to think some people really don't get look after the pennies...

[XCChamps]

and the pounds look after themselves. And that it really is true.

I have a colleague who's son is living in US. She's never been to visit him because she "can't afford to". Yet she comes into the office every day with a takeaway latte and buys a sandwich for lunch and something from Cook for her and her DH's dinner almost everyday. So as not to drip feed, she finishes work at 3pm, so it's not like she's finishing a long day with no time to cook.

Obviously it's her choice and if she'd rather buy those things than visit her son, that's up to her but she doesn't seem to understand how much she's spending and that before long it would add up to enough for that plane ticket.

I see/hear it loads. People spending regularly on unnecessary bits and pieces that they don't even really enjoy and then complaining loudly and frequently about how broke they are.

Does no-one know about looking after the pennies....?

I totally get this. I've recently moved jobs and I now get lunch provided, which is great as it:

A. Saves me thinking about what to take for lunch/making it at night
B. Saves money.

Say you spend £5 per day on lunch. That's £25 per week. £100 a month. Say £1100 per year, if you have 4 weeks holiday. And I'd say that's being cautious with money - and this doesn't include coffee's/muffins/ magazines etc.

However, I do realize that you need a treat sometimes and little things like lunch out etc make the work day lots easier.

I'm definitely a spender. I judge my weeks on my bank account and happily spend to the penny at '0'. However my partner is tight fisted. Add a joint account and me being the main earner and there's constant fireworks. We argue constantly. He's saving, but for what? He saves half our disposable income, with the other half on food and spending on travel and taking the kids to do stuff. I need a laptop, but I have to save out of my £40 a week allowance. So what is the money in the isa for? Grrr

many years ago (pre kids) a friend we worked with asked how we could afford all our lovely holidays (diving in thailand etc).. the Answer was very simple, as a couple they spent around £250 a month on cigarettes.. we put £250 a month in our "holiday savings account".. they were shocked too. DH earns well now in the city and still takes his packed lunch or goes to sainsburys and buys a tin of salmon and some salad for a couple of days lunches.. saves a fortune which we spend on holidays

I have an online bank account and an online savings account. Every time I log on to check my balance, I move any odd pounds/pennies across to my savings account. For example, if I logged on and had £224.16, I'd move a least £4.16 across. If it was closer to the end of the month I may move £24.16. I find I never miss those small amounts I move across to my savings account as mentally I look at my balance and think "I have £200 quid left", but when you move small amounts each time you log on, the savings soon mount up. I also move whatever I have left on payday. I managed to save £500 by doing this in just a few months earlier this year then used the money to buy new furniture for my baby's room.

Poor woman still needs to eat something, even if she could do it a bit cheaper. Or is it mumsnet magic chicken time?

Such an interesting thread.I love Nicky's post, my dsis and BFF are both like Nicky and the lady in the OP, while I have been guilty of doing as Nicky describes and refusing the dcs on a day out. I like to think it means we can have more days out but it is interesting. We shop at Lidl, meal plan and go on 3 foreign holidays a year as well as a break in the UK.

Sorry to hijack the thread - Inarightpickleandchutney I have sent you a PM just now. Let me know if you don't get it.

Notaprincess - op states it's coffee, sandwiches and an evening meal bought and not just a coffee

Stillwish The friend I mentioned does have some fabulous sounding holidays-she took the kids on a very expensive Disney Holiday-of-a-lifetime.....but she was just as bad whilst they were there! Kids were only allowed one drink "out" all day, cooked at the apartment, no t-shirts, no souvenirs. She was saving up on the holiday that she'd saved up for. And she doesn't even need to, she's got a decent job, so has her dh, properties and a share in a profitable family business.

Poor woman still needs to eat something, even if she could do it a bit cheaper. Or is it mumsnet magic chicken time?

Don't be silly SFA - how will the woman starve when it's blackberry season?

notaprincessbutaqueen my ex was the same. Nightmare! I used a combination of trickery (tesco cornflakes in a Kellogg's box) plus did a calculation of how much we saved by just moving one brand sector down over a year, plus a little compromise, certain items were just better value long term/the cheaper version was bloody awful

Interesting. I would only buy my kids one drink, (if that) on a day out. I always pack a picnic and fill a couple of bottles with water. Food at attractions is mostly overpriced and crap. It's a value issue, not a cost issue.

Haven't RTFT but it is true about the effect of upbringing.
I was taught never to eat in the street so cannot see the attraction of brandishing a look at meeee, I can afford a coffee on the way to work. Wait until you get there and put the kettle on!

But if that woman hadn't saved on that holiday to Disney, and beforehand, she wouldn't have got there in the first place. You look long term. It's not a hardship to only have one drink, when you know the saving is contributing to the next nice holiday.

As I say to my kids. We only have so much money. It can only be spent once. We prefer to go on holiday more. Others prefer to ..... You can't have both. Quite often they agree that they prefer the way we do it. They prefer the extra holidays, rather than the meals out/extra drinks their friends get more frequently.

summertimeover Could I also have a copy of your spreadsheet?

I'm not a big spender and live comfortably within my means, but I'd like to see if there are any areas I can cut as I want to get a new car (new to me, that is).

Thanks.

senua no kettles allowed at my work! However there is a Starbucks kiosk in the building

I'm a saver and for me the big motivational factor is security. Apart from our mortgage, which we overpay every month, we have no debt at all. We've also got various savings like ISAs, insurance policies and endowments etc and we pay into these each month too. If the worst happened and we lost an income I want to know my family are protected from that for as long as physically possible.

I don't think we miss out because of the saving as it would, likely as not, just be frittered away on "stuff" if we didn't save it.

Rasberryoverload - that is exactly what my spreadsheet is for. Send me a PM.

I don't understand why having only one bought drink on a day put is a hardship? We pack picnics as standard and couldn't buy overpriced theme park foods

Say you spend £5 per day on lunch. That's £25 per week. £100 a month. Say £1100 per year, if you have 4 weeks holiday. And I'd say that's being cautious with money - and this doesn't include coffee's/muffins/ magazines etc.

I think £5 that would be a lot to spend on lunch. I spend about £3.00. As I work three days a week outside the home, that is about £720 a year. For me it is well worth it to have food I enjoy eating during my working day. I would much rather do that than have a slightly more expensive holiday.

I should have said £432, not £720!

People just differ. I am a "jam tomorrow" person so often don't have what other people have like new bras. I wear clothes until they have holes in etc and that is one reason I was able to buy a house etc. Other people are just not made like that.

We reap what we sow in life.

I don't think only having one drink bought on a day out is a hardship as such but it's sometimes a bit - her kids are teenagers now and we all went on a fairly long walk followed by lunch in a pub. We were at the pub quite a long time and still the kids were only allowed their one allocated drink (my friend definitely had more than one!). It will make absolutely no material difference to their lives-as I said she's sitting on thousands.

When does "watching the pennies so the pounds take care of themselves" become, well, a bit mean??

Really, it is important to be realistic sometimes. There are people on this thread earning over 100k a year. It is much easier to save day to day by living carefully when you know you dont actually have to. And paying for multiple holidays abroad/buying houses/new cars is often due to other factors than just wearing clothes a bit longer or shopping at lidl.