What things have you dropped due to COL?

[Woodstocks]

What food items or other household bits have you stopped buying due to COL?

We used to love garlic bread with pasta, onion bhajis with a curry, nachos with a Chili etc. but have now stopped these side bits as too expensive. What about you- what has fallen by the wayside and do you miss it?

Stopped buying fabric conditioner. We don't miss it at all.

Stopped getting takeaways. We probably had one once a month but they were getting so expensive and disappointing. We also don't miss them and just buy something like a supermarket frozen pizza if we want a quick, no hassle dinner on a Friday night.

Stopped going out for lunch or dinner. We're more likely to go out for breakfast, or get a coffee and a cake rather than a full meal out. Still feels like a treat but is vastly cheaper.

We have vastly reduced the amount of meat we buy and maybe have it one or two days per week.

We've also swapped to very cheap dinners a couple of nights per week. E.g. last night we had fried eggs on toast. It's totally fine and nobody is going hungry.

We also do more free days out. E.g. going for a walk with DDs at the weekend and taking a picnic. Or taking them to the park. Or just having a chilled day at home at the weekend to watch films, play board games etc.

No coffees out. I buy Rombouts coffee filters on Amazon and drink them at home three times a week!

Cancelling Sky end of the year. No loss. Stopped seeing the monthly physio now am doing yoga at home again.

I do prioritise healthy eating but mostly home cook. Less meat and a lot more vegetarian. Bean dishes.

Nothing food wise as we've always been quite sensible - takeaway once a week but very frugal with the weekly shop - don't buy any brands, both take packed lunches etc.
I am spending less on clothes though and - tend to only buy higher quality items on vinted and sold a load of stuff so only using my balance rather than spending wages on clothes over the last year.

Takeaways are a very rare treat now. Eating out - only do that for birthdays etc now

Just remembered. I’ve also cut back on more expensive toiletries, use the slow cooker more often, stopped going to a cafe for lunch with the kids at the weekend, taking picnic on days out, being carefully with food waste.

One school Mum was telling me about all the changes she had to made and most were things we already do. We’re able to make cut back but for people who have no cut backs to make things will be really tough.

Part time working..... back to 5 days a week. Too scary to have one person with all the wages!!

I've started buying clothes and books etc for the kids in charity shops, cheaper and better for the environment plus they grow put of things every two minutes anyway. I no longer buy clothes for myself that I don't need. I can't remember the last time I went to a shopping centre

Hairdressers - I'm growing it out anyway and during lockdown we discovered DH was surprisingly a natural with some hairdressing scissors from amazon. Looks no different.

Eating out - The quality has gone done and the prices have shot up. We've started taking mkre care of our health and what we are eating. Even in the expensive restaurants it feels like they are just throwing more and more salt in. Again, I'm lockdown we discovered that all cooking and eating together was quite fun and enjoyable for the whole family.

As others have said lots of changes.

what’s sad is that a couple of years ago before massive fuel, food and mortgage increases I would have classed myself as reasonably comfortable. I have a good income. So what has happened? I’m nearing 60, I thought I might be able to retire by 62. Now I very much doubt it now. Thankfully I’ve been a saver for most of my working life so I can still afford the occasional treat.

Well although I have 3 small supermarkets near me I have taken to go to Lidl again which is down the road. Went in with a fiver a while back and was amazed at how much stuff I got!

They're expanding them when they open new stores I beleve. So worth checking every so often.

I'm very fortuante to have one within 15 minutes. It has been a game changer as i hate going round supermarkets! Also with Aldi I struggle to know what they actually stock. Online is alot easier to see items. Would recomend.

Fresh fish and seafood, holidays, meals out take aways cinema and alcohol.

We don't tend to eat out much anymore or get a takeaway.
Takeaway used to be once a week, now we do it once a month.
I've organised my shopping better, hopefully trying to make some savings.

Gave up a couple of subscriptions.

Nothing. I don't buy alcohol, costas or takeaways anyway. Not because i can't afford it but because i try to eat good quality food and not drink. So i'm still buying good quality food. if the price goes up i'd work more hours to pay for it rather than eat crap food.
Same for me although I can eat fairly cheaply with dried beans, grains and in season fruit and veg.

@DorisDoesDoncaster have you thought about a Pret Subscription? Pay £30 a month but get 5 hot/cold drinks a day. It saved me a fortune and the first month is half price. Depends how close you are to one though as to whether you’d get value for money.

We eat out much less often. It isn't that we can't still afford to but that the prices are ridiculous and unwarranted. We are not prepared to spend £70 on breakfast plus drinks for two adults and three smallish children- which is what it costs locally at places we used to go to on Saturdays or Sundays.

We often used to take the DC to a local Italian restaurant on Saturday evening - the last time we did for two courses (a 'meal deal' starter or ice cream plus pizza/pasta thing) each the cost was £25 per adult plus a drink and £12 per child plus a drink - came to £100 for Saturday tea. Used to cost us £15 per adult plus a drink and £7 per child including a child's drink ie . about £55 . Madness.

Eating out a lot less since big increase in prices and the quality going way way down doesn’t sit well with me if I’m sitting there thinking I could have done this for an eighth of the price at home, I know they have to make a profit but some places are without a doubt ripping us off.

Holidays
eating out
cinema

we have a relatively high income but don’t enjoy any of these enough to justify the cost now that costs have risen so much (and quality fallen in the case of meals out)

I’ve noticed a change in the things that I buy in the supermarket. I used to throw things in the trolley willy nilly, but now I check prices and compare cost per 100g etc. We’re using own brands now, some things I’d previously have turned my nose up at but I just refuse to pay nearly a fiver for ketchup or 8 quid for a jar of coffee. Even things that had previously been ‘cheap’ choices are now extortionate. £4 for a tin of corned beef, and don’t get me started on tuna (where the tin is half empty when you open it!)

We buy far less treats now. No alcohol, sweets, biscuits, cakes, crisps etc. And I stick to seasonal fruit only. Even with all these changes I’m still spending significantly more than I used to.

I’ve also noticed how shit the Tesco club card/Nectar savings are now. I generally used to save about 10% on my big shop, now it’s more like 2%.

I’ve stopped drinking but will go out with friends to theatre etc so probably transferred cost there!

Stopped:
Breakfast
Alcohol
Fabric softener
Takeaways
Meals out
Gel toes 😪
Squash/juice

And last week we had a lamb mince pasta bake but decided to use half the mince and replace the other half with red lentils and it actually worked really well. Froze the other half of the lamb mince and that's a dinner sorted for next week. Feels like a freebie! Lamb is so expensive it's a big treat for us.

I was surprised to find that I don’t miss the TV. I could have got rid of it much sooner!

Eating out.

My 3 and a half year old ate out for the first time ever last week, Toby carvery for my birthday, that was my birthday present as the 5 of us have never eaten out together.

First meal out since 2019, and it was a bloody Toby for £70.

Her older siblings (21 and 10) used to eat out often from babies, went for lunch at cafes after playgroups etc or with friends. Couldn’t do that now.

I ‘fell in love’ with Asda during lockdown, (wonderful service from them and I remain grateful), and we never went back to Waitrose for deliveries.

Also during lockdown I dug out my ancient Dolce Gusto machine and have only bought a handful of Costa coffees since, (used to get a couple a week).

Likewise due to lockdown, I discovered Clairol Root Touch Up is excellent and that my DH has a previously undisclosed talent for ‘doing my roots’. I used to spend ‘silly money’ getting my hair regularly coloured at a top London salon, but no more! DH also turned out to be pretty good with the clippers and now does his own and oldest adult son’s hair, (youngest pays for his own!)

Takeaways are now an occasional extravagance - I bitterly object to the huge increases in prices - ditto eating out - I just won’t pay inflated prices for indifferent food. I have found that eating out occasionally makes me appreciate it more!

I have just discovered the delights of Lidl, (my local one is lovely.)

I have cut down on luxury cosmetics and am working through my extensive backlog of ridiculous and unnecessary skincare purchases.

Same, we used to eat out as a family at least once a fortnight but it's pretty much special occasions only now, unless there's some kind of offer on.
Can't justify £60-£80 on a meal. We live in a reasonably affluent area though and the pubs and restaurants are still rammed! Tends to be older folk and couples though I've noticed.