What’s an “unpopular” spending or money decision that actually works well for you?

I will sometimes spend money - even when money is tight - for things that are a great deal buying in advance. Lots of people would say “I don’t have the money right now” but I think of the future saving (if it’s something I know I’ll definitely end up wanting to do) and then I also have the added bonus of having fun things in my calendar to look forward to. Think ‘first tease’ event tickets type of thing

I'm the opposite. I'd rather have water with a meal and enjoy the food but a nice coffee some mornings on the way to work is lovely.

One more...
My husband had to take out an IVA so we now have to pay everything upfront...no further debt

My husband and I sold our house that had a credit crunch sub prime interest only mortgage, because we couldn't get a remortgage. We rented instead and it was cheaper. 10 years on the tide has turned and we are stuck renting and seriously wish we done things differently

When I was seriously broke I used to buy clothes from Argos on my husband's Argos card and return them to Sainsbury's and say I had no receipt and get a gift card then buy food.
My husband gets £1000 credit per year at Currys via salary sacrifice. We use a lot of it to buy gift cards from Currys then spend the gift cards at Argos or Sainsbury's for Christmas presents.
When I was desperate years ago I'd buy ghd hair straighteners on very account then sell on eBay. Please note that was a desperate time and I did get in debt quite a lot

Me too (ducks for cover)

I made one small insurance claim (about £20 after excess) for my cat, now in his teens, and the insurers raised the premium from £50 a month to £125 a month.

I found new insurance.

Sorry @cleancoffeemachine . Misquoted. I'm with you, although I had massive bills for my silver point boy before I abandoned the insurance racket. They paid and this paid off at the time, but he was young then. I cancelled it when he was an OAF (old aged felline).

Anyone who has a pet makes this connection very quickly especially if they make a claim and most especially if the have a pet with a chronic condition.

You do realise that the cost of insurance for pets goes through the roof as they age?

Same. No joint accounts ever for us.

I shop as and when as well as I live alone and don't have a car. It doesn't totally eliminate waste though as I can still change my mind about staying in/cooking.
I think it would still be cheaper to do a big shop as I tend to go to the smaller shops on the way home from work and they're more expensive.

OTOH the cost of running a car to go to a massive shop and buy everything in bulk would not be worth it.

My husband and I have never had joint bank accounts, his wages go into his account and pays for nearly everything except 1 bill, my wages go into my account and I pay the 1 bill my husband doesn’t pay for, I do what I want with my money and he does the same with his money!
I don’t even think my husband has ever known how much I earn unless some times I’ve moaned to him about working extra and paying ridiculous amounts of tax sometimes!

That we all need some enjoyment in life and for that reason we continue to do nice things, even if it gets a bit tight sometimes.

I’m quite ok with fast fashion and I enjoy shopping on SHEIN…!🙈

Agree too - any claim caused an equal addition and then some to the annual cost - we cancelled the insurance and paid the bills ourselves- pet insurance is a scam!

Being frugal isn't about not spending money,it is about being intentional and spending any money not doing the basics on what gives you the most joy.

No way! My Meal Deal is my Meal Deal. Probably because DH always chooses a cheese sandwich and a sausage roll😆

Be careful of doing this too often ,it red flags your account plus any paid in fails.Better not to sign up for so many subscriptions.

We never do a big weekly shop or meal plan. We shop as and when we needed (usually every other day) and buy small bits. I swear we spend so much less on food and hardly ever have food waste as we shop for 1 or 2 meals at a time.

Still cheaper for me.
I dont need loads in a food shop and my bills cheaper than what it would be living with someone.

Yes this. We got a puppy last year and I opened an account for pet insurance and pay in the equivalent to the premium every month.
We're lucky that if she (god forbid) needed unexpected vet care we could afford it.
And this way when she's old and more likely to incur regular vet costs we'll have a bit saved without just throwing money down the toilet making the insurers rich .

Not mine & more of a tip; I read about a person who, at same point each year reports their main account card as lost and then as the subscription requests get denied, decides if the want to keep them or not.
Not with some risk, but an interesting approach

But that's just an example.

How often to have the heating on.
What to cook.
What snacks to have in the house.

As @ElleintheWoods described, there's loads of everyday "occasions" that mean a couple spend more on their regular bills than they would by themselves, let alone before the extras.

But those are all extras. I was talking about the basics - bills and basic food.