It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

missmoneywatch

My top five money saving things

1.Picnics -i have two kids 5 and 8 and we almost always take food out with us if we're going out saves us so much money instead of eating out.
2. Yellow sticker items, I now do my main shop at 6pm one evening when my son is at karate so right time to pic up deals.
3. Batch cooking and freezing leftovers for another day.
4.switching things off at night and when not in use!
5. Using topcashback when buying things online.

Jellytotts

My 5 are
1. A supportive and on the same page husband
2. 2 garden washing lines and inside lines in the garage for when it's wet.
3. A range of items that save having the main oven on (microwave, air fryer and halogen)
4. Allotment and greenhouses
5. Solar panels which allow us to run an electric car and all our other electrics at such a reduced cost.

otb666

1 Microwave instead before finishing off in SC/Oven/Hob
2 Mens/Boys jumpers pants socks for me
3 Baby shampoo for me
4 opening oven door after been used by others in household.
5 Vinegar and baking soda for cleaning everything

QueenJess

My 5 are:
1. My house (the builder made it eco friendly, air tight, super insulated and put in a heat pump - we doubled the size of our house when we moved here, but our electric cost is much less).
2. My husbands job is secure (mine couldn’t be less secure!)
3. I can cook reasonably well so nothing is wasted, everything is made from scratch and DH eats it generally without complaint. DD wolfs everything in sight down (although that does even include the soap bubbles in the bath 😂) 
4. DH goes along with all my crazy schemes and let me swap to soap bars a while ago (cheaper overall), let me swap his toiletries recently too and agreed early on to use reusable nappies and wipes with DD amongst other things.
5. DH let me take space from his precious, precious garage to put in a chest freezer

Frugalfaffing

Laurasiamos said:

atrixa said:

My 5 (no particular order):

1) Washing line- I don't have a TD anyway, but saves space inside having to use airers.
2) Reusable sanitary products
3) My budget spreadsheet- this changed everything for me
4) A nice blanket for cold evenings
5) Batch cooking

Can you give any advice on Reusable sanitary wear please? What brands would you recommend? I'm interested in washable sanitary towels as opposed to a moon cup type thing but honestly don't know where to start.

I use bloom and nora ones,  you can buy a starter pack of mixed sizes to see which suit , then buy more of the ones you want. I rise mine in cold water & then chuck in washing. 

ZolaBuddy

My five are:-
1. Changing the brightness on all my monitors and TVs down or set to eco standard, which will reduce power consumption.

2. Schedule my PCs and nasboxes to sleep or hibernation mode.

3. Remove timer lights where necessary. No point in leaving lights on timer if still at home and gone to bed.

4. Reuse excess boiling water, even for washing up or filling a small hot water bottle.

5. Bleed and balance radiators (YouTube is good for this)

Toonie

My top five money savings things are

1. Kitchen gadgets (Slow cooker used at least twice a week, air fryer used at least five times a week)

2. Growing herbs (makes repetitive dishes taste better for pennies).

3. Reusable sanitary products (used reusable pads for 5+ years now and would hate to go back).

4. Art supplies - I never get caught without a card, I just paint one.

5. A supportive partner.

Rosa_Damascena

I threw caution to the wind today and spent on my little niece with abandon. Spending a small amount of money bought her a lot of happiness.

atrixa

Laurasiamos said:

atrixa said:

My 5 (no particular order):

1) Washing line- I don't have a TD anyway, but saves space inside having to use airers.
2) Reusable sanitary products
3) My budget spreadsheet- this changed everything for me
4) A nice blanket for cold evenings
5) Batch cooking

Can you give any advice on Reusable sanitary wear please? What brands would you recommend? I'm interested in washable sanitary towels as opposed to a moon cup type thing but honestly don't know where to start.

I'd recommend buying from an established etsy seller. There's loads of info on youtube on how to pick fabrics etc.

weenancyinAmerica

1. Only buying clothes that are wash and wear - gave away my ironing board 17 years ago.
2. Taking out the carpets and giving away the vacuum cleaner - only sweep now with a broom or mop.
3. Using items around the house as dog toys.
4. Using a duvet year round and adding a blanket I crocheted over the top, then another duvet in winter.
5. Visiting our library for most of my reading and magazines.

We used to have a saying about vacuum cleaners when I was giving talks on genealogy. If you are vacuuming every day or even every week, you aren't spending enough time looking for your ancestors. If you vacuum twice a year, you are doing just about the right amount. If you can no longer recognize a vacuum, you are spending a bit too much time climbing your family tree and need to come down a bit.