How would you save money if you needed to?

[HungryHippo11]

With news of food price increases, higher taxes and bills etc. I was wondering how other people are planning to cut back, if they need to?

I was already planning to cut back on car use for environmental reasons but also would save fuel costs.

We could cancel Netflix and Prime subscriptions and could probably save a bit on groceries by cutting out luxuries such as soft fruit and alcohol.

Any other suggestions? What is your backup plan?

@TheTurn0fTheScrew

not a massive saving, but an easy one. we only ever have one of netflix/prime/NowTv etc at a time. By the time we cycle back round, there's more loads new stuff to watch, plus we very often get a discount, or another free trial - got Prime free at the moment.

We have Netflix for TV. We have prime for the free delivery and don't really watch the TV package but I guess if we didn't have Netflix then maybe we would watch prime.

Maybe I should just cancel and go without free delivery as that's a dangerous way to spend more money as well.

Trying to economise at the minute as have gone part time (though salary increased, so no change overall). Saving for renovation and every Penny is going to that.
Main things we are doing -
Save straight away after being paid
Use 'saving spaces' on starling banking app for various things eg. Groceries, petrol, etc.
Walking where possible
switched to hybrid car
Shopping at Lidl
Using vouchers and discounts
Quidco for all online purchases
DIY and make things where possible (eg curtains)
Grow vegetables like salad, soft fruits
Meal plan
Less meat
No coffees out / takeaways etc
Call insurers, broadband etc and haggle cost down / use comparison sites and find better deals
Buy in bulk and keep stores of essentials
Avoid shops generally (temptation)
Take packed lunch , flask of tea/coffee and bottles of water when we go on days out
Charity shops for books, clothes , furniture
Sell what I can on eBay

I think I'd sell down a lot of stuff I don't need. Kids bikes they've grown out of, garden furniture, old phones etc

@Guineapigbridge

I think I'd sell down a lot of stuff I don't need. Kids bikes they've grown out of, garden furniture, old phones etc

I did think of that but if everyone else is short of money too, would people be buying that sort of thing?

Bring more frugal with groceries, no takeaway food/coffees and very limited clothing/beauty purchases.

Not willing to give up Netflix/TV but planning to look for a cheaper internet deal so TV may come into that.

We are going to struggle. We have to move true to medical problems in the family. Had to be In a certain place. This has added £400 onto our mortgage. That was the money we had for savings.
We will be moving closer to everything so can cycle or walk when not at work. But not sure anything will help to reduce what we are about to shell out every month. Fairly worried

I'd say a good way to prepare is learn to cook, make things, repair things yourself where possible. Grow your own food, cook economically, etc. I appreciate many people do these things already but there are a good proportion of us that are reliant on the convenience economy.

I cancelled sky.
Went through all my direct debits and cancelled lots of forgotten ones.
I tumble dry a lot less and only use it for underwear or bedding/towels.
I have also cut £200 a month off our food bill by baking snacks for the kids and more home cooking. Very very rare I will buy takeout now.

Oh and we have a veggie garden! Blackberries, salad leaves, apples, strawberries, rhubarb, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. :) Saves a fortune when you have fruit bats for DC!

We are very lucky to be mortgage free and with no car payments either. But if I needed to I could reduce electricity usage perhaps and try to change my mobile contract.

If we really needed to I would cancel the DC's extra curricular activities and therefore use the car less too.

We have very little bills to worry about- electricity and broadband are our only household bills really.

I've already massively reduced my spending for a year. This is what I've done:

• for food shopping: use aldi, special offers & yellow stickers. No eating out, take packed lunch & coffee to work.
• hols: no foreign hols, no hotels, just camping
• transport: walk when we can, drive at 50-60 mph on motorways
• shopping: buy only essential clothes & house stuff, use freecycle & charity shops
• subscribe to Youneedabudget app - I've saved loooaaads by doing this, it is really worth it

Oh I forgot The tv license and all the insurances...house, car etc

I’d start with our grocery bill - we are currently spending around £40 a week on deliveries from Sainsburys for two adults but could get it down to about £25 if I went to Lidl. (I am vegan and don’t drink, DP does consume meat and alcohol but only small amounts).
Could also switch to a cheaper energy provider if necessary - ours is excellent but not the cheapest.
Could cancel my charity direct debits, stop going swimming and stop voluntary contributions to my pension as well if things were really dire.

We already don’t have TV, rarely use DP’s car (we cycle or walk almost everywhere), have an allotment (although neglected it this year), but most stuff second hand etc so there’s not much to cut but that’s all mostly for environmental rather than financial reasons. I also closed my Amazon account about 5 years ago due to ethical objections to Amazon and found I have spent a lot less money on impulse purchases since then.

@HungryHippo11 definitely worth trying to sell anything you’re not using, if people are hard up they will be looking second hand rather than new. I’ve also sold a load of books/cds/DVDs to ziffit and we buy books who just give you a price and then you don’t have to actually sell them on.

I've just started using Approved Foods. Website which sells food, household supplies, gifts which are approaching their best before dates.

It's quite enjoyable to check what comes in. Good for cat food and dog food/treats.

Thought of another one - DH and I don’t upgrade our phones as then you’re stuck paying a device payment plan, we just have airtime plans. That way if we needed to save money quickly we could cancel these that month, as opposed to a payment plan where you are stuck with it. Same for hire purchase cars, promised myself never ever again.

Get rid of one of the cars. We can definitely manage with one.

@beigebrownblue

I've just started using Approved Foods. Website which sells food, household supplies, gifts which are approaching their best before dates.

It's quite enjoyable to check what comes in. Good for cat food and dog food/treats.

Oh yes we used Approved Foods for a while but I found I was buying a lot of stuff I wouldn't otherwise have bought, and delivery was a lot so I don't feel it saved us much.

Cut out takeaways. We have one a week and we probably should be cutting down for our waistlines anyway.

Shop in Asda/Aldi instead of Tesco (apart for a few own brand things you only get in Tesco).

Cut down alcohol (see above)

Cut down on teenagers allowances now they have jobs (well only dd2 actually).

Buy less flowers (fresh flowers in the house is one of my indulgences).

@Kanaloa

Thought of another one - DH and I don’t upgrade our phones as then you’re stuck paying a device payment plan, we just have airtime plans. That way if we needed to save money quickly we could cancel these that month, as opposed to a payment plan where you are stuck with it. Same for hire purchase cars, promised myself never ever again.

Oh yes we do the same. My phone is old and the back is all smashed and literally held together with tape, but its only costing me £10 a month for the data and call package so I'm not buying a new one

Turn the heating down/off and wear more layers . Silk scarf round the neck and thermal longjohns and vest.

Eat less meat and more lentils/eggs/cheese

Drink less wine

We already did the switch the shop in Lidl/ negotiate with Sky/ use Quidco/ batch cook stuff/ take sandwiches and a flask of coffee out instead of buying from takeouts, so there is very little fat left to trim.

I have already decided that if my car needs any work doing on it we are getting rid and not replacing. I want to get rid of the landline telephone as I have a mobile on Giff Gaff and we only use that to phone out - only costs £6 a month.

I will be spending a lot less on Christmas presents. I am doing online surveys to make some spending money. I have not bought any new clothes for the last 6 months. I keep my eye out for vouchers - eg used the £5 off one in i newspaper in Lidl today.

@amillionmenonmars good idea on the landline. I pay about £6 a month for this but not really sure why I need this... sometimes use it for work calls but I don't get reimbursed... going to call and cancel it next week.
Same here with the 2nd car. I'd like to swap one for a bike as we both need transport for work

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Get yet another job is my plan.