If you are financially comfortable, have you started cutting back on non-essentials?

[LabraDabraDoo]

I realise that we are very fortunate to have the financial headroom to choose to cut back and at the moment we spend quite a bit on non-essentials. We did a budget last night to look at likely price increases (especially fuel) and it looks like, while our jobs are secure ( although our investments are in the doldrums) we will be cutting back on quite a few non-essentials. Anyone else also making this choice yet?

Our list includes:
Back to buying decent quality supermarket meat and reining in trips to the farm shop.
I’m not buying clothes this Spring, I have enough to clothe a hundred middle aged women. We aren’t heating unused rooms in the house. Horse riding lessons are being suspended ( kids didn’t seem too bothered so that’s an easy £200 saved). We’ve cancelled our plan to refloor downstairs (wooden floors, so that’s a big saving). I planned to raise the children to a cottage in Norfolk for a couple of weeks in summer and we’ve arranged a house swap with a friend instead. We are not going out to eat for the foreseeable, and outings will be free swimming at the gym, dog walks etc. All other home improvement plans and big spends ( I considered renewing my car) are on hold. There are some things I hope we don’t have to cut, like cancelling holidays, music lessons and our lovely cleaner. We are still saving money into pensions and investments.

Anyone else making cutbacks? Do you think it’s going to start having an impact on people who provide non-essential services or are they still enjoying a post-Covid boom?

@SpringBeavers

I have just talked further with DH. Our big expense is heating (large rundown house with shit insulation and estimated by DH to be circa £3 k a year) so we have turned the thermostat down to 18 degrees (usually 19-19.5). We own our 7 and 8 year old cars outright, but mine is a very small runabout so we will use the bigger one just to keep it working and will switch to the smaller one all the time. It's only used on the school run (school is 10 miles away so we are not walking it).

DH has a stupid expensive hobby that I have asked him to take a considered view about. (Costs about 7k a year- so that sort of stupid expensive hobby). In contrast i have not had a haircut in 3 years, not bought anything other than tesco clothes for a smilar period of time and use charity shops for the children etc. I do not think I can cut back on my own personal expenditure but need DH to start being sensible on his.

Tbh that imbalance sounds a bit concerning even without the cost of living increase.

No, not really., Mainly he has something he cares about alot and I don't. But his expensive hobby has proven to be useful leverage in times of yore when i want to go away on a decent holiday.

But truth is we really can't just drop that sort of money anymore, not least because oru household income went down by 20% last year even without the cost of living increase.

@hemhem

Still going on their fancy holidays and still driving their posh cars.

I booked a holiday in 2019 for 2020 and we're finally going this year after having it rescheduled twice. If I could get a refund I would but its not possible!

Our family car was bought outright 4 years ago. If I sell it I'll lose out as I wouldn't be able to replace it in future due to price rises and depreciation.

PP are confusing assets with income. Our current income level requires us to cut back on future spending and is nothing to do with assets we acquired a few years ago and continue to use today.

That's a fair point.

I'm just making the point that the number of posters who are saying they're going to cut their cleaner, or their nail technician etc is going to create this recession.

@GloriaSicTransitMundi that’s a shame your local scheme shut down. I do understand the freedom/convenience of owning a car, I absolutely love mine. Tbh, I went electric to assuage my eco guilt at driving at all, and drive for the Community Car to provide further justification, because my car is being used for good.

I looked up taxi costs for the journey I did yesterday. It would have cost about £37 each way for a taxi, versus the £13.40 we charged the person (although they gave me £20 and wouldn’t accept the change.). Actual cost per HMRC mileage rate was £8.10 - although I will get £9 expenses because the distance from my house to the pickup is covered as well.

@CoastalWave

Few people would prioritise a “posh car” or “ fancy holiday” over their children's education. They are either tied into contracts which can't be cancelled or they don't think you are much good as a tutor and cutting down on spending is an excuse. It's a lot easier to say you're trying to save money than it is to tell someone you don't think they're much good at their job or their children don't like you.

I can assure you I'm an excellent tutor! I was rated Outstanding by Ofsted on 4 occasions whilst working as a full time teacher and I have over 50 5* recommendations on my work page :) But thanks for offering that as a reason why they're cancelling me.

Tbf

You’re not going to come back and say you’re shit even if you knew it

@CoastalWave

Few people would prioritise a “posh car” or “ fancy holiday” over their children's education. They are either tied into contracts which can't be cancelled or they don't think you are much good as a tutor and cutting down on spending is an excuse. It's a lot easier to say you're trying to save money than it is to tell someone you don't think they're much good at their job or their children don't like you.

I can assure you I'm an excellent tutor! I was rated Outstanding by Ofsted on 4 occasions whilst working as a full time teacher and I have over 50 5* recommendations on my work page :) But thanks for offering that as a reason why they're cancelling me.

I didn't say that was the only possible reason. I said that it could be one reason. I also said that they may be tied into contracts which can't be cancelled for holidays or cars or maybe the children don't like you much.

It would be “tone deaf”
If the OP hasn’t been absolutely clear in her thread title
She was clear

I'm going to feed my kids instead of putting the heating on 🤣 true story.
But it seems wise to cut back on non essentials just in case things get even worse. We don't have alot of money but I'm not going to stress myself silly over it. I had to buy a new microwave this week and that is 90 quid I need to find for bills now, but the world will go on.

@SpringBeavers time for your DH to wake up to reality - £7k pa on his hobby when you're clothing the children at charity shops is outrageous.

We're not rich but we are very comfortable. We've been overpaying the mortgage by 100% for a few years but our fixed rate ends at the end of this year so we'll probably be screwed by higher interest rates. This will scupper our plans to pay off the mortgage in 4 years time but isn't a major issue all things considered.

I have a horse so if the worst came to the worst it'd have to be lights out for him but I've many levels of livery to go down before reaching that point.

I am seriously reconsidering whether to send DS to private school. It's such a massive committment and the way the world is going seems a tad frivolous. Works out about the same cost as nursery but obviously a much longer commitment.

I've always been good about turning lights out and have a heat pump tumble dryer but am about to order one of those rotating dryers for the garden as seems daft to use the dryer in good weather.

Might sound a bit grand but when DH and I got together we both owned houses, sold one and moved into the other rather than climbing the property ladder. We've deliberately stayed in a modest house exactly so that we can weather these types of financial storms without too much stress.

I have a horse so if the worst came to the worst it'd have to be lights out for him but I've many levels of livery to go down before reaching that point

I’m assuming by lights out you mean you’d sell him?

Not the point of the thread. It's a way to significantly reduce outgoings if extreme circumstances required it.

Not yet. Feel like this is 'the big blow out' stage before the storm.

Well im feeling like this now @ilovechocolate07 - just went to pick up some dry cleaning from a new family business that’s opened near me, parents of one of the kids in my class so wanted to support them rather than Johnson’s in town.
3 dresses, 2 coats - £66! Not even for the speedy service, that was a week long wait! Nearly fainted
Talk about bloody extravagant!
Dh usually deals with the dry cleaning stuff so I don’t usually collect or pay for it, he did just say that would be about £45 at Johnson’s!

@TealFingers

Not the point of the thread. It's a way to significantly reduce outgoings if extreme circumstances required it.

Does this mean you’d kill your horse?!

If it came down to me not being able to afford to keep him or find someone to loan him then yes, I'd have him PTS as he's unsellable, which means if I gave him away for free he'd end up being passed around, which is a far crueler outcome for him. He is difficult to handle, has multiple health issues which limit what you can do with him, and doesn't do well with change. Sometimes it really is the kindest option.

However, it wouldn't ever get to that point as I'd sell my DH first.

@TealFingers

We're not rich but we are very comfortable. We've been overpaying the mortgage by 100% for a few years but our fixed rate ends at the end of this year so we'll probably be screwed by higher interest rates. This will scupper our plans to pay off the mortgage in 4 years time but isn't a major issue all things considered.

I have a horse so if the worst came to the worst it'd have to be lights out for him but I've many levels of livery to go down before reaching that point.

I am seriously reconsidering whether to send DS to private school. It's such a massive committment and the way the world is going seems a tad frivolous. Works out about the same cost as nursery but obviously a much longer commitment.

I've always been good about turning lights out and have a heat pump tumble dryer but am about to order one of those rotating dryers for the garden as seems daft to use the dryer in good weather.

Might sound a bit grand but when DH and I got together we both owned houses, sold one and moved into the other rather than climbing the property ladder. We've deliberately stayed in a modest house exactly so that we can weather these types of financial storms without too much stress.

What bank let's you overpay that much? I agree re horse though has to be what's in their best interest

We are relatively comfortable and thankfully now mortgage free. I am looking to reduce our outgoings.
We currently prioritise pension contributions and we also try to utilise our Isa allowances, especially now retirement is looming.
Our biggest household expenses are heating , council tax and water which will rise from about 5k per year to nearer 10k. Due to all the recent increases.
I have cancelled our cleaner.
We will do the garden ourselves.
Reduced the green garden bins down to just one at £40 per year each. (We can have up to 5).
I intend to Switch our Aga type cooker off in the spring summer. We like to bbq in the summer and we already have a halogen hob, I might look at using an air fryer. I bought a new microwave for
£ 10 on marketplace.
No longer shopping at Waitrose, as the free coffees and daily papers are no longer an option. It's just too tempting to load up the trolley.
I am Happy with Lidl, Morrisons and occasional M & S. Treat .

I use a heat pump tumble dryer but will hang more washing out.
I have reduced my soap powder use from half a mug of powder to an espresso cup full.
Clean washing, I am now using an eco egg. I am also trying soap nuts with good results.
I have switched the heating off but we fire up the wood burner and the sitting room is very cosy . Oodies are on offer at the moment and kingsize electric blankets are reduced to £ 17 in Tesco.
We rarely order takeaways and probably won't eat out at the weekend as covid is still around.

No more shopping for pleasure/hobby, no more filling the house with clothes and things we don't need better for the environment.
Less car journeys so similar spend on car fuel.
Less meat, better for the environment.
Cancelled several subscriptions, ramblers, WI, life insurance , couple of charity DD. Stopped Christmas cards due to slow postage.
I have increased donations to the food bank and I am sending monetary donations to Ukraine.
Looking for more ideas.

I would not cancel life insurance ??

Stopped drinking alcohol, take coffee and sandwiches into work. No takeaways (sometimes get fake aways from supermarket). Cheap camping holidays. Do own decorating and DIY. We aren't big earners and don't have investments, so would class us as 'ok' to fair rather than comfortably off.

Also, as others have said up thread have cut back a lot on meat. Bike everywhere except odd weekend trips

Most mortgages can be overpaid by 10% of total outstanding balance. For us that means we can overpay double the required monthly amount as it adds up to less than 10% of the total still owed.

I have a horse so if the worst came to the worst it'd have to be lights out for him but I've many levels of livery to go down before reaching that point.

WTF? I hope that horse is 25 years old, no teeth, blind and arthritic. Otherwise.... 🤯

@Butchyrestingface

I have a horse so if the worst came to the worst it'd have to be lights out for him but I've many levels of livery to go down before reaching that point.

WTF? I hope that horse is 25 years old, no teeth, blind and arthritic. Otherwise.... 🤯

I used to work for a large equine welfare charity. If the economy goes really downhill and people have to give up their horses, euthanasia will be the least worst option for a lot of horses. Equine welfare charities were at more or less full capacity years ago, and less spare money around means fewer people able to buy and properly care for a horse. It’s a recipe for a welfare disaster.

I will always remember one of the horses from the Amersham case in particular - a real gent of a horse, well trained, kind, and when he’d been fed and cared for, beautiful. And chronically lame, which is no doubt how he ended up in that hell hole - passed on from home to home, getting worse every time, until he ended up locked in a barn with no food, no water, and dead horses all around. He was lucky enough to be rescued and loved, even though in the end he didn’t make it. But he died with people who cared for him around him. Better that than passing a horse on to who knows what.

@stevalnamechanger

I would not cancel life insurance ??

Generally I agree but we have no mortgages or loans to cover and it was just a case of tidying up any unnecessary direct debits.