What’s the ONE Money-Saving Habit That Changed Your Life?

MariaLeon

Hi everyone,

I wanted to ask:

What’s the one money-saving habit, mindset, or tip that made the biggest difference in your financial life?

It could be something small like always comparing prices before buying, or something big like switching energy providers, using cashback sites, or even starting a side hustle.

I’m trying to build better financial habits and would love to learn from real experiences. Feel free to share what worked for you – even if it sounds simple, it might help someone else too!

Looking forward to hearing your stories. 😊

Thanks in advance,

Newbie_John

Many, but something that you haven't mentioned:

Buying used items.

Certain items from known brands, even second hand can last years and they cost half price or less.
Obviously not everything but sport goods like bicycle, or kids toys like electric car, bicycle etc. A lot of people buy brand new, keep it for few months and then sell for half price or less.

Once you've used it for 6 months you can then sell it back and instead of paying £100 for new you may buy it for £50, sell it for £40.. 

And regarding used items, we all sleep in hotels on used mattress, some drive used car, eat with used cutlery in restaurant and that's fine.

IvanOpinion

1. Start a pension as early as possible (and keep it simple).
2. Don't focus on saving your money to the detriment of enjoying life now - find the right balance between spending and saving that works for you.
3. Simplify. Don't overdo the breakdown of your money (with all these fancy 'pots'), work at a much less granular level e.g.
- "holidays" rather than holiday purchase, holiday clothing, holiday spending money, holiday drinking money etc.
- "entertainment" rather than coffee money, sandwich money, drinking money, clubbing money etc.
4. Forget 'loyalty' to a provider unless they are willing to reward you for it.

Kim_13

Regular Savers. If you’ve done one or more of these at the beginning of the month, you’re still heading in the right direction even if you overspend later. 

The higher interest rates and lower deposit limits make saving feel more worthwhile and achievable than a bog standard passbook account of the past.

friolento

Becoming a member of this forum

fatbelly

Cheapest petrol in an area you don't know well 

https://www.petrolprices.com/

Short term bargains at supermarkets 

https://www.hotukdeals.com/tag/groceries

mon3ysav3r

Overpay the mortgage regularly if you have one

trickydicky14

Starting saving from a young age. I have never had a job that paid that well but having the right mindset has allowed me to retire and not worry about money.

kimwp

Newbie_John said:

Many, but something that you haven't mentioned:

Buying used items.

Certain items from known brands, even second hand can last years and they cost half price or less.
Obviously not everything but sport goods like bicycle, or kids toys like electric car, bicycle etc. A lot of people buy brand new, keep it for few months and then sell for half price or less.

Once you've used it for 6 months you can then sell it back and instead of paying £100 for new you may buy it for £50, sell it for £40.. 

And regarding used items, we all sleep in hotels on used mattress, some drive used car, eat with used cutlery in restaurant and that's fine.

This is such a powerful one. My £85 for two sofas off gumtree are still going strong 10 years later. The potential pitfall is buying stuff that's not quite right or hoarding because you can't rely on things being available when you want them, but recognising when you already have something that will do the job for now and a "good enough" mentality helps avoid lots of re-buying.

It's funny though, while I logically know that every hotel has used mattresses, I still can't bring myself to buy one.

JosephK

Proper budgeting and keep it simple

What_time_is_it

Have less stuff. A lot less.
You really don’t need lots of stuff.
And if you leave behind a house full of stuff for your kids to sort out one day, they will not be happy about it.

So my one habit is - less stuff, more time, fewer things, more living.

The only thing worth having is enough.