How far have you gone to pay them debts off?

MrFrugalFever

Hi all,
just thought I would see what/how far people have gone to cut back to maximise debt repayment? Kind of like become a superscrimper!

i have developed the bug and it’s become somewhat of an obsession, even without debt!

i’ll start with just a few....I have cancelled TalkTalk Broadband and utilise my o2 mobile personal hotspot 4g network in replace of this, also negotiating a £2 per month loyalty discount on my SIM ONLY contract.

I no longer have a TV license and no longer watch any tv that would require one - I do however use NETFLIX and utilise free rental vouchers for RakutenTV.

Those tubes of toothpaste, hair gel, tomato purée and the likes aren’t finished until you’ve cut them open and eeked every last drop

i look forward to reading your ideas no matter how bonkers or out there they may be!

madaboutspots

🤣 well done. Made me chuckle. Cutting open tubes - go you. I'm genuinely impressed.

I make my own household cleaning stuff, laundry etc and toiletries - you can even made your own toothpaste. Not sure if you be happy to give up your tube scraping habit but I do it for environmental reasons, to cut out plastic and harsh chemicals. I do love that it has the added benefit of being incredibly cost effective though.

If you feel tempted Google homemade .... Whatever you want to make. There's no stopping you once you get going and most of the stuff takes minutes to mix. 

Well done on your commitment so far. It does get a bit addictive as long as you don't let the savings suck all the joy out of life. Hubby and I have a strong policy of quality over quantity. That often means things are free because it's as much about quality of our time and not just things we buy. We have spent so much less as a result, enjoy what we do buy and do lots of free things together. 

We have also made our own beer until we gave up drinking. That was lots of fun and easy to get a decent brew these days too. 

MrFrugalFever

I think the homemade stuff is definitely next on the list. With more time on my hands during this lockdown it has indeed allowed me to hone in on my culinary skills (or lack there-of!).

you are absolutely right, up until 2 years ago I lived a materialistic life, buying things for the sake of buying, being sucked in by ‘great offers’ etc, but eventually realised that quality is better than quantity, so definitely second that!

madaboutspots

Great that you're starting to get culinary skills but you won't actually need them for homemade cleaning.

Bath bombs are great fun to make. The reaction from the ingredients is that the mix fluffs up during mixing and settles, only to dry and go frothy again once added to water. 

It's the same base ingredients for tablets for the washing machine, laundry and even toilet cleaning. 3 ingredients and add some essential oils if required. 

Clean and Green is a book full of tips and so on recently brought out. Google has everything you could need as well though. 😁

Naomim

You should have a look at this thread 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2426287/lots-more-sneaky-ways-to-save-the-pennies#latest

MrFrugalFever

Naomim said:

You should have a look at this thread 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2426287/lots-more-sneaky-ways-to-save-the-pennies#latest

A great thread! 10+ years of creativity right there

Jamesyb123

Batch cooking is deffo
the way forward especially if
you look at the price difference between a small medium and large beef mince it’s pennies and you can make enough spag bol or cottage pie to fill the freezer. Saves buying ingredients to prepare a new meal each day. 

I also find not leaving much money in current account and moving most into savings helps you feel like you have no money through the month so it stops u wasting whilst your savings account gets nice and healthy. Never leave more
than £20 in current account and just move money across if it’s needed for essential things.

Naomim

MrFrugalFever said:

Naomim said:

You should have a look at this thread 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2426287/lots-more-sneaky-ways-to-save-the-pennies#latest

A great thread! 10+ years of creativity right there

I love it. Some of the ideas are a bit OTT for me but there are some really good ideas too.  Took me weeks to read through it too.

kimwp

It's mainly environmentally driven, but all my dry rubbish goes in one bin in the kitchen and "wet" (wet, greasy etc, that could make the wheelie bin smell) goes in any plastic bag without holes that can be tied shut (eg the plastic bag the carrots or online shopping came in).  I've not bought bin bags in years.

anjyeah

MrFrugalFever said:

Those tubes of toothpaste, hair gel, tomato purée and the likes aren’t finished until you’ve cut them open and eeked every last drop

I use to laugh at my mum for this (I was young lol) and now I know it was all being less wasteful - I  follow her now.

For the past few months since I have addressed that I wanted to get in control of my finances: (which is beyond me as I'm one to spend rather than save) 

• I have decluttered - even let go some of my favourite, but unused stuff and resold on eBay and depop. 
• Haven't shopped for anything new unless it was on sale (and badly needed). 
• Journalled my spending habits - and savings goals so far.  
• Did a little version of sealed pot challenge, hid some pennies away with the round up function. 

The good thing about this, now that I'm ready on addressing these issues, I actually feel happier with my actions, rather than it feeling like a chore. I did try to check out the thread on being frugal, but I don't think I'm on that level yet.  

greensalad

Probably the fact that I'll look for little ways to make money anywhere. Despite having a quite healthy salary I'm still spending mornings and nights scooping poos for my side biz as a cat sitter, doing surveys for the odd 50p or £1, basically anything to get a tiny bit more cash. I joke that when we buy a house it'll be partially paid in cat crap.