Your number 1 money-saving tip

[PupInAPram]

What is your number 1 tip that saved you the most money on regular household spending?

@ManyATime

Spend it. God will send it!

So, God is going to pay your gas bill?

For us, it was me giving up full-time work and devoting an awful lot of my time to household and budget management.

Some changes we made as a result:

• switched to Aldi from online Sainsbury shop and reduced grocery bill by about 60 per cent.
• gave up booze, (saving easily £150 a month) exercised a lot more (but cancelled gym membership and yoga class - did online stuff and walked more) and lost weight. For me that meant no new expenditure on clothes needed because I could fit back into all my nice clothes which my stress-related weight gain had rendered too small.
• laser focus on my own account and our joint account. Other posters have said this but it's the foundation of everything really. Always know what you have, what you need to spend and how much per day/week/month/year is left to do what you want with.
• get happy in your own head and your own company, so you're not spending tons of money on entertaining and meeting up with people! My hobbies are reading, writing, DIY, gardening, learning languages, volunteering, finding cheap ways to explore my city and experience as much culture as possible.

@SpringLobelia

Never go on Amazon or ebay when drunk.

( posted under another user name once how DH and I bought a baby grand piano once when shitfaced on pink champagne. neither of us play the piano. Nor do we have room for a piano).

This is my new mantra!

Jumpers rather than heating as long as possible
Cycle rather than drive as much as possible
Meal plan, ideally vegetarian
Avoid loans, especially if having to pay interest

One of the first steps towards creating wealth is to by bulk buy ONLY the things you know you will use at a constant rate when they drop below a certain price.

Even a small amount invested in low-cost basics like your regular toiletries, cleaning products, coffee, tinned food and baking supplies will give you a safety net against paying an inflated price on the day they run out.

I remember an African micro charity who gave metal cooking pots to poor families. They were wasting money on cheap earthenware pots that would break and need to be bought again.
Lesson learnt.

Forgot another easy money-saving tip...
Learned this in dental school...
Only use a small pea-sized portion of toothpaste on your brush...this amount will be plenty enough to get a good lather...The manufacturers directions and ads show that the brush having the entire brush head covered with paste...not the least bit better and can actually produce too much foam which can interfere with a thorough brushing.
Also, get in the habit of using dental floss daily..you can floss while watching t.v. ( especially if you live alone) . This can save you from lots of pain from gum disease and cavities in the future and also save money on future dental costs.

I'm sure in 11 pages people have already said it but I'd repeat use cash where you can and know the balance of your account however much it might hurt.

I'm not anti card - they're convenient and credit cards give you protection in many circumstances. But handing over cash concentrates the mind like nothing else.

I roughly know what's in my account and what's not without looking. My parents taught me and they went through harder times than me.

I'm not boasting. I know it is tempting to avoid issues and I'm lucky enough to have never experienced times that a bit of cutting back wouldn't solve. Fingers crossed that will continue and I'm not preaching to people really up against it who must feel desperate. But it's just a tip.

PS my parents are dead but my 94-year-old MIL is still a reliable source of cash. It was my birthday this week and I spent £7.84 of her cash present to me on boring old groceries. There is some left over for a treat though. Excuse me while I call to thank her .

Duvet/blanket on sofa. I rarely use the heating, even in winter.

Freecycle. Yes some users are a total nightmare but sometimes you get an absolute champ. It's worth it if you have the patience.

As a result, I now need very regular expensive private dental appointments to prevent tooth loss. I am spending the equivalent of a week's holiday costs on dental care every year. It is money well spent, but I wish things could have been different, and my folks would have been more discerning

For people concerned about private dental costs, look in to treatment in Hungary. If you need quite a bit of work doing even with the flights and accommodation you will save a lot of money. And you can combine it with a bit of a holiday.
I live in another European country and have a dentist in Hungary. She is amazing. I haven't had any major work done but even the savings on a scale and polish and small fillings (and I also had a cosmetic procedure done on 4 teeth) made it worth the cost of the petrol to drive there.
Obviously you'd have to do your research properly to make sure you get a good one. The quality of the work and the materials used are as good as in the UK - the reason it is cheap is not because of the use of cheap materials and cheap equipment, it's because the costs of wages and running the clinic is so much lower there.

Use a freecycle for all household purchases if possible. People give away incredible stuff if you're prepared to wait. In the last 3 years I've got a TV unit that perfectly matches the decor in my sitting room, a small office desk, a large office desk, 2 office chairs, outdoor plants and garden pots. Also inhalers!! I've given away lots of stuff too which has saved me bringing it to a charity shop or dump.

Drive old cars, ride old bikes. They only go up in value and not down.
Insurance is cheaper and if old enough tax is free and mot is not required.

@Eggshausted

I have Amazon Prime, so delivery is free. Instead of spending £2 on a birthday card and 95p on a stamp I go onto Amazon and find a bar of chocolate for £1 and wish the recipient happy Birthday on the gift message. More welcome than a card that they will probably throw out in a few weeks! I also message them etc.

This is clever. I'd never even thought of this but it's ideal for small relatives at Easter

You need a budget app (YNAB), has saved me so much money over the past few years, you need to use it properly, but it's life changing

I’m not sure when I was a kid that you chose a dentist for your child ( I’m in England) you just went to the ‘school dentist’ as I recall

Pretty much every back tooth I have is filled, same with my siblings. We didn’t eat many sweets and brushed twice a day. I can’t help thinking there was a financial incentive for dentists to fill kids’ teeth back in the day.

Buy fewer animal products in your shopping and substitute with pulses. I have slashed my grocery bill by doing this

Planning meals is a big one for us.. we also have a milkman now..the milk is more expensive, but it prevents us having to go to the shop mid-week and spending extra money when we'd just gone in to buy milk! Saves us about 20 quid month on average..not much, but every little helps.

For me it’s knowing exactly what I have in my bank accounts at all times, and knowing what’s coming up in terms of money in and money out. I can then make informed decisions about spending whether that’s meeting a friend for coffee or buying a new bed. It means I don’t get caught out thinking money is there, or mindlessly spending on a card. I’ve saved a small fortune (for me) just keeping an eye on accounts and knowing I can afford x but not x, y and z bought on impulse.

Stop eating meat, fish and dairy and switch to plant based whole food. Extreme, but saves a fortune and huge health benefits. Plus the weight loss means I spend way less on clothes as its so much easier/cheaper to find things that look good.

Fluffy bedding - like sleeping in the arms of a teddy

Unless you're a certain age.

That Snoop app has been a blessing, much easier to keep track of where the money goes and their “insights” have saved me £100s already even when I have only had it for 2 months.

Don't buy anything new to wear for 1 year

Don't drink alcohol

@wheretonow123

Don't buy the first round in the pub. Leave it until the 3rd or 4th and there will always be some that wont want a drink. Better still, leave early before its obvious that its your round.

Not something I do as a cost saving myself but I know some that do and there are always new people coming along with that technique.

Now that just being a tight arse. Either stay on your own, just buying your own drinks, or stay in if you're just going to scrounge off others.

Buying a Tassimo machine, the Costa Americano pods are about 25p each and my partner prefers the coffee at home than at Costa due to the consistent strength.
Finding out at what time supermarkets reduce their food, I discovered my local Shell garage reduces their Waitrose food 2.30-3pm daily, it saves me a fortune and we’ve never eaten so well The family desserts ( eg lemon or choc tart ) can be cut into slices before freezing and single portions defrosted.
Buying clothes, skincare and cosmetics off ebay.

@Lalliella

Eat more vegetarian food. It’s cheaper than meat, and better for the planet. And grow fruit and veg in your garden.

I am trying but it certainly isnt cheaper, a block of tofu is £2 at the cheapest and pack of fake sausages is more money then real ones.

all the vegan stuff costs more money then real meat, if your buying frozen fish fingers, chicken nuggets and cheap ham etc not fancy pants stuff from waitrose.

and the fake tuna is 3x the cost per can then regular tuna.

Bangernomics is my approach to car ownership too! I was so cross when my last one was written off in an accident (not my fault) and it was just 2000 miles away from hitting 250K. Current car is on 145K.