It's a fab Scottish phrase meaning back to wearing old clothes and eating porridge. In other words the holiday's over and it's back to normal. That means watching the pennies even more closely!
Speaking of clothes, I did go on a wee spending spree before I went away so I've updated my clothing budget on the side. I've spent just over half of my annual target. I know I'll need to change my working wardrobe a bit as I'm in a hotter classroom this year *rolls eyes* so I'll be keeping an eye on the Summer sales for some lightweight tunics.
*Edited to add how I came to my £500 clothes budget if anyone is interested.
Holidays are expensive even when they're carefully planned in advance. OH remarked that the cost of living in Australia had gone up significantly since his last visit 2 years ago. Staying with my son for the first part helped keep costs down. When we went out and about we took a packed lunch and snacks with us. OH and I even took our travel mugs with us as buying teas and coffees can add up quickly! I noticed that my son and his partner buy an awful lot of fancy takeaway coffees ☕
Yesterday I was checking through my credit card transactions online and discovered that every time I had used my credit card on holiday I've been charged a non sterling payment fee!! Luckily I didn't use it very often but it's enough to be annoyed about. I've yet to discover if this is a new M&S policy or an Australian thing. I've never been charged this before when I've used my card abroad so I'll contact them to find out. It's on my list of Things to Do which seems to be getting longer and longer 📄
I have been trying to not buy new clothes and shoes this year, my wardrobes are full of things I need to wear. I have failed on the clothes side, not by much, but I do like your idea of a budget. I have not purchased any new shoes this year, if I can resist sandals I can make the whole year without a purchase. It is so very easy to use your card on holiday, after all we flash our cards on every purchase, but it is annoying to find the sneaky charges once you get home.
ReplyDeleteI once read that 'most people' will spend 20% of their disposable income on clothes! My aim is 2%!!
DeleteLast year I didn't spend my whole £500 budget so I added it on to this year, hence the weird £626.55!!
We did use cash as much as we would but there were a few places that surprisingly didn't do cash. Plus a few times we didn't have enough on us at the time. Lesson learned!
I'm glad I'm not a 'follower of fashion'. In fact, I've turned into my mum. She always used to ask 'where would I wear this?' and 'what have I got to wear with it?'. It used to drive me bonkers but now I catch myself doing exactly the same thing. It saves a fortune!
ReplyDeleteYep, not following fashion saves tons of money. I would describe my style as quirky classic! Lol!!
DeleteIf I’m clean, tidy and comfortable, I’m sorted. I’m quite careful with my clothes and tend to buy simple things like jeans, boots, shirts that do all seasons in layers. I’m sorting seasonal fabric for my craft group which is slightly surreal in this heatwave.
ReplyDeleteI'm all about the layers, mostly removing them of late!!
DeleteI now seem to buy most of my clothes from the M&S outlet store which is sometimes amazing! My biggest clothing expense in a year is bras. I'm what you'd call a big girl and you don't get cheap bras for big girls often. I've been buying tshirts etc in the sales too as our trip to Australia will be in February/March next year and as I told hubby when he said he didn't need anything just now, we won't be able to get tshirts etc in January when we'll want them! Not that I need much, most of my summer gear is hardly worn, well, except this year!! This is the most amazing summer ever, long may it last! x
ReplyDeleteWhy are decent bras so expensive?? And don't get me started on the sizing! Even in M&S after being 'properly' measured I have to try on loads of different sizes to get the right fit
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