Your number 1 money-saving tip

[PupInAPram]

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

Move all your direct debits to the day you get paid so you know what's going on

Vinted app - all of my clothes and kids clothes are from Vinted it’s saved me a fortune and all good brands

Buy all clothes second hand.

Oh yes I cut DH’s hair at home, using a trimmer. Short back and sides, a bit longer on the top. Luckily it suits him.

I cut my own hair atm but I want to take it shorter and I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it myself anymore. So I might go twice a year to have it cut as short as I want in a blunt cut and then I’ll just let it grow out until the next time.

I do my own gel nails with a lamp at home.

I no longer buy make up palettes. I’ve got lots and I only ever use 2 or 3 colours in each. I’ve got my eye on one specific one which I will only buy if I see it in a further reduction sale, and that one will become my daily go-to (although I don’t actually wear make-up daily anymore, so I might decide against it). In fact I don’t buy make up at all anymore unless I’m replacing something.

Don't have pets.

@Antarcticant it's a shoulder length straight bob, very plain so hairdresser just cuts ends straight and blunt. But I can't see how I would do it without massively uneven ends at the back?

A couple of years ago I went around my cupboards and dug out lots of half-used shampoos and conditioners - ones I'd bought hoping they would be a miracle product and then abandoned. I lined them all up on the side of the bath and vowed to buy no more until I'd used them all up. They lasted me about eight months!

You could use a similar approach with other beauty products as long as they are the type that don't have a shelf-life.

Also on this note - if you have 'travel' versions of products, save the small bottles and next time, decant your usual product into them - saves money and plastic.

Re the short power hungry washes vs long eco washes - imagine cleaning your kitchen counters or a baking dish if they are dirty with dried on food.

You can do it fast, using lots of elbow grease and water as hot as you can stand, or if you only have warm water and limited strength, you can scrub slowly and methodically but it will take longer. Which uses the most effort? Eco washes build in periods of soaking which means they can use less water and heat the water more slowly.

[quote PupInAPram]@Antarcticant it's a shoulder length straight bob, very plain so hairdresser just cuts ends straight and blunt. But I can't see how I would do it without massively uneven ends at the back?[/quote]
No, I wouldn't attempt that personally. It's the sort of thing you might manage to do on someone else but it would be physically very difficult to do it on oneself.

Never accept a renewal quote for car or house insurance. Always shop around.

When a contract for something like Sky or broadband comes to an end, look for a better deal. Threaten to leave, never let it just run on.

Don't upgrade your mobile phone as soon as you come to the end of your contract. Keep it another year or two and just buy a SIM. Doing that will save you hundreds over a year.

Meal plan but be flexible in terms of the delights of a yellow sticker surprise. Last week in M&S I bought a cauliflower cheese for 10p and a charcuterie platter for 50p. I also bought some organic mince for a couple of quid and made a big batch of bolognese.

Transfer expensive debt to 0% cancel the old cards and cut the new ones up before you register them on any shopping sites. Use the money that used to pay the interest bearing accounts to clear the debt amount before the 0% period comes to an end.

That’s what I have @PupInAPram, just about. Although it might be slightly longer than yours.

I divide my hair as equally as I can at the back, plait it low down behind my ears. Need to make sure the plaits are sitting exactly equal otherwise one side of your hair will be longer than the other at the join at the back! Then I trim just under where the hair tie sits. This works pretty well for my type of hair which isn’t dead straight. I then check it with a mirror and trim any bits that are obviously out of whack with the rest. However it wouldn’t work for much shorter than what it is now. I also have very fine hair so maybe that helps, as I don’t need much skill to ensure all strands of hair are pretty much the same length.

Mine is balance it. If you cut out everything that gives you joy you won't stick to it. For instance, we used to eat out too much so now instead of just not eating out I use things like clubcard vouchers or go when there's an offer on or have brunch rather than dinner. It still feels as good but costs so much less.

The other one is savings and a monthly portion of regular spends like insurance and Christmas come out of the main pot when my wage goes in. It then feels like I've got less money to spend so I'm more careful.

The good news is if your kids have only recently left you have the time to do a lot of this and it's infinitely more fun than nagging about homework!

Set your trip computer in the car to display miles per gallon and adjust your driving speed / technique accordingly. Even an improve of a few % can make a big difference, especially with fuel prices as they are.

@Duracellbunnywannabe

Ask yourself if you actually need everything you’re buying.

This.

The best way to save money is to not spend it at all unless absolutely necessary.

Turn your engine off when stationary. Open the window if it's warm, put an extra coat on if it's cold. You don't need the heating or aircon on.

Oh yes I don’t buy phones on contract! I buy them straight out...but I don’t get expensive ones. I then use them for years. I’ve only ever replaced if they stopped working or if I damaged it. If I bought a phone on contract I would definitely switch to SIM only at end of contract.

I’m going to cancel the landline package at my flat where my (grown) children live as they don’t use it. It’s one of those evening and weekend ones left over from when I didn’t live with my now DH and we used to talk a lot on the phone; it was cheaper at the time to use the landline than mobile packages. That’s the last unused DD/bill I have as I’ve never had many and I always cancel them once I’m not actually using them.

We’ve just cancelled Amazon Prime. It was very useful for us during lockdown but it’s no longer needed.

We don’t have any TV/film packages anymore - they’re not worth it on an ongoing basis. If one of the channels does a special deal we will pick it up for a limited time and then cancel once the deal runs out.

Don't pay for someone to do something you can do yourself. Look on YouTube you will be surprised at the number of things you can do for yourself.

If your car has a fault do a bit of googling to see if this is a common fault. DH's aircon stopped working. Garage quoted around £2k to fix it (new aircon system and a lot of labour). DH went on line and discovered that it was possibly a faulty solenoid. Bought part on ebay and replaced it himself. Total cost £5.

@Antarcticant

Be careful about 'Buy Two, Get One Free' type offers. If it's something you regularly buy that will always come in - great. If you only intended to buy and use one, it's not a saving to get three for the price of two.

Yes and only use bogofs on on non-perishables unless it is something you know you will use in time or you can freeze.

We don’t have any TV/film packages anymore - they’re not worth it on an ongoing basis. If one of the channels does a special deal we will pick it up for a limited time and then cancel once the deal runs out

Problem with this is getting through to them to cancel. I think they should make it as easy to downgrade/cancel channels and packages online as they do to upgrade or order in the first place. But they won't, unless forced, obvs

Yes it is a hassle. But for us it’s worth it even though it’s a bit of pain. Tbh we hardly watch anything anymore as so much of it is dross that we might never pick one up again!

Hot water bottle with a cover.

I habitually have feet like bocks of ice and my hot water bottle under a duvet is a brilliant way to warm them up for the price of half a kettle of hot water (if that).

But yes you’re absolutely right - it should be required by law that entities must provide a way to cancel any subscription in exactly the same format as how the customer signed up for it!

I don't know what a bock of ice is

[quote PupInAPram]@Antarcticant it's a shoulder length straight bob, very plain so hairdresser just cuts ends straight and blunt. But I can't see how I would do it without massively uneven ends at the back?[/quote]
Honestly, as you're still buying quite a few ready meals, I'd cut them out before I'd cut my own hair!

You don't have to do proper cooking on a weekday if you CBA, even without ready meals. Have cheese on toast, scrambled eggs, baked potato with cheese or beans.