Painfree vs painful steps to save the pennies

Shineyhappy

Good evening all,

Recently DH are undertaking an economy drive to shift the mortgage (I cleared my debts a while ago after much hard work) and it got me thinking of all the different steps that I have taken over the years to save the pennies, which was the easiest and which was the hardest?

I think my answer was for DH and I to share tea bags (not a huge saving but a step in the right direction none the less) and the hardest has been cutting down on weekend breaks and holidays. I used to use vouchers for 2 nights at a Premmier Inn but and take cereal and milk for breakfast but even then it still costs. I do miss our weekends away but I really want the mortgage gone as we are just making the banks richer and us poorer.

I am hoping to take some inspiration from some of the easy posts as I think too often we forget if we gave up all the small things it adds up to big £s:beer:

katerinasol

It's a lot of hard work... but coincidentally, I found this list online today: http://listverse.com/2008/12/28/another-15-tips-to-save-you-thousands/Some of the good points made in the list were:

- A messy home will always depress you- leading to a weakening of resolve to save money. - so true! I get so depressed thinking about coming home to a rubbish tip that once I get home, I just curl up in bed with my laptop and pretend it all doesn't exist!

- If you do go out, take a set amount of cash and leave the cards home. This will stop you from over spending if (and when) your judgment becomes impaired.

- There is nothing wrong with leftovers, and stretching a meal into two or three has serious financial advantages.

- Know what you have in your fridge, freezer and pantry; there is no excuse for throwing away food!

- Don’t go crazy for holidays or birthdays. Remember that it is the event you are celebrating, not the expense.

- It’s not just for kids anymore: Giving everyone in the house an allowance will prevent unplanned spending from the main budget. It will also seem easier to save up for something when you are working from a solid amount in your allowance instead of what’s left over in your paycheck. - a billion times this!

- Always have physical and dental checkups, and practice routine maintenance on your car and home. Preventative care is always many times cheaper than a repair.

- Many homemade things are not only less expensive than their store bought counterparts, but taste or look better, too.

- Specialty items are luxury items. Few homes truly need a juicer, or an apple corer, or an ice cream maker. And a couple quality knives can do the work of dozens of specialty knives.

- And never spend what you don't have!
I also think that small treats make it SO much easier to cope with paying off debts! Something tiny, like buying a bottle of luxury bubble bath and a few candles from Wilkinson and having a relaxing evening, or a selection of nice cheeses once in a while... or even a book from a charity shop (not only cheap but also goes to a good cause)! If you don't have any treats to enjoy it just becomes so depressing and I personally end up snapping and blowing loads of money on something we don't need and going right back to square one.

NicChanna

The hardest thing for me while we're getting out of debt is having to completely do away with spending money on clothes. I used to think nothing of wandering into the shops and spending £50 or £100 on stupid things like funny-patterned tights, or purple pedal-pushers, or a mad yellow furry cardi - but also things like work shoes, work dresses etc.

I now have about 8 dresses which I wear in rotation to work, thankfully I work across 5 offices and so they prolly don't think that's all I own! I think I might start to set aside a few pounds so that I can get some new stuff in the sales this Christmas.

The easiest thing for me (and most rewarding) has been cutting down on grocery shopping. We used to routinely pop down to the local shop, as in every single evening, and spend about £15 for every dinner. Mental. Now we aim to keep the grocery spend inside £100 for the whole month, and I have to say we have never eaten better in our lives.

Planning ahead about what dinners we want and writing a list which we stick to religiously helps. Also we now always go to the supermarket after dinner because then we don't get tempted by being hungry.

lucystardust

NicChanna wrote: »

The hardest thing for me while we're getting out of debt is having to completely do away with spending money on clothes. I used to think nothing of wandering into the shops and spending £50 or £100 on stupid things like funny-patterned tights, or purple pedal-pushers, or a mad yellow furry cardi - but also things like work shoes, work dresses etc.

I actually once bought a mad furry yellow cardigan in H&M because as I was trying it on in front of a mirror on the shop floor a little girl came up to me and said it suited me and that I should get it! It malted everywhere and I only wore it once...

Hardest for me was also not buying clothes, and the easiest has been taking lunches to work, I really enjoy making them the night before. It's also been easy doing cheaper things with my boyfriend. We used to always eat out or go for cocktails in posh bars, but now we have cosy nights in or go to Wetherspoons for cheap drinks and then to a chippy - much cheaper and just as fun! It's the company that matters, not the surroundings.