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 already do a few of these like always taking a packed lunch/snacks/drinks from home on a day out. I also meal plan and shop with a list. I take tap water to work in a reusable bottle. I also use the library.

This coming year I want:
*To get better at using up leftovers instead of throwing them out.
*Stop nipping in past the shop for crisps and a drink on my way to pick up ds from school. I don't get a break at work and I go straight to the school from work. Going to start taking a snack to eat in the car while waiting for ds.
*I also want to stop all takeaways. I usually have one a month.
*Use up shower gels etc I have a huge stash

Write down every penny you spend everyday: fascinating and terrifying if you are prone to frittering your cash away.

I started doing "no spend weekend" in November - it forces me to think more carefully about what I am doing and how I am spending my time: it's useful to me as I work all week, so that helps me limit things more. So - I can go to the theatre if I've booked in advance. I can't go out for a coffee because I've got cabin fever.

I save money on work lunches by bringing in a loaf of bread, packet of cheese/ham and butter and keeping them in the work kitchen. Admittedly not the most exciting or glamorous lunch but saves £££ and time.

@confusedofengland how many quizzes do you have to do a day for £2-3?

Thanks ladies for all the ideas!

Have bought a thermos flask for soups and a journal to keep track of spending, aims and activities etc.

Determined to be sensible with money this year!

I've set up a "round up" pot in my bank account that I can't access until a certain date. Whenever I use my card it'll automatically round up to the nearest £1 and put the difference in the pot. I'm hoping that it'll put me off spending on things I don't need!

I also need to stop buying lunch when I can go home or bring a packed lunch.

I did my first 'small deposit' to savings - £2.60. I already save a set transfer every month but would be great if I could round it up by £30-50 on top. Trying to rebuild savings after big house decoration stuff earlier in the year.

I'm also going to clear space in the freezer for some late night supermarket reductions.

We've really cut down on eating out over the winter weekends compared to previous years, instead, for a treat we have food on our laps in front of a Amazon new release film (£3 ish).

Less clothes for the kids as they just keep on growing atm! More will be needed in summer for the summer hols/our hols though.

Ikabod - how did you set up your bank account to round up the change and transfer it please?

I'm going to save a penny a day through the year but in reverse so starred with £3.65 today £3.64 tomorrow etc, this should cover most of Christmas (£670 in total). I also scrape the loose change from our accounts at the end of the day. Good idea to keep snacks and drinks in the car, tho we are good at taking them out anyways. I've been doing my own gel nails past few months and am totally converted. Got a lamp from Amazon with kit for £30 ish pays for itself pretty quickly.

Rainbows I think you can get an app. Some banks offer this as part of a saving scheme.