Your number 1 money-saving tip

[PupInAPram]

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

@TroysMammy

If you are on a water meter and your water takes ages to get hot, collect ithe running water in an empty milk carton to use on plants.

I actually have a water meter and combi boiler. I keep a bucket in the shower to collect the cold water until the shower runs warm. I use it to flush the loo. My water bill is tiny.

Stop ‘treats’.
Coffee at Starbucks, take away etc, not necessary. Saving the pennies really does add up
Absolutely this
Changing your mindset if you are an incidental spender us the biggest top.i could give. Be aware of what you are buying. My coffee shop treats are rare and planned (meeting a friend I've not seen for a while for example)
When my friends are ringing to meet up I've started suggesting to.meet at the woods car park and going for a walk into the valley. Previous it would have been in the pub and spent 20 quid before you know it. I'm not saying everytime but mix it up a bit and you'll still save.

Unsubscribe yourself from promo emails I. E. 50% off, just for you!

Work out where YOU spend money and adjust accordingly. I looked at my last year's purchases on Amazon - all were "essential " at the time but quite a few ended up being a waste of money. I took my credit card details off Amazon so I can't be tempted to spend easily.

If you want to take it one step further at the coffee shop, have a filter coffee instead of a latte etc. Could be half price. You're still sitting in that coffee shop on those big sofas with an oversize mug in your hand.

Don’t have a car unless you really need one.

No take away coffees.

Packed lunches for work.

Clothes from charity shops.

Do your own nails (& hair if you can).

Only heat the rooms you are in.

Don’t drink or smoke.

@Fitterbyfifty this is a really good tip. One click purchasing on amazon is the work of the devil. I'm by no means extravagant or impulsive, but reviewing my amazon purchases I do sometimes buy things that are not really necessary but seem like a good idea at the time.

@PupInAPram if you find when your local shop reduces, ready meals are always in the reduced sticker, 10-20p usually

@FourChimneys

Don't be very frugal in the supermarket and then cause £500 of damage to your car by reversing into the trolley bay

😁😁

I did this one halloween when I went to sainsburys for a pumpkin.
They had run out anyway and I smashed my car reversing out.
Most expensive pumpkin I never bought. 😭

Ooh yes clothes at charity shops, I went in to Cancer Research shop in Marylebone and it was an eyeopener to say the least, some top notch brands at bargain prices, although my local one has some lovely stuff too.

@tara66

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.

Surely you need heating and hot water?
Did the boiler not come with a warranty?

@Forgothowmuchlhatehomeschoolin

I buy most of my clothes in charity shops....never shoes or underwear but tops, trousers etc. And if someone compliments me on my outfit l just can't stop myself saying oh it is from a charity shop but l am working on not doing this!! Feel like pepple should know you can get some lovely stuff second hand

Same here. I am starting a new job in a couple of weeks and didn't really have any suitable clothes ( have been wfh for the past 2 years), but have managed to find about six or seven lovely tops/ blouse suitable for work. Total cost around £15.

Not mine but one I see a lot, stop buying expensive coffee. Just use a bloody mug of instant. Saves you £ a day.

Not to mention those that complained they had no money but bought breakfast and a coffee from Pret every day 🙄

Yes to most of the tips here, packed lunches. Flask or multipacks of water from supermarket, some in car to stop expensive single bottle purchases. Having no spend days.

I think with buying clothes from charity shops, it's worth going to the most 'up-market' area you can get to. Well off people donate some crazy good condition, expensive, clothes and they still cost charity shop prices.

Check your direct debits. I was horrified to find I’d been paying a monthly gym fee because I had no idea it was on auto renew. Because it was on my statement (and I’m very un observant) showing a local council payment I thought it was my council tax.

Go vegetarian.

Get brushed cotton bedding for winter and a 15 tog quilt.

Sell all your old stuff on eBay/gumtree etc. I’ve made £97 over the last 3 months. I only sell when there’s an 80% selling fee promotion. Save all useable packaging, envelopes, boxes etc. i rarely need to buy any.

Use ecloths, floor mop and extendable duster. I use very few cleaning products since I started using them over 12 years ago. Some of my original ones are still going strong. I don’t buy floor or window cleaner or polish etc. i have some lidl bathroom spray just for the toilet and occasionally to go over the kitchen counters but it lasts for ages because it’s the only thing I use it for. The actual ecloths are pricier than others but really worth it imo. Often see them in TKmaxx or on eBay.

If you have favourite brands, styles of clothes and know the fit look for used ones on eBay or vinted etc.

Say no. I found that when I said no to my adult DD I saved thousands.

I actually save by putting £20 a week into my PayPal balance which I refuse to touch until Xmas. It pays for everything every year.

Also Im obsessed with nectar points, I use those very wisely too.

Every time you're about to buy something stop and say to yourself "What would Martin Lewis do?" and if you think he'd say put it back then that's what you should do...........

I bought a small chest freezer and batch cook my own ready meals. That way, if I'm too tired to cook, we can just get something out of the freezer rather than get a take away or go out for a meal. DH also takes a meal every day for lunch at work.

Way more than one but:

• agree with meal planning & online grocery shopping. See what’s on offer and plan meals around that.

• use the library instead of buying books / audio books

• if you have a tv license, cancel it and use a cheaper subscription. Or YouTube, 4oD, itv etc are all legal to watch without a license so long as you don’t watch live tv.

(You can cast to tv with a chromecast if you don’t have a smart tv!)

• sharing subscriptions is good too. Some places let you and some don’t, but getting a family plan for Netflix or something and splitting it with someone instead of a tv license saved a lot of money.

• wear thermals under your clothes and turn the heating down (ours has been on 14 all winter bar a few extra cold days when we turned it up to 16)

• freeze sliced bread and defrost / toast as needed. You can also freeze milk. It really helps in avoiding small top-up shops.

• look for better deals on insurance, phone contracts etc. You can save £hundreds this way.

• agree hot water bottles are excellent!

• try eBay for clothes. So many people buy clothes, never wear them and sell them on for really cheap.

(When I needed maternity clothes I managed to find some nice jojo maman dresses for 99p each!)

• get a baby grand piano for free from fb marketplace

I’m loving this thread, there are so many good tips I’m going to try and remember them all!

local market rather than supermarket for all fruit and veg. This morning got each for £1,6 large navels, 20 clementines, 10 bananas, 1kg grapes, 8 peppers, 4 celery, 30 plums, 5 cucumbers, 2 pineapples, 4 mangoes. £10!

@Nnique

My ex-MIL always had her hair done (cut and dyed) at the local college and it always looked neat and presentable.

I have just googled ours on the back of this thread. A cut and colour is £14.50! I am not too fussy about my hair, so this might well be amazing for me.

@Queenofthesky

Every time you're about to buy something stop and say to yourself "What would Martin Lewis do?" and if you think he'd say put it back then that's what you should do...........

Martin Lewis is a millionaire. He'd put nothing back. Maybe even order a full size grand piano.

Save on schoo/ work lunches by buying a food flask (supermarket versions are just as good as proper Thermos ones). Then you/ your DC can take a filling, hot lunch and often use leftovers such as spag bol, shepherds pie, sausage and mash or soup or a (microwaved) jacket potato.

@PupInAPram you won’t be disappointed with an air frier, I promise!