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...

well, already cut and colour my own hair.
never get nails etc done
never eat out (tell a lie, did last Sapt for DS graduation and will again next week for dd graduation but then next time will be Christmas eve)
take away maybe 3 or 4 times a year
only remaining kids activity cost is ds rugby
never buy coffee/lunch etc at work

do have disney plus and netfix which dh and dc would miss, but may have to go.

have turned heating way down - runs about 2 1/2 hours a day
line drying washing
vigilant now in turning lights off
emptied and turned off chest freezer
turned off pond pump

but - oven uses a lot of electricity, so will be limiting foods that need long in the oven
dishwasher also expensive so gone back to hand washing

trying to limit washing - but not easy with 3 teenagers!

We'll be Ok until next October - but honestly no idea what we'll do then. next winter is going to be very cold and dark and grim

We have also returned our lease car as it was barely used and swapped for an old banger that has broken down twice already.

We're cutting out takeaways. An Indian here often cost us £45.
A cheaper alternative for Saturdays when I don't want to cook are the takeaway boxes from supermarkets.

I've stopped regular visits to Primark where I think I'm saving money but over the course of a few months I've spent loads.

Shellac nails are now just for special occasions, twice a year?

Have tried to keep heating off during the day, just me and Ddog at home then turn it in for a couple of hours in the evening.

Started being more mindful of cutting down car usage.

None yet as I don't need to.

I'm getting great inspiration here thank you, keep the tips coming!

I love threads like this, I get some great ideas!! We've done a streamline of our DD's, we've got rid of some streaming services we don't use, gone to shopping at Aldi and strict meal planning. We have just had to fix our energy @ £240 per month though :-(

@LaWench we did exactly the same and got a £250 bill the first month I owned the banger. Praying that’s the last for a while

We ditched our childminder last year and all of the extra disposal income we were looking forwards to is quickly being eaten up.

Sky is going. When Fast and Furious 9 is the best new release its time to go.

Visiting hairdresser every 8 weeks instead of 6, well I'm hoping to but I feel guilty as it is a new business and she's had a rough time with covid hitting as soon as she opened.

Cancelled Sky, wanted to do it for years but DH reluctant and now he has agreed. This is my first month with no Sky payment.

Got a bit lazy with Sainsbury's deliveries over the last 2 years. Trying to get back into shopping at Lidls.

I’m sad where this might lead us. Will Shops, restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, libraries all start closing?
Will we be stuck with crap reality tv and biased news channels if we can’t afford decent subscriptions?
Will crime go up?
It all seems so depressing.

@Feelingthepinch22
I commented on a thread of yours the other day complaining about the price of salons near you
And explained how hairdressers still have THEIR own bills to pay and this is how they have to do it.

We can only absorb so many price increases before there is no profit line anymore so then we are pretty much running on empty to provide a service pretty much profit free.

I'm a post up thread you said charity begins at home and you have to save somewhere but again it's the same for hair salons.

A lot of staff are self employed and we had 8 months of no earnings at all due to the pandemic and then a very tight regulated year where we had to reduce people inside the building so add to that the latest increases in utilities minimum wage etc etc but don't put prices up where are the profits?

@Funkypickle
I totally feel
You and it's also very close to my heart and scares me after over 25 years in this industry it's never ever been so hard to earn a basic living as it is now

We are making a concerted effort to shop at Lidl instead of having Tesco home delivery…..reckon we save about 35% on a shop…also eating meat free at least twice a week….

I won’t be cutting out 3 weekly nail appointments, the 6 weekly facial or the 8 weekly hair cut. I need them all to feel like I’m not gross. No judgement of others choices at all, but my mental health suffers. Will keep the gardener as my health can’t manage the level of work the garden needs.

I have already cut out the cleaner after we coped through the pandemic. We won’t be putting the hot tub up this year, except perhaps for a week in the summer holidays. We’ve bought a clothes line and won’t be using the tumble dryer now unless absolutely necessary. DD won’t be horse riding again for the foreseeable future.

Have turned the hot water down 2 degrees and the heating stays under 20 (this is actually not as hot as it sounds as the thermostat is in the warmest part of the house.
Will be walking as much as possible, despite the pain, in order to save fuel costs.

If we really have to, we could try to cut down to one car but it would be really awkward. We could also cancel our gym membership but I’m loathe to because swimming is the only exercise that doesn’t cause me extreme pain afterwards, and the swimming lessons for DD are far better than the local council pool ones.

It’s grim. We have a really healthy income and it just vanishes!

Eating out is the biggest saving we make - local pubs seem to have substantially increased their prices to £15+ for a main course, sides on top of that, can easily come to over £20 per head for a pub meal that isn't even that great. I'd rather cook myself. Or get a meal deal from a supermarket for a treat.
Going to Aldi /Lidl rather than any other supermarket saves us a lot ( I reckon about £40 pw) so we do that, even though it is a pain as it's a good 2 hours out of the weekend to do that rather than ordering from an online supermarket.
I rarely use the tumble dryer, and make sure that if the central heating goes on, there is washing to hang near it so that we make full use of the heat provided. I keep the temperature low, and we all wear hoodies/blankets if chilly most of the time.
I take packed lunch and coffee in a flask to work, not been very sucessful with DH doing likewise though, he forgets his at least half the time.
We normally try to mend things rather than buying new, and I've no given myself a ban on buying new make-up till I've used up the old. I dye my lashes and brows at home ( lockdown-acquired skill) and my hairdresser works from home so her charges are pretty low.
Thank you to the poster who mentioned Aldi Click and collect, just off to check that out!

[quote wtfisgoingonhere21]@Feelingthepinch22
I commented on a thread of yours the other day complaining about the price of salons near you
And explained how hairdressers still have THEIR own bills to pay and this is how they have to do it.

We can only absorb so many price increases before there is no profit line anymore so then we are pretty much running on empty to provide a service pretty much profit free.

I'm a post up thread you said charity begins at home and you have to save somewhere but again it's the same for hair salons.

A lot of staff are self employed and we had 8 months of no earnings at all due to the pandemic and then a very tight regulated year where we had to reduce people inside the building so add to that the latest increases in utilities minimum wage etc etc but don't put prices up where are the profits?

@Funkypickle
I totally feel
You and it's also very close to my heart and scares me after over 25 years in this industry it's never ever been so hard to earn a basic living as it is now [/quote]
I totally agree that you need to raise your prices to pay overheads & make a profit... That's what businesses do... But this is a thread about cutting out luxuries so I can pay my own overheads & keep a roof over my head... I simply said the hairdressers is a non essential luxury for me now & I can do the same at home for a fraction of the cost that a salon charges..

@Feelingthepinch22

Yet on your other thread you were really pissed off with the quote you were given for two different hair services and were rude about it.

And while I agree this thread is about personal finances and savings tips I too am a person with a household to keep up with and my own bills.

Simply pointing out we all have to make money somehow

In what way was I rude? I was pissed off I agree... I said I was quoted 28 euro for a blowdry & 40 euro for my 12 year to get an upstyle for her confirmation... I thought that this was ridiculous money for me to pay for something I can do myself.. My dd is having great fun (& success) with YouTube upstyle tutorials & we have saved 68 euro!

@Feelingthepinch22

Sorry rude was probably the wrong word for me to use and I'm sure it was unintentional but us small independents have taken a real battering the last two years and now it's just getting herder and harder rather than on the up.

Anyway back to your main reason of the thread in what are people doing to save we are trying to food shop once every ten days rather than 7 to save fuel and also to eek out what we have in the store cupboard.

In form of luxuries I don't and haven't had any nails brows etc since pandemic started so don't have that to cut out however I've lowered the costas out and take a flask sometimes using nice sachet coffee pods that at £2.50 for a box of 6 is a lot cheaper than £2.80 each when out.

No problem🥰 Yes we're trying to eek out the shopping as well, trying to get to 8 days down with a milk & bread top up midweek. Good on you getting to 10, that's really good going!

I’ve stopped getting my eyebrows done at 10 a go every 4 weeks.I bought some dybrow during the first lockdown and I’ve only just had to replace it.

Im also trying to go through the cupboards and make meals rather than just buy new stuff every time. Embarrassingly there’s things in the kitchen I’ve had too long and never used!

I have given up alcohol and I have requested more hours at work.

@Feelingthepinch22
It's really hard at 10 days and I have frozen bread and milk and fruit and veg seems to last fine

I've also bought a one cup kettle which is a great energy saver and an air fryer so a lot less oven use.

Oh and dd broke the electric shower so back to using the conventional version which is a big saving on electric

Restaurants, salons etc all still jam packed in this area (otherwise low cost of living area, low house prices etc) so I would say the effect of this might differ depending on area - people with higher fixed costs eg high mortgage will likely be cutting back first I'd say.

Hair wise, personally I was planning to start going back more regularly to the salon in the autumn, and go for a shorter hair cut which would require more maintenance. I'm dark brunette. Found myself £80 down for a messy colour which was all over my hairline, ears etc because they were in a rush and a basic straight cut long bob which the stylist did in about 5 mins when I had asked for layering etc because she was doing 2 people at once. Just wear my hair longer again now (trimmed at home) and do my own dye (far tidier at it myself!).

For us, it is about maintaining our quality of life whilst still cutting back. Still spending out on the site fees for our caravan which we go to at the weekends, holidays etc. Have cut out coffees (other than freebies eg free Nero with O2 app weekly), cook more at home but better food, packed lunches etc. Heating reduced and using our open fire more often on chilly nights. Have ditched some kids clubs which were expensive (e.g. gymnastics at £10 a week, plus then asking for donations for equipment etc and my daughter could still hardly do a handstand!) Swimming at £240 for 12 weeks 30 min lesson for the 2 of them, I now take them myself once a week and they get more water time (previously a lot of sitting on the side waiting their turn in a group of 12) for £4.75 a week at the local council pool. Keeping on their beavers / rainbows etc as they really enjoy these and it's a social thing, great value for money at £2 each a week. DH and I still doing our local pub quiz with friends etc as that is good for our quality of life. Ditching the cinema / arcades etc and making use of all the free council events, community centre events, parks locally now and getting the kids out and about way more, for less money.

I was prioritising like this before this cost of living crisis began - basically since the pandemic started we have decided we will be prioritising saving / security & mortgage overpayments, and cutting back anything we can cut and still have the same (or better!) quality of life for less to do so.

No heating during the day; veggie meals at least 3 days a week, no random buys on Amazon; no takeouts, no restaurants, Asda instead of Sainsbury. I did spend quite a bit on good quality on line meat/chicken beginning of year, being picky when we have that due to cost. This should last us until end of summer.

It's hard when there is not much left to cut back on to start with.

Trying to make my teens even more mindful of turning off electric things they are not using. I have also turned down thermostat to 18 from 20 and as a fairly warm flat it now hardly turns on.

I have been trying to cut back more on grocery shopping. My teens are fussy. My SN teen will only eat certain things and certain brands which pushes food bill up. So I go without to keep it down as much as poss.

The one thing I am looking forward to though that is in about three months the car loan will be paid off, so that will ease my financial burden a bit.