What small things have you done to save ££ that have really made a difference

[HowToChangeWays]

We need to find a way to save for a house deposit but whilst renting private.

WE CANNOT MOVE. We pay 1150 pm rent . Average in this area is 1600. We have a great LL. Who has kept it as low as possible.

We cannot move due to our business / work being here.

I'm thinking ways to spend less on groceries / top up shops. Or other small ways that may make a difference

Only subscription We have is amazon music as dc practices dance with the music and used daily.

We don't eat out but prib have a fortnight take away. So that will be stopping .

What cheap meals ? I'm a shit cook and with work / kids activities I do use jars for some stuff as quicker.
Shop aldi tesco and lidl. Tesco for the things I can't get elsewhere.

great advice so far,

Not what you asked but the fun money club has loads of money saving /side hustles to make £5 per day, eg use Cashback apps for purchases I use jam doughnut if I need to buy something from a shop. Thx app for passive income I get £10 Amazon /m&s voucher every 4-6 weeks from doing a quick daily survey & having the app on my phone. (I have referral links for both please message me if interested I won’t post here as don’t want to derail your thread)

I’ve found I spend less & only buy what we need after meal planning from having food shop delivered. No middle isle impulse buys.

weirdly Ocado is cheaper for me than Tesco - I joined on an offer with a free delivery pass, they price match Tesco. I’ve used then for 8 weeks now, 2 occasions shop was more so they sent a voucher for the difference.

as a left field suggestion - have you looked into skipton track record mortgages? They are aimed at renters with no deposit. Might help you get out of rented?

good luck!

Moneysavingexpert has a financial audit and lots ideas I saved money moving to a water meter and using cashback sites / cards. I’ve just used one of the book selling apps. Using an app to track spending. Switching banks for free money.

for fruit - bananas on toast, in porridge, blended with milk as shake. Or frozen berries + plain yogurt or homemade smoothie

Chilled jug water with slice lemon in fridge instead flavoured drinks.

i used to do drop scones and French toast for kids at weekends which they felt was treat but still cheap, quick and easy

for snacks making banana bread or lemon loaf / traybake / scones so don’t buy processed stuff. Kids can easily help with this.

i keep chopped onion and chilli in freezer + wraps and cheese so can always make quesadillas in 5 mins when I’m too tired to cook and might crack and get a takeaway.

Take snacks and packed lunches and flasks with tea or coffee everywhere. Also I stopped drinking, and Dh now drinks very little. Saved at least £300 a month from our supermarket shop, nipping to the village store for overpriced wine, and drinks out.

Depending what you want them for - buy frozen berries. I use them for overnight oats so they’re fine for that or to top yoghurt but to pick at they’d probably be too soggy.

Porridge for breakfast. A large bag of oats is such a saving on boxes of cereal and much more filling.

Yes that's true. I often pop to b&m .

It's a bit miserable, but its temporary.

I set myself a "no spending" challenge. So no coffee, no treats, no brunches, no mindless trip to the grocery store etc.

It was a bit hard at first but it works.

Go through bank app and check what you can cut out/ down/ swap energy suppliers
cut out coffees/ lunches out. Take packed lunches everywhere possible.
meal plan using basic ingredients( pasta dishes/ vat of bolognese/ chilli/ jacket potatoes)
shop online. Freeze extra bread/ milk to avoid top up shoes
only buy what you need, not want
look secondhand if you need anything.. Vinted is a godsend.
sell anything you don’t need on FB Marketplace.
free/ cheap days out
Have No spend days Challenge yourself to see what you could’ve spent, but didn’t( if that makes sense!)
if you see something you like, add it to online basket.. You’ll probably return to find you didn’t actually want it.
This is my life living on disability benefits and I consider myself to have a decent life this way

Eating more vegetarian food. Cutting and dying own hair. Doing my own eyebrows.

If you ever get takeaway because cooking feels too hard that day, keep emergency supermarket pizzas in the freezer and use those instead. Have takeaways only as a treat, never for convenience. We like Asda deli pizzas.

Repeat meals more. Eat the same thing 2 nights in a row. It'll really simplify your shopping list and cut costs. Don't bother turning today's Bolognese into tomorrow's chilli or burritos, just eat Bolognese twice.

Aldi or Asda to stock up on laundry detergent, loo roll, and seasonal veg. Clothes wise mainly don't overbuy. Kids need 8 or so tops and 10 pairs of socks, not 20. Lunch boxes - normal biscuits instead of individually wrapped snacks, a slice of cheese off a block rather than babybels. Aim to minimise packaging. Buy multi packs of cola on a deal, they work out about 30p a can. Home baking is obviously lovely but watch out for hidden costs. Ingredients like butter and oil have got very expensive.

The cheapest fruits can be a bit counterintuitive. Bananas of course, and I reckon melon, old fashioned oranges and (strangely) kiwi are often cheaper than apples these days. We do oranges the old fashioned way like at football matches - sliced into about 6 with the skin left on and kids bite the fruit off the peel.

Mend holes in clothes and continue to wear. Consider getting adult shoes reheeled rather than replacing.

Super cheap meal once or twice a week. Dhal and rice or naan is our go to. Never shop hungry.

on using vinted for kid's clothes, I wouldn't do this as they get older as sizes can be hit and miss, as you've discovered. Charity shops are better for this. With vinted I only buy brands in sizes that I'm certain will fit. otherwise it can be a false economy.

Can you increase your income in any way?

Ive just reduced my mobile phone and broadband charges by £60 a month by switching provider.

I stock up on things that we always eat when they're on offer. So, for example, last week there was a multipack of crisps on offer so I bought enough to last three months.

I keep these items in a box in the garden shed and used when the stuff in the house has run out.

I don't pay the full price for about 60% of the things I buy.

Get bank & credit card statements for the last quarter. Use them to see what you actually spend, rather than what you think you spend.

Then work out what's worth it. What you can cut out, what you really want to keep.

Add in the tips already posted.

My top tips:
Frozen Berries soooo much cheaper than fresh
Buy cosmetics/beauty products on Vinted or eBay
Dye jeans in the washing machine they come out good as new and so much cheaper
If you have a local market the veg is often a lot cheaper than supermarkets

Keep some snacks, drinks and treats in your car. You mention Coke for your self, use the trolley app to compare prices on multipacks and buy that way. But if you’re often out and about and buying the kids a fruit shoot or a packet of crisps, having the same thing in the car but bought in multi packs means they still get their treat but at a fraction of the cost.

i only meal plan 6 days out of 7. That allows for changes in plan when kids get invited out for tea, no one’s hungry and just have a sandwich or you have more leftovers than expected. On the 7th day if you have food left use that, if not have a store cupboard or freezer meal.

Frozen veg and fruit is fine. I like the frozen berries.

keep odds and ends of veg chopped in the freezer and make soup. It’s easy, you just need a good stock cube. Lots of recipes on bbc good food.

shop out of your cupboards. Meal planning really saved us money. Also getting everyone on board.

have treats. A flask of hot chocolate in the park can count as a treat with some marshmallows…

Loads of good ideas here!

Can I ask - is your DH fully on board with the need to save money? Only I've seen before (in my friends, but on here too) where the wife is scrimping every penny by spending lots of extra time shopping around, whilst the husband still spends £5-£10 a day on lunch because he can't be arsed to make a sandwich, or drinking the savings at the pub (for example).

Not only does it significantly slow down the savings, but it's challenging enough cutting costs as it is, without the resentment that comes with not being on the same page as the other adult in the house!

Dh doesn't spend any money at all. We have 1 joint account. Like never.
He tends to say oh whilst you're at Tesco grab a couple of t shirts if he needs them or socks oe whatever but that's it.
He doesn't go out. Doesn't drink or smoke .

All ideas are fab. We're sitting down later to list everything

Just placemarking for later.