What’s an “unpopular” spending or money decision that actually works well for you?

[HonestTealPoster]

For me, it’s not budgeting. I’ve tried it before and found it quite stressful, I ended up overthinking every purchase. These days I don’t follow a strict budget. I just spend fairly naturally and because I’m quite frugal anyway, I still tend to save more than I spend.

Is there anything you do that might go against the usual advice but works for you?

I’m with you in the meal deal. When the DCs were small, I always use to do it. They used to be £3 in Boots so We could feed all four of us for less than £15. I’d spend more getting all the stuff for a picnic.

buying snacks at the cinema is just crazy though 😂

I also have a lot of MacDonalds because the app is generous with freebies

That sounds exciting, please elaborate….what kind of drugs? Do you share a prostitute or have one each?

I’m the same, multiple accounts, bills, spending, clothes acct ( if I sell on vinted I can use to buy new ones). DH and I separate finances, how do you buy presents if it’s one joint fund? I can waste money if I wish & can afford to..
This works for us, has done for 38 years. Never had a row about money (only the no you can’t buy me that, thats far too expensive, kind of row🤣)

We don't have pet insurance.
We weighed up the pros and cons and over the decades of pet ownership, paying for vet fees as they arose has saved us thousands. It's very much a gamble though.

We don't have credit. If we want something we save for it. This means that we have had to wait longer for stuff and have had to sometimes take cheaper holidays but it's paid off for us.

We have always prioritised hobbies for the kids above holidays to Disney etc. We now have young adults that can ride, sail, and play several instruments between them.

We don't sell stuff on vinted or eBay. Even fairly expensive stuff. We take it to the charity shop to support them (and I can't be bothered with the faff).

We don't sweat the small stuff. If I want a coffee on the go or a bar of decent chocolate now and again then I'm bloody well having one.

Sometimes I go on to Morrisons rather than the Lidl next door because I like browsing there and I am too lazy to go into both.

This is even better if you share the contents out, so everyone gets a couple of different sandwiches, half the crisps, half the sushi etc 🙂

Which is (financially) foolish. MUCH better to enjoy those extra pounds, or put them into pension or high interest savings.

I am 80 next year and still have a mortgage that finishes next year. I kept re-financing for improvements.

For my day to day spend, I only use cash - I found I spend a lot less than paying by card.
At the start of the month, I withdraw an amount per week plus a little extra. Every Sunday night I take the "left overs" out of my purse and put next week's budget in. It really works for me, no more impulse purchases and I think twice before I buy anything not strictly necessary.

I don't budget either, I don't do no spend months or weeks, I am just frugal and stick to the list 100% of the time.

Never drink alcohol or buy meals unless its outside the home.

I cannot tell you how much this saves me on drinking booze at home and ordering take outs. Which I was doing a LOT. Saves calories, my liver and the bank. I always think if I dont fancy cooking (which is always really lol) and fancy a treat (again - always) then I have the choice to go out and have it. Its a 'rule' that I try and stick to, and it doesn't feel like deprivation, but it naturally happens because Im lazy and don't like going out that much. I like just sitting at home in my pjs.

Do you just waste the rest??

We saved my income for about 10 years into investments, bloody hard and the few people we confided in thought we were nuts.
Now, we've got nearly enough in pensions and we've been able to clear the mortgage too. The way we saw it, was those 10 years were going to pass anyway so we might as well end up in a much better position still relatively young.
We enjoyed fantastic holidays and spent on key experiences and any essential aspects for our family life, but no waste.
To us now it's been worth that intense decade. We've also ensured to not upgrade to a larger home, travel, fun and leaving a legacy are more important to us.

We didn't/don't take a penny off our adult DC when they lived here, or still do live here.
It's free all inclusive, all the way.
They protest and try to contribute but I'm of Irish heritage and that's just the way it is. I'd have to be starving before I'd charge family.

Paying a financial advisor initially went against my core beliefs but actually was the best decision we ever made. They saved us many thousands and we have been able to retire in our 50s rather than 60s.

I buy a brand new car every 2 to 3 year( trade in plus cash). I am familiar with depreciation however, I have a brand with one of the lowest depreciation rates,don’t spend a penny on consumables (tyres, wipers etc) and do this because I am an unpaid carer for an elderly parent and hour away, have a full time job an hour away and a child with various clubs. I consider this buying my way out of trouble as I can’t afford for the car
to be off the road.

Oh and I used to buy cheap everything - think primark and shein.

Now I only buy what I really really love. I work hard, Im ancient (51) and I feel I deserve nice things. Some things are (to me) eyewateringly expensive. But ive been pretty much skint most of the past few decades and now Im quite flush and I want to spend it on nice things. Nice clothes, travel, etc. I spoil myself more and I really really value that. Id rather have lots of lovely clothes that I really enjoy wearing that lots of cheap crap.

I only buy expensive clothes and shoes because the fabric and cut are better, so look better, I will wear them more and they will last longer. Same with make up - the more expensive stuff has better pigmentation and formulas so it looks better and lasts longer.

I also really value my time above everything. If taking the train will cost me £5 but take 50 mins or taking a taxi will cost £15 but take 20 minutes, I'm taking the taxi. Likewise things like DIY and decorating. I could spend my precious weekends and evenings painting coving and caulking skirting boards, but I value my off time more, so to me it's worth it to pay someone so I can keep that time protected.

A lot of my spending is unpopular on here. I have a part financed car. It means I can drive something comfortable that doesn’t hurt my back and has a lot of nice features making driving more pleasant and safe so it works for me. It’s not a luxury brand or owt, just a nice model that I couldn’t buy outright.

I also spend a lot on food, mostly for convenience. I rarely shop in Aldi or Lidl as I can’t get close to a full shop there (I have ND teens with quite specific food aversions). I also hate the faff of supermarket shopping so am happy to pay for it to be delivered.

Im generally happy to spend money on things that make my life easier now.

Some places near me literally won't take cash. I tried to pay in cash at my local dry cleaners the other day and he wouldn't take it because he doesn't have a cash register any more - just a computer screen and keyboard linked up to a tap pay device!

Instead of selling our first property ( got it 15 years ago, small mortgage - big equity), we waited and saved enough to get a second house which is now a large enough, but smaller family home than we could have gone for if we opted to sell and own just one property.

I try and stick to two days no spending, and then every third day I spend money, if I think about something I want to buy, normally by the day I can spend money, iv changed my mind and don’t actually want it. Helps me not be wasteful, and iv actually managed to get a few ££££ in saving that iv never been able to do. I still buy myself things, iv just thought about them for longer and not been impulsive

The Roller might get a puncture.

The thing about budgeting/searching for deals etc is that they do all take time.

You can reduce your expenditure a bit. But you can increase your income a lot lot more.

(We're time-poor at the moment, and my six figure earning husband pissed me off the other day by going out to earn £25 in his lunch break.)

I don't spend money on holidays. I am quite happy to stay at home. Parents never had much money when I was growing up, so we only ever went on holiday three times (all in the UK). First DH loved a holiday each year, so I went to keep him happy, but I wasn't that bothered. Second DH and I went on holiday when DC were small, but only for three or four night UK breaks. When we split up, I just didn't have the money for a holiday. It's 30 years since I last went away.