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?

Exactly the same here. Meal planning is absolutely not for me 😆

This is the same as us. I don’t think it’s unusual? Lots of people on here don’t even have a joint account despite sharing a mortgage which I find odd.

But do you ever worry about what would happen if he suddenly died? I have no idea where to find his savings account, pensions etc.

This actually saves me money. I always did it when I was younger but with two kids we just don’t have the time now, so I buy bulk and there’s always food waste. It’s annoying.

Maybe this is my sign to go back to a daily trip.

Getting a second car. We have a setup where 1 of us commutes each day the other wfh or locally those days. We survived on 1 car for years and saved a fortune. However our eldest has some health issues which makes transporting him difficult and trying at times. So I saved and got a second car, a tiny, old rattly runaround and I love that car. I feel free in her in a way I don't anywhere else. My husband was against it on environmental grounds but also now acknowledges the second car more than pays for itself v

The point about a sudden death is becoming more relevant now that nearly everything is done online. At least a decade or two ago, if the worst happened, the surviving spouse (or next of kin) could just sort through drawers/boxes of paperwork to get a handle on the household finances if they'd not been involved. There'd have been bills, bank statements, bank pass books, share/dividend certificates, etc and a pretty good picture could be gathered pretty quickly. But now with everything being online, there's none of that. Even if you knew the passwords to the deceased's phone/laptop, you'd still only know what was obvious via their apps etc., and not necessarily know things that were accessible via a web browser unless they were book-marked. At least with joint accounts, the surviving spouse/partner can gain immediate access via their own login/app, bills continue to be paid, there's access to funds, etc. I really can't imagine why any couple, especially married and especially with children wouldn't have at least one joint account to pay the household bills to ensure continuity. Surely if you trust someone enough to have a child with them, to live with them, etc., you'd trust them enough to use a joint account for household finances. Having a joint account doesn't stop you also having your own account(s)/investments.

I told my husband to move out and he did. Worst financial decision of life. Best decision for my physical and emotional health.

Same.

We've just booked and paid for a holiday using a credit card as we don't have the money atm. We've had some big, unexpected expenses and so our savings / holiday money were swallowed up. I know everyone bangs on about not booking things you can't afford but DH has a big job coming up in May (self employed) which will pay the holiday off and wanted to get the accommodation and flights secured so thought fuck it. I'm not working all year to just sit at home for my annual leave!

I turn my heating on whenever i want, a warm house is a huge comfort to me and i like my kids to wake up warm or come home from school to a nice warm house ( in the winter)

I would cut back on what i need to have a warm house.

I lived in a rented house for my whole adult life until I was 47.

It meant I could live somewhere beautiful and which suited to my ( very specific!) needs but which I could not have afforded to buy. Also the landlord paid for house repairs, groundwork etc and I liked the security and convenience of that, not just the expenditure but not having to find/ chase tradesmen was brilliant as LL had dedicated maintenance staff.

I have now bought somewhere and although I will be 60-65 by the time my mortgage is paid off, many of my peers will have bought at 25, then scaled up / remortgaged for improvements etc. Many won’t be mortgage free until the same age.

Renting isn’t always a terrible idea but I’m sure it’s v unpopular on mumsnet 😬

I also do multiple food shops per week. I find if I try to do a big weekly shop, inevitably the youngest will be invited to a playdate after school, or the teen will go out for Nandos with their friends and not want dinner, the eldest will decide they're going to stay at their boyfriend's house that night, and all the food I've meticulously planned for the week's meals just goes to waste because DH and I can't eat it all. It actually saves money to go out and buy what we need every day. Luckily we live walking distance from a supermarket.

I buy lunch whenever I go into the office (2 or 3 days a week) - occasionally I'll go for the Sainsbury's meal deal but more often than not it's pret/leon/itsu or similar. I also buy coffee from either work canteen or outside coffee shops. It all costs a fortune but I don't care - we can afford it and with two young kids, nursery/ school runs to think about and meal plan around I really really cba to plan ahead to bring food in. Occasionally I'll buy breakfast on my way on too.

I do agree massively with the point on travelling and flights. I remember being in Israel years ago. On one of our tours was an older Colombian couple with their daughter. They had waited most of the working life to travel in retirement and then the mom could not finish the tour as her knees could not take the walking. Her daughter said their have had to change a lot of their travel plans as her parents struggle with many of the activities and the long haul flights.

Yeah I won’t be buying before 50 but that’s cos of poor money management on my part. So that is one piece of financial advice I have not followed - I did not get on the property ladder early!

It’s definitely not the end of the world. You’ll still have time to pay off a mortgage by the time you need to retire. I started earning late because I did a post grad and lived abroad for a few years. That all cost a bit too! So I accept that I won’t be retiring at 50 like some. I’m fortunate to love my job though which helps!

Have paid off mortgage but drive a cheap 2016 electric car. Prioritise great family holidays and trips as realise our kids won’t always want to come away with us! Always get good deals though.

Me too! I save whatever is left at the end of the month. Have been a bit more stricter about how much I'm expecting there to be leftover to save every month so that has helped to cut back on frivolous mindless spending for the sake of it.

We believe in spending our money giving ourselves a better life now rather than waiting for a mythical moment in retirement.
We have a second home in dh's home town because we look after his mum every weekend and it's easier than staying in a hotel every weekend. We have a mortgage on our main house - we are not worried about paying that off - we'll probably sell it and buy something in a cheaper area when the time is right, we chose to go on several holidays every year we always have enough to cover our bills and save plenty.
We buy a new cars - I know buying second hand is better value but we always buy new - we don't take a loan - we buy cars new and drive them until they die.
I don't like people buying me gifts, I don't feel guilty treating myself - I buy me the best gifts - if you want to treat me wine and dinner are my only wants - everything else is an annoying waste.
I never buy takeaway coffee.
We do have our budget on a speadsheet though.😂

We have separate accounts but we both know what accounts each other has, we just don't have access to them or know what amount each other has. I don't think it would be a major issue in the unlikely event that one of us died unexpectedly. Definitely not enough for me to want a joint account anyway.

Snap.

We discuss all the big money decisions and share the long term savings/pensions info etc. property is now owned outright together etc

However we both have our own day to day money and can fund semi extravagant personal purchases without ‘permission’. Works for us.

In what way is it 'really cheap' to live alone rather than share with another adult who earns money?
So many costs have a minimum that is the same however many people you are.
There's a council tax discount for being single, but it's still more than one half of a couple's share. Water, electricity and gas are going to be more for one single person than one half of a couple.
When you travel, your hotel room is going to cost more than half a double or twin even if you manage to find a single room or pay the single occupancy rate.

Unless you're comparing with living with someone who didn't earn money, I don't understand what you mean.

Because there is only me to look after, whats not to understand.

Ive been single and living alone for 12 year.
Ive managed to pay bills and feed myself without needing a man to help me.

Yes, you've managed it, but it's still more expensive. If you live with another adult who earns money, whether it's a man or a woman, a partner or a flatmate, it's still only yourself you have to look after.

Me too. I just hate being cold.

My bills are cheap, i have a small home, it may be expensive to others but not for me.