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?

Clothes and make up. Rarely wear make up anyway so was a natural decline in purchasing. Clothes; used to treat myself most pay days to something but I’ve not done that for about a year. I did buy a few things after Christmas in the sale but that’s it! Everything else is the same :) thanking my lucky stars

I've given up Liberty beauty drop. What a waste of money that was.

We used to enjoy a take away once a week, on a Friday night after work. It's almost £50 now for a take out

Anti bac wipes which you loved so I could be lazy and wipe the kitchen sides down quickly

Anti bac floor wipes just back to the good old mop

Scent boosters miss them but don't need them

The tumble dryer I don't turn it on anymore but it's made me very organised at doing the washing so it never builds up and has actually benefitted the tidy was of my home

Make up wipes are off the list. Just use a cleaner and toner now but apparently they are no good for you anyway

Using my perfume more sparingly

Only buy block of cheese instead of a block and grated cheese because I was too lazy to shred it but like non shredded cheese in a sandwich - first world problem

No longer nip to co - op for a cheeky ice cream and milk or bread situation always go to the supermarket even though it takes longer because those shop prices are painful

Nothing, really. We're very fortunate to not really be affected by it.

For last two years I have going to a social supermarket. 3.50 a basket of near date food really helps with bills. Only now it's gone up and because everyone else now knows about it and needs it more and more I queued up for an hour and a half yesterday to get in. It's outside queueing too so freezing but worth it.

Also I do the Too Good To Go App and get groceries from Aldi at 3pounda. Random things but worth it and saves waste.

I don't buy new clothes for me or kids. All second hand. For money save and because it's got to be better for environment.

I don't eat out. Hardly ever.

Shop around for coffee pod deals

Eat out less and only for very special occasions

Buy more frozen berries/fruit

Cheaper brands for food (certain things)

Walk, cycle and public transport where possible (rather than car/uber)

Our dog is elderly and when she goes I won’t get another as the costs of vets/meds, dog walkers and sitters have gone up.

Meat, can rarely afford now
We eat more meals like soup, egg on toast, jacket potato,
No roast dinners anymore
No takeaways
No new clothes, don’t donate to charity shops anymore and sell on Vinted instead
No fun anymore, no cinema, drinks out, no shopping trips, no gym. We are hermits now but not by choice!
Nothing but rip off bills and rip off supermarket prices

I've switched some branded to supermarket own brand, tea, coffee, cereal unless on offer, I no longer spend out on gel nails but that's mostly because I'm wfh so no one sees my nails!

More own brands
No pub anymore
One takeaway a month instead of weekly
Eating more own-brand things. Some are actually nicer than branded.
Walking more.
Less expensive days out.

Not really related to COL but I just realised we were wasting money on shit like the tumble drier because I CBA to get the drying rack out, a lot of food waste just from being disorganised and not thinking about what nights people are actually in to eat (2 pre-teens with a lot of mid week sports so often just grab toast or a sandwich), and loads of subscriptions that no-one uses (bye bye Disney plus). Have made a real effort to do better. I've told myself if I don't go to the gym next month it's getting cancelled. I tell myself its fine as its one of those cheap 24.7 ones but its still a waste if I don't go. My preferred exercise is running which is obviously free so that's a plus I guess.

We started doing a big shop fortnightly instead of doing every three days top ups at stores and no big shop. Set a budget.

We used to get lovely meat from the butcher every week, now every fortnight.

I got an Xmas savings account to make sure we have cash for Xmas.

We are having a visit from someone about solar panels tomorrow.

I've been cooking a chicken on a Sunday and using the remnants to make a chicken/veg soup for the week for my lunches (Mumsnet style!).

We stopped buying fresh fish, Iceland do fair ish frozen portions for a much better price.

We got a newspaper token holiday 😂

Identified the best cheap nappies (Tesco pull ups)

Things we've not stopped:
DD (1) eats her weight in blueberries, I also have an 'at work' blueberry habit!

DH has an UPF issue but Iceland helps 😂

The butcher meat could stop totally.

We’ve had a couple of price hikes in our bills but nothing too major

I increased my hours due to a large repair bill so we get less time as all of us together. But when we do all end up off we do a huge day out so probably don’t save there. I also sell a lot of the things we have on Vinted after years of hoarding (never getting back into those size 8 jeans 😂)

I’ve always shopped cheaply after I moved out when I was younger and didn’t realise how expensive food was (lived on beans on toast and pancakes and banana for weeks), but since have DC always promised no matted what there would be food in the cupboards for them

DH has cut down on his drinking but due to health rather than cost

And we’ve stopped buying coffees out on a walk (almost died the other day when a coffee was £4.25!!)

Also changed from a take out every time we forgot to get something out the freezer to making sure we have something we can cook from frozen 😂

Stopped doing so many day trips due to petrol costs
no extra curricular activities for the children, swimming lessons etc cancelled
stopped top up shops as much and buying cheaper supermarket own things
no cafe trips with the children, no meals out, no takeaways.

@Woodstocks rarely have the heating on. Living on disability benefit. I'd already cut back to the bone when I had to stop working due to my illnesses.

Expensive lunches greater than 5 quid at work

Getting nails done

Cheaper hairdresser at half the price

Petrol car

Eating out and deliveroo

Gym membership

Buying clothes

Holidays. Been for a couple of staycations of two to three days, that’s it.
Clothes are from the charity shop. DS clothes are hand-me-downs.
Buying own brand food etc, and the pound shop for household.

Can't justify Lurpak butter and pukka tea anymore. £4.75 for 20 teabags, no way!

Ive not changed anything really.

All TV - Netflix, Amazon Prime and TV license. Cutting Amazon Prime has also been great for making me think twice about buying things I don't need.

If I'm out and get thirsty I no longer buy a bottle of juice or water, I just wait till I'm home.

There are a lot of groceries I could afford but mostly refuse to pay the price of. Everything from fancy sharing bags of crisps that are now £2.50 to Heinz soup.

Also starting to lose patience with the price of drinks when out and cut right back on that. Soft drinks and wine alike.

Awful to say but I don't notice or should I say that I just accept that things are what they are.

I know food shopping has gone up because a basket can be £100 and a trolley way over that. Sainsburys, Marks and Waitrose in no particular order.

I think the local butcher and baker are taking the piss. £2 for a chocolate and hazelnut croissant or £4.50 for a cheese and onion slice which I mentally think should cost 50p. Butcher at £40 per kg for beef or whatever is OTT as their quality is not world class. The one in the other village is better but more like £60 per kg :)

Petrol costs whatever the tank is but I know it is cheaper at Costco. Wine seems to have gone up and I do think about it a little when a box of 6 hit £150 after discounts the other week at Majestic. Pity their fucking share price doesn't go up as much as their wine !

I don't have a mortgage but I know that is a burden to many, though you could have fixed rates at 2% for 10 years and if you didn't then why are you crying now ? I've got gas rates from 2020 so rock bottom so that's lucky = planned.

I hear a lot of people complaining but I bet they still have TV packages, booze, fags and new iphones so it can't be all bad.

Not many want to cook a roast dinner from scratch for less than £1 each but it can be done easily with a chicken. Not much sympathy if they eating microwave meals.

Gave up my audible subscription and use Libby instead.
Stopped buying myself clothes (used to spend about £50 a month on vinted).
Take teabags to work instead of buying coffees and taking sandwich ingredients to work which i make up there instead of spending money on lunch daily.
Rarely eat out.

Shopping at Fat Face / Boden/ White Stuff - now live in basics from Primark / H&M.

Theatre- used to go once a month or so - now only once or twice a year.

Takeaway pizza, used to be once a fourth night or so, now birthdays only.

Cut way back on getting coffees out.

Three months rather than two between haircuts.

Hardly ever buy books now, use the library instead.

We have a comfortable income and aren’t struggling as such but there’s just much less money for the discretionary spending and what there is doesn’t go as far.

Sympathy to all those having to make much tougher choices.

I do a lot more shopping at Aldi instead of Tesco-buy cheaper versions of soup, ketchup, baby wipes, cleaning wipes etc. This half term no expensive days out, I took my children swimming and that was a tenner and we walked home. Parks and walks by nature/river. No alcohol or smoking in this house. No takeaways so far this year-not a big take away family as single mum and can’t justify it atm.