It seems that consumer confidence and spending is down here and abroad, with a lot of talk about it possibly pushing us into a double dip recession.
I would say that I haven't changed my spending habits in the last couple of years. I've always been fairly price insensitive to the small luxuries, but have never really splashed much cash on big ticket items.
Have your spending habits changed much of the last couple of years?
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My spending habits have changed very much for the worse over the last couple of years, mostly due to personal circumstances but the financial climate has definitely had a bearing on the decisions I've taken.
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An email from Gocompare indicates my spending on motor insurance is about to increase by nearly £100.
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Following my job shift my gross income is almost halved, though my nett pay isn't by any stretch, just shows have much more you contribute in income tax and NI once you go over a certain level.
So yes we are more careful but keeping our heads nicely bobbing along, with care it's surprising just how much less you can give the govt of the day to fritter away.
As for recession, we've only dipped our toes in IMO.
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That must be to pay for that B awful opera singer with the idiot moustache!
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Recession has halved my income, but really the only thing that's changed is the forgoing of a leased new car - I simply couldn't justify £300 a month anymore 'just' for transport.
Other than that, life is pretty much as before. Wife spends, I try to earn enough to cover the gap!!
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...Recession has halved my incomebut really the only thing that's changed..
EP,
Pleased to hear you're managing OK despite your job/employers getting a bit of a hiding on here.
Good thing you don't have to rely on us to put bread on the table. :)
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We, like many ex-pat Brits in the Euro zone, suffered a double whammy of slump in the value of the pound and interest rates falling to almost zero. Our income dropped by at least a third, probably more if I dared to put precise figures on it.
Many Brits round here have returned to the UK somehow or other and some second homes now stand empty all year, often with mouldering 'a vendre' signs on them.
We have been lucky enough to have had sufficient leeway to cope with the drop, so nothing much has changed. We did buy the Beast last year though, on the basis that I had been without a proper car ever since we came here eight years ago and it seemed, increasingly, to be a case of 'now or never'.
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I think the interesting thing for us has been to try and work out where all your money is going. Each month we get 2 salaries paid in and then by the next month we are back to scratch again.
Using back info etc for direct debits and standing orders takes care of some but there seems to be a lot that appears under "cash withdrawal" ! I would never make an accountant....
My missus has got it into her head that she wants to pay cash for the food shopping, have a budget of £100 a week to cover all and work to it. Works fine to a certain degree but then if I need to nip in for bread and milk on the way home, or need a case of beer, I don't go raiding the housekeeping purse for the money!!
One of the biggest cost differences to me has been power companies.
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My (personal) gross income has been slashed by 66%. My net income has dropped by 40% My outgoings have been slashed by 40% (mortgage, loans) so I am now reitred and not worse off. Its heaven.
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 18 Jul 10 at 11:30
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Business is up and down every month - this ones a good one, last month was enough to make me weep, so Im spending only what I must.
Ive managed to slash my petrol bill by 25% even though I went from the Charade to the Carina, food also cut by 25%. These two are the only really big spends I can eat into. We dont spend much on utilities anyway and Im not going to get all victorian to save a few pence.
We are still having a holiday this year but next year we wont have one that we pay for ( my nan wants to take family to Devon next year so we wont be paying for that ).
Apparently Im entitled to £44 a month benefits but I think id rather struggle at this stage - nothing worse than getting your name on some government computer.
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>> Apparently Im entitled to £44 a month benefits but I think id rather struggle at
>> this stage - nothing worse than getting your name on some government computer.
>>
>>
I wouldn't worry about it, your name and a lot more will already be on lots of them. For example DVLA sell your details to all and sundry.
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I know, but one less government agency poking its nose into my life is something atleast!
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>> I know, but one less government agency poking its nose into my life is something
>> atleast!
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Most are cross referenced, so if you are on one all is lost !
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>>Apparently Im entitled to £44 a month benefits but I think id rather struggle at this stage
£10 per week; I'd struggle on, too. Probably isn't worth the hassle...
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Ironically, we should all conciously start spending a bit more, not beyond our means of course but if we don't start pushing some money through our High Streets soon we are all stuffed.
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>>if we don't start pushing some money through our High Streets soon we are all stuffed.
I'll start the ball rolling with a couple of pints of Abbot in an hours time. That'll get things moving...
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done my bit.
New 500 quid tele, 600 quid dumped into the Northumbrian economy via a vacation, new Iphone 4 to come, new Blue ray player to come.
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I've just been to a garden centre and bought a load of stuff. Mondy was handy for that. I'd miss it.......
:-)
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for gods sake humph, sell the mondy to the wife and kill two pigeons with one stone.
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I used to go foodshopping straight to S - burys. I now go into Aldi and then on to Sainsburys for the balance of my shop. I have saved a little there but still eat well enough. My winter combined energy bill was £200 and the spring quarter was £100 for all but I have a small well-insulated house and I am out/away a lot.
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My income is slightly down but my spending hasn't changed much. I spend less on a night out now but I also have more holidays.
My parents situation is dire but that is not just recession related it has been a time bomb waiting to explode for many years.
Part from my car (£6500 but with a loan) the only other big thing I have bought in the past year is a new 22" 1080P LG TV I paid £190 for.
I am certainly spending a lot less on gadgets, my own PC needs a new power supply and I haven't even bothered to replace it I just make do with its glitch.
Edit I forgot I did buy a new netbook a few months back which cost me £130.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Sun 18 Jul 10 at 17:41
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Have your spending habits changed? - Dave_
