Wednesday 31 August 2011

The Dummies Guide to Surviving Being Skint (or Fi’s instructions to herself)



Oh dear. Mum got to my accounts before me (don’t worry you will be hearing slightly less of her when I move out next month).

I have managed to put off hearing what I actually spend on clothes for a good couple of years and certainly wasn’t wrong; ignorance is definitely bliss! Unsurprisingly, it was a fair amount for a poor, lowly student. Other common offenders included my weekly magazines (vital Fashion research!), 400g boxes of strawberries and my contact lenses.

So, basically, it looks like I’m going to have to go blind.

However, I have started a guide to myself and anyone else too poor to shop in Primark...

1.      You can foodshop in Marks and Spencers or Waitrose when you have that walk-in-wardrobe! In the mean time, get a Tescos and Sainsburys loyalty card to rack up the points for future discounts in a wide range of shops.

2.      ‘Browse’ (to shop without money) with equally poor friends; swap purses and remind each other that you’re not buying that skirt in order to eat tonight!

3.      Should you accidently purchase that skirt anyway, do not be afraid to approach a soup kitchen or punish yourself through buying dinner in Lidl/ Netto (yeh, you will never make that mistake again will you!)

4.      The wardrobe is broken for a reason; try selling some of the old garb you haven’t worn in years. If you’d forgotten it existed, you’re not going to miss it! Ebay, Gumtree, Preloved and Amazon are good sites to sell on.

5.      People will actually pay you to moan; do a few online surveys.

6.      Your father may be the King of ‘Meal in a Soup’ cans, you may have adapted the ‘charcoal-grilled vegetables’ recipe to plain ‘charcoal’ but you are not completely incapable of cooking. Yes, microwaving is technically still cooking but fresh food is cheaper and healthier.

7.      Sign up to websites that send daily deals in your area like groupon.co.uk or vouchercodes.co.uk.

8.      Entertainment is pricey; watch a busker for kicks or widen your vocabulary and save some money getting to grips with Scrabble.  Try sitting at the busstop for long enough and the body popper waiting for the 184 might come back!

If you have any other useful tips for how I can survive the winter of my extreme discontent 2011, I would love to know!

Should my posts suddenly cease, all likelihood is you will find me living in a cardboard box outside the Oxford Street Topshop.

xx

5 comments:

  1. Ha ha so hilarious! :) I love the last comment! Love your blog!
    Happy blogging,
    Sarafina :)
    www.adelielilac.com

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  2. Hahaha, I loved this post.
    Ypou are right about selling things that you have not wear in years. I do that, sometimes I pull them out only to wear them for the outfit post and then to the store, when I sell something it 'entitles' me to buy something I really like.
    Again thanks for post, was fun to read.

    http://styleidnet.blogspot.com/
    http://styleidcloset.blogspot.com/

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  3. Haha, thanks for the comments my lovelys!

    I agree, I have to tell myself just because there is more space in the wardrobe, it doesn't have to be filled haha!

    Fi xx

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  4. well if you do move to such "glamourous" location as the outside of Topshop, you will be fighting me for space because oh dear am I skint....I actually have to sell my clothes, I just haven't got round to do it as it's so much stuff I need to get rid of... maybe the start of September is reason enough to get my ass in gear and get on with the clothes selling once and for all ;)

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  5. Fi, I can't stop laughing! I don't live in England but we have to do the same thing here in the US. We call ourselves Budget Fashionistas! HaHa Those are some great points! It's important to have "basic" items and colors in your closet. You can work with the basics! You can always wear last years skirt with a new funky top. The ENTIRE outfit doesn't have to be new. But you're a true fashionista, because if you didn't mention it in this post i never would've known. But DO KNOW, you're NOT the only one! ((HUGS))

    http://sassyuptownchic.blogspot.com/

    SassyUptownChic xoxo Kim

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