Hi everyone, Today's video is a bit of a 'Storytime' type video sharing how saving (and doing Low Buys and No Buys to maximise my savings) has enabled me to make some difficult choices recently, which will ultimately be lifechanging.
I found this video so reassuring. My husband and I have found ourselves in exactly the same situation - our income, this time last year, covered everything with a little left over for treats. Fast forward, despite my husband actually getting a pay rise, we are dipping into our savings every month to cover the basics. Treats are out and we have cut back on everything you can imagine - supermarket basic brands, meat-free days,, zero alcohol, baking our own bread... still not managing. Your description of that persistent, low-level anxiety about money is absolutely spot on. We are embarking on a no-spend year, I'm taking on evening work (I have been a sahm for four little ones for the last 3 years) to try and get a handle on it but, you're right, a forced no spend, is nothing like a voluntary one. There are days where I feel really low and feel sad for the kids. But it does help to hear other people going through the same thing. It certainly makes me feel less of a failure!
It's been really tough for so many people this past year, and I agree I think it somehow helps when you know you aren't the only one. I'm far from rich, but had previously been earning a good salary - a drop down should have meant less treats for sure, but should still have been manageable - I found it quite startling how much of a struggle life was on what to most people was a very ordinary wage, but I suppose that's a wider, more political discussion. Like you some of my friends who were SAHM's have taken on part time work to try and help with balancing the books - children are so expensive! You are absolutely not a failure! Kids are resilient little things and material possessions often don't mean all that much to them. As children, my parents took us on walks in nature, pointed out architecture in old buildings, we even visited graveyards on our travels (which sounds totally macabre but we found it fascinating reading the ages of people from the past), went to local museums - most of this was free or low cost (apart from any travel costs) and I'm certain that enriched us far more than the latest new toy or designer clothing. Keep your head up, brighter days are ahead. :)
@@KirstyKirby I've just seen your reply... Thank you for taking the time to respond. There are some excellent suggestions here (I actually love the graveyard idea) and I appreciate the reassurance. 2 months on since I made the comment, we are still in a similar situation, but we are keeping focused and hopeful ❤️
I think this video is great for (perhaps unintentionally) highlighting how important a living wage is. It’s almost impossible to save anything at all and for some certainly impossible with normal expenses and a low wage paying job. Not everyone can have a high paying job and the world wouldn’t function if they did but those with low paying jobs deserve to be able to save for the future and emergencies too. Loved this video and the honesty it gave from your experiences.
Really great point and something I thought a lot about whilst in that role. My mortgage is lower than most peoples rent and my general outgoings are relatively low in comparison to many and yet it was a real struggle for me. I often thought of people who perhaps weren't as lucky as I to have the ability to secure a higher paid job, and how trapped I felt in trying to secure one in the first place when in a role with shifts/rotas. It occurred to me more than once that the women I worked with were almost all in relationships so had two incomes into the household or were working part time winding down their careers as near to retirement age, I have absolutely no idea how someone single with a child could possibly cope without assistance from family or state. It shouldn't be like that, as you say, not everyone can be a high flyer, not everyone is even ambitious and that's completely fine, we need many different types of workers for a functioning society - but people should still be able to save something even on minimum wage.
I’ve been saving money for several years but for no real purpose, but I’ve managed to build a nice healthy sum. This summer I decided after 15 years in the same career that although well paying was not fulfilling to me any more. The moment I realised how easily I could take lower paid work in pursuit of my new career due to the fact I had savings was the moment I realised it was all worth it. Saving money can do so many things for you, even if you don’t know what you’re saving it for, having it is better than not having it!
Hi everyone, sorry it's been so long since I last uploaded - this video might explain in some way where I've been. Let me know if you want me to do a bit of a 'Life Update / Where I've been' Video - I can never decide if these are of interest or just super narcissistic lol! I have received a few questions on here and over on Instagram about why I've been so quiet on all platforms though, so happy to do a bit of an update on here if people are interested.
Absolutely! you left us hanging with your house redo. Hopefully you had some time to work on that some more. Your no buy and decluttering videos are really inspirational and have changed my life for the better, so thank you for that!
I was just thinking I haven't seen your lovely face in my RU-vid feed recently and was wondering where you've been. Glad to know you're well and congrats on the new job! Please do a "Life update" video (or any video really - I love all of your content!)
Hi Kirsty, so nice to see you again! Congratulations on your new job. Well done! I quit my toxic workplace last year in April, and secured a new job shortly after, it was part time 50%, and today I´m working 80% Holding on to that Friday off! 😅 Even at 54 that was possible. Like you, I am living on a shoestring, to make more important things happen. Like traveling, bigger purchases, vet bills, whatever. And money for that mascara or shoes. I have joined a challenge, from the Norwegian environmental group, Future in our hands. The challenge allows you to buy 5 new clothing items during the year, shoes and underwear excluded. You are also "allowed" to buy second hand. This to avoid all the clothing to pile up in poor countries, with all the pollution it brings. 😊 I would love more videos if and when you feel up to it, and an update on your new kitchen, and if you have done other things to your house. 👍
Sadly my living on a shoestring wasn’t enabling any larger goals, I think I could have managed much better if that was the case. The role just didn’t pay enough to cover my bills. I thought it was better to be earning something than nothing, which arguably it is, but in hindsight it prevented me finding something that was appropriate to me experience and my bills. The challenge sounds interesting - for me I’m in the process of finally allowing myself to buy some clothing after years and years of buying barely anything to save for the house, and then again as I found myself in difficult circumstances. I won’t lie I’m really looking forward to treating myself to new things!
Hi Kirsty, nice to see you back. Congratulations on your new job. By the way, if you have to question whether a video idea is narcissistic, you're not narcissistic! 😊Would love to see those types of videos.
Ha ha you are probably right! I just sometimes think why is what some random stranger has been up to remotely interesting, is there any value in this 😂
Really enjoyed your honesty. I had been living this kind of no buy for years and had no clue how hard it will be after being able to afford luxury for a while and then return. As with the changes in income the expenses have risen it got much harder. 😢 it is a good advice to not quit if you can’t effort it.
It’s a funny one isn’t it, a no buy in a weird way is fun when you are managing to save more than you thought possible, but it’s utterly miserable when it’s a necessity. Absolutely, I wouldn’t encourage anyone to quit Willy nilly, I just knew if I stayed where I was it could take months and months to be able to get a new job, and constantly dipping into my savings was scary - I couldn’t have lasted another 6 months not covering the bills realistically.
Congratulations on the new job 🎉. It’s a pleasure to see you again, thank you for sharing the challenges you faced and how you navigated through it. Looking forward to seeing you again soon, cheers from Montreal!
Kirsty, I'm so glad that your life is changing for the better! It's great to see you back on YT, but mostly I hope that your new job is everything you need and want. Congratulations, and the very best of luck to you! 🎉🥳
Thank you so much! I can’t lie it’s been quite a challenging time over the last few months, it will be so good to be back to the income I was earning prior of nothing else to enable me to rebuild some savings and be able to afford to socialise with friends again. Thanks for the well wishes.
Nice to see you back! I've always appreciated your down to earth approach to things, and your honest sharing. I'm looking forward to new posts from you.
So lovely to have you back, Kirsty. I do get concerned when RU-vidrs I watch just seem to disappear - and there’s been a few. As someone also concerned about financial security, I know how hard it would have been to resign with out another job to go to. So glad it has worked out. I would love to see a life update video. We become invested in those we watch, so makes total sense to want to know how things have been. I enjoy all your videos and just thankful to see you are okay and back.
I think a lot of RU-vidrs where RU-vid is not their job struggle to balance a job, a life and uploads. Before I started creating myself I saw a ten minute video and thought it must have taken 30 minutes of their time - how wrong I was! It’s often quite a commitment time wise, so I understand why people do disappear. It was a difficult choice and I’m so pleased it worked out the way it has. 😊
Once again - congratulations on your new job! Im glad to see you are back with new video and... also very fresh and positive energy! As always all the best from Cyprus dear Kirsty!
What a year for you Kirsty! Glad you’ve landed back in your field. 👏🏻👏🏻 Hope to see you more on social media as your time permits. Your presentation skills are such high level!
Thank you, it’s such a great opportunity and looking forward to getting started next week. I had to do presentations and so on as part of the interview process, maybe that’s what cinched it!? 😉 x
It’s horrible and hopefully not an experience I’ll face again - well unless the savings are being used for something better than just treading water! It’s worrying that so few people have savings at all really, I didn’t plan to find myself in my situation, it’s just one of life’s curveballs. So happy I had savings both to be able to pay the bills but also to take a gamble on myself. Thanks for watching!
Never watched one of your videos before but this came up on my homepage and I thoroughly enjoyed it! You speak eloquently and what you said makes total sense to me. Good luck in your new role!
So glad you are back. I missed your videos and am really happy things worked out for you. I salute your courage in leaving a secure income. Bravo for your new position!
Thank you! It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but a somewhat educated gamble. It could have not gone my way (I’d certainly tried to secure something in my usual field and struggled prior to taking the lower paid role - no shame when you need to keep the roof over your head!) but I’m delighted it paid off. I must admit I probably spent every day from 8.30am until 5.30pm sincerely trying to secure a role so I suppose a little luck and a fair amount of hard work too. 😊
Welcome back. I have so missed you and your tips. Whatever you care to share, I would be interested. You never know what you may learn. I am aspiring to do a no buy month but as soon as I start, something breaks down, but I am not going to give up.
Thanks Julie! It’s a great opportunity in a really interesting specialist therapy area so I’m genuinely excited. It will no doubt be hard work but really happy 😊
second video i have watched of you and i have not skipped once. This is great, many people i feel can relate to your content. keep up the good work, youve earnt yourself a new sub :D
Thanks for sharing your experiences over the last few years. It still takes a lot to do what you did, despite some of the commenters own experiences, and especially given the change in role and circumstances around job loss etc. Congratulations on your new role, you deserve it. I'm single and just bought an apartment on my own and then suddenly lost my job about 4 weeks after settlement. Thankfully I have a savings buffer too but it's not how I expected things to go. Looking for my next opportunity now, exercising a lot of good faith it'll all work out in the end. ❤
Nice to see you again. I have a savings account that I kid but it true that nothing ever comes out of it. I have a goal amount and will not spent any until that is reached and then I’ll probably raise the goal like I have done several times.
This is similar to my approach when earning in the way that was the norm for me, I set little goals with savings too and have an amount I like to have in my emergency fund that I will never dip below unless absolutely necessary. Unfortunately I fell on difficult times and needed to use my savings despite working just to keep my head above water. Thankfully moving forward I will be able to start saving again.
Well done for the new job Kirsty. You were brave but the gamble paid off! Your savings were a God send and you must feel so glad you did put that money to one side for the future.
Thank you! Yes it was indeed a gamble and very pleased it paid off. I knew if I stayed in the previous job I would potentially lose out on many other opportunities and keep me dipping into savings every month which can only turn out poorly long term. They were indeed a godsend and I’m so thankful to my past self for prioritising that emergency fund! X
Yeah Kirsty is back! I was just wondering what might have happened to you because we haven‘t seen you for quite a while. So glad that you are doing well and looking forward to seeing you soon again. Any themes appreciated with joy! Congratulations to your new job!😊
Absolutely. I would never have predicted the last year or so, and whilst I’m sad those savings had to be spent, life could have been much worse without them.
It wasn’t an easy decision but I felt if I stayed there I would end up feeling more and more frustrated and trapped, plus dipping into savings each month meant it wasn’t remotely viable realistically.
I did the same. I worked in a NHS dept and had to work weekends and BH. I got so tired and was bullied and got depressed. I left and now feel less depressed and feel well. Still temping as high competition here but working in an awlful job not worth it. I choose to live in a lovely area in sweet one bed house so I am free and flexible and have no mortgage and not having to pay big mortgage for a huge house. I have saved.
Bless you, I know there are huge challenges within the NHS with staffing, workload and so on. I’m sorry to hear you were bullied, that’s never acceptable. Definitely a good choice to keep outgoings low if possible as gives you lots of options. I could have bought a larger house when I bought but glad I didn’t, especially with so many bills rising over the last few years.
@@ginarae5739 I’m not entirely sure how much I can share as some contracts have clauses meaning you cannot really discuss the job on social media in anything but the broadest terms.
@@KirstyKirby Thank you for prompt reply. Yes any insight shared will help others, broad/non specific terms are welcome. In a former workplace, individual 'Q' was the worst example of a shirker: instead of exploring options and being outwardly positive towards clients/customers, they would get to 'No' in the shortest possible time.. When branch closures were announced, unsurprisingly theirs fell victim.. When I last saw Q in city centre, they were making a 'Deliveroo' drop.. Now that's what I call Karma.!!
I was low buying for over 10 years. I did buy wardrobe stuff and craft supplies but not that much. I was saving for down payment. But the housing price always was ahead of my cash and income level. I managed to save $200k (us$). That was how i could pay for a retirement home 3 years ago (i was a lifelong renter) with cash. I retired 18 months ago. During the 18 months I went nuts buying wardrobe stuff and art/craft supplies. Last December it reached a point that I felt physically sick. The sick part is not increasing my savings. I have a 36k expense in 2024 (new roof, new sheds, tooth implant, and two trips for 2 months). If I don’t stop buying, i’d end up having no cash reserve at all. What if my car needs fixing or the water heater breaks? I felt much more secure when i had a lot of cash in the bank. I decide to buy nothing unnecessary for as long as possible to get a healthy cash reserve back. It may take me 5 to 10 years but the peace of mind and to live with what i already own would be rewarding.
Congrats on the new position! I found you when I was saving for a house. Watching your video about things you would do differently impacted my search. You said you wished you weren’t so picky when first looking and explained why. I took that to heart and got into a good house, not exactly what I was looking for. Thankfully I did because interest rates are still rising and the market is still nuts. Thank you 😊 But what I really want to know is, have you fixed your snoring neighbor problem?? 🤣 I also decided not to buy a home like that because of you 😊
Oh absolutely, whilst I regret certain choices about this house, it was by far the best property I viewed for the budget I had and with the way things are now I doubt I’d be able to afford much more than a shoebox! I’m so pleased you managed to get on the ladder, it’s an absolute feat for anyone to do it. Btw, after lots of speaking with people I know who will be honest, hardly anyone outside of the nonsense of social media thinks their house is perfect. There’s always elements that you would change if money was no object, thinks that annoy you and so on. Ha ha! Kind of! It’s not something I’m proud of but back in late December last year, I’d been working several days on the trot and so so tired. It was 1am and I couldn’t sleep because of the constant drone. I screamed ‘shut up snoring’ They woke up and obviously had heard what I had been shouting 🤦♀️ The bed appears to have been moved off the party wall and I only hear occasional coughs now 😂
I wouldn’t do no buy as a permanent lifestyle choice personally but I’m pleased to hear it works for you. I think maybe you didn't watch the entirety of the video though (?) as I was describing my experience of not earning enough to save anything and eating into my savings every month, I suspect you were earning enough to cover bills and have some left over to enable you to own two properties outright.
This is something I’ve been guilty of in the past so I do understand and empathise. All I can say is with hindsight I wish I hadn’t, at least not so regularly as I found myself feeling so uncomfortable in my own skin (not saying you are feeling that just my experience), I would then avoid social situations and so on that would likely have made me feel happier. One mindset I’ve adopted recently is eating healthy and well, not eating junk or rich food regularly, looking after oneself like I would someone I care about is a fabulous form of self love and care.
Thank you! Not a great deal of change sadly - funds have been extremely tight. Might be able to pick things up again in the coming months or perhaps in the new year though 😊
Have you seen my other content? I did a No Buy year and saved over 60% of my salary. Paying myself first is something I've done almost all my life - at least until I fell on challenging times, something that can happen to absolutely anyone.
Girl, you gotta be your own dang boss in life. No one is coming to save us, k? NO ONE. And further, we need to take responsibility for ourselves. Putting that pressure on anyone else would be shameful. Thats my honest opinion. 🎉
The only reason I was able to make a move to another country 7 months ago was the fact that I'd been saving religiously 10% of my monthly income for 2 years prior to this. It's literally what made the move possible. Yes, now I have no more savings, but hey, I've started from scratch, so what)
Sometimes its worth it :) I wish I hadn't had to dwindle my savings, but life throws all sorts of curveballs and I'm happy that I saved in order to give myself choices.
I think I’m really lucky! I know a few colleagues who were made redundant and have hugely struggled to get something new. I did apply for jobs and speak to recruiters Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm though, I think the fear of the savings dwindling to nothing really motivated me!
The internet is a strange place indeed. I try not to let it bother me now, with some comments I get it's obvious they haven't listened/watched, just spouting 'advice' or unnecessary comments. C'est la vie. x
I’m not sure why this is what you took from this video. I’m not avoiding anything. I work in the pharmaceutical industry, but going into the ins and outs of my current role wouldn’t have added any value to this video or intended message.
@@KirstyKirby this is the first video on your channel that I've watched so I didnt know that, but I'm pretty much sure you haven't mentioned this in this episode. Thank you. Keep it up!
@@kirill4531 Again, not sure why I would? No I didn’t discuss that in this video, but I’m at a loss as to why I would need to, or why it’s perceived as ‘avoiding’ by not doing so. It doesn’t add anything to the message what job I do, nor would I mention it in lots of other videos. Sorry I’m confused as to why it’s deemed to be important to discuss - as a heads up, I don’t discuss my job, the industry I work in and the ins and outs in other videos either. Many, many jobs now have social media policies in place meaning you cannot publicly discuss salary, the company you work for, post anything that could bring the company into disrepute and so on, so it’s not unusual for people to not discuss their jobs on social media. Thank you for watching though.
Lovely to see you back! You crossed my mind the other day when I was considering painting my kitchen cupboards. Thanks for the inspiring video. I would love to see a life update video. I'd also love a video on your house projects and I'd be interested in your thoughts on what jobs can be DIYed and when it's worth spending money to get a professional. Sorry to hear about your boiler by the way - there's always something with houses!
Ooh nice idea, I’ll have a think on that one. I did know the boiler was quite old when I bought the house, so it was kind of always on the list of things that had to be done, but it would absolutely have been better to not have to do it yet - oh and the conservatory keeps leaking after all this rain this year! That will need looking at too! 🤦♀️😂
