A few things I’m doing to save money

[Deleted User]

The things i do to save money are actually not new, they're more an ongoing lifestyle thing.
I enjoy frugality and feel content with my little lot !

During the week i spend nothing - it might sound odd to some but i don't make any purchases through the week, i take snacks, lunch, drinks, with me daily and i'm not in a work related position to buy things if i were a tempted-to-buy person.

The only time i go and spend money is a Saturday morning when i do the food shopping - and then i'm the disciplined sort that buys what's needed and not impulse buys.

If i buy online, which isn't a regular thing at all. it will be what i need rather than fancy.
I sound boring but it's what works for me.

YoungBlueEyes

Same here Catsacor, except I shop on a Tuesday morning cos it's quieter!

Siebrie

My daughters (14 and 11) make their own lunch and snackboxes now, but husband can't be bothered and will buy something he fancies when he's hungry. So, on days he's in the office, I make him a lunch box and something to snack on. It saves us about €12/day.

bouicca21

Everyone makes their own choices and compromises.  The only time I ever used to have takeaway was when the children were young and a group of mums would take turns to host a “night out” and we relaxed over takeaway curry.

Since I already do most of the MSE type suggestions that have been floating around I thought there was very little room in my budget for more especially as I was reluctant to give up my few expensive luxuries like meeting up with friends for coffee or a meal out.  

My recent lightbulb moment was the meal planning thread.  I used to meal plan but stopped ages ago when money got easier.  Now I have gone back to it, I have been amazed by how much cheaper life can be.  It wasn’t that I was extravagant before, it’s more that I did a fair bit of impulse buying and so chopped and changed my plans a lot in order to use stuff up.

My plan for the next week and a half relies on stuff that is already in the freezer or store cupboard.  I spent £7.21 on fresh veg in Lidl yesterday and still need to buy a few odds and ends but I doubt I’ll spend more than a tenner. Obviously the plan needs to be flexible so if I see something I really fancy or a ys bargain I’ll spend a bit more and either change the plan or chuck it in the freezer.  But I am finding that I have enough left over at the end of the month that I don’t need to worry about those rising energy costs or cutting out the occasional luxury.  

I don’t mean to sound smug - I know how lucky I am.  I worry about those whose budgets are so tight that no amount of MSE practices will allow them  to get through this mess without debt.  Actually worry is not the right word - I am really angry about it!

MrsStepford

We were poor, but aren't now. My husband has worked extremely hard and we have had just two holidays abroad in 20 years. No TVs, no tumble dryer and our clothes come from charity shops, supermarkets and sales.

Since 2020, we haven't been out to a pub or restaurant at all. My husband is gluten free and buys bottled GF beer either from local supermarkets or from breweries direct - don't know whether that saves money, but Wadworth has given us quite a few freebie pint stemmed glasses.We don't routinely drink wine now, just champagne on special occasions, always bought on offer and a bottle of organic port at Christmas..

I'm trying to wean husband off fish & chips as he is putting on weight, but we live by the sea, so that's a challenge, especially as the chippie does gluten-free breading and has separate fryer.  Have a Chinese takeaway occasionally but. 99% of the time our food is home-cooked and organic as often as poss. We have a big wok so should make our own Chinese food.

Now getting an organic veg box fortnightly, from Milk & More (16.99) and topping up iwith organic veg from ASDA if needed. Saves money on Abel & Cole prices. 

Got some slow cooker books from a charity shop and bought a slow cooker on offer. Husband is mostly working from home and can prep and leave it to cook. Also have a soupmaker, which makes brilliant soups in 27 mins. Not many tinned soups are gluten free - even Heinz. Excellent way to use up veg past their best. 

During the summer I bought husband Starbucks iced coffees from Iceland when they were 3 for £3. He has Waitrose organic instant and Sainsbury's organic teabags for the car. We have simple cafetieres for coffee and buy organic ground coffee when on offer and stash in the freezer. No coffee machine as we haven't the workspace and don't want to be bothered with cleaning it. .

Husband replaced all lightbulbs with energy saving ones and we have double glazing and thermal blackout roller blinds. Had house re-plumbed, rewired and new CH over the years. Looking at getting thermal curtains. Always do dual fuel fixed tariffs and this one runs out in April. Husband has a horrible cold and was looking miserable despite three layers and a fleece blanket. Put the CH on today, but really low. I bought more throws and fleece blankets in sales recently.

Will need to go round and check draught stuff doesn't need replacing but loft is well insulated. The chimney needs to be swept, so we can have log fires. The wood was bought a couple of years ago and is well seasoned and dry. 

Looked at running costs for various appliances and because we don't have TVs, desktops, tumble dryer, hairdryer and lots of kitchen gadgets, we're supposedly saving over £8 per hour on electricity, compared to average household.

Not at all sure that washing the windows would make our house a lot warmer !

Everyone has their own priorities. I have diabetes so the least processed food for me, the better. Consultant told me to keep doing what I'm doing, food wise. 

Food aside, I think we live a pretty frugal life. 

EssexHebridean

baltiqueen said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

OP, you come from a lifestyle that is relatively comfortable and is a good start if money saving is new to you. There are some luxuries on the list - such as 50p per coffee - that many people just don't have the money for.

The problem these days is that many people struggle to provide even a basic standard of living for their families. There is little if any fat to trim and the only realistic option is a cycle of debt.

Everyone’s situation is different, I appreciate that. I’ve never given any thought as to whether or not my lifestyle is comfortable or not. I guess it is compared to some but I’m certainly not well off. Even those of us with relatively good jobs are still worried about the future and how we will afford things.

Well said @baltiqueen - Having an income that means you are "comfortable" (whatever that means anyway!) and yet still looking for ways to trim spending isn't in any way to be faulted IMO - the key thing is to be mindful of the level of financial privilege we each have I'd say, and to note that everyone is different. Someone on £100k a year with £99k of unavoidable expenses can in terms of disposable income be worse off than someone on 18k with 16.5k of unavoidable expenses. 

Already lots of good advice being given - in resp ect of the comment about paying admin-type fees for monthly payments I'd add for anyone paying TV licence or vehicle tax be mindful of those - paying "road tax" monthly certainly used to attract a premium, while paying your TV license by the older style quarterly DD attracts a fee that paying monthly doesn't!  

These sorts of threads can be great because even for those of us who've been about here for a good long while they still sometimes turn up silly little things that we've missed. On a thread about energy use earlier on for example someone mentioned reducing the costs relating to running a fridge by ensuring that the door is always shut immediately - rather than leaving it half open for example while putting milk in tea. It's only, what, 20 seconds perhaps, but that mounts up over time, and yes, guilty as I charged I realise I have a tendency to do exactly that! we can ALL learn, and I bet there's nobody on here who is 100% perfect on the MSE/Energy saving stuff all of the time! 

YorksLass

Re closing the fridge door immediately instead of leaving it open - I have a list of fridge contents pinned to the fridge door with a magnet and find that means I'm not opening/closing the door heaven knows how many times, especially when meal planning, to see what's in there.  Sheet of paper divided into 8 squares - veg, fruit, meat/fish, dairy, salad, sweet, savoury and the last one for easy-to-forget oddments that need using up.  Add on new stuff, delete any items used.  It took a bit of getting used to to keep it up to date, but now it's second nature.  Might not be for everyone, but it works for me.

Like bouicca21, last week and this week all meals have come from what I already have in and, being a fan of the cook once/eat twice principle, I've made a stock of hm ready meals that will help out next month's grocery budget as well as saving on fuel.

wondercollie

joedenise said:

Siebrie said:

If you're just starting out on the financial-savvy journey it's probably worthwhile to check the costs connected to any financial transactions. For instance, we used to pay our mortgage insurance automatically every month, which was set up by our bank; they forgot to tell us (although it was written somewhere in the paperwork, like in the middle of the small print on page 11)  that that came with a €5 admin fee for every transaction, which came to 12 x €5 x 2 = €120/year! We switched to annual payment, which has no admin fee attached at all.

There aren’t generally bank charges in the UK.  I believe you are based in the EU where I know most banks do charge.

Sometimes monthly payments have interest charges but that is from the company and not the bank.  Usually cheaper to pay annually if you can.

You really don't want to know what Canadian banks charge!  No frills, on line banks are the only ones that offer free accounts.   The name banks (Royal Bank, TD, Nova Scotia) are expensive and charge for everything.  

I'm over 60 and my credit union gives me no charges for my age but the Bank of Montreal didn't, so guess where my money is

ariarnia

MrsStepford said:

We were poor, but aren't now.  

i was talking to oh the other day about where we both were at the start of the last recession in 2007/8 and how much tings have changed. we'd never met each other for one! some of the things we used to do back then are just not practical now (because we've moved away from the area and the same opportunities are not available or because of the kids and other responsibitlies or just simple age meaning we can't get away with as much!) but some of the things we stopped doing just out of lazy ness. like meal planning. i've tried a couple of times to get back into it but we don't really NEED to shop once a week and plan for every meal like we used to and the kids have never had that kind of restriction where you have to eat every scrap of something because there's just nothing else... i know that sounds bad and i will keep trying but i just can't see us going back to some of the weird and wonderful (and not so wonderful) food combinations like i remember sometimes having back in my little bedsit and that is completely a privilege i appreciate (being able to choose our compromises and not compromise everything) 

YoungBlueEyes

Great post MrsStepford.  Being poor now doesn't mean you can't change it through hard work and being careful with money.

We live quite similarly to you, except we do have a telly and I use a hairdryer.  Clothes/stuff from charity shops.  Cook once to eat twice/thrice.  We're rarely in the pub, very rarely eat out, and get take-aways only a handful of times a year.  Himself showers daily (cos of his job), and I shower once a week.  We don't need the heating on unless it really is cold.  No debt except a small mortgage (we've just moved, I was mortgage-free before now).  We know it's a frugal lifestyle, but it's normal to us.  

I think there are a lot of people who could be in a much better position if they would make some sacrifices and handle their money better.  I'm not saying everyone has the scope to do these things, but there are plenty of young people who don't see their lifestyle as extravagent (because they've never known anything else), and sacrifices like we've made are unconscionable to them.  The life they've been living so far - funded by their parents - is standard to them, and anything less than that is unacceptable.

Again - this doesn't apply to everyone, but I bet there's a bunch of people that it does.