money for luxuries?

[em83]

with the way this recession is at the minute, can any1 still afford luxuries such as meals out/haircuts/cinemas etc ?
also wat if kids need new shoes clothes etc?
do u save up ? or have the money 2 just go and buy as and wen they need them ?

[StopTalkingAndEatYourDinner]

Depends on whether it has affected you directly or not I suppose. DH and I are still in the same jobs with the same salary so our income hasn't changed. Our outgoings are a little higher (bills gone up - food, elecricity/gas etc) but we have a fixed rate mortgage so that is the same, am being a little more cautious wrt meals out etc but we are not living drastically differently. Ask me again in 6 months!

[MrsBadger]

what StopTalking said

new shoes for kids already in the budget, they are not luxuries
kids' clothes mostly hand-me-downs, gifts, charity shops or Ebay anyway

to be fair we don't spend much on new clothes/shoes etc for ourselves anyway, but have discovered that if DH and I want a night out it is better value to have a day out.

ie take an afternoon off work while DD is at nursery and have an Orange Wednesday Pizza Express lunch followed by an Orange Wednesday film
total cost about £20 and no babysitter to pay for.

and yes we save up for this