Do you consciously think about everything you spend

[thehungryteacher]

How much unplanned spending do you do and does it bother you?

Like a coffee out with a friend or a buying a drink in a shop because you are thirsty?
Or a new pair of tights or face cream.

Would you pop in to a pub and spend £30 on lunch?

I do, but I also overspend.

@Lamelie too!
This is me

Not lunch, no - I take a cereal bar or a carrot with me when I go into town! Then eat at home. I would meet a friend for coffee rather than lunch. Splurge would be a chocolate bar. The only time I don't really look at prices is if I need new yoga pants or something like that and I buy them in Primark, New Look etc. where I know I won't be ripped off. But I'm looking at prices in Sainsbury's now and thinking that I can't afford that mango - or rather, I can't justify spending £1.20 on that.
Also cheese - I used to buy nice cheese from a deli but it's half the price from Sainsbury's although not as fabulous.

Yes, I think about everything I spend. I have to.

So I’d buy a drink if thirsty and out. Often a meal deal if I can get a coffee as part of it and then buy the main and snack for the fridge (grazing teens)
Coffee full price, never unless there’s a justification, like keeping me awake when driving or long train journey.
I wouldn’t go into a pub or restaurant on my own but would meet up with a friend to eat. And I wouldn’t consciously skip meals to do so, but probably have a smaller cheaper meals the rest of the weekend.
It takes up a lot of headspace for no gain!

At the beginning of the month I’d buy a coffee and maybe a cake but not at the end. Meals have to be planned in as that would be a weeks worth of my fun money.

A coffee out is a pretty regular thing, used to be a couple times a week after dropping off at school but kids have left now, I've moved so maybe once a week but not always. I enjoy it on my own too. My DD and I just discovered a new place after trying to find a hot chocolate after 4pm - our usual places close at 4. Lovely tiny Italian coffee shop. I can see myself going there quite a bit!
Lunch out - yes I think about it but we don't do it that often. Takeaways about once a month.
I had a talk about budgeting with a relative and I asked her about 'walking around money'. She didn't know what I meant. I said the incidental money you spend on a coffee, sandwich or a magazine when out and about and she says why buy a coffee out? So guess it's not as universal as I thought!

I do.now as I'm unemployed so have a strict spending budget. But for years I used the 'wish and prayer' method of financial management and was petrified of checking my bank balance unless on payday. I was always in my overdraft except for a few days after payday but always ended up on the same place every time so wasn't getting into more debt and due to a glitch, Barclay's never changed my account from a graduate one despite having graduated many years ago so it was pretty much interest free.
Life is v different now I count and record every penny spent

I'm going out for lunch today but it's coming out of my 'booze and social ' planned spending pot which I allocate £100/ month and I've got £16 worth of points which will pay for most of my meal. Just need to avoid having too much wine!

I keep track of everything I spend, with a rough monthly budget. I would very rarely buy a coffee out as I think they are a complete rip off!

I reckon I would spend up to £20 without a second thought, but after that I would be a lot more considerate. Especially with eating out as it’s generally so expensive and poor value for money. Fine for a special occasion or occasional takeaway, but I really try and avoid getting caught out and about with no food and then spending £30 on shit food.

I do add up any treats or the odd tea out and then think why I didn't wait till I got home to have one.
Never bought expensive magazines , only a cheap tv guide once a week which ( at the current rates) is (around) under forty pounds a year ( but a little bit more at Christmas with the double edition)
Maybe I should ditch the mag, but I like reading it.
Coffees and teas out are expensive now.
When money is tight these things do add up

No, not at all. I only really think about it with bigger purchases - say £100 or over. I wouldn't hesitate from a financial point of view to spend £30 on a pub lunch, het a takeaway etc, although I don't do it very often for other reasons. We don't budget really.

I have an app on my phone and would check the balance before spending.
I used to do the PPs "wing and a prayer" method but this way is so much less stressful.

I transfer money into a pot in my banking app each month for ‘unallocated spends’. I check the balance before spending it. Genuinely don’t understand how anyone can not check they have the money first, like where does the money come from if it’s just not there, does it go on a credit card or do they mean they dip into money that’s been allocated for something else? That would make me feel stressed because then I’d committed to something I couldn’t actually pay for.

Not really. I'm at an age where I'm willing to spend a bit more to have nicer things / an easier life.

After a lifetime though of being careful with money I'm still conscious of what I consider value for money, so don't get much in the way of takeaways, coffees etc.

Yep, I think about everything I spend. Doesn't mean that I don't spend, but I always weigh it up, even down to a £3.50 meal deal lunch at the Co-Op!

I certainly wouldn't glibly pay £30 for lunch without considering alternatives, the pleasure I'd get from wherever it was, etc. I'd probably pay it for somewhere with a nice atmosphere or where the food is something special, or there was no alternative at that moment in time, but not for a bog standard mass produced catering offering in poor surroundings unless there really was no alternative. If that was the only place and the food looked basic with naff surroundings, I'd be far more likely to google for the nearest shop to buy a meal deal!

For me now I’m not working (but hope to start a new contract or get a permanent job sooo ).

So I think about meals out and coffee out a bit more. Tea or coffee out is overrated but I had a Costa decaff tea and chocolate tiffin and then Greggs vegan sausage roll plus tea and jam donut.

I buy less cheese though (reduced fat cathedral city) and budget on treats but still buy them.

Yes, I track everything I spend. I have a rolling 24 month budget spreadsheet which is fully formulated and every penny is recorded into the categories. I do this not out of real necessity but because I like expensive holidays and take a number of overseas/ long haul a year. I realise it sounds a bit obsessive but it now takes 2 minutes a day. I love it :)

I had no idea that some people can wrack up credit cards or other debts buying things not pay it and have the debts sold on who may then only collect half the original amount. Blew my mind that if you ignore the bailiff nasty letters and you don't mind a dented credit rating you could end up owing less than you spent on it.
I guess it doesn't work for everyone , but a few people have admitted they do this.
You need to be able to ignore the threats though I suppose (never done this myself)

Yes because I have to check my account before I buy anything so I’m constantly aware

Yes. I remember when I was very young my nan asked me to put my hand in my pocket and when I did, I pulled out a £10 note. She'd snuck it in there while I wasn't looking. My nan asked "Are you going to save it or spend it?". I was just in awe of this piece of paper with shiny bits on it and I said "Save it." My nan smiled and said "Very good answer." Since then, I've learned a lot about the value of money and how the fiscal system works and how the economy works. Today I have three credit cards with a combined limit of £25k and I've either been early or on time with payments. I thank my nan, may she RIP, for educating me on the importance of saving money and money management as early as she could.

My late dad installed into us children about money management, paying the mortgage / rent / bills was essential before anything else and trying to save too.
He was brought up like it and so were we
People with a more lax attitude to money I secretly admire as it can be all encompassing at times and you get the mind set ' I don't need it '
I feel both attitudes are not healthy though.

Yes, if I want to eat at the end of the month, I have to.

Yes because it's a habit I've had since childhood. I also track my spending on a monthly spreadsheet because I like to know where the money goes.

I'm not extravagant but also, don't have to limit myself either. Since we paid off our mortgage and our dc got jobs, we don't struggle to spend within our income anymore, and also have savings. £30 on a lunch out is fine by me or £10 for coffe and cake, though not if it was every few days. I realise I am fortunate though.

PS always paid off credit cards in full every month. Rarely use it now, but used to put a lot on it. I'd take the money from savings if need be. I believe in spending only what you have and couldn't sleep at night knowing I'd racked up tons of interest on a credit card.