What luxuries are you cutting out to combat the cost of living?

[Feelingthepinch22]

I didn't have too many but I've started to cut out my Butlers hot chocolate, weekly browse in primary, not cutting out my weekly few glasses of wine but have switched brands saving 3 euro, cut out the hairdressers completely & have started colouring my own hair (8 euro compared to 60 at the salon) no more meals out or takeaways, no heat on when the dc are at school...

I'm cutting out my takeaways and coffee to go which is a major part of my spending tbh. Also buying less ready meals helps a lot!
Reviewing subscriptions worked wonders, too, I cancelled my Adobe subscription and went for a cheaper version. Seriously, there are tons of photoshop substitutions or free Adobe premiere aternatives and these are much better for the occasional usage. Same with tv but I cut it out years ago as I don't really watch it.

Stopped eating mediocre food at chain restaurants. Rather spend more on a decent independent but less frequently.

Cut hair appointments to every 4 months. Can’t DIY as too much grey. Also switched to a much cheaper one and it looks the same. Last one was charging extortionate amounts, £65 for a cut and she was banging out one after the other, probably 3 an hour. Now costs me £100 for cut and highlights, was over £200 at old salon.

Heating is off.

Will get rid of lease car in Sept when contract expires. Go back to second hand smaller car. Walk a lot anyway.

Cleaner is going I think.
Takeaways are high days and holidays only
Hairdresser has quite salon and gone mobile which is great because it's cheaper! So that helps a little.
We got a coffee pod machine a couple of years ago. It's definitely helping as I don't go out for coffees, tend to just come home and have a latte or cappuccino here instead.
Tend to do a "click and collect" Aldi shop to reduce impulse buys.
Not had any new clothes in about a year, just the kids outgrown stuff replaced. Resoling more shoes etc.

The main action I've taken is to get set up on the YNAB budgeting app. It's been a massive eye opener and is already saving us a bomb as it's changed our whole attitude to spending. We're spending less across almost everything apart from fixed bills.

Practically speaking we got a heated airer, turned off radiators in unused rooms / only an hour at night in kids rooms.

@Springandsummerarecoming

Nothing yet. The more we all cut back the quicker we have a recession and people start losing their jobs.

I keep worrying about this. Then will businesses ever recover? Who knows? 😞

• making oat milk rather than buying it
• wearing out old shoes (not buying new)
• always cut own hair anyway
• washing half the number of loads as I used to (rewearing / leaving linen on bed longer)
• electric blanket rather than heating on

Electric underfloor heating in the bathroom turned off for good. Heating off. Solid fuel stove heating our water.

No new clothes for the adults for the foreseeable. Kids stuff only as necessary.

No extra trips to supermarket for one thing (and spending £30 on crap). One shopping trip a week and that's it.

Taking coffee and picnic food with us out at weekends. Only to places with free entry.

No haircuts or treatments. DIY only for a while.

But what's the alternative, people go without paying their bills to keep these businesses afloat or cut their kids swimming lessons to pay the hairdresser instead... Most of these businesses are non essential like hair salons, coffee shops etc & people can diy.... I think in recessionary times charity begins at home unfortunately & people will need to pay their bills first & foremost to avoid arrears which could result in eviction or getting their energy cut off...

Have been using Nice'n'Easy since the beginning of the lockdown and loving the results. Although my hairdresser is lovely, I was never quite happy with the highlights, however given where we live, not many choices here.
Doing fewer car trips, if need to get anything will think deeply what else is nearby that could be sorted at the same time.
Eating more vegetables, mostly for health reasons, very good at padding dishes out with vegetables and pulses; as long as flavours are deep and not 'watered down' everyone seems to enjoy it.

I've never had much in the way of 'luxuries' but I've recently cut out a few extras and have unfortunately had to stop all charity donations. I think charities, especially the ones who don't have income from shop sales, are going to really suffer now.

A note of caution to folks here and elsewhere declaring that they're 'switching the heating off' and using a woodburner instead, as though it's a miracle saving.

No, you're switching off your gas/electric/oil heating, and using wood-fuelled heating instead. Firewood is a fuel source which has to be budgeted and paid for just like any other, and it's not necessarily cheaper. Chimneys also incur more maintenance costs, as they require regular sweeping to stay safe and efficient.

You may be heating fewer rooms, which will be a saving - but this could more easily be achieved by switching off your existing heating in those rooms.

Only thing left I can cut out now is my weekly takeaway everything else was dropped at the start of covid.

About the heating, there was a post on here a while ago saying there is a mark on boilers (not the thermostat) to indicate the most efficient setting
Maybe someone can link to it? Because I'm thick I can't find it
They said you can save a couple of £100s a year or something, very interesting

@Stravaig

A note of caution to folks here and elsewhere declaring that they're 'switching the heating off' and using a woodburner instead, as though it's a miracle saving.

No, you're switching off your gas/electric/oil heating, and using wood-fuelled heating instead. Firewood is a fuel source which has to be budgeted and paid for just like any other, and it's not necessarily cheaper. Chimneys also incur more maintenance costs, as they require regular sweeping to stay safe and efficient.

You may be heating fewer rooms, which will be a saving - but this could more easily be achieved by switching off your existing heating in those rooms.

Yes kiln dried wood is expensive but we removed 2 trees in the garden a couple of years ago and we are still using the "free" wood. We also collect the twigs in the garden to use as kindling and I buy fire lighters from cash and carry every couple of years. The heat from a Woodburner is different, it seems to heat the fabric of the building, almost like a storage heater, gas central heating heats the air while the heating is switched on.

@Alwayscheerful Yes, but most people can't scavenge firewood most of the time. It's a collective resource which needs to be managed in a sustainable way. I worry about some of the things I've read about wood burners as a saving - they're not. It's also not an environmentally friendly or sustainable option to be encouraging.

Yep savings here too. Saved 4K during 2020 and 2021. Hoping like hell that I can break even this year and not end up having to dip into it.

We're trying to lower grocery store and amazon costs. We used to buy whatever we fancied - we looked at the budget and realised we can make the most savings being a bit more careful with food.

But mostly I am going back to work full time.

Returned our lease car and sold DH Subaru and gone down to one older car.

@Stravaig

A note of caution to folks here and elsewhere declaring that they're 'switching the heating off' and using a woodburner instead, as though it's a miracle saving.

No, you're switching off your gas/electric/oil heating, and using wood-fuelled heating instead. Firewood is a fuel source which has to be budgeted and paid for just like any other, and it's not necessarily cheaper. Chimneys also incur more maintenance costs, as they require regular sweeping to stay safe and efficient.

You may be heating fewer rooms, which will be a saving - but this could more easily be achieved by switching off your existing heating in those rooms.

Depends where the wood is sourced from. The nice seasoned, pretty logs are great but expensive so if they can get a job lot for cash they will but people tend to burn any wood they can get their hands on and save the good stuff for when all else has run out.

Pallets, old furniture, carpenter or trades offcuts etc. Often free.

@MrsMinge I wonder if this is the post you are referring to?
Unfortunately, I don't remember the thread it came from but I screenshot it to refer back to. We've set our boiler accordingly. Too soon to say if it's made any difference to our bills though.

Not a lot. We don't buy takeaway coffee. Buy a coffee at work once a week. We take packed lunches to work anyway. Our heating is only on a few hours a day anyway. Council tax has only gone up £2 a month. Started buying meat in bulk from a butcher and freezing. Has worked out cheaper. I haven't noticed much difference really from weekly shop at supermarket but I'm a careful shopper anyway. Petrol gone up obvs. We aren't cutting back on our social life, that's non negotiable. Only get my hair done every few months anyway. If I was paying £180 a visit to the hairdresser I'd have found a cheaper one years ago, that's a ridiculous price. I get my nails done when I want to, cost for gel removal and reapplication is only £15. Just booked in to a new beauty place for eyebrow and lash tint, and eyebrow wax for £20 which I think is reasonable. Takeaway once a week, same as usual. Don't think I have many what other people call luxuries

On the wood point a lot of people who live rurally can collect quite a bit of wood through stick collecting on walks and from their own gardens. We have at least one tree come down each year and so we use that once it’s dried out.

Plus because of the drying time a lot of people with burners will have a stack already from
Last year and so switching to this saves money at least in the short term.

For us it’s quite a big saving if we make the effort to light the fire.

At the moment we are ok but if we needed to cut things it would be Sky Sports and our Times newspaper subscription which amount to quite a lot over the year.

We don't really do takeways anyway apart from the odd portion of fish and chips. I tend to buy clothes off ebay. I can't do my own hair though - it really isn't easy!

@0blio

I've never had much in the way of 'luxuries' but I've recently cut out a few extras and have unfortunately had to stop all charity donations. I think charities, especially the ones who don't have income from shop sales, are going to really suffer now.

I've just been going round some charity shops as I'm starting a new job and need some work clothes. They are charging ridiculous prices for really mediocre items like a George at Asda long sleeved top - asking £4. I can't help thinking they would sell a lot more if they reduced prices.