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what luxuries have you cut
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Us too!!!!!! We haven't had tv for 9 years as my son was copying the awful expressions from cartoons, etc instead of using spontaneous dialogue. We made the decision and never looked back. It is so much better now though with bbciplayer!!! We are with lovefilm and have 4 films a month which we struggle to watch believe or not! Time is so short, I don't know how we ever got things done before!!
Grocery Spend Weekly Challenge (Sat-Fri):£30.50/£40
John Ruskin
Veni, vidi, eradici
(I came, I saw, I kondo'd)
You should find a local college that does hairdressing, they're always looking for guinea pigs, i mean models. You may get your hair cut for nothing.
What it may grow to in time, I know not what.
Daniel Defoe: 1725.
we used to go for breakfast on a saturday - either to the cafe on the beach near us or to Starbucks/Costa we don't do that now, We have cut out nearly all unnecesary day trips and we stay at home more. We dont really go out for food anymore. I think this must save me about £150 a month
Nat
xxx
EF & Pots: £540.43/£5000
Debt Free: June 2024
DD and DS both read a lot and I find it really hard to pick up appropriate books in CS, where I get most of mine. So I use read it swap it to find the books they want.
Going the cinema use to be a weekly thing but now we go as birthday treat using Orange wednesdays and take our own snacks and drinks.
We have found somewhere cheap and smaller to rent, so hopefully this will reduce our energy bill and sa it closure to DD school has cut out bus fares.
Not having Sky/Cable, which DD and DS where horrified by.
We dont go out and bulk buy wine when it is on special offer. Which means it always available when we have friends round for dinner.
Cook as much from scratch as possible but unfortunately there has been a number of Take aways snuck in recently as Im unwell and OH does not like cooking.
Holidays abroad are a thing of the past: last year we stayed at OH parents for our holiday while they where away and have since bought a tent or OH's parents have offered us the use of their caravan.
Coffee comes in a flask, no cafe nero. Meet friends less often unless they are up for the park and a flask.
Free museums libraries etc rather than paid for venues for days out.
I've become queen of making a nice picnic.
Got rid of car - though currently rethinkng this.
No tumble drier though I only ever used it in the winter for nappies.
Furniture is left to totally wear out.
Stopped buying kitchen gadgets and shoes unless I NEED them.
Stopped buying condiments like pickles etc - make them.
Less heating in the winter, more blankets etc
No foreign holidays, stopped long distance train and get the coach on cheap tickets.
Walk rather than catch bus a couple of stops.
Grow your own salad and herbs has saved a fortune.
No extra bits in the grocery baskets.
Hobbies now have to be cost effective - I love various crafts but now they are more likely to be ones that help save money
The worst is - amazon is no longer my best friend for new books, library, free fan fiction etc instead. This is the cut that really hurts!
One credit card with a £200 limit for emergency use only.
Never buy preprepared food anymore.
Cut and dye my own hair having watched YouTube videos until I thought I knew what to do.
Clothes come from my favourite charity shop not my favourite designer!
No longer go for a drive at the weekends.
Walk rather than drive wherever possible.
Strict budgeting.
Cooking is inspired and not always inspiring.
Discounted food websites have allowed me to slash the money I spend on food.
Avoid using the tumble drier unless I have damp clothes which are threatening to go mouldy if they are not dried asap.
I still am Puddleglum - phew!
No more Hotel Chocolat tasting club now buy Asda 30p Smart Price chocolate.
Now cook from scratch and no longer buy ready made meals/pizzas.
Am going to have a go at making red onion jam instead of buying a small £1.79 jar from the Tesco finest range.
Library instead of buying books.
Yes, another walker and save £1.30 single or £2.60 return bus fare.
Use buses more now instead of the underground/rail. It takes longer but I just read a book and don't really notice.
Haven't bought any clothes for a while.
Not really a luxury but bake all of my own bread/cakes/buns/muesli bars and biscuits.
:j:)
I rarely buy myself clothes and only buy clothes for my 3 children when on offer and with the use of codes discount days etc again don't feel to be missing out.
we never have takeaways now and have packed lunches for work/school everyday which again has saved a fair bit.
Days out are fewer but that is due to work commitments and kids getting older. However we went to Alton Towers recently using vouchers and same for Blackpool pleasure Beach. Holidays is the one area we have not reduced but plan in advance for cheap flight deals and also collect airmiles which I am saving for special holiday to Las Vegas which will be even sweeter knowing it was free.
I have reduced my electric consumption and monitor it like a hawk as my kids leave all their appliances on all the time hence £90 a month for electric since monitoring I have got this down to £65 a month with no impact on lifestyle. Little changes like this have saved me lots of cash with very little impact to quality of life. Im sure their are lots of things I have forgot ooh one big change for me was the change from Heinz salad cream to Aldi own this was previously somthing I would pay for whatever the price but someone gave me a bottle of Aldi own and I have not looked back so yes it is a luxury I have could have done without but now I dont need to.
Feb wins to date: 0lympic messenger bag, £100 :beer:
I didn't buy many magazines, but hardly ever do now. If I want a book I tend to look out for it 2nd hand on Amazon or ebay.
Make up, perfume, I know what I want and can usually get it much cheaper on Ebay.
Have started to use a haberdashery wholesaler instead of mail order where possible.
Don't buy fancy cleaning products and dilute ariel with washing soda. I also don't buy Ariel EVER or dishwasher tabs unless they are on special offfer. In fact I try and avoid ever paying full price for anything! This sometimes requires good planning and patience.
Trying not to waste food!:j
ETA Philosophy is wondering whether a Bloody Mary counts as a Smoothie