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Original poster

What’s one small thing you could give up that would save you a LOT of money long term?!

382 replies

early30smum · 10/08/2025 22:12

Coffees in London are around £4 now. I definitely don’t get one myself every day, but between me and my husband we definitely average out at spending this per day just on coffee. We just worked out, spending £4 a day on coffee every day, is almost £1,500 a year. Just on takeaway coffee. Insane. Over 20 years, that’s just under £30,000…

OP posts:
Cyclingmummy1 · 13/08/2025 07:55

Latenightreader · 12/08/2025 11:56

I have four and they give me so much joy. I have my eye on the japanese maple bonsai but it needs to be quite a bit cheaper for me to justify it... I am very tempted by some of the other lego sets too!

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I'm off for a look. DS has tons of Lego that he's considering selling, it'll fund his first term at university, so i might start my own addiction.

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 12/08/2025 19:09

“Posh” CoOp pizzas x 4 about twice a month on a Friday, when too many people need to be in too many places at the same time.

£5.50 x 4 x 26 = nearly £600 year
This has come down from every week, for the sake of our bank balances and waistlines.

LillyPJ · 12/08/2025 13:14

Latenightreader · 12/08/2025 11:56

I have four and they give me so much joy. I have my eye on the japanese maple bonsai but it needs to be quite a bit cheaper for me to justify it... I am very tempted by some of the other lego sets too!

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Oh dear! I'd never heard of them and now I'm tempted...

shellyleppard · 12/08/2025 12:27

@Latenightreader its a terrible addiction 😂😂 i find it best not to look on the Lego site 😂 i brought myself the botanical range for my birthday though 🤭

Latenightreader · 12/08/2025 11:56

shellyleppard · 10/08/2025 23:19

Lego botanical sets.... I'm 56 and addicted 😁😂

I have four and they give me so much joy. I have my eye on the japanese maple bonsai but it needs to be quite a bit cheaper for me to justify it... I am very tempted by some of the other lego sets too!

Timeforabitofpeace · 12/08/2025 11:53

Online shopping

PorthBeach · 12/08/2025 11:49

@Gymbunny2025 We really like Atkinsons coffee, which is a coffee roasters based in the north west, it’s been around for 180 years. They do fantastic coffee, lots of choice. We like the Archetype Expresso and Prototype Expresso.
We sometimes get coffee from Round Hill Roastery too ( coffee we get is the bright pink one, called Unit 14) it’s lovely.

Petitchat · 12/08/2025 10:53

Liketheclappers · 11/08/2025 23:21

He's called Danny and he's the most beautiful boy. He has a life of a prince whereas I resemble a scarecrow 🤣🤣

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Ha ha ha.
Aww, lovely 😊

LillyPJ · 12/08/2025 09:04

Dogaredabomb · 12/08/2025 08:49

It had neither doubled nor even literally doubled 🤣

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I think people use 'doubled' in the same way they use 'decimated'.

Dogaredabomb · 12/08/2025 08:49

LillyPJ · 12/08/2025 07:16

Doubled but not 'literally doubled'?

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It had neither doubled nor even literally doubled 🤣

Gymbunny2025 · 12/08/2025 07:43

PorthBeach · 11/08/2025 12:50

Buying posh coffee beans. It’s about £11 a bag, we get them every 2 weeks (subscription)
It’s still cheaper than going to a coffee shop
(which we still do occasionally, as I love a good coffee shop)

Other than that, I’m pretty frugal. I’m not sure what else I could or would be willing to give up to save a lot of money long term.
I don’t smoke or drink, we only run one car now.
I buy most of my clothes from vinted. Very low maintenance in terms of beauty stuff. I don’t get my nails done, Botox etc. A family member cuts my hair for free. I colour it myself. No gym membership.

edit: I do have a hobby which probably costs me about £25 a month in materials, but I’m not willing to give that up!

Edited

Not the point of the thread (quite the opposite!) but where do you order the posh coffee beans from? Would be a great gift for DH ☺️

XWKD · 12/08/2025 07:20

Dogaredabomb · 10/08/2025 22:27

I gave up smoking a couple of months ago, £20 per day 😬

I remember swearing I would give up when a pack reached a tenner.

Me too. I wasn't smoking that much, but I suppose it must have been that amount every two or three days.

LillyPJ · 12/08/2025 07:16

Dogaredabomb · 12/08/2025 07:07

The drive through car wash. I really love just driving through and the thingies do their thing.

However the price went up recently from £3.50 to £4.95 and I was ranting to ds that it had literally doubled in price.

He said 'er, well no it really hasn't, I could show you what the increase is as a percentage'. 'IT HAS DOUBLED' I said. We both understood.

Doubled but not 'literally doubled'?

Dogaredabomb · 12/08/2025 07:07

The drive through car wash. I really love just driving through and the thingies do their thing.

However the price went up recently from £3.50 to £4.95 and I was ranting to ds that it had literally doubled in price.

He said 'er, well no it really hasn't, I could show you what the increase is as a percentage'. 'IT HAS DOUBLED' I said. We both understood.

Dogaredabomb · 12/08/2025 06:59

Liketheclappers · 11/08/2025 23:21

He's called Danny and he's the most beautiful boy. He has a life of a prince whereas I resemble a scarecrow 🤣🤣

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I think that's very sweet, I treat my dog extremely well but decided he doesn't need a hairdresser when I don't have one either.

He does get a professional manicure though so he's still up on the deal.

LillyPJ · 12/08/2025 05:54

NewsdeskJC · 11/08/2025 23:16

Small things
Prob podcast subscriptions. Could live without and at £7 each a month.
We also have netflix/disney/amazon prime. Although I don't count prime as I rinse it on the free delivery.
I also paid £40 for a year's worth of add free Channel 4 plus and all that jazz. I reckon that money well spent when you add up the 15 mins every hour on adds you can't skip!

I don't have any TV subscriptions - just my TV licence. I record stuff on my Humax and I can pause or whizz through the ads. There's loads of stuff to watch on the Freeview channels and hundreds of films on iPlayer and Channel 4 catch up. I'm not mad keen on sport so I've no need for any subscriptions.

LillyPJ · 12/08/2025 05:48

WalkDontWalk · 11/08/2025 22:59

Yes, I suppose they might. That's me told.

Incidentally, if you know where to get wine at £4 per bottle, let me know. Not that'll I'll drink it. But those kind of prices for the cheap stuff kind of implies you can get really good stuff for a tenner. In which case I'd be prepared to give up something else. Something that I considered unnecessary. Like the car.

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Aldi. I believe they have one at £3.89. As you say, it's not great. But they do have a very passable French Sauvignon Blanc for something like £6 and a very nice NZ Marlborough SB for under £8ish. They have a wide range and often have some offers so it's worth a look. I tried doing without a car for a while. It's possible but inconvenient. I'd rather give up something else.

Tumblingthrough · 12/08/2025 03:15

oh TV!
An absolute fortune every month, we have it all.
I rarely watch it but DH does.

Actually, DH also spends a lot on subscriptions, some he doesn’t use much. Gym, Strava, Audible, Zwift.

ImGoneUnderground · 12/08/2025 00:11

FortheloveofCheesus · 10/08/2025 23:22

Lunch out at work (pret, itsu, even a cheap meal deal is a fiver now).

I need to suck it up and accept making a quick sandwich or salad of a morning, or bulk cooking a pot of soup and freezing it in portions. I think i can make a basic lunch for £2 a day, so save £3/ day, 3 days a week in office, 46 weeks a year.... over £400.

Not getting up early enough to walk to the station and driving/parking. £8 a day. 3 times a week, 46 weeks a year. Over £1000.

Agree - even a 'meal deal' mounts up so much - I think I save at least over £75 pm by taking stuff from home - don't even miss the 'meal deals ' - usually picked something random just to make it into a 'deal'.

Liketheclappers · 11/08/2025 23:21

Petitchat · 11/08/2025 00:22

Aww, that's lovely. What's your horses name?

Our downfall is takeaways.
We spend far too much on them but can't seem to stop !!
Just chucking money away 🙁

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He's called Danny and he's the most beautiful boy. He has a life of a prince whereas I resemble a scarecrow 🤣🤣

NewsdeskJC · 11/08/2025 23:16

Small things
Prob podcast subscriptions. Could live without and at £7 each a month.
We also have netflix/disney/amazon prime. Although I don't count prime as I rinse it on the free delivery.
I also paid £40 for a year's worth of add free Channel 4 plus and all that jazz. I reckon that money well spent when you add up the 15 mins every hour on adds you can't skip!

Robin67 · 11/08/2025 23:04

Carbs. But I just can't stop

DiscoDancingDoris · 11/08/2025 23:01

Wine, fags and burgers

WalkDontWalk · 11/08/2025 22:59

LillyPJ · 11/08/2025 22:47

£20 could be 5 bottles of cheap plonk! And alcohol isn't necessary and it's actually bad for you. Anyway, it's £20 spare to spend on something else which some people might prefer.

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Yes, I suppose they might. That's me told.

Incidentally, if you know where to get wine at £4 per bottle, let me know. Not that'll I'll drink it. But those kind of prices for the cheap stuff kind of implies you can get really good stuff for a tenner. In which case I'd be prepared to give up something else. Something that I considered unnecessary. Like the car.

MsAmerica · 11/08/2025 22:53

InMyOpenOnion · 11/08/2025 05:01

It's because AIBU has the most traffic. Not that mystifying surely? Lots of the other boards are very quiet. That's for MN to sort out really - stuff can sit there for ages with no responses.

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Yes, they're quiet because people post irrelevantly in AIBU!