Plonkee asked me a question in my previous post about how I manage to stay on the bandwagon. There are times I don’t, like this week when I spent over £20 on groceries instead of £15. Now, yes that isn’t a huge “fall” but I do employ tactics every time I’m tempted or see a shop to help me stay in line!
- I ask myself what would happen if I went to work today and was told I was no longer needed, or given a weeks notice etc. While this might seem pessimistic to the point of the glass not even being 1/2 full but the water evaporating so quickly we are all going to die of thirst, it does really and truly make me think about what I would do. Right now I have £1000 in my emergency fund and £3600 in my ISA. I don’t ever want to touch my ISA as it is part of my retirement plan which I’ll blog about another day, but I guess the point is I know £1000 would only pay for my rent for 1 month plus 1 bill. Things would be pretty dire, so spending on clothes, books, nights out ISN’T A CHOICE!
- I keep a record of how much my emergency account can grow each month – knowing that through exceptionally frugal living I can save £600 a month AND by extra work (which is rare!) I can this month top up to £1000 makes me keep the eye on the prize. That extra £1000 means I have more than 1 months income saved! That gives me 1 month breathing space if something went wrong.
- All my regular readers know I Iove to travel and have lots of tips for saving to travel here and here. I have a pretty big trip I’d like to do next summer, but I can only do it if I have met my 3 goals mentioned in my last post.
- I read and re-read the same financial books over and over again to keep me motivated. The best one for me, at this stage in my life is Love Is Not Enough: A Smart Woman’s Guide to Making and Keeping Money this keeps me motivated to keep going
- I calculate what my pension and ISA contributions will be over the next 30 years, seeing that compound interest accumulate keeps me going! I know that my paying 15% of my income into my pension AND putting £3600 into an ISA each year will give me a good retirement fund!
- I have worked VERY hard to stop “living in the moment”. The no spend days were the ultimate lesson, I can wait for things, I should wait for things, things are worth waiting for! Of course making sure I don’t go to clothing, book, furniture or coffee shops helps too!!
- I know this isn’t forever. Now that I’ve paid my debt off and know how wonderful it feels, I know that one of the best abilities in life is to sacrifice now for later. Now, I don’t think anyone should always live like this, I do know one person who is soooo frugal despite over £150K in savings, no mortgage on her £240k house that she simply doesn’t live, only heats 1 room in her house, never travels, never goes out for a meal or drinks, never has people over for a meal, won’t partake in any hobbies etc. What I am doing now isn’t hard, it is about keeping my eye on the prize and 6, 9, 12 months living frugally really isn’t hard – being unable to pay my rent and being homeless would be very hard!
- I admit it’s difficult to always stay on budget and read money blogs to motivate me!
- I stay away from blogs that make me feel bad about how little I have, I read blogs of those people I feel a connection with and those who share my values!
- I remember every single day what it was like before. I made a HUGE financial mistake which took my £12k savings and all my income, I was stuck in a job I hated, living in an area that was wrong for me, in an area where I couldn’t meet friends I had things in common with and felt my life was going to never ever get better. I changed my life by getting a new job, moving more than 3 hrs away, making new friends, getting OUT of debt, making my money my own and getting a financial plan in place!
- As a child I was brought up with “catholic guilt”. If you did something wrong the world was over. I used to be like this myself, if I had one day where I ate a cookie I was the “fattest, greediest person ever”, I couldn’t talk about saving with my mum without her saying “think of all the money you’ve wasted, what’s the point now, you’ll never be able to change” – when I moved I had a good LONG look at what I do and don’t do well, one of my biggest problems was NOT being able to forgive myself and move on. Forgiving myself for my past financial mistakes and NOT allowing them to define my future has given me the motivation, energy and ability to move forward!
And that is how I stay on the bandwagon!
What about you, any tips on how you stay focused on the prize?
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Excellent post ft – you’re right, forgiving yourself is the only way forward. I’m so glad I did or I wouldn’t be where I am today
Happy belated birthday
I agree with your book recommendation of Merryn Somerset Webb’s book – it’s great.
What a great post! I meant what I said the other day – you really are an inspiration. In a world where so many people live for the moment without a care for the debts they’re running up or what will happen to them in the future, it’s so good to ‘meet’ somebody like you.
We all have mistakes in our past and, quite frankly, your mother’s attitude is not at all productive. Thankfully my own mother’s very supportive and has tried to teach me everything she knows about saving, budgeting and planning (and she’s a wise bird, believe me).
When you’re older and your friends are still struggling with their debts, I know who’ll have the last laugh
I only recently started thinking about saving for the future and a pension. One guy from my work always talks about retiring at 50 and I always thought it was a laughable concept.
As far as I was concerned, I’d be working until 75 at least! But now that I am starting to save, it makes me realise that I could retire early and live a comfortable, happy life by filling my days with whatever it is that I want to do!
I think the best way to stay on the bandwagon is to have a definite financial goal to aim for – which you do. And never, ever beat yourself up about past mistakes – financial or otherwise. I’ve made plenty of mistakes in the past – financial and otherwise – but did what I though was best at the time. Never look back, only look forward, learn from your mistakes – financial or otherwise – and strive to do the best you can in the future.
This is impressive.
I get a lot of motivation from reading blogs of course, and I have my own fears of homelessness and the sky falling in, but I can’t seem to save as much money as you.
I guess that I’m not as focussed on my somewhat nebulous goals as you are. I think there’s a lesson for me in there somewhere.
great post today! i get really motivated reading blogs- including yours! i also tend to stay away from the blogs that make me think of all my financial mistakes- we have made some REALLY big ones that we are now desperately trying to rectify. we are not out of the woods yet…..
one thing that i do to stay motivated is
1) if i want to buy a thing, i ask myself if I want to store, and MOVE, this thing next time we need to leave our house. The answer is usually no.
2) frugality has taught me how little happiness i actually derive from STUFF. The pleasure of purchasing is fleeting. i remind myself of that when I am tempted by, say, a lovely new top.
3) I remind myself of the things that really make my life rich and happy. like my husband, and breakfast in the sunshine, and a great run. i don’t need to spend to have any of those things !
Sharon, I can’t imagine being an inspiration but I’m really glad that people enjoy reading about my experiences!
Great advice Elizabeth!
Plonkee,what is great about your blog is you’ve made smart decisions and aren’t in debt!
neiman those are great strategies, I can particularly relate to number 2!
Brilliant post today – very inspiring!
Great post! But I disagree with one thing – I try to always live in the moment. The moment is the only thing we actually have. That being said, it doesn’t have to mean overspending or ringing up debt. It can also mean being mindful, being self-aware, and being grateful for the things we have today.
And I have to ask – is this a language difference? In the US, we stay on (or fall off) the wagon… jumping on the bandwagon is when you’re picking up a trend… (which hey, could also be applicable!)
Deepali I think living in the moment is also really important, and you’re right can be done without spending. I’m living in the moment re enjoying life but living long term re my finances, if that makes sense?
Yes you can say jumping on the bandwagon re a new trend, but staying on it re not falling off….boy that doesn’t sound like it makes sense (I’m tired) but I hope it does!
Thanks my life makeover!
I love that Love is not enough book, I read it about a year ago and it was a BIG wake up call! I always dip into it when i need some extra motivation.
I too have been a sucker for the Catholic guilt and never forgave myself for anything (particularly in relationships that went wrong) but now I’m older I feel so much more in control and find it easier to move on without beating myself up about stuff- ‘cancel and continue’ as they say!
I, too, have had many money mistakes and have to forgive myself and move on. Your entry was really heartfelt and insightful, I plan to re-read it once in a while and will try to make a similar list for myself. Thanks.
it makes sense! both of them.
Brilliant, brilliant post Frugal.
Forgiving yourself is so important as is the realisation that you can live a good life on less – listen to your own heart and voice and not to the advertisers and supermarkets (which you are doing)
You have done and are doing SO well and have made amazing progress in the short time I have been following your blog.
This was a timely post for me. My friend lost her job today, totally out of the blue, and is now panicking about her future, as she had never imagined that could happen to her, and is financially unprepared. I’m worried for her, and it made me think about what I would do in that situation. I have never been an advocate of having an emergency fund while I’m paying interest on credit card debts, but this made me rethink that. Is it morbid of me to be motivated to stick to my financial goals by her bad situation?
Not morbid @ all! Personally FruGal I think everyone should aim for an emergency fund, albeit even a small one, before putting everything into repaying debt, just in case!
Just re-read my post which was not well written – I meant to say do what you are doing by not listening to advertisers and supermarkets!!! Apologies….hope you managed to read the intended meaning…..
Makes sense to me, thanks Sandie!