what did you used to buy that you now realise is a waste of money?

[overdrawn]

I’m trying to sort out a credit card debt and reduce my spending so wanted to ask what are things you used to spend money on that you’ve realised aren’t worth it?

For some reason, I used to buy the expensive Brabantia bin bags (I have no idea why!) and a few months ago realised it was a complete waste of money and now buy regular black bin bags.

I also bought a home gel nails kit and do my own manicures / pedicures (I did lots of research and bought a good brand, and follow all the advice) They look just as good (if not better) than what I was getting in an average salon and the cost per manicure is much less.

@faban please switch to normal polish with a baby. Gel can contain Hema. Not cured correctly it is somewhat worrying. I work in beauty. I am an expert on nails.

Omg spiralisers 😂 I remember thinking I just had to have one… I think I used it about 3 times before realising it was WAY more hassle than it’s worth! Such a waste of money….

Shopping at the well known supermarkets when Aldi is just as good and great value for money at a fraction of the prices of all the other supermarkets.

Magazines!!! I used to buy 3 a week, like cosmopolitan, new, closer etc. Such a waste of money. Also cheap clothes. I have so much stuff with labels still on.

Shower gel and liquid soap. Bar soap is better for the environment, is generally cheaper, it's better for my skin (I get the Little Soap Co bars) and lasts ages as long as you have a dish that drains them properly (like the stainless steel wire ones or bamboo slat ones). Have also found solid conditioner bars excellent (£8 felt like a lot at the time, but I'm still only just over halfway through the one I bought in Feb 2022). I don't love bar shampoo but it works for others!

Also stopped bothering with fabric conditioner several years ago, as have lots of others on this thread.

I use washing powder for the dishwasher, works just fine. I also use charity bags for my large kitchen bin, we get so many of them every month, it’s ridiculous. My daughter now does the same for her dishwasher, no need to be ripped off with all the fancy tablets for it, they’re soo expensive.

I also have short hair and I do have a good hairdresser who only charges £22 for a wet cut ( that's quite cheap in the south where I live). I used to not get my hair cut often because of the expense but have now decided I am worth a cut every 8 or 9 weeks. Again I did try and use cheap hair colour dyes but have now decided to colour my hair every 2nd haircut. (I am almost 60 but my 15 year old dd doesn't want me to look like her granny)

TV Licence!
We've gone without a TV licence for nearly 2 years now. We realised that we were only watching catchup tv so decided to cancel our licence.

This might be a stupid question but what powder do you put in the dishwasher? I only ever see tablets?

My hair being coloured at the salon.. I just can’t justify it anymore and I have dark hair so back to box dying.

Cut down on my dog walker which is my only luxury, I don’t have my nails, brows or anything done, but this is one of the only places I can save money now. I call it a luxury as I don’t need to get up at 6am on the days I have her.

I love an expensive candle or reed diffuser but aldi ones are really good and so much cheaper.

Fizzy pop..just juice now

Take aways

Disagree about pet insurance. If you can’t afford £40 a month then you won’t be able to afford treatment when your dog gets sick..

@Trisolaris Renaissance Henna is a quality product & the website has some useful background about mixing up the varying natural henna & other products. https://renaissancehenna.com/

For a ready made mix, I used the Khadi range. Available on Amazon so easy to get hold of the varying colours.
https://www.khadi.de/en/hair/natural-hair-color/

I found that the information I gained from the Renaissance site - the products are very good quality & I used them for years until I needed a ready made mix - helped me choose the Khadi product I needed.

The talk about spending money on old bangers reminded me of a thing. I had a much-loved old car, which I eventually decided to get rid of. Scruffy, but ran great and a new MOT. So WeBuyAnyCar offered £490 or something, and I thought, that's rubbish, but I'll take it. But when you get there with the car, he's parlayed that down to 190 quid! So obviously, that got short shrift, and off home I drove. And then looked into scrapping it. I was amazed to find (and I don't know if there's some kind of government subsidy scheme working here) that I ended up with £350 quid! And not just that, because I'd scrapped it rather than sold it, I got another £55 refund from the DVLA! So, I think the moral is, never sell your car for 30 quid. Everyone had said to me before, nah, mate, you'll only get 50 quid scrapping it. Which used to be the accepted wisdom. But, it seems, not any more. I ought to just add that they were very interested in whether it had alloy wheels. More than anything else. Although the alloys were in very poor condition, and surely worth nowhere near 350 quid.

I use old muslins instead of kitchen roll. I also use them for drying my hair.
Our water is very hard, so fabric conditioner is a must. If I lived in a soft water area I wouldn’t bother. I find cheap dishwasher tablets a false economy too.
Libraries are precious resources. If we don’t use them they lose funding. Ours uses Libby for e-books, audiobooks and magazines, and it is brilliant.
I get my money’s worth out of the BBC, Amazon prime, netflix and Spotify, so will keep paying for those. And I’m happy to keep buying small beautiful things from charity shops.

Disagree with that one, I’m all for giving up luxuries as my kids are thriving in an independent school. I could have had a luxury car,lots of holidays and spa treatments etc. but think that your kids are your best investment x

It’s not the fabric softner, it’s the line drying in the sun, you’re baking them. Leave them out for an hour then bring them in before they are fully dry. I do a final 30 minutes in the dryer and they are super fluffy

You know you need a licence to watch BBC iPlayer?

I have had lots of dogs over many decades and never had pet insurance. I can see that someone who does not have access to a quick payment resource e.g. a credit card might want/need it, but otherwise I don’t think it’s worth it. The last dog I lost died aged 13-years. I joked that she was bionic due to all the bits of metal she had in her from a variety of surgeries throughout her life. Her most serious issue was bloat and gastric torsion at midnight on a Saturday. Not only did she have emergency surgery in the middle of the night, but she had to remain in a Veterinary Hospital for 4 days with lots of care as it was touch and go. After I lost her, I worked out what I would have paid out in insurance premiums over her lifetime, the costs of her various treatments and took account of excesses that I would have had to find. I was quite a lot in pocket having funded it all myself. Pet insurance is cheap-ish in the first 2/3 years, then as the pet ages, the premiums go up dramatically until from about 8-years-old (when they are more likely to require treatment), many companies require a heavy percentage of the cost be paid by the owner in addition to the large excess. Pet insurance for one pet is, after the first couple of years, more expensive that household or car insurance and that is crazy isn’t it? Pet insurers are onto to very good thing indeed.

Air fryer. I sold it on as it was big and I don't cook the stuff you can put in it. My tabletop oven is much better.
Clothes conditioner, much better to use distilled white vinegar, keeps the machine clean too.
Also have ditched a lot of household cleaners in favour of distilled white vinegar. Fabulous value and environmentally better.
Hair, I get a get a dry cut now. It's much cheaper and only 20 mins or thereabouts. Can't stand the hairdressers in any case.

Eh? If you watch iPlayer you need a TV licence.

Yep - but we don't watch it. We use the other catchup services (ITVX etc) - no licence required.

@Poudretteite which prescription strength retinol do you use please?

Magazines
Separate cleaning products( just use white vinegar, bicarb, w/up liquid and bleach )
Expensive face creams and serums- Boots collagen one is great as is Aldi caviar.
Designer labels- have never bought them as labels don’t equal style.

I don't disagree with the analysis @AnnieSnap

Im lucky, I can afford vet bills, but I take out pet insurance just like I have buildings and contents insurance - it's just in case sh1t happens.

Insurance for my 3 dogs is about £60pcm. I think it's small price to pay - private health insurance for the DCs and me is £100pcm, so pet insurance is good value even.

I just think responsible pet ownership for those who cant afford a hit of multiple £000's is necessary. For those like you, you can choose which way you go.

Aside from reducing spending, the best way to reduce credit card debt is to follow the advice of Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert. Get a 0% credit transfer and you'll be amazed at how gratifyingly your balance comes down each month. It's well worth subscribing to his weekly email to get info about bargains and money management.

@NoLemonNoMelon already done a 0% balance transfer and now have 19 months to pay it all off! This thread has been so inspiring - I feel like every time I’m tempted to buy something I don’t need, I just need to come back and read these posts!