Curbing unnecessary expenditure ideas...

[wholenutcadburys]

Apologies if this is the wrong topic, (posting for traffic)

I'm hoping to curb some unnecessary spending in the new year and adapt better financial choices.
What do you all do to avoid unnecessary spending/expenses, one of the things I'm going to try and do more is taking picnic etc when we go to the park or beach with DS ?

Other than that I definitely know I'm missing out on other nuggets of wisdom!

Thank you! 😁

I keep a storage box in the boot - long life croissants, smartie tubes, 'nice' crisps (quavers and nic naks!) and fruit shoots. So if we're at a National Trust place I'm only buying a coffee (£3) instead of £12 on 2x drinks and 2x sweet snacks, and it still feels like a 'treat'.

All DS unwanted/duplicate (new and wrapped) toys from Christmas have gone in our 'birthday box' - I throw in mega deal toys I see in supermarkets (75% off or more normally) and have a few multipacks of birthday cards. Also all gift bags we're given. It means I rarely spend £20 on a last minute gift/card/wrapping paper/bag (which I used to do pretty much every weekend).

Pre-plan any days out so you get the best deals, and shop around. Unless desperate to see a new release, cinemas often do £2 tickets for kids mornings on the weekend - that + a £1 bag of popcorn and you've got a cheap and fun day out. Free museums which may seem 'boring' often run free trails/events during the holidays. Sign up for all local govt run newsletters/updates so you see this stuff when it's advertised rather than last minute on a poster.

Really good ideas already. We have gone through everyone's phone contracts and got everyone on the cheapest deals, saved about £30 a month doing that. Going out for country walks instead of walking round shops!

Only a small thing, but if you use fabric conditioner, stop. There just isn't any need for it.

I'm trying to use up all the variations of products that are filling my cupboards half used. Cleaning products and toiletries being the big ones. But it's everything, books unread, wrapping paper, cards etc. I have a cupboard full of products that basically do the same thing but I'm drawn to new products which I move onto before finishing the existing products. Even if they aren't my favourite I'm using up. To be honest this is as much to do with regaining space as saving money but that's a bonus too.