If you struggled financially at one point and are now in a better place...

[champagnesupernovainthesky]

Does it feel weird sometimes when you're food shopping and don't have to count every single penny anymore?

I'm in a much better situation financially now than a few years ago due to no longer being with DP and his financial abuse but from time it still feels weird to not be trailing the supermarket worrying about what to buy!?

Does anyone else have this?! Its almost like I shouldn't be looking at some things in the shop!

15 years down the line, I’m starting to get rid of some habits but by no means all. Trying to be deliberate about it.

I’m aiming to buy quality clothes rather than whatever is cheapest. I did this a few years ago with shoes and they lasted so much longer. I still can’t buy full price though.

Same with food, I can’t resist a yellow sticker and counting the pennies on everything. But I’m trying to buy quality rather than crap for bread etc. I was brought up on the 10p loaves and I hate cheap bread now. Like pp said I feel like Cinderella every time I put an expensive loaf in my trolley.

Yes. I still buy secondhand clothes and the budget supermarket range. I class a cheap bubble bath and charity shop novel as a treat. I cut my own hair and love car boot sales. Having very little must have changed the way my brain is wired.

Yes, in 2009 I was unemployed for months and was broke and in a lot of debt. Much better position now, but still look at the value brand first for everything.

One of the main things for me is that I used to spend ages going into different shops comparing prices before committing to buy something. Often the difference was only a few pence but that made a massive difference to me. I still do it to some degree as old habits definitely do die hard but I am a bit more relaxed now things aren't as tight as they used to be. I still think of things like grapes as a huge treat (they were something I loved as a child but we very rarely had) and feel so lucky that I can buy them because I fancy them.

@LividLaughLovely I am the same. I think once you have lived through the struggle of being hungry and scraping together meals for your DC the anxiety never leaves you.

I left a financially (amongst other things) abusive husband 10 years ago. I have money left over almost every month, all bills are paid on time or even early. I keep my credit card at a very low limit and pay it off in full.

I watch every penny but if I want something I'll allow myself to have it (within reason). I regularly use payment plans like Klarna or Clearpay but always end up clearing the balance by the next payday! I have 100% control over my finances!

Absolutely this. Our worst point was 8 years ago when we were doing a credit card shuffle just to get by. I took myself off FB as I couldn't bear to see other people with new things and holidays.
Now we have a good ££££ cushion and I struggle to spend anything. I still automatically go for the cheapest thing.

Same here! Recently inherited a life-changing amount from my dad, who lived like he didn’t have two beans to rub together - which was how I grew up. Turns out he squirrelled his beans away and I have benefitted massively. I am so grateful to him for the financial security and for the good things in life I thought I would never have - I am sure if I had never struggled I would not appreciate how lucky I am now. I think about my dad and thank him every day - Cheers to you dad!

I still check my bank balance before doing the weekly shop. I still buy from the reduced section to freeze down. I still use vouchers and codes and cash back sites. I still watch what I spend all the time. I'm in a good place financially and I've become obsessed with having savings to be my security blanket. I dont think thay financial fear will ever leave me after years of scraping by.

Yes! I still get a thrill out of buying (almost) anything I want at the supermarket.

I grew up in a house where money was always tight. DH and I are doing alright between us but I am still very conscious of how much we spend on food, I take ages in supermarkets working out which pack size of an item is the best value for money.
I hate it if lights /gadgets are left on in a room no one is using and for some reason if I am gifted something, for example a new watch from my mother, I will be afraid to use it, almost like I'm saving it for a special occasion. Its been in its box ten years and only been worn about three times.

I'd say that I never stop feeling appreciative of not having to pinch pennies.

The feeling isn't constant, but it hits me now and again when I'm buying something, even something 'cheap', on impulse or shopping for a big meal, like Xmas or Thanksgiving. It's just the knowledge that I can buy what I need/want without having to 'budget' or worry about 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'.

I'm so grateful for online banking so I know how much I've got whenever I'm about to buy anything, and that I can move money around. Hated it when you weren't sure if your card would be accepted.

I always feel guilty buying more than one bottle of wine - even if they're on special.

Totally understand this sentiment.
I'm comfortable now after a very poor upbringing and then struggle as a single parent when the children were small.
I honestly think I could win the lottery and I'd STILL shop in primark and look for yellow stickers.
Just never leaves you?

Yes, I have been very badly off financially in the past, debt management plans, living off beans and tea, not even enough money to buy clothes from charity shops etc etc.

What I do now is: when I have more money I save and after saving I relax a bit, and when I have less money (like since March 2020) I tighten the belt a bit.

I was brought up in poverty. We didn't have enough money for basic food some months and had to go without. I have worked extremely hard and am now financially more comfortable than I thought possible.

But old habits die hard. I still watch my money extremely closely. I can afford nice things but I don't buy them because for some irrational reason, I feel a huge amount of guilt and it takes away any pleasure I could possibly have. Even something like a takeaway coffee, I can't do it.

Yes, I am happy to buy anything I like in a supermarket but have rarely bought anything expensive in my life

I can't seem to stray out of a very challenging budget and list, and just choosing only what I really need during a grocery shop. The very lean days are so ingrained in me. I guess I actually enjoy being frugal even if I don't have to. It's like passing a test to see if the survival instinct still works. Bit sad really. But then when eating out, which is a few times a week normally, I don't watch the cost at all. I'm just going to end up the mysterious old woman in rags wearing loads of jewellery, like the woman in Jack's sketchbook in Titanic

I think I will always mentally total up how much things cost when in a supermarket even though it doesn’t matter because I can definitely afford it. I do get a sense of achievement at the checkout when I’m within 10p of my estimate but it’s more a yes on my maths skills then the relief I used to feel that I could have everything in the trolley.

I also still know which pay at pump petrol stations near me only take a pound before charging your card a few days later which is how I’d get to work the last few days in the month.

Yes, it's a strange thing. And I'm certainly not well off my mn standards.

I remember struggling massively and being and such a strict strict budget. I remember one month and I'd taken the kids to the park and they'd asked if they could have an ice cream, and I had to say no. That £4 was a quarter of our spare money, I couldnt justify it.

Now I'm relatively better off in the sense we can have an ice cream or lunch out without having to think too much about the bank balance. But no round the world cruises or anything!

It's funny really as in some ways I have more money now because I have more money. I can buy good deals when I see them, because I can afford to. Like a pair of good quality winter boots to put away for when I need them, rather than having to buy something poor quality at full price because I've got holes in my current ones, if that makes sense? So I save money in the long run because the boots last me three times longer!

yes absolutely, I used to live on a tenner a week, stay in shared rooms etc and never had the heating on as it was too expensive. I still find it really hard to spend money on food, heating and my appearance, I only really buy the cheapest / reduced of anything. I "save" presents too like a pp as if they are too good for me. I've got quite good savings and a professional salary but mentally I just can't let long term habits go. I'm glad to read about other people like this!

I spent many years when my kids were young worrying about money, counting the pennies and lying awake at night worrying about paying the mortgage. We do not have a mortgage now or money worries due sadly to inheritance but am still pretty thrifty and loiter around the bargain bin and won't pay a lot for certain things if I can get them cheaper elsewhere. We still drive old cars too, would never dream of buying a new car.

I'm the other way. Had a good job and didn't really look at price tags. Now it's different, given up my job after having DD. Watching those pennies now. We have jacket potatoes more than I'd like.

We are in no way well off and still have to count the pennies but from where we were 2 years ago when we had to sell the telly and remembering having to take the spare change box down to the co OP to top up the leccy it feels like we are so rich.