Lighthearted - when would you know you were secure money wise ?

[tattoonewbie]

I was just thinking today I'd never ever buy branded green giant sweetcorn but I had some at my friend's and it was so nice.
If I could buy a brand and not even think about it , then I would know I was ok for cash.
I would previously have said being able to buy m and s knickers instead of Asda but the quality isn't all that these days ! 🤣

I get this, as a kid I thought friends who had branded goods were so posh
Ribena not generic diluting squash
Fairy not own brand
Things I thought were posh
Heinz beans
HP sauce
green giant sweetcorn
Hellmans
lurpak

so as a student my treats from me to me were lurpak, Thornton hot chocolate, HP

As adult I like a posh perfume and a Lancôme mascara

When I can do a full weekly shop at Sainsbury's or M&S

I suppose feeling secure would be buying whatever you wanted and not price checking, just in the basket and sashaying to the checkout

If I knew I didn't need to check my bank account every couple of weeks or so

I remember the first time I bought a hardback book!

DP and I were talking about this last week. I can't remember mine but his is allowing himself to buy pick and mix. Apparently we're not that rich yet.

I thought people who could afford tins with ring pulls were rich when I was a kid.
Now I think I'd only feel rich if I could dive into my money like Scrooge McDuck

To me its thinking where will we go abroad this year, like its normal to go abroad every year...

Buying snacks in the cinema means you're rich. I usually smuggle in pop corn & drinks so I'm obviously not in that category.

Ha. Yes. I always take in my own snacks

Not being afraid to look at my bank account. I was poor for SO many years and I'd either avoid looking altogether or I'd try to look through squinty eyes so I didn't see the huge minus sign in the front of the amount. Now I can just look and nod or frown about a withdrawal I don't recognise rather than hyperventilating and having to comb through the money to see where it went.

1 when I own my house outright
2 if I could shop at waitress or m and s without thinking. I did a small shop at aldi this morning so I'm a way off

Being able to sponsor friends in their fundraising without thinking too much. Going out for a pub lunch with a friend without feeling guilty.

We've had some v tough times but are pretty stable now, and DH got a big promotion yesterday but can't shake off that feeling of still needing to be cautious.

It’s all relative I think, isn’t it? But when we started drinking champagne at home just because we fancied it, and not for a ‘special’ occasion was probably when we subconsciously acknowledged that we didn’t really need to worry about money.

Remembered mine. It would be when I'd buy Pringles at full price or eat in a chain restaurant without a voucher.

Remembered yesterday we had to pay an installment for a school trip, on last day of month.
Knew we had the money.

If I could buy anything other than essentials without worrying/deciding against the purchase.

If I could take time off work (self employed) and afford to not be paid.

If - real pie in the sky here - I could afford to take time off work and not just stay home, but go on some kind of holiday and afford that too

If I I didn't need to check my bank account every couple of days or so....

Another for owning our house outright.

I still smuggle snacks into a cinema, not because I can't afford their prices but because I'm not up for being ripped off. Which is how we paid off our mortgage very early!

I was 24. Stopped off at Pret for a coffee and a sandwich. I'll never forget how I felt realising I could afford to do that.

I used to say that I’d know I had ‘arrived’ when I possessed a compost heap.

I am pleased to say I do now have that compost heap.

Buying furniture that we didn’t have to put together.

Booking a holiday on a whim! If I ever do that rather than comparing costs, looking up the cost of activities and meals in that country etc, then I'll feel I've made it.

Interesting question - we are quite secure financially and I could put whatever I wanted in my supermarket basket but there are so many things I wouldn't bother forking out on as I don't think they are worth it. I would maybe pay extra for ethical reasons but not because something had a brand label (applies to clothes too).

A poster has mentioned not eating out in chain restaurants without a voucher, and I get that as they tend to be overpriced for what is often no better than Wetherspoons. But I would happily pay for a meal at a privately owned gastro pub.

Theoretical, I know I am secure money-wise.

In reality, my mindset is such that I don't think I'll ever feel I am.