but still buy certain things. Eg had to buy some shoes and clothes as returning to corporate setting and had nothing suitable that still fit me.

As I am size 10 feet and shoes often cost £100-£150 upwards this blew - huge chunk of my budget for the year, and I only bought two pairs of shoes.

it seems mascara's are the new plastic toothbrushes.

We are all talking about how toothbrushes take 400 years to "break down" (into what is another question - a form that will leach into our water supply?), and switching to bamboo or other less wasteful alternatives, but no one is talking about people who are disposing of a mascara every 3 months!

@BackforGood - I agree it was a bizarre and frankly uncalled for comment. Going by that posters philosophy (CBA to @ them) I would be buying a new mascara every time I wore it which is ridiculous.

This month so far I have purchased a book from ebay for £2.99, some new hair bobbles and some thick socks to go inside my DM's. So total of around £10, which I would say is about what I spend most months, but I have a work uniform and meals are provided at work so I dont have a lot of those type of outgoings.

Tbf it has been proven that eye makeup grows bacteria that in the right conditions could be a hazard to our eyes and sight. I doubt everyone sterilises their eye instruments for starters.

It's a risk we take (myself included), it might be a small risk as it does need the right conditions to turn into something nasty but it's still a risk.

thanks for all the replies, this is so helpful and interesting reading. i definitely need to ask why i need to pick up so many items each week when i have 20 scarves, a drawer full of accessories and make up and a bathroom full of expensive stuff like Molton Brown, Liz Earle, Laura Mercier, Jo Malone, Body shop etc

It feels silly, like even though I have 5 £30 bottles of bath oil, I will still want another. We can't afford this as that £150 should have been saved in the bank.

Thanks so much all.

I used to be terrible at spending but have managed to reign it in over the years. Partly through necessity - we have two children at nursery & expensive commuting costs but also I find that once you get out of the habit of spending money on stuff it gets easier. Now if I want a cookbook or nice bath stuff I will ask for it for xmas/birthday. I buy make up when it runs out & I tend to not buy clothes unless I genuinely need to or if I can get it on sale. It doesn't always work - my big treat is eating lunch out which I'm trying to cut down on as it really adds up, but I feel if I am being good 80% of the time that helps.
My other tip is if you are online shopping don't buy straight away. Keep it in your basket for a day and think about if you really do still want it. And always check if there is a voucher code!
I find Money Saving Expert really helpful & I really like his mantra - If you're skint ask Do I need it? Can I afford it? checked if it's cheaper elsewhere? If you aren't skint ask Will I use it? Is it worth it? Checked if it's cheaper elsewhere?

It feels silly, like even though I have 5 £30 bottles of bath oil, I will still want another. We can't afford this as that £150 should have been saved in the bank.

I'd suggest you don't want another one at all - you want the dopamine hit you get from the act of shopping. This is what you need to address - do that and you'll be saving loads before you know it (and reaping the arm fuzzies of long term gratification)

www.elle.com/fashion/shopping/a41845/shopping-dopamine/

We have a zero spend week every month. No going out for coffee - invite a friend round, sit and chat with coffee and homemade cake. Use the nice stuff you have been "hoarding" (you are worth it!). There is no point having 3 bath oils and leaving them to lose scent - use them, don't buy another one until they are all gone. Don't buy stuff you already have if it is usable.

I challenge myself on this a lot and often fail.

I have 100 per month for bits. Dh has the same. Dh saves his and spends it on his hobbies and the occasional treat. I waste mine in costa, lunches in pret, primark and Amazon. I then get grumpy that I don't get nice stuff.

As a family we have a good level of disposable income but we waste it and over spend. Costumes for various school things, things the kids would like, food as treats etc. Amazon prime is evil as it doesn't feel like spending. We probably spend 300-400 quid a month on crap.

For a lot of people, myself included, not spending a lot comes not from virtue but delm necessity. I cant afford to spend £££ on stuff. My DS has a school teil coming up early next year which will cost around £150 so that needs to be factored in, as well as christmas and I think my car is on it's way out. All which need to be budgeted for. If I spend loads on candles or clothes I dont need I will be up shit creek!

@PurpleTreeFrog I found your post really interesting. The UK is very cheap for a lot of stuff which isn't a bad thing for the many pepple who are living in poverty (and despite stuff being cheap there are many without enough to heat or eat) but it does make us generally value stuff less. I don't think people generally value stuff as highly as they did when I was growing up in the 80s/90s.

This essay feels relevant:
www.monbiot.com/2012/12/10/the-gift-of-death/

It feels silly, like even though I have 5 £30 bottles of bath oil, I will still want another. We can't afford this as that £150 should have been saved in the bank.

Do you use the ones you have, or are you saving them 'for best'? Start using them regularly, make that your treat! And find new ways to fill the time that you would have been shopping; if you walk round shops on your lunch break, take a book and a cup of coffee to the park and read instead. Or if you shop online on your phone, do something like DuoLingo or a meditation app instead. It's normal to want to treat yourself to stuff, but there are lots of ways that you can reward yourself that don't involve shopping, particularly if money's tight.

As an aside, I'm amazed that there are people who buy clothes every week - I'd struggle to find space for an extra 30-50 items of clothing a year! Where's it all going?

I decluttered my house prior to some building works and was horrified by the amount of absolute crap I had, much of which had not been used/touched since it came home.

Now I buy nothing unless I have a very specific purpose in mind for it and somewhere to store it.

Tbh, I stopped thinking of it all as ‘treats’ - it was future mess.

If a stranger came up to you and offered you £30 or a bottle of bath oil, or £15 or a jumper, which would you take?

I spend c£120 a month on myself, nails every 2 weeks, hair end every month.
Other than that it varies, i don't buy make up often or clothes/shoes.
Might buy myself some malteasers :-D

Not much, most of my disposable income is eaten up by my DC. I buy myself things when I really need to, don’t tend to be frivolous with cash. I haven’t had a hair cut for 18 months .

£450 a month on myself including clothes, going out and haircuts. I easily spend it and could easily cut down if I had to!