Stopping : probably have to sell my Passport de Soliel ticket due to the cost of flying their and accommodation. Also no new bike

Spending on : Bits to maintain my bike. Discovering interesting parts of Britain to visit and camp.

no bike bits anyway at the moment because of my knee

was planning on a holliday abroad, but probably not now the pound has tanked.

still buying: steak and beer.

Not changed my spending habits if anything I’ve spent more than normal these last few months.

I am attempting a one woman restart of the economy with my spending power. Mostly concentrated on food and shoes. 😀

It’s all spend spend spend here (and not on credit cards). Mostly stuff that we have been putting off that needs doing to the house.

Likewise, I am responding to the monetary policy goals of the Bank of England and doing my bit for the velocity of money. You can’t take it with you when you’re gone, but if you run out you can always mug an old woman. 🙂

Recession???

WE’RE keeping this shabby economy afloat!
In the last year we have –

Moved house
Bought a new-ish car
Got married
Been to Newfoundland
Been to Sicily
Bought 2-3 new bikes
I bought a Ducati motorbike
And now we’re about to put a new bathroom in!

I’ve just guesstimated that’s about £270K FFS!!

You can thank us for our help in this matter any time you like!!
😀

lol @ BigDummy!

Currently buying a house – offer accepted this time last week, so in the early stages of sorting everything through still.

Only me working at the moment, so that is restricting things somewhat, but since the new year I have managed a Triumph Speed Triple and a Canon EOS 5D mk II… plus a trip to Ireland.

So not too bad then!

Probably won’t go on holiday as such this year, what with moving and all that… but since we now live on the edge of the Lake District… I can live with that! Especially since the Met Office are forecasting a pretty decent summer!

I’ve stopped the wife spending and I’ll continue to buy DVDs, Golf Clubs and Bikes

still spending as usual. Just getting a bit more for my money, which means when interest rates rise again, I’ll not need to spend so can take advantage of the better savings rates.

Now is a good time to be cash rich.

Me the wife,3 kids & the dog gave up eating 3 months ago

I wouldnt be so sure………..

2 options.
1, the whole thing begins to correct itself, pound increaces in value, que some massive deflation and job losses as our exports become uncompettative again.
2, we get a conservative goverment and the same intrest rates/inflation as last time. Meaning we may well be earning 12% on our ISAs, but its fairly useless if inflation gows up with it.

Either way, wer’re all dodoooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmed

I’ve stopped eating well, scrapped my car as i couldn’t put it through the MOT and have had to break my collarbone so i’d not wear my bike bits out.

Well I was saving pretty heavily anyway for a trip to Kenya at the end of May and also for a house deposit, so I’m continuing to do the same, have still managed to spend plenty recently as well though. Despite my wife being on the verge of redundancy (just awaiting the outcome of her consultation period) I have so far this year bought a suit from Hugo Boss (for a wedding which involved staying at an ‘Exclusive hotel’) my bar bill for that was similar to the cost of the suit, during the reception I managed to drop my glasses and stamp on them so this weekend I’ll be buying new frames and lenses. A new Sigma 10-22 lens for the camera, plenty of clothing as I trash clothes like I trash glasses and best of all an old Peugeot raid bike for £30, did 15 miles on it last night making it proabably the best value for money bike I have ever bought!

Oh yeah and you can all now laugh at me for still having cash in Isa’s despite earning less a month than my 10 year old neice gets in pocket money!

Not much has changed – still eating, riding, holidaying. The only thing I’m trying to avoid is big capital expense stuff – new car is going to wait another year, and possibly the new full sus I want too.

We managed to clear our loan and overdrafts at the end of last year which means we’ve ‘only’ got the mortgage to pay. With only me working (my wife is doing a far harder job of bringing up 2 little boys) we are planning on not borrowing a bean for the next 18 months.

We have cancelled sky (never watched it anyway), started bulk buying stuff and stopped expenditure on bike stuff except for breakages. I thought that might be a bitter pill to swallow but actually I have enjoyed riding what i have just as much and have realised that i’m happy with stuff I have rather than lusting after carbon bars, xtr bits etc.

Any spare cash we have is going on doing the house up to sell when the maket picks up – you can haggle workmen down quite a bit at present as they are feeling the pinch too so its a good time to get stuff done to your house if you can.

Having, like yossarian, got t down to a mortgage only late last year (well, apart from the car loan which finished last month), we’ve not massively changed our spending habits.

I’ve already had one foregn holiday this year – riding weekend in Belgium for the Tour of Flanders – and we’re off to Italy the week after next (which won’t be cheap). There’s also the trip to France in July for the Étape….

We have one potential item of capex – the yard and garden at the front of the house are the last things that need to be done, so they’re on the lost. I’m waiting for a quote from a paving/gardening company, which probably won’t be cheap.

Bike expenditure seems to be the biggest drain on my finances, and it’s all largely forced replacement or renewal of items. Recently bought some new road wheels (Ksyrium Elite), but that’s it (other than the proposed B2W cargo bike, and possible CX bike for the winter.. 🙂 ).

With mortgage rates low, and no savings to speak of, I am cash richer than I have been for some time.

(my wife is doing a far harder job of bringing up 2 little boys)

You don’t really believe that do you?
Our lads are 18 months apart,1 & 2’n a 1/2(they still are, just a fair bit older now).We had no child care, both worked fulltime,the wife days & me nights.We saw each other a couple of hours a day but it meant we both saw lots of the lads.The best part & by far the easiest was looking after the kids,it made the 4 hours kip a day & 12 hour shifts far more bearable

No changes here.. infact we’ve never been better off..

We can save 1 of our wages, and live easily off the other.

Still buying all the toys I want,and not really worrying to much about it all.

If it happens, then it happens..

no changes here. We’ve just had the back garden done, we’re having a conservatory built, I’ve just paid the final grand on our holiday, my wife had hired an assortment of handy men to come and oggle her whilst they proport to be carrying out tasks around the house that she says I never do (what’s that about?), I’ve been looking round for a new cyclocross bike and I keep buying crap that I don’t realy need.

I’ve just supported two local businesses by getting a new kitchen and look forward later in the year to supporting another by getting a log burner fitted. No new car though, even though I keep getting told I need one. It’s rubbish of course. Rust makes it look more manly.

We are cutting down on some things though. Less booze, less eating out, but that is also due to race training and stuff.

You don’t really believe that do you?

yeah i do actually. Ours are 18 months apart too – 9 months and 2 and a quarter and they are a right handful. We have no family within 300 miles to take the strain and we do not use child care at all. My missus has a full on day from when she wakes up at 6 (usually after a disrupted night’s sleep) right through til when i get home. In comparison to cycling to work, drinking coffee and doing an office job, its harder work in my opinion.

No change here either, still buying plenty of bike bits and just spent a heap of money on a new kitchen and all sorts of bits to go with it – table and chairs, toaster, kettle, blinds, oak floor, the list goes on.

Fed up with huge electricity bills, I got a bit of flex, and attached it to the electric supply for the lights on the landing outside my door. Hey Presto- no more extortionate bills!*

*This is not actually true. I do, however, know of a bloke who has done something simliar for over 30 years. How he’s got away with it for so long, I have no idea. Naughty.

Having been redundant 3 times my discovery was that you can only really save money on personal spendnon essentials – ie takeaways, holidays, treats ….

Stuff like mortgage, insurances, gas, lecyyy etc etc is pretty much non negotiable. You can shop ‘cheaper’ – ie cheaper food items etc but you can’t actually not buy it.

Certainly taught me to save for a rainy day…………… and I lost weight …..

Keeping hold of my cheapo Golf Gti, Dropped out of Ironman Switzeraland as the holiday around it would have broken me. Going Scotland for a couple of weeks instead 🙂

Otherwise trying to ride my bike instead of upgrade it!

Didn’t help being in debt from travelling recently

yeah i do actually. Ours are 18 months apart too – 9 months and 2 and a quarter and they are a right handful. We have no family within 300 miles to take the strain and we do not use child care at all. My missus has a full on day from when she wakes up at 6 (usually after a disrupted night’s sleep) right through til when i get home. In comparison to cycling to work, drinking coffee and doing an office job, its harder work in my opinion.

It’s all about getting them in a routine & sticking to it,even at the weekends.If you ponder to their every need they’ll expect & demand it all the time too,even in the night.Getting them out in the fresh air as often as possible really knocks them out,that’s probably the best bit of advice we were given.
But hey I’m no expert but I listened to me mum(who was from a family of 15 & an ex-child minder) & our 3 we’re all pretty much golden by the time they hit 2.

Of course now the lads are in their mid-teens I wish I’d just given them away at birth.If you think they’re bad now,it gets worse……

peterpoddy – i’m with you on this. Since the interest rates have dropped, we’ve bought a 37″ Sharp Aquos HD TV, some new oak furniture for the lounge, a new car, a Wii and Wii Fit..

Hopefully we can stop spending this month..

Still paying 6% on my mortgage as I fixed it 2 yrs ago. Got a kid on the way in June, so we will be on one income for a bit.

Therefore, no foreign holidays this year, we’re keeping our 12 year old car with 170k on it and not buying a new TV, even though we’re currently watching a 20 yr old 14″ portable which only shows everything in green.

But actually I don’t really mind any of this as I’m really looking forward to being a dad. Oh and I just bought a new Orange Five which rocks.

Still paying 6% on my mortgage as I fixed it 2 yrs ago. Got a kid on the way in June, so we will be on one income for a bit.

Therefore, no foreign holidays this year, we’re keeping our 12 year old car with 170k on it and not buying a new TV, even though we’re currently watching a 20 yr old 14″ portable which only shows everything in green.

But actually I don’t really mind any of this as I’m really looking forward to being a dad. Oh and I just bought a new Orange Five which rocks.

without having any knowldege on loans and mortgages at all, can you not get a low rate mortgage, to pay off the current, high rate one?

Probably got a big penalty for early repayment on that mortgage.

The only difference the recession has made to me is that I’d like to be able to move jobs from consultancy to an end-user close to home but nothing suitable about.

“We have cancelled sky (never watched it anyway), started bulk buying stuff and stopped expenditure on bike stuff except for breakages. I thought that might be a bitter pill to swallow but actually I have enjoyed riding what i have just as much and have realised that i’m happy with stuff I have rather than lusting after carbon bars, xtr bits etc.”

Possibly the most sensible post I’ve read on STW.

Just a little disappointed that no-one mentioned cancelling foriegn holidays and coming to the Big Bike Bash instead

😉

http://www.bigbikebash.co.uk/

I built the bike I wanted late last year, luckily before all the price increases, and it’s one bike to replace the three that I owned before so in that respect my spending on bikes has gone down anyway. Just spent £600 on a telly, and £400 on a new mattress, but did review all the utilities and general spending, and reckon I’ll probably save that this year anyway. Other than that, we don’t, as a family, spend masses of cash, so what with our mortgage going down, and my business going well ATM, actually pretty well off.

Trying not to spend but not doing to well at all.
On a 6 mth mortgage break,done a lot around the house new tv furniture and tried to pay the credit card off but failing miserabley.
Child care eating into our cash no relatives so £680 a month for 5 mornings 🙁
Sascha(new job) commutes 90 miles a day and her car has just blown the head gasket and bent other stuff, so now hiring a car £100 a week!!! 🙁

Test driving some vw on Monday with a chance of purchasing a new one :-).

Just bought some oakley radars @ cost,selling bike stuff @ the moment and buying no exotica

trying to stop spending so much on bikes……………. 😉

no change here. spend on credit card and pay it off in full each month, mortgage repayments remain unchanged so the with the reduction in interest we’ve effectivly increased our capital repayments.
assuming jobs remain stale things are not looking too bad.
infact work are just starting with cycle2work so im looking at ways to blow a grand.

Since being made redundant at the end of Feb, and with a long term health condition, little prospects of finding work, our spending habits have changed drastically, with only my wifes part time earnings supporting us. Also have to lads in uni that we are trying to support 🙁
Luckily I saw it coming and stocked up on bike stuff before being laid off, also the £500 worth of LBS vouchers given to me by my company on leaving, has definately helped 😀
Some may think we are in dire straights but I just like to see it as another of life’s challenges.
No big purchases such as new cars, TVs or foreign holidays for us anymore, we have gone into survival mode!
I may even take you up on the cheap http://www.bigbikebash.co.uk/event_details_competitions.php tickets WCA 😉

It’s all about getting them in a routine &…

In four long weeks I’ve discovered that when people tell you what to do with your kids, it’s only based on what they did with their kids and regardless of how absolutely sure they are that their way was perfect, it depends entirely on the kids and adults in question.

As for the topic, I’ve trimmed down everything I can and was saving for the last few months so I could live whilst off work. Need a job in the next month or so tho, really. Otherwise it gets interesting.