Cutting back...

[antm55]

I could never cut back... until im paying for things myself i mean (and by that i mean with the money my dad has given me). ATM my parents buy me everything so i dont need to cut back. Im not cheap either i spend £40 on things i dont need in the chemist sometimes (hair stuff etc) and ridiculous ammounts on clothes i dont wear. Being 17 is fun eh? I am going to stop though as i know if i dont now i will end up spending all my money when i start making my own and its just a waste of money TBH. Also lots of my money goes into my reptiles and amphibians not to start on my doggies!

I dont think my parents have changed the way they spend their money either but my mum has always been able to keep check of every penny that comes into my house and that goes out of it so i just leave it at that.

[sox-and-the-city]

Linguist, actually. Combined languages degree. In Scotland. That's four years, plus a year abroad for practical learning/living/assimilating the language better.

[Smurlos]

Far as cutting back goes i tried to stop drinking and quit smoking and failed. Miserably. Though i HAVE cut down by drinking wine instead of vodka, and buying twenty packs cos they're more economical.

I've also started taking packed lunches into work and bringing my own coffee, which saves nearly £20 a week surprisingly.

I've also started juggling bank accounts and erased any overdraft charges (by putting all my costs into my INETREST FREE student overdraft) and get paid into my other bank account which has a higher rate of interest.

Starting to think i could maybe live a frugal life, once i get over the whole alcoholic student lifestyle thing...

:biggrin: I do that. I have a natwest gold account - which costs me £13 a month and gets me free breakdown cover, phone insurance, travel insurance etc. and which got me a really low APR on my loan. So I got a loan, paid off the loan I had with Abbey... at a lower APR, £4000 extra plus only £70 a month more :biggrin:

My student account has a 0% £1500 overdraft that's maxed atm and is there until 2010 when uni finishes. I have a credit card with natwest that i've transfered balances to - 0% for first 6 months. Am paying that off at £100-£200 a month atm (balance is bout £500 atm) so that'll be gone in no time. I'm planning to put all my xmas prezzies and all costs from Ian's bday surprise to Paris on my card... then go for the Lloyds student credit card which is 0% APR for god knows how long and a rly good deal basically... and transfer that to there so i still don't pay interest...

I've also moved my ISA savings from Abbey to a natwest ISA so atm I have everything with natwest as it's at a higher interest rate.

So with respects to banking, I've done quite a lot to save myself some dollar :biggrin:

[fjp999]

I have been frugal since returning from Japan... cant imagine the money I made and spent over there... fun fun fun.

Having your own biz you have to account for every penny and plan ahead for each season (mens wear design biz). We had one season do really bad and it nearly wiped us out.

Now, on Federal disability, my funds are pretty well controlled and accounted before I get the next deposit. Getting a new house, with parents financing it, means every cent left over after utilities, food, meds, etc, all goes to pay off the house... which is now 1/4 paid off - YEAH!!! Planning to have it fully paid off by the end of the year. Also waiting for Section 8 housing to step in and help with the house payments... meaning that I can save for a nice honeymoon cruise in the future :biggrin:

For me it is all about being satisfied with what ya got and having plans for the future using it for events/purchases with real meaning.

So to the original question: not really doing anything different for nearly a decade.