small ways to save money in January and beyond?

[hidinginthenightgarden]

I intend to leave my purse in the car rather than take it into work. It will stop me buying crap helping both my waistline and bank balance.
I already do the food shop online using vouchers, but want to try and stretch the budget further but still have healthy meals.

What will you be doing?

I’m banning buying drinks/coffees when out. Brinjng a bottle of water/squash out with me so I’m not tempted.
Less alcohol
Writing down everything I spend so I know where my £ is going!

Anything I buy online I go through topcashback.co.uk.

I also look at my bank account every day and transfer the odd pence over to my savings account. So if I have £50.65 in my account I transfer the 65p over.

Not huge amounts of money but it adds up by the end of the year.

I might write stuff down too!
I often wonder how much of what I spend was strictly necessary.
Think I will get a little notebook in my car.

I save £1 a day. I set up a standing order for £7 a week into a savings account. It's paying for a weekend away for me next month.

Oh, I've now realised I could have saved a fortune on Christmas shopping if I'd used TopCashBack. Oh well, a lesson for next year.

I'm doing 4 no spend months (Jan-Apr) apart from necessities like food, basic toiletries and household products plus £20 spending money a month in charity shops. So no new clothes, shoes, coffees out, etc. Books from the library. I know a lot of people are doing a year but I'm not sure I could make it that long.

I like the idea of no spend months but would struggle a lot! I think I am going to so 2 no spend days a week though.

I will not be going in Costa/Starbucks can’t believe how much the price seems to have gone up recently, and once minimum wage increases in April it will only get worse

I don’t drink tea or coffee but I do drink wayyy too much Diet Coke! Probably spend about £5 a week on it 😬

I save money by not buying books now and using the library for me and dcs.
I also look for free stuff to do and places to go.
I use Tesco clubcard and groupon for cinema, day trips and meals out.
When I shop, I always look for fruit and veg on offer. Also crisps and snacks.
January is a good time to save money on meals if you like soups and stews. They can be very cheap, healthy and comforting.

I have removed credit cards from online accounts so that I am not tempted by impulse purchases.

If you buy magazines then stop it! Try your library - register and the use online they have weekly and monthly mags, and of course books online too for adults and children.

I occasionally buy a magazine if I am unexpectedly hanging around a train station or hospital for an hour but not routinely.
Books I stopped buying last year but I library doesn’t have much that interests me so I am feeling a little deprived.

That is a cracking idea @bitchqueen90 Im going to steal that one!

No new clothes (apart from undies, tights and leggings this payday). I don't need anything else and have stuff I don't wear much.
Will also ebay some of my old stuff.
No coffees, lunch out etc.
Meal planning and avoiding top up shops (DH mostly).

Definitely the library! I order anything that friends recommend and they email me when it's in. Mine also has an app for borrowing e books so I can get something instantly if I really want it. A great service and all free!

One thing I have found to work is selling any bits & pieces as we no longer need them, on local Facebook sales pages. Most things only fetch £1 or £2, but I put that straight into my savings account & don't touch it & I amassed £150 in 2 months doing that! Also online surveys, I can get £2-£3 per day with Qmee.

Spending wise, go shopping at last yellow sticker time. Most fresh produce is 75% or 90% off (in Tesco). Definitely use your library for books, magazines & free activities for kids & adults, check out what they offer. Take a flask & a packet of biscuits/some fruit when going for a walk in the park rather than stopping at the cafe. We decant hot chocolate powder into a pot for the DC & take tea bags for us, or squash if it's warm. Also always take own carrier bags shopping, store some in your car.

Meal planning is the way forward I think.

Getting properly organised with meal planning, including bringing my own lunch to work. Shopping in Aldi.

Invested in a proper 1.5 litre water bottle to take water to work. Better for the environment and I’ll save a couple of quid a day on bottles of water.

Doing dry January and Veganuary. Meat & booze are expensive!

This can be shockingly helpful for seeing the big cost over time of all the little but often ones like a coffee here and a magazine there.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/demotivator/

There's a fancy dress borrow & lend FB page in my area. Rather than buying costumes for kids' dressing up days and plays, ask on there to borrow one first. Good for the environment with fewer polyester Victorian maids' costumes that only get worn once. Also keep old pale t shirts and get the child to decorate with felt tips for spotty day etc.

OP it might be worth seeing if there is a charity shop specialising in books near you. Oxfam have some. A book from there would be half the price of a magazine and keep you busy far longer.

Great thread! I have already cancelled gym membership and bought another travel mug for taking coffee to work. Batch cooking is the way forward. Was considering stopping my Amazon prime and Netflix but we use them both every day so we'll see.

I'm doing a Brexit prep store too so will have plenty in for later in the year hopefully. January is going to be a lean month though!

We put all our loose change in a pot at the end of every day. It's amazing how it all mounts up.

If you have a garden, growing runner beans and tomatoes from seed is a fun and easy way to save money too.

We also buy potatoes by the sack and keep them in the cool - in our case the shed. A sack lasts ages and it is so much cheaper than buying spuds from the supermarket.

Mince pies, I am going to make costumes out of everyday stuff this year. I’m not spending money on stuff they only wear once!
We do have an oxfam book in town but I rarely go that way.

@PixieMiss I saved an extra £250 last year just doing that and you don't even notice it, I read about it somewhere online.

If you collect Nectar points you can redeem them for Caffè Nero vouchers and treat yourself to the occasional coffee - it actually puts my off paying real money for them .

Also, if you have a Monzo account it's a good way of keeping an eye of everything you spend and you can set up a 'pot' where which rounds up everything you spend to the nearest pound and transfers the rest, so you can easily rack up quite a bit without really noticing.