Your number 1 money-saving tip

[PupInAPram]

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

For me, it was keeping track of expenditure on a spreadsheet and budgeting from it.
And yes, batch cooking and meal planning makes a massive difference.

Only shop at aldi.

DP and I have stopped drinking and having takeaways. We did have a takeaway or eat out most Fridays. We drank wine more than we should. We've saved 350 quid in a month and that's with adding some nicer nibbles in for a Friday. I've also lost a stone which is great too!

@pastypirate I did switch to Aldi for a few weeks but didn't really save. I'm an Asda smart price shopper and it seemed comparable to me price wise with the advantage of being closer to home.

Learn to cut hair. (and how to use home dyes)

I check and amend the household budget every other day. Seems excessive but just having a hold on everything has made all the difference for us.

Don’t put the heating on during the day. I’ve done two winters wfh with wooly socks and layers on.

Don’t leave the house for more than an hour or 2 without a bottle or water and/or small snack if yiu think you might get peckish.

If you have to drive, away and park in the street, rather than city centre car parks.

Meal plan!!!!!

@Frenchfancy

Learn to cut hair. (and how to use home dyes)

How? I've already gone grey so no dye. I get my hair cut maybe 3 times a year in a simple bob. How could I cut it myself without getting funny looks in work? 🤔

Don't neglect your health (or your kids' health), as long-term health costs are much more expensive than the short term financial pain of early intervention. I had a terrible dentist as a child, picked by my parents (who did not put in any work to make sure they selected a good one, but went with the first name they heard).

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.

[quote PupInAPram]@pastypirate I did switch to Aldi for a few weeks but didn't really save. I'm an Asda smart price shopper and it seemed comparable to me price wise with the advantage of being closer to home.[/quote]
I have just discovered the shopping lists feature on the Asda app - I have set up 4 weeks worth of dinners on 4 lists that will mean I need to cook only 1 in 2 days. I can make two of them over the weekend, to then eat the leftovers Monday/Tuesday and then have 1 tea like cheese on toast and cook once more and that covers all my weeknight meals and removes the need to meal plan. I did an Asda order yesterday and it took me literally 3 minutes just to knock off the ingredients that I had in the cupboard (e.g. don't need more pasta currently but it's on the shopping list anyway as the worst that happens is I end up with a spare to put away).

That way I'm saving money compared to convenience foods, only have to cook on one week night and it may not be the absolute cheapest way I could do things but given I can get a delivery to my door for £0.75 a week (£3 a month for a midweek pass) I think it wins overall.

£40 minimum spend which might be the killer - but they also do click and collect for 50p any I reckon I easily save that in avoiding impulse purchases

@4thtimethecharm that's terrible. I feel for you.

Don't know how much it saves but use energy saving light bulbs which you can get much cheaper now - also motion sensor led lights for corridors and stairs. My relatively new boiler broke down about 3 years ago and had it repaired twice which cost nearly GBP700. It then broke down again soon after. I have not had it repaired again as don't trust repair men now and do not miss it much - wear warm clothes all the time in winter.

Just to add - boiler is for heating only!

For me personally it’s quite simple - just don’t spend!! I’m terrible for frittering away my disposable income (always have what feels like a million things on my wish list) so I’m trying to fix that now by only making considered purchases that I actually need or really, really want. It’s a work in progress but I’ve made some improvement and it’ll get easier as I make it a habit.

So for example I have wanted a coordinated picnic set-up for a couple of years now and that’s what I’m getting this month as an early birthday present (because April/May tends to have the best weather and we want to go out a lot while it’s nice). Next month I might try not to buy anything at all, but if I see a brilliant bargain in terms of cost/quality I might get another summer jacket because that’s something I do actually need. I also need a flat-ish pair of dressy shoes for summer as I’ve decided not to wear heels anymore. I’d love a new pair of trainers in lighter colours to wear in the summer but I might decide against those and just make do with the olive green ones I have, even though they’re not all that comfortable - buying a pair of gel insoles will fix that for a lot less money!

I buy a lot of my clothes pre-loved now. I maintain a small capsule wardrobe and don’t buy clothing/accessories for special occasions anymore unless I actually have an event to attend. DH no longer buys any branded clothing (not just a cost-based decision, he loathes the preaching, moralising and lecturing they think they can do whilst taking our money and won’t pay them a single penny any longer).

In terms of household spends we no longer have a tumble dryer. We will be getting a pressure cooker soon and a slow cooker as well. I might invest in an air fryer combination oven if I can determine that it will save us money on electricity - we mostly cook just for the two of us. If anyone knows definitively that it is substantially cost effective (based on actual usage at home compared to a standard electric fan oven) then please do let me know! TIA

We hardly ever have takeaways (mostly because the standard is abysmal in our town), maybe once or twice a year. That saves a lot of money. We also don’t routinely get substandard coffee/tea/cakes in coffee shops. I haven’t been to one in a couple of years now because of lockdown and I likely won’t this year until my daughters visit. We eat out maybe quarterly, if that. Probably more like 2, maybe 3 times a year.

We do one big grocery shop per month. Buy meat/eggs once a month from farm shop. We have veg delivered weekly. We bake our own bread for the most part. I only pop in to supermarket a couple of times a month to top up on sliced bread for toast (which is frozen as we only use a slice here and there) as well as things like milk & fresh herbs or specific veg. That way we spend less by not picking up lots of extra bits several times a week.

I don’t throw away any food. Every scrap is used, leftovers are used over a few days or frozen and made into meals later on. If I get a bit distracted for a week or two and end up with some veg or lettuce that’s past its best it all gets thrown into a soup and it’s always delicious. Very comforting and a quick and easy lunch/dinner.

We’ve switched off our TV and various boxes in the sitting room, because we hardly ever use them and they don’t need to be on standby. Same for PC/printer.

We’ve got a monthly budget that we save into a pot for nieces/nephews’ birthdays (there are a lot of them!) and we stick to it - It’s enough for a good present or a nice sum for a child’s saving pot if they’re saving for something they want, but we don’t go overboard.

For amazon impulse purchases, I move things to a wish list instead of the basket. Looking at the wish list, it's amazing the crap I haven't bought

Last night I went through my standing orders, direct debits and subscriptions. I cancelled anything that was frivolous and not important. I've saved myself £1000 a year doing so.

take out the cash you have to spend and leave cards at home for a month - its surprising how much you'll save if you have to stretch the money you have

Leave your purse at home

I always wondered why am eco setting on the washing machine could be cheaper when it takes so long. The answer is it takes a long time because it uses less agitation (less electricity) and more time soaking the clothes in the soapy water. It's also at a lower temperature so not as expensive to heat. Now I understand how it works I just it all the time.

have a look at Cardiff mum on TikTok for weekly food shopping ideas for a family of 5 for under £25 for 5 meals

budget planner

Use this budget planner to work out your weekly, monthly and yearly costs. Then set up a new account to put money aside each month for Christmas, road tax, birthday presents etc I found it helped saved me money because you had money available when you needed it, rather than buying presents using a edit card etc.

Credit card!

@ModerationInEverything

I always wondered why am eco setting on the washing machine could be cheaper when it takes so long. The answer is it takes a long time because it uses less agitation (less electricity) and more time soaking the clothes in the soapy water. It's also at a lower temperature so not as expensive to heat. Now I understand how it works I just it all the time.

Me too

I get my hair cut maybe 3 times a year in a simple bob. How could I cut it myself without getting funny looks in work?

This is very much dependent on hairstyle. If you have something shaped like a bob it's probably not going to be possible to do a self-cut. If you don't have a shaped style, and it's not too short, trimming it yourself is easily enough.

For properly short hair, you can indeed save a fortune using a trimmer. I bought a cheap trimmer in 2011 when my husband needed an emergency hair cut on a Sunday - cost less than £20. He's never been back to the barber since - it's paid for itself dozens of times.

Have loads of bank accounts - the instant saver ones is what I gave. I have accounts I pay into monthly to spread the cost of kids activities, vet bills, food shopping etc you get the idea. I pay a set amount in each month. Adding up what I spend each year on the dds activities was quite painful but they are a priority.