Big and Small - what are your best money saving tricks?

[Moonopoly]

Just wondered what your best tips are for cutting pennies off a household budget?
Looks like we could all do with some if the current cost of living issues continue!

One I have started recently is the day before payday, check your online banking and whatever is left in your account (even if just 50p), put into savings so you start from scratch when your pay goes in the account the next morning. I'm saving for maternity leave at the moment so this is really helping me build the pot as much as I can, even if it's only enough extra for 1 month worth of nappies.

Reuse and recycle where you can. Take packed lunches to work and always carry reusable mug for bought coffees if you dont take a flask.Dont buy bottled water!
One bottle of cleaning spray will clean all rooms and is refillable. Keep plastic bread bags for sandwich bags. Soap is cheaper than showergel.Turn the heating down/off where you can. Grow your own herbs.

yes to meal plan. but we did the other way round when skint: meal plan around supermarket offers and the 'oops shelf'

only buy what you can store savely and will actually eat.

make friends with allotment holders to help them with their gluts.

learn to cook.

Take care of what you have (reduces / postpones replacement costs):
clean your shoes
follow the care labels for washing clothes
store most food in the fridge to make it last longer
rotate the stuff you have on display (bringing out boxed up vases etc each season makes it feel like you've got new stuff!)
make sure everything has a "home" so that
a) you don't buy more I.e. sellotape when you had three rolls already lurking in odd places, and
b) electronics etc are put somewhere safe and don't get damaged from being left on sofa arms/the floor (I'm looking at you DC).

YY to meal planning. I batch cook two meals on weekends and rotate them for lunch/dinner through the week, which usually works out cheaper as you can add massive quantities of everything and so don't end up with random bits of leftover vegetables. Plus it means I don't end up buying expensive ready meals when I can't be arsed to cook. I try to pick two different cuisines so I don't get bored. It's brought my grocery bill down to about £20-£25 per week which is a huuuuge difference from what it was, and means I eat healthier too.

Also, not helpful if you're already on a tight budget but could be if you have a bit of breathing room - I got a fancy coffee machine for £180 and it reduced my consumption of takeaway coffee dramatically. My work is next to a Costa so I used to get one at lunchtime most days. Fancy machine paid for itself within a few months!

Possibly the biggest (and easiest) change I made was simply tracking exactly where my money was going. I just made a basic spreadsheet that I update at the weekends using my online banking transactions, but you can get apps that do it for you. It's really easy to see something you want and think "oh well, it's only £15", especially online, but once you've done that a few times it adds up significantly, and seeing that you've already spent £30 on stuff you don't really need is a great incentive not to make it £45.

Batch cook meals- l use a pressure cooker for lamb curries and dhal, then l freeze leftovers for when we are out and about and l wont have time to cook.

Always shop around when buying anything, don't just take the first price you find.

I also use hot deals and UK deals to find deals

use the microwave more

@psychomath yes to small payments adding up. We’ve recently switched our account to Monzo and it’s really made me notice all the little bits we have set up that we don’t use! Like subscriptions to PlayStation etc only a few pounds each but they soon add up! I’ve cancelled any we don’t use now

@psychomath any recipes? I’ve cut our food bill dramatically but it’s still pretty big

I just remember that I had a bit more wiggle room in lockdown so I try not to do too many “let’s pop up to the retail park and have a Maccy D and mooch about” type days. Not that I did loads but just popping with my DD’s to buy a few bits from Home Bargains or Superdrug we would end up spending 30/40 quid on bits and bobs.
I try not to buy anything in the week except top up bits. If we need an item I can get that item specifically.
Even food shopping today I made an extra effort to look carefully don’t just grab the olive oil as Sunflower is just as good and £1 cheaper for general use.
We still have treats but I am just being more mindful.
Weekly food plan for the main meal each day also helps hugely. I spent £76 quid in Aldi and have the following just for info:
Beefburgers with salad and coleslaw
Pork tenderloin with mash and veg
Chicken tempura pieces with rice and salad
Veg curry
Sausages skinny fries and peas
Panini choice of filling and salad
As well as all of the usual house bits and packed lunch stuff fruit etc.

@Svara

Turning the heating down one or two degrees, you adapt.

But if you do that every time you read an article about turning the temperature down, it will be at zero :) Maybe that's the idea!

Unsubscribe from marketing emails so you don't get tempted to buy things because they are on offer and look nice but you don't need.

Don't buy new clothes, buy from ebay etc. I do this for environmental reasons rather than money-saving reasons, but either way it's good. I only buy new underwear and running gear.

@Moonopoly I'm vegetarian so tbh most things tend to be a variation on vegetable stew or curry with rice and beans, and sometimes vegetable lasagne or pasta bake when I get bored of rice. I make a lot of Indian, south east Asian and Caribbean food - once you have the common non-perishable ingredients like rice, spices, soy sauce, lentils etc in the cupboard, all you have to buy for the week is tons of veg, which is not expensive at all.

The problem is for it to work you kind of have to commit to eating like this a lot, because if you only cook (say) Indian food as a one off then it means buying a lot of new ingredients - it only becomes cheap once you already have most of the items you need. And to get the cost down that much I make basically everything from scratch, which is really time consuming. Plus I eat out 2-3 times a month with friends, and my boss keeps the communal biscuit tin in the office well stocked, both of which help to break up the monotony a lot So this definitely isn't meant to be like an "anyone can spend £3/day on groceries if they make the Mumsnet Chicken last five weeks" thing, it's just what works for me because I like cooking and don't have children!

Speaking of eating out, something else I do is look at the menu earlier in the day and work out what I'm having and roughly how much it'll cost. If I decide when I'm there it's too easy to get carried away ordering starters and sides and cocktails and things, which can easily add an extra £10-£15 for what's often not actually that much food.

I meal plan and shop every fortnight.
I don't do top ups in between. When it's gone it's gone.

Writing absolutely everything I spend down, it's a chore but it stops me spending without active thought.