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?

Taking Huel to work on office days instead of buying sandwiches. I used to buy sandwiches after music rehearsals too but scrapped that. Gluten-free sandwiches are a rip-off anyway but it was convenient.

Taking coffee bags to work instead of buying takeaway coffee.

Not calling in at the chippy for chips on the way home after playing at gigs.

Cancelled my kefir subscription because it was £600/year. IBS is now worse, I have to take Buscopan more often and it's been agonising enough to cause me to miss rehearsals, but I can't afford it.

Like other posters, I've cancelled exercise classes. I'm going to see if I can afford to restart those now that I've lowered my mortgage payments (went from variable to two-year fixed and instantly saved £60/month) because not doing them is harming my physical and mental health.

i live alone, i make everything from scratch, have stopped my fortnightly pizza delivery, which was the only day i didnt cook.
Stopped my window cleaner.
Do larger wash loads.
Cut down on nipping into the supermarket for bits mid week.
Dont pop here and there to visit friends now wasting petrol as i used to when needed company, i just use the car when i have too.
Dont have my car washed anymore like the windows i do them myself.
Dont put the heating on when cold i put layers on or go to bed.
I still do my Sunday walk then a visit to our local pub, although im limiting how often now as its £10 every week.
Waiting for sky contract to finish then cancelling.
Hair cuts every 6-7 weeks instead of 4, do own colour.
Dont treat my grandchild any more to odd comics, toys ect.

So far nothing really, but I’m definitely having to be more mindful of what I put in my shopping basket. I can see that my money isn’t getting me as much these days.

We have given up or as much as possible avoid spending money on:

Avocados and raspberries and any fruits and veg that are unreliably about ripening.

Theatre, cinema, museums, comedy, gigs, holidays.

Family days out that involve petrol, an admission fee and eating out.

Beauty treatments apart from haircuts.

Eating out.

Having a second car.

Buying things for the garden. Trying to grow our own.

Throwing Birthday parties.

Hens and Stags. It’s a blanket no to all.

Just accepting wedding invitations without calculating the cost of travel, clothes, accommodation etc.

Buying clothes.

Replacing things that break.

Home decor

Subscriptions

and I no longer treat myself to a lipstick or eyeliner or bubble bath just because I fancy it.

I’m sure there’s more. This doesn’t seem enough to cover how much our monthly mortgage payment has gone up, let alone the increase in energy costs and food prices.

Stopped exclusively shopping in Sainsburys and do about two thirds of our shop in Aldi now because we are next door to it at least once a week.
I think their meats are just as good (the mince is definitely better), and I particularly like their battered beer cod from the chiller aisle.

I probably won’t renew my Sainsburys delivery pass when it runs out and I plan to go there maybe every other week for certain things we like.

M&S salmon parcels are my one big disappointment. They were £2.50 ish a few years ago, then they jumped to £4 ish and I was ok with that, but recently they were over £6, and I’m sure they are smaller too and I walked away.

I was going to say the same, plus smart price tortilla chips for nachos are a similar price. Onions are cheap and bhajis really easy to make even for a lazy cook like me.

I do far more mixed shopping- some M&S , some Sainsbury's , some local top notch indoor farmers market (minced steak for £4 for a large pack) - I mentally meal plan and we eat fantastically well for about £85 week - including cleaning stuff, loo roll etc ( admittedly it's only 2 of us)

Less take outs - and actually shared rice, main and a starter because they were simply 2 big for 2 of us ordering separately-so now about £25 maybe one every 3 weeks - we were just wasting food before- and I stick to one whose standards are still good

Eat out far less at night but go somewhere nicer when we do- and tend to save it for occasions . Do have quite a few simple breakfasts out though in cozy cafes (eggs on toast or porridge etc) instead as it's a much cheaper option but still feels enjoyable in the right places. .

Hairdressers way less often for cut/colour- maybe twice a year

Less flowers

Definitely less clothes - I've got a lot and my style (or lack of it) doesn't really change. When I do buy I buy less but better quality.

Takeaways. We used to have them once a week and now only on special occasions

Getting my hair and eyebrows done. Do them myself now at home

PT, magazine subscriptions, takeaways.

I’ve grown out my balayage, given up alcohol, cancelled my gym membership and had to go back to non-organic rather than organic meat and veg.

Meals out. Haircuts (I’ve been cutting my own). Beauty treatments like toenails and lash tints (do my own)… skiing holiday ☹️.

Diet Coke - good riddance really.

What's PT?

Move to Scotland, free prescriptions for all.

@VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia I’d assume that meant their personal trainer. That’s another thing I gave up!

Eating out. We have coffee most days but not having cake /pastries or sandwiches as we used to have.

Do not go cold turkey with SSRIs. The "brain zaps" (those dizzy spells and fizzy noises that last a few seconds) aren't just your body telling you that going cold turkey is a stupid idea, they also make it unsafe for you to drive, operate machinery, or work at heights.

If you pay for 12 or more prescriptions in a year, a PPC is cheaper. https://www.gov.uk/get-a-ppc

You need to get your teeth sorted. Dental infections can turn into cardiac infections and your DC need their mother alive.

Our lifestyle has gone down massively. We don't do big food shops anymore and stick to exactly what I need for meals that day.
Never have extra food in house , no days out, no shopping trips, no skin care products. Used to spend easily £100 a month. No make up . I'll skip lunch most times too.

@fightingthedogforadonut

Have a look in your local library, there are lots of craft books you can borrow for free...

Only going out every second weekend. Not eating in restaurants so much..em...never really had gym fees, hairdressers, etc, etc (cut my own hair and partners as I trained when I was young but didn't follow thru!) Have refused to buy over inflated prices on things we would have bought before! Lucky to be in the position of having no dependant children now, reasonable income (hubby works at least 20 hrs ot a week) not saying this to appear loaded but there is plenty of us not affected too much. I feel especially desperately bad for single income households (with or without kids!) I feel these folks need help the most

I've given up paying council tax and water rates. I cannot afford them at all

With 2 prescriptions per month you'd definitely be saving a lot. Plus if you got ill and needed other drugs you'd be saving even more.

I've cut out buying food with no nutritional value, so no crisps, chocolate biscuits.
Cut back on takeaways from once a week to only about once a month which coincided with adult DS moving into his own house. We realised he was the one who usually suggested the takeaway.
I've stopped buying the little probiotic yogurt bottles because our foster son was drinking back 4 at once.
I'm going to change to a cheaper internet/TV/phone package now DS no longer home as we don't need superfast internet. Also Disney Plus can go at the end of 12 months.

You can get bubble bath for a £1 in home bargains or B&M.