lifestyle creep

WiresDreamDisasters

You know.... before you know it, you're buying coffee every morning instead of making it. You're taking Ubers instead of busses. You're buying amps every other month (lol)

How do you reverse lifestyle creep?

TimmyO

Must it be reversed?

WiresDreamDisasters

Are you telling me to buy more amps?  

Nah, I think I need to calm down a bit. Money is tight as a nuns chuff right now, but I've still got a list as long as my arm of things I want. Turning into a right little consumer droid and it makes me kinda hate myself.

munckee

I bought a really good nespresso coffee mug so I can take a good coffee with me as well as a chilli bottle for cold drinks. I spend a reasonable amount of time in the car. 

Taking lunch with me rather than buying. 

Put some cash into PayPal account and making it your gear fund. Once spent I have to sell to buy. 

ESBlonde

Budget

Write down income(s)

Write down Expenditure

Write down needs

Write down wants

Review at least weekly.

That way you can focus on something like longer term goals and see the importance of short term frugality.

If you write down £4.25 for coffee each day and £5.50 for a butty and and £1.60 for a bus you can see it costs £56.75 every week in sundry work costs.

Doing your own bits at home can save you over £40 per week allowing for a slight increase in the family grocery bill. £40 x the 45 weeks you go to work is £1,800 a year.  Thats the same as having a salary increase before tax of £2,500!

What could you do with £1,800 in your bank account/off your credit card?

scrumhalf

Stop using credit cards or bank cards.

Pay for everything in cash. Not only is it getting more difficult to find banks on the high street but the buggeration of carrying a load of change is annoying. It also makes you realise every penny that you spend.

RaymondLin

Just tell the wife.

p90fool

It's easy, just get made redundant. 

And you've spent too long in recording studios, it's "buses". 

hywelg

WiresDreamDisasters said:

How do you reverse lifestyle creep?

Have word with yourself. 

ROOG

Buy a new house! I worked for me for about a year and a half. It totally put the sh*ts up me, saving like mad, selling loads of stuff (some of which I later realised I needed) then once we moved and paid all legal fees etc. I knew I needed to budget for carpet, curtains etc. so no Guitar or HiFi related purchases for nearly 2 years. 

Cost me a bomb, just not on blokey type crap.  

strumjoughlamps

ESBlonde said:

Budget

Write down income(s)

Write down Expenditure

Write down needs

Write down wants

Review at least weekly.

That way you can focus on something like longer term goals and see the importance of short term frugality.

If you write down £4.25 for coffee each day and £5.50 for a butty and and £1.60 for a bus you can see it costs £56.75 every week in sundry work costs.

Doing your own bits at home can save you over £40 per week allowing for a slight increase in the family grocery bill. £40 x the 45 weeks you go to work is £1,800 a year.  Thats the same as having a salary increase before tax of £2,500!

What could you do with £1,800 in your bank account/off your credit card?

When was the last time you got a bus? 1997  

WiresDreamDisasters

p90fool said:

It's easy, just get made redundant. 

And you've spent too long in recording studios, it's "buses". 

hahahaha! Good shout!

octatonic

WiresDreamDisasters said:

You know.... before you know it, you're buying coffee every morning instead of making it. You're taking Ubers instead of busses. You're buying amps every other month (lol)

How do you reverse lifestyle creep?

Some people are frugal by inclination, some are extravagant and it is often unrelated to income.

If it isn't your natural inclination then setting yourself a weekly budget, actually moving the money from your savings account to your current account and spending from the current account.

Or do it the other way, every time you don't spend money on something (be it coffee, Uber etc) then move the money you would have otherwise spent into your savings account.
Mrs Oct and I do the latter- we don't drink (me ever, her through the week) so we each move 10CHF a day into a bank account for every day we do this.
At the end of each year we have a few grand we can spend on ourselves, get something for the house or have a nice holiday.

The most important thing though is making sure that anything that attracts interest (overdraft, credit cards) are paid off each month.

WiresDreamDisasters

I don't have anything that attracts interest right now other than the mortgage. My credit card is interest free until November 2020. Plan to have it paid off by then.

Kilgore

You've got a young daughter, do you know how much Uni and a blinged out wedding cost these days?

Start saving NOW.

octatonic

Kilgore said:

You've got a young daughter, do you know how much Uni and a blinged out wedding cost these days?

Start saving NOW.

My parents didn't pay for my wedding or for my university education.
Nor did my wife's parents fund hers.

Do people really expect to have to fund this for their children?

LastMantra

  

Kilgore

octatonic said:

Kilgore said:

You've got a young daughter, do you know how much Uni and a blinged out wedding cost these days?

Start saving NOW.

My parents didn't pay for my wedding or for my university education.
Nor did my wife's parents fund hers.

Do people really expect to have to fund this for their children?

I was mostly joking about the wedding bit. As for Uni, I don't think people expect to have to fund it. I was lucky enough to go to Uni in the days of no tuition fees and generous maintenance grants so it makes me feel good to know I'll be able to help out a bit. 

WiresDreamDisasters

LastMantra said:

  

Saw it before the edit Dave.

WiresDreamDisasters

Kilgore said:

octatonic said:

Kilgore said:

You've got a young daughter, do you know how much Uni and a blinged out wedding cost these days?

Start saving NOW.

My parents didn't pay for my wedding or for my university education.
Nor did my wife's parents fund hers.

Do people really expect to have to fund this for their children?

I was mostly joking about the wedding bit. As for Uni, I don't think people expect to have to fund it. I was lucky enough to go to Uni in the days of no tuition fees and generous maintenance grants so it makes me feel good to know I'll be able to help out a bit. 

No silver spoon here either!

Caffeine_Vampire

In a world dominated by the likes of Amazon and my every film/tv wish granted, I struggle to leave the house these days.