Living cheaply

[Samsamsuperman]

I'm sure people must live way cheaper than we do. What are your hacks?
FYI family of 4, DC 1&3
Both of us work FT
Shop in Sainsbury's which I know is meant to be expensive but honestly don't seem to spend much less in alternatives...
Are places like Costco, home bargains, B&M worth it?
How else do you save?

I also buy a lot second hand and sell stuff on - most of the kids Xmas presents this year are pre-loved.

The best thing I did to curb my Amazon trigger happy spending was to put things in the “save for later” bit of my basket. I’d pay close attention to what I was doing - actively think to myself, do I need this. Then come back to it in a few days.

Remove the app if you have it.

Biggest savings is B&M for cleaning and laundry things. Large tub of vanish oxy in morrisons is 10.00. 5.00 in B&M. I don't wear make up and only use organic shampoo ( because if allergies. I have Lupus and a lot if things make my eyes sore) but we gave a local shop that will refill Faith by nature bottles. So that's cheaper. I buy dog food bulk on line. Check my utilities every 6 months. Only have one credit card between DH and I. and pay it off each month so I don't pay interest.
Have just changed pet insurance as DDog is now 10 and it was getting very expensive for full cover at her age. Have now just taken third party and accident.
I have just retired so went through our finances with a fine tooth comb.

I also give DH and Myself a set amount into a separate account each which is our spending money. The rest into the savings account.

Great call Iggly.
OK going to give B&M a try - thank you!

Definitely Aldi for shopping I’ve been saving at least £25 per week on shopping compared to Tesco.

Following this post with interest as living on a small budget right now and I find it so hard. I do rate Asda for good value delivery and currently get a once a month delivery of heavier items then walk to lidl / other shops for the remainder. Although some things are a little bit more in asda for now it's worth that extra to get them delivered. I always choose a £1 delivery slot too!

What I find is that it's a lot of mental effort and my food shop spending spirals easily if I take my eyes off it 😞

Lidl / Aldi (and I think tesco too) gave a selection of fruit/veg heavily reduced each week so I try and keep an eye on what's going on special.

Clothes and toys second hand and H and M give a £5 off £25 spend voucher if you hand a carrier bag of clothes in to be recycled so I do that to get money off new items/gift items.

Cycling to work is great if you can, though if you don't already have a bike it could take 6months - 1 year to start saving.

Would love to hear more tips!!!

The best thing I did to curb my Amazon trigger happy spending was to put things in the “save for later” bit of my basket. I’d pay close attention to what I was doing - actively think to myself, do I need this. Then come back to it in a few days.

Yes I do this. I don’t even come back to it in a few days- I completely ignore it under the theory that if I keep finding myself needing it in my normal day to day life I will go back and order it but if I don’t then I clearly don’t need it.

I've recently shopped in savers and stocked up on laundry powder (fairy and aerial)and deodorant etc. Very cheap compared to Asda/boots

We do a big shop every 4 to 6 weeks and then just shop for fruit and veg as we need to (usually at local market). We both dislike food shopping so suits us plus if we go to a supermarket more often we just buy more items!

We finding buying in bulk works out cheaper but, of course, you have to have space to store it all.

Both me and DH are vegetarian so that makes our food bill much cheaper anyway. We buy big packs of lentils, chickpeas, different types of beans, rice etc from an indian supermarket because they are so much cheaper. We also buy our spices and things like coconut milk from them.

I have a rough meal plan for a month and make sure I have or buy the ingredients I need. I often make double of things like lentil bolognaise, bean chilli, curries, shepherds pie etc and freeze one lot.

We cook almost everything from scratch which works out cheaper and we waste just about nothing. Veg past it's best can be made into soup or a veg stew or a veg chilli. I even use cauliflower leaves and stalks in soups or stir fries.

Bread past it's best can be made into bread pudding or bread and butter pudding or just made into breadcrumbs.

We buy any yellow stickered items we know we will use. Bread in particular is often reduced by a large amount. We split it into freezer bags and freeze, just take out what you need. We do the same with milk.

Freezer bags can be washed out and reused time and time again.

I buy the cheapest bath wash I can find (usually in Wilkinson) and fill up handwash bottles.

If you have a local market and can get there buy your fruit and veg there. If you can get there just before they pack up they almost all sell off produce very cheaply

I have no access to cheap stores like Aldi but all fruit ad veg comes from the market and I feed the dog for only £3- £4 each week by preparing her meals at home. Big bag of frozen beef or chicken thighs cooked with vegetables and brown rice then frozen in portions.

Aldi, Savers, odeon Limitless pass, water bottle filled before leaving house, take own snacks/sandwich/travel cup with coffee in it, organise wardrobe so you can see everything rather than think you have nothing to wear so buy more, do own hair dye and get friend to cut it, don't buy toiletries if you have a stash, read books you already own, kindle unlimited, request theatre vouchers as gifts rather than random clutter, declutter often and reuse things instead of throwing if poss, use the library

made redundant and lost a huge chunk , I wanted to save money but also enough for treats, there's nothing worse than feeling as if you are just existing , being hand to mouth rather than living ?
I have not bought one item of clothing in the shops new, relied on charity shops and car boot sales, my co workers always comment on how well I am turned out, one of my best work outfits is a dress with a nice jacket, £1 each at the car boot! I buy lots of yellow sticker items and freeze them down, I don;t do big shops because I have a smaller family and food was being wasted, but try to plan meals better so everything is used up, don't buy much processed stuff as not necessarily filling or nutritious, I use less meat in a casserole but more veg, I went onto a water meter, saving £30 per month, changed house hold insurance from my bank to on line company, identical policy saving £35 per month!, changed phone and broadban provider to plusnet from BT saving £20 a month, don't go for coffee in town , take a bottle of water in my bag, get all my books from carboot/charity shop or library, decided with friendship group not to exchange birthday gifts anymore, not send christmas cards to each other (I see them!), buy large boxes of soap powder when on offer, own brand cleaning products, keep away from the lovely staff canteen at work, make my own lunch, saves money and weigh less, but treat myself on pay day, don't put heating on unless really necessary, wrap up well, hot water bottles and extra blankets, won't live in a fridge but don't want a big bill either, when I boil a kettle in the winter I fill up a flask next to the kettle for the next mug, sounds tight but every little helps

Learn to bake/cook. I recently made some puddings for a party and they cost less than the shop bought equivalents.

I buy my children's clothes a year ahead in the sale. Undies are from Sainsbury's when they have their 25% off clothing event.

When we go on trips out, we take a packed lunch. I try and make or buy things we will all enjoy, so we don't feel deprived. We will still have an ice cream whilst we are out, though.

Check locally for cheap or free events for your family.

When your children get birthday or Christmas presents, I hide some of their unwrapped but unopened presents away and give them back for long car journeys or as rewards - children have forgotten about them so it's like a new present.

When we go on day trips, I make up little 'party bags' to keep them occupied on the way home and to avoid the gift shop. I add a couple of pound shop toys, sweets and a drink in a paper bag.