Your number 1 money-saving tip

[PupInAPram]

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

Don't buy too much accessories.

@DogsAndGin

Energy efficient lightbulbs, and keep them off unless you absolutely need them on.

Get everyone in the same room, and only heat that one room.

No heating on at night at all - just extra blankets.

Cut down on kettle use.

I try to either use the hob or the oven, but not both. I also use the microwave a lot. Choose food that doesn’t need cooking.

Shop in the discount isle in the super market.

Charge phone at work.

Air dry my hair instead of using hairdryer.

Haven’t bought anything new for myself this year so far, just food, toiletries and house products

Very short showers, cut back on shampoo etc.

No takeaways.

Go through your subscriptions and see if you can cut any out.

You say use hob etc then say choose food which doesn't need cooking. How can you live without cooking food, even beans on toast need cooking.

@mibbelucieachwell

I've only skim read so apologies if these have already been mentioned but idMobile have sim only contracts for £6 month.

DH and I are thinking about not renewing our land line.

Apparently it's cheaper to boil water on a gas cooker than in a kettle.

Don't leave things on standby.

How can you not have a landline? Isn't it a part of having broadband?

If you have storage space bulk order from wholesalers - we do a quarterly bog roll, kitchen roll, pulses, grains, detergents and even cat food run, so weekly shop much cheaper. And no panic buying required

@Northbynorthbreast Which wholesalers do you buy from?

[quote TerraNovaTwo]@Northbynorthbreast Which wholesalers do you buy from?[/quote]
Costco works well, i get cash back too

Thank you @Nothappyatwork

@TerraNovaTwo I use infinity in brighton. You can order online but it needs to be over £250 for delivery outside of town so you gotta save up your needs! We also buy all pur coffee and tea from there in bulk. And it makes your weekly
Shop much easier to carry too!

[quote Northbynorthbreast]@TerraNovaTwo I use infinity in brighton. You can order online but it needs to be over £250 for delivery outside of town so you gotta save up your needs! We also buy all pur coffee and tea from there in bulk. And it makes your weekly
Shop much easier to carry too![/quote]
Thanks @Northbynorthbreast

@Nnique we just put out onion (or half a lemon) cut side down in a gu dish (ramekin) and it is fine in the fridge. No box or plastic needed!

Should add gu pots are now a very rare treat!!

Pringles lids fit gu pots

Not a huge money saver but I buy vegetables when they're on offer in the supermarket to chop and freeze.

Onions freeze really well, then I can just take a handful out of the freezer and add to currys, fajitas, homemade burgers, meatballs, Bolognese etc.

@declutteringmymind

Pringles lids fit gu pots

@declutteringmymind ooh good tip, thanks!

@declutteringmymind

Pringles lids fit gu pots

OOH I like this.

@coodawoodashooda

Don't go to the shops. Seriously. Wait until tomorrow and see if you really need it.

This

If there’s something you really must have, wait 2 or 3 days, and see if you are still thinking about it.

Never go out without a bottle of water and a snack fir every one.

Packed lunches and thermal mugs for work.

Check out your local markets for fruit and vegetables you will find them cheaper and they last so much longer. We have to take a bus to get to our local one but it’s near aldi(we now shop there regularly due to price increases everywhere)and we grab plenty there. Our fruit is off when we are buying it, strawberries are always rotten upon delivery. Yes I ordered a food delivery this week with the holidays and honestly ordering from Asda cost me double looking back at my past prices. I also order my toilet rolls, toiletries and fairy pods from Amazon on subscribe and save. It’s so much cheaper and buying toilet rolls in bulk off Amazon has saved me a fortune. We get the child’s farm products for half price off there too

Start your roast joint in the slow cooker a few hours ahead & then finish off in three oven for the last hour.

Set up a standing order to your savings account the day after pay day. I pay £25 monthly straight to premium bonds account. It's money I would have wasted on coffee out and crap and have now saved over £1k with little effort.

Check out frozen fruit and veg. Green beans, sweet corn, onions, garlic, ginger all fine for cooking; mixed berries and mangos fine for smoothies or adding to yoghurt or cereal - the berries are great for pies and crumbles. Frozen avacodos OK for guacamole, not so much for salads.

@Passthecake30 - very true, the pocket money is a very good idea, its amazing that they do not like to spend their own money 😂

This might not work for some as I'm aware the finances may not be there in the first place , but we over buy a few items a week of they are on offer and it is something we know will keep and we use . For example we sweeten things with honey rather than sugar , about 18 months ago honey was always on offer so we've ended up with a good supply , still using it now and it has since gone up £1.20 a jar .
We have done the same with washing powder and washing up liquid . During the loo roll debacle we didn't need to panic as always keep a few of the 16 rolls in case of emergency .
If space is limited , think of non perishables could be stored under beds / top of wardrobes etc

@EdgeOfSeventeenAndThreeQuarter

Today I’ve printed out some “feeder to crockpot” recipes. Idea being you put ALL the ingredients in a bag in the freezer and then just tip the whole lot into the slow cooker before disappearing for the day. Totally takes the effort out of it.

This is a good tip @EdgeOfSeventeenAndThreeQuarter but it's best to defrost things before putting them in the slow cooker, especially chicken, as the slow cooker doesn't blast things hot enough to cook from frozen.

Ive heard these called "dump bags" not the nicest name but they are a great idea! I get lots of ideas for them from YouTube etc

Delete Instagram. You don't need a new outfit for 'an event', you don't need a bigger house so the kids can have a separate playroom, you don't need to keep up with the latest interior trends,you don't need to 'experiment' with your 'look' 🙄; the list goes on!
Putting up a barrier between you and sales people (in this case 'influencers') means they can't convince you of things you don't need and won't make you happy.

A tip from me...if you can afford it buy in bulk. We buy the 5l bottles of washing up liquid as per litre it works out much cheaper than single bottles, and better for the environment too!

Some things we do:
No heating on at night or during the day if possible.( obvs not in winter)
Grow my own herbs
Overpay the mortgage
Meal plan
Rarely eat out
Take packed lunch to work
Buy second hand
Eat less meat
Shampoo and conditioner bars are cheaper in the long run than bottles ( and better for the environment)
Same with soap, rather than shower gel
No tumble dryer

OP here. Thank you so much for so many brilliant suggestions. Everyone's situation is so different that I think the top tips to take away will vary greatly from person to person. Here are my top 5 so far:

Meal prep on Sunday instead of buying ready meals for after work (today's effort attached).
Use a timer for the shower (I had developed a very bad habit of ridiculously long hot showers every day).
Lentils instead of meat. I've reached this grand age without realising how cheap, nutritious, tasty and easy to cook they are 😳
Leave amazon purchases in your basket for a few days to check you really need them.
Audit food cupboard, use up tins and store cupboard items.

I haven't tried the shampoo bar, but it's next on my list once my shampoo runs out.

Thanks all 👍👏