Is there anything you have had to cut back on due to the high cost of living?

[Turkishdelightchocisace]

For me I was always a huge bookworm and used to buy books pretty much every week, now I go to the library instead. I have also cut back on hair appointments and try to extend them to every 3 months instead of every 6-8 weeks. Anything you have had to cut back on?

No, but I’ve made an big effort to save water and tumble less.

My coffee out on days off, otherwise just trying to spend less on shopping and not really getting treats.

It's extremely first world problems but not putting hot tub up this year 🙁

Soft play, lucky the weather has turned so we are able to replace with trips to the park etc. I've also started taking shampoo to the swimming pool when we go (twice a week with different kids), insted of having a shower when we get home, and I'm more mindful of oven time, so trying to get everyone to eat at the same time instead of cooking twice over.

We're not putting on the hot water in the evenings and I'm no longer using the tumble dryer. Sadly we've also had to cut back on longer journeys for social reasons as I have to commute over 40 miles a day to work and it's costing me a fortune in petrol every week.

We're not spending on any 'luxuries' from the supermarket like fancy olives and deli items. Having 2 teenagers means a massive food bill each week so we can only buy what we need.

Being really cold and not putting heating on, so much so when wfh struggling to type because fingers are so cold by pm

never tumble drying

reducing bath level for everyone’s baths

no hot tub for forceable

Using the oven, using the washing machine and drier, baths, I’ve turned the water temperature down 2 degrees for showers, food shopping carefully and at Lidl, not driving far for walks/ picnics on days out, no summer holiday unless I find something dirt cheap, buying second hand clothes (and only if absolutely necessary), spending less on birthdays.
And I’ve upped my hours from 23 to 40 and got a new job.

No heating (luckily not required anyway)
No tumble drying
Not driving as much, our fuel for work almost doubled alone.
Not eating in restaurants anymore
No city breaks
Eating more carbs/no more organic products

We got these.
means you don’t have to have hallway lights on all evening.

www.amazon.co.uk/Eufy-Stick-Anywhere-Bedroom-Bathroom-Efficient/dp/B071CFBXXZ/ref=asc_df_B071CFBXXZ/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=256133426109&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2900486964169476827&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006886&hvtargid=pla-349940461321&psc=1

@Workinghardeveryday - it might be worth buying a convection heater and just heating the room you are in. They are much cheaper to run (esp if there's a thermostat on them ) than central heating And you only need them on for a short time to make quite a difference. I have one by my desk at home and it's really good.

No heating. Our splurge is a Sunday roast, but also make lasagna or pasta bake and baked potatoes for midweek while the oven is on.

Who would normally be turning on the heating- its almost June?!

sad for you and your deli olives 😭

We've cancelled prime and Disney plus (keeping Netflix for now)

Kids clothing. In the past I've bought from quite expensive brands in their summer sales, but this works out about double the cost of buying from supermarkets. The second hand marker has dried up too. This year will be bring from supermarkets, and less clothing.

100% 1st world problems and I realise how privileged this sounds but DH is considering getting rid of our private health insurance.

Buying brand new clothes for fast growing children was a mug’s game anyway.

Got rid of the tumble dryer. Use a heated airer on wet days and an outdoor washing line on dry days.

Only bought token Christmas presents for the adults last year. Be the same this year. This one is a relief.

I'm definitely thinking twice before buying any clothing for myself or DC unless its needed, so ignoring any tempting sales.

Food shopping less often, can stretch to 10 days instead of 7. Growing a lot more veg in the garden this year. Doesn't help us yet, but will keep our food bill down in a few months.

Not going to cafes, softplay.

All clothes Vinted or eBay. No heating.
Lidl or Aldi shopping. No Sunday Roasts.

Use of car...petrol is just way too much atm.

This thread is so gonna be picked up by the mail 😆

I do buy a fair amount of second hand as well. Buy i could buy in the sale, both my daughters wear it and then sell on second hand for nearly what I paid. Unfortunately the second hand sales for my particular brands seems to have really died down in the last year or so for various reasons.

I've gone through my phone & cut down on things like apps that I pay for, I've ditched Netflix. I also suffer from incontinence & it used to cost me £59 for 40 pairs of Tena pullups, I've swapped to Boots own brand & get 120 pairs for £78, I'm also bladder training to try & get rid of them altogether. I haven't bought any clothes for ages & if I really see anything I will put it in the basket & leave it a few days before I buy it. I've cut down on the amount we spend on food, I try to buy things on offer like milk is £2 for 4 pints or £3 for 2, the butter we like has gone up to £5 a tub but is on offer at 2 for £7 so I have bought some to put in the freezer, I send ds to Farmfoods to do a shop before I do an online order because things like sugar, tinned stuff & pop are cheaper. I drink a lot of soda water so soon I'm going to buy a Sodastream which will soon pay for itself & save on plastic waste.

I'm only putting the washer on when it's a full load & doing an extra spin before using the tumble dryer & I've cut down the time I put stuff in for before hanging it up to finish drying. I need a new washer & dryer & will buy more energy efficient ones & the washer will have a bigger load & faster spin speed. To be honest I need all new white goods, I have saved up for them buyt am spending ages reading reviews & energy ratings before I buy them. I need some new furniture but am looking at how I can upcycle some of the old stuff instead of replacing everything & anything I get rid of will be donated to a charity for women escaping abusive relationships.

Not yet, no.

Not really yet. I’ve always been fairly aware of living economically, never waste food and am not a big shopper/consumer.

I’m not planning on cancelling any subscriptions, even if we only watch one film a month on Sky cinema it is cheaper than going to my local cinema.

I'm also fairly frugal and a lot of the suggestions, I've been doing for years anyway, because it hasn't really occurred to me to not do them IYSWIM?

So if you read a lot, you use the library instead of buying new books all the time, must cost a fortune. I have a kindle and only 'allow' myself to buy books when they're on offer for 99p. I have quite a few unread books so I'm never going to run out of anything to read and just about everything I want comes round on offer sooner or later.

Likewise putting the washing machine on full most of the time and timing washing so you can dry outside as much as possible (tumble dryers turn clothes into a creased shrunken mess anyway, so I rarely use it, it's not just about the money).

It's not about what you can and cannot afford, more that, for most people, if you spend less you get to work less/retire early or whatever, so it seems a bit mad to be putting yourself in a position where you have to work more to pay for things that you could easily not do, or aren't that bothered about.

Having said that, I'm being a lot more careful about eating out and takeaways because they've both got so expensive, the Chinese takeaway we've been going to for years, even more so, and it's not even as nice as it used to be.

It used to be £10-12 for the two of us, now it's over £20 and the last few times we've had it, I've thought afterwards 'I didn't really enjoy that'.