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

625 replies

LabraDabraDoo · 10/03/2022 09:24

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?

OP posts:
ExConstance · 10/03/2022 11:51

We are comfortably off, not well off. This is mainly because we have paid off our mortgage and our children have flown the nest. We tried to turn the heating down, and hated it. It felt that our house was uncomfortable and unwelcoming, so now it is back up. I've followed good driving tips to improve fuel economy, and these really work. I spent over £20 at the special farmshop motorway services last week on Mayo, special yoghurt and special chocolate and felafel, none of it was very nice so that is an easy economy. I've stopped the Ocado delivery and shop in person at Tesco from a menu planned list. ( saving about £30 a week on that and zero food waste)
I want to enjoy life so we will not cut down on holidays, meals out etc. I don't need any more clothes for the time being so I'm cutting down on them but saving the some special things later on.
All in all just budgeting better on the essentials to avoid missing out on fun.

ChimbarasiKotapaxi · 10/03/2022 11:52

Yes - heating on only late in the day even when cold earlier on Cancel one newspaper No hardships but more aware and recognising need to cut back So aware that others are dealing with impossible financial demands and that my problems - though real - are nothing in comparison Feel humbled

LadyOfMisrule · 10/03/2022 11:53

Quite comfortable here, but nevertheless looking at making sure our money isn’t being wasted. We’ve always had the heating on low, shopped at Lidl/Aldi, planned meals, don’t buy expensive clothes, etc. But we are now no longer having a fortnightly takeaway. Where the older children want stop sports clubs we are not objecting. We are limiting car use. I’m selling a lot more stuff that I don’t need. We’ve cut down on alcohol. I’ve learned to cook much better Chinese and Indian meals, and am about to start experimenting with pizzas. We’re keeping Netflix and Disney Plus, and we’re doing cinema nights at home for the children with popcorn and fizzy drinks and nachos. WFH means that we don’t need smart work clothes, and we already dress warmly at home. I keep an eye on the weekly Lidl offers to make sure I’m using all the free vouchers. My lovely cleaner has retired, and I’m not trying to find another one.

The knock-on impact to small businesses will be to the swimming teacher, the sports clubs, the cinema, and the takeaway providers.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

hemhem · 10/03/2022 11:54

I feel quite sad about this but I'm going to reduce things like haircuts, beauty treatments, buying food and coffees from the local deli, using the local milkman.

Our gas and electric bill was £480 last month. Last year it was around £190. A tank of petrol used to be £55 and yesterday was £87. The milkman milk is £1.55/l whereas its 95p from the supermarket. If I have to pay more to massive corporations that supply energy and petrol I can't use that money supporting small local businesses. It sucks and I think a lot of small business owners that rely on discretionary spending will be extremely worried, some have barely recovered post covid anyway.

sHREDDIES19 · 10/03/2022 11:54

Some will always be better off, others will be worse off. It's just how it is. But it's interesting to know what cutting back looks like across the board as we are all different. Why come on a thread where that is obvious and moan?!

gracedentssketty · 10/03/2022 11:57

We'd already stopped eating out (which we used to do A LOT) because we have small DC so it was difficult/not relaxing at a lunch and then babysitter needed if evening (and can't deal with hangovers) plus we were finding that restaurants were a disappointment and we could cook better at home, so that has saved us a fair bit.

I am now a lot more mindful of using the car and today, grouped 4 places I needed to hit together in 1 journey. Also keep more of an eye on what we are spending in the supermarket (this is our largest cost as we have 2 small DC who eat loads and we love food) and have started planting seeds to grow our own veg.

We have a small established orchard at the house we just bought so are hoping for a bounty of apples, pears and cherries later in the year, plus there are blackberry bushes and fig trees on site too and DH has planted a plum tree. We are growing lots of strawberries and probably raspberries too and thinking about getting chickens for eggs. We make our own compost anyway and have 2 large water tanks under the house which collect rainwater so we can water the garden with it rather than using the tap.

I am not buying any new clothes as have a wardrobe full (though can't get into them after 2 DC so need to motivate self to exercise) and many of the DC's clothes are hand me downs from friends.

Also trying to flog stuff we no longer use/need on a local FB group which all adds up.

sHREDDIES19 · 10/03/2022 11:58

Anyway in terms of my thoughts, I have always been frugal and lived very modestly so I'm not currently making any drastic changes. I shop at Aldi (noticeable difference to the big 4 at the till), don't really buy clothes for myself, ebay for kids, apart from hair done 3 times a year I don't have beauty treatments like nails, brows etc. My ds goes to a dance club which is pricey and we also have local council gym membership but exercise is vital for us a family so won't be giving that up as we really enjoy it.

CBFA · 10/03/2022 11:58

Well done you for cutting the horsing but not the music lessons. This post needs a trigger warning for tone deaf braggadocio while other people can't even afford to drive to their workplace or heat their homes. Seriously.

SamphiretheStickerist · 10/03/2022 12:00

Well, maybe Smile

I just checked our combi boiler settings, based on another thread.

www.protechboilers.co.uk/guides/your-combi-boilers-ideal-temperature-for-central-heating#/

I was suprised to find ours are already set at 10 - 15degrees lower, mid 50s. Maybe that is why our gas is less than expected. I could easily turn the water down a bit more too.

Our biggest saving must be how we shop and cook. We both work all over the place and so always have to pass a supermarket on the way home. So we tend to food shop daily. We have large storecupboard shops 2 or 3 times a year when we buy all the cans we can find at Aldi or Lidl.

So we buy food most days and we always buy to bulk / batch cook. So one spag bol becomes enough for a month. That kind of thing. This Sunday was a beef stew, cost about £8 to make and has frozen back in largeish portions to feed 10 more meals, so 12 in all - actually no 14. I left it to it and 'mature' so we has some last night too. We just have to add boiled potatoes or bread.

Clothes are second hand for me. I only buy new underwear and shoes. DH trashes his at work so he buys cheap tshirts and semi decent jeans. We wear the knackered tshirts at home once they are too far gone for his work. And even then they have a next life as cleaning cloths. Mine tend to eventually (say 10 years later) get cut up and reused for other clothes patching or my craft business.

Our fridge would usually be almost empty so I keep all sorts of things in there that aren't necessary but do no harm. I aim to keep it 3/4 full at all time. Use it to defrost food slowly and I keep freezer blocks in any empty freezer drawers to keep that more efficient too. They can go back into the fridge when not needed, they just cycle round and round.

I do shop in farm shops, most days. We buy as much locally produced fruit, veg and meat as we can. But as we only buy exactly what we need we don't waste anything and, as it is all local and seasonal, there are very few travel miles. Sometimes the longest distance something has travelled is between the shop and our house. That doesn't mean we don't have out of season or well travelled stuff, just that it is a treat, not a daily staple.

And I grow salad stuff. Recycle spring onions, old dried peas for pea shoots - I facebook for old out of date packets of seeds and then treat it all as cut and come again, even if it doesn't Smile

Cherry tomatoes and chillies too. I grow chillies every couple of years and freeze them all back. They last forever in the freezer. I keep ginger root in the freezer too. We use a lot of it and it is easier to shave off what you want - one of those microblade graters is really handy, makes a small amount of parmesan go a long way too.

www.lovethegarden.com/uk-en/growing-guide/how-grow-spring-onion#:~:text=Growing%20spring%20onions%20in%20water&text=Choose%20spring%20onions%20that%20have,jar%20in%20a%20sunny%20position.

God, so many things. A bag in the freezer for old tomatoes and peppers. Gets made into tomato soup of bolognese/pizza sauce. We really do make chicken stock and use that for soup or base of many sauces, graviy etc. Odds and ends of bread get kept, breadcrumbs for all sorts of things, croutons too.

We just don't waste anything. We put less than a small food caddy bag put every week. Tea bags and coffee grounds get kept for cloth / paper dyeing and compost - until I get sick of it, then it goes to the community composter.

I know there is more. We have done this for decades. Our next step is the house, more insulation and better fuel efficiency. I am looking at that now. It will have to be cheap, I will see if there is a local maker, or some in the recycling centre, before I order new.

Surely there is a good book on this somehwere.? One with real, doable things rather than the pie in the sky stuff that gets touted on all those lifestyle programmes.

tentative3 · 10/03/2022 12:02

@Zezet

To simply answer your question: no, we have made no changes. I guess the only change I did make is that I used to occasionally/randomly buy generic products, I am now less likely to do that because I read an article by Jack Munroe (I think) about how poorer people are being priced out of the food they used to buy by richer-but-squeezed people. But we don't really think about it much - fortunate situation to be in, I realise!
That's an interesting point, I'd not heard of that before. I have seen something about her post on how much the basics had gone up but not the point about the reasons behind the increase.

I still find it incredible the amount of profit the supermarkets made during covid and the fact that they don't want to swallow any of those price rises, they just want to continue growing their profits (see also any number of other big corporates) and that's another reason for me to choose to spend with independents where I can. I'd much rather spread the money round, I'm quite nervy about the rise of Tesco and Amazon etc. I am incredibly lucky to have the choice I know, and I fully recognise that for many they don't have the luxury of that choice (I hate that I feel the need to put that disclaimer).

grinbear · 10/03/2022 12:02

Yes. We are lucky enough to be mortgage free with no major outgoings but I am making lots of changes. We already have no Sky or TV licence but have gotten rid of Amazon Prime TV and Prime itself of course as I find it too easy to click and buy nonsense on a whim. I've swapped from Method washing machine liquid to a powder. I've bought dishwashing soap bar to replace washing up liquid and we use that as hand soap too. I don't turn on the heating at night anymore. Taking picnics instead of buying sandwiches out and about. We are already on SIM only phone contracts at about £8 per month so not too bad but I am considering cancelling our spotify family account.

PuggyMum · 10/03/2022 12:02

We're in the same boat and daren't look at our ISA's or shares. I work for a company with share schemes etc so I can't touch most of them anyway but you think you're being sensible.....

I was in the office yesterday and based on the £84 it took to fill my 1.6l d car I reckon it's now £8-9 to drive to work. I have a blue badge so can park for free but otherwise that's £8. Lunch was provided as we had a meeting but it was pizza which doesn't work for me so then there was a £6 for lunch. I won't be doing that again. I'll be taking a packed lunch for sure.

The train is £16.50 so still cheaper to drive in.

My little one has swimming (just normal lessons) and I'm at the centre most days for classes so I make a point of showering there. I've done this for a while though as saves time.

We've always been pretty frugal so we could save but it's feeling a bit pointless at the moment and having to think about everything in much more detail.

I needed to de moss my drive and it's much cheaper for buy the 29p vinegar from Aldi than buy 5l from Amazon! I previously would just have swiped! I learned about the vinegar off another thread and it works!

Ilostit · 10/03/2022 12:03

Back to Lidl and Aldi (instead of daily trips to sainos) and getting rid of old fridge/freezer in garage that is eating up energy I’m sure!

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 10/03/2022 12:03

@CBFA

Well done you for cutting the horsing but not the music lessons. This post needs a trigger warning for tone deaf braggadocio while other people can't even afford to drive to their workplace or heat their homes. Seriously.
CBFA is the thread title not showing up for you?
OMG12 · 10/03/2022 12:04

@Pyri

I understand the point of this thread but think it’s a little tone deaf to talk about cutting back on horse riding lessons etc!
Why do you think that?. There has been an acknowledgment from many they are in a relatively better position than most The point of the thread is to ask those that aren’t on the breadline what they are cutting back on and do they need to, ie is their comfortable life going to be affected.

By your reasoning you could say it’s tone deaf of someone sat in Leeds to be moaning about having to use a food bank whilst others huddle in their basements being shelled or carry their life in a carrier bag running across roads dragging their child trying to avoid being shot be a sniper.

All these things are very different. There’s always someone worse off but that doesn’t negate someone else’s experience.

QueenCoconut · 10/03/2022 12:06

We have just had a similar conversation about our budget with DH. Things that have already gone from our spend: meat and alcohol.
Things that we are considering to cut further are: the cleaner, sky subscription, national trust membership, fresh flowers, takeaways, sweets and snacks.
I am going to try and keep my hairdresser, beauty apts and DD’s riding lessons but they might need to be reviewed in a year or so if the situation continues.

TangfasticsAreFantastic · 10/03/2022 12:07

I think we'll end up making subconscious cut backs. We used to do an online shop with one supermarket then go to another at the weekend to get better quality veg, etc. Now we've started shopping online with Ocado and it's actually saving us money as we're not doing the second supermarket trip (where you inevitably end up picking up more than you went in for) and it's saving us fuel in the process. There are often weekends when we don't go out at all now, whereas we'd be doing multiple trips out to "pick up bits" previously.

I've also discovered that M&S "Best Ever Burgers" are far nicer than the expensive takeaway ones we've been getting recently, so that's saved us £40 each time.

I have been refusing to put the heating on while WFH, even if it's freezing and am looking forward to warmer days when I can cut back on the heating completely. Then we'll just have to warm the hot water up and use the electric for normal day-to-day stuff but I am trying to be less wasteful.

We're comfortably off financially, but there's no need to throw money down the drain for the sake of it. I'd rather give the cash to our local food bank than Scottish Power!

TollgateDebs · 10/03/2022 12:07

I support social housing residents and this conversation raises some issues that have big consequencies for those in low paid / low skilled roles. All debate on our lives / economy / expenditure has merit and raising awareness of cuts at the top of the income bracket should be an indicator for how, yet again, small changes at the top can have very far reaching consequences for those at the bottom. Many are running below zero for income / expenditure now, even when working in areas we were all hailing as essential not too long ago and you can't cut meat when there is none left on the bone. There but for the grace... maybe we can use this thread to think on how we can help others to weather this economic storm, which I think has only just begun to hit us.

whatkatydid2013 · 10/03/2022 12:09

@tkwal

I think anyone with any sense and enough financial leeway will be cutting back on non essentials. I will admit to a flicker of envy at OPS post but she doesn't appear to be indulging in the humble bragging that is so prevalent on MN . I think its a good example to set to DCs as well that sometimes circumstances dictate the need for belt tightening. However there are far too many people who have already got their belts on the extra notch and are beginning to despair. For some they really have to choose between warmth and food. I'm not in that situation,but I will be making donations , when I can afford them , to charities dealing with food and fuel poverty. Because most of us are only a few pay days away from needing them ourselves and I'm so thankful I don't , yet.
Why do you think it’s foolish not to cut back on non essentials if you don’t have to? Surely given everything said about the impact on the wider economy of people spending less the last thing you want is for people who can afford to keep spending to start saving instead?
tentative3 · 10/03/2022 12:10

@CBFA

Well done you for cutting the horsing but not the music lessons. This post needs a trigger warning for tone deaf braggadocio while other people can't even afford to drive to their workplace or heat their homes. Seriously.
@CBFA does it fuck. It's crystal clear what the thread is about from the title, if you chose to read it anyway knowing it would upset you then that's on you. Plus, haven't you read any of the posts pointing out the knock on effects?
Blondeshavemorefun · 10/03/2022 12:12

@Springandsummerarecoming

We are also getting rid of our national trust member shop too.
That’s the one thing I would keep. It’s £8 is a month for us as a family. We use in school holidays and weekends
Somebodylikeyew · 10/03/2022 12:16

We are ‘comfortable’ but I’m making small changes here and there which I’m hoping add up. Have turned thermostat down, changed hot water to be on far less, cancelled some duplicate subscriptions (ie we had spotify and amazon music for some stupid reason), only use the tumble dryer to give clothes a quick ten minute soften once they’re nearly dry etc. Have swapped to a cheaper online supermarket and buy much less meat, meal plan and use up everything somehow. We eat out and buy takeaways much less. Use the little second car rather than the bigger gas guzzler whenever possible. That sort of thing so far. Lots of those things probably needed to happen anyway tbh.

Neverendingdust · 10/03/2022 12:17

For disclosure we’re both well paid with no debt but we’re not frivolous either so we are always tweaking our habits to lower the bills wherever possible.

We have the luxury of choice to do this whereas many people have no choice but to live this way out of necessity.

Me saying I’m now shopping at Sainsbury’s instead of Waitrose is not comparable to someone debating eating 3 meals per day over being able to pay their electric bill.

Rotherweird · 10/03/2022 12:18

Really interesting thread. I am comfortable but a single parent. Already shop in Aldi, keep the house cold, drive an ancient car, use the library, don't have Prime or a cleaner. I'm now cutting back on coffees and eating out - I am WFH today and considered working in a cafe but didn't on cost grounds. Will also make more of an effort to bring sandwiches on days out. Rarely get a takeaway and this will become even more unusual. I won't cut back on after school stuff, day trips and holidays as I have a teen and this is a priority for them and me. What's likely to suffer is savings, pension and if I need to I'll extend my mortgage so I'm paying back for longer.

ReadyToMoveIt · 10/03/2022 12:20

@CBFA

Well done you for cutting the horsing but not the music lessons. This post needs a trigger warning for tone deaf braggadocio while other people can't even afford to drive to their workplace or heat their homes. Seriously.
The first 4 words of the title are ‘if you are financially comfortable’. Why did you read the thread if you knew it would trigger you?
Swipe left for the next trending thread