How do you save money with prices going up?

[Krenonges]

Seen the thread on how much prices have gone up in recent years and I've really noticed it too.

I've adopted lots of habits to save money and wanted to share them and find out what other people do to keep costs down at the moment.

I earn a decent wage but I've started budgeting it much more carefully now so we have money to save or for experiences like holidays or days out rather than stuff.

Here are some from me:

1. No takeaway coffee ever. Got a cheap coffee pod machine from Aldi for Xmas and a milk frother and make my own.

1. Very rarely buy new clothes now. All from Vinted and I also sell mine on there. Made £50 this month (Any Vinted seller tips appreciated)

1. Never get nails done. Used to always get them done but not anymore. I'll paint my own for special occasions.

1. Find cheapest haircut I can via Fresha app - last one cost me £18. I've stopped with expensive Keratin treatments.

1. No subscriptions apart from one (Netflix). I used to have loads (perfume, Amazon prime, make up) but it just led to an accumulation of stuff.

1. Use ChatGPT for recipes with what I have in cupboards rather than loads of top up shops. This week my weekly shop was £38 as I have so much in freezer and store cupboards that don't need to do full shop.

1. Cheap days out - we use a free app with walking routes in our area and take a picnic. Need ideas for when weather turns wintery though!

I do still spend on a gym membership and monthly massage to help with health and wellbeing but things like nails/ expensive skincare are out of the window to make that happen.

Following this thread, thanks @Krenonges

Main one is avoiding lifestyle creep. You quickly get used to things that used to be treats or luxuries as your new normal and then end up spending more. A lot of lifestyle spending falls into this category and you end up thinking of luxuries as essentials. For example

subscriptions like Netflix, Prime, Apple Music, Spotify etc
Gym memberships
Food spending eg getting the naice ham
Eating out and takeaways
Clothes shopping beyond the basics
Holidays
Hobby spending
Hair, nails, other beauty treatments
Kids activities
Days out and weekend spends on family stuff like soft play
A lot of tech is optional not essential

The list is almost endless. Of course some of this is nice to have but you can’t have it all unless you have a high wage to match. So we practice value-based budgeting which is where you choose two or three categories in which you prioritise your spending beyond the basics, for us that is food (fresh, low UPF, organic where possible), kids activities and family experiences like theatre and some travel because those are the things we value the most. Everything else is basics and I do all the tricks I can find to keep spending low on those categories.

When we downsized we went through everything in our house and sold everything we didn't need. Amazing how much junk we shipped out and money we made.

We have an allotment with hens so save on eggs and veg - it's only half a plot but it keeps two of us in fruit, eggs and veg for months on end.

What we can't use we swap with other people for things we haven't grown. My allotment neighbour makes bread and yoghurt which I swap for eggs. My friend is a dressmaker who alters and mends clothes and charity shop finds for us in exchange for stuff we've grown.

We never buy compost as we make our own from garden and kitchen waste.

I ride my bike or walk everywhere I possibly can.

Join the library and never have to buy a book again.

We have a agreed with all our friends and family not to buy Christmas or birthday presents and put our all behind celebrating together instead. Home cooked meals, lovely beach picnics, canal side walks where everyone brings something to eat and drink. A Christmas feast with a country walk and then dancing in the garden with fairy lights and a bonfire. Such amazing times and better than any long forgotten, unwanted present.

Not applicable to everyone but both our dcs have disabilities, and we use every discount or extra funding offered - DLA for both, free carer tickets for days out or shows (so 2 adults can go free), short breaks funding from the council, cinema card, cheaper water bills, free swimming, discounted leisure centre and sports classes (you can also get this for families on UC even if not disabled).

I use Aliexpress a lot for household items and kids stuff.

We use tescos clubcard vouchers for days out and UK cottage holidays. We also grow a lot of our own food. Obviously requires the space. We have £8 mobile contacts/no new handsets. We said goodbye to sky and extra TV subscriptions years ago. We just have netflix now but would be happy to get rid of that if it wasn't for the kids. We don't buy clothes just bits of vinted for the kids. We get free things like toys off Facebook marketplace.
I'll have a think if there's anything else.

I think the frustrating thing is for us we have lived this life for so long there isn't anymore wriggle room to cut down on. We are pretty much bare bones. Ive never got my nails done ever and never had coffee out. But those things alone dont mean we can suddenly afford an abroad holiday. It's rather boring when all you've ever done are the cheap no money days out but really hard to save for the more expensive ones or more expensive holidays. Even those things I am aware are a luxury we had many years with no holidays at all.

At this rate I assume my children will live with me forever what a hard world they are going into 😬

I tried washing some new clothes of DDs on a 30° wash yesterday as per the instructions and the couple of minor white marks on them didn’t come out so I don’t know how effective that is.

My biggest saver is meal planning.

Stock up on toilet roll and household items. The amount of times I used to run out for loo roll or washing up liquid and then coming out with half a shop was obscene.

We have just had Disney+ priced at £1.99 a month for four months. There’s quite often deals like this going as we’ve had it a few times now so always worth looking after. We found the latest deal on an Instagram advert.

Sites like TopCashback and Quidco are helpful too, certainly for stuff like insurances. If you refer someone, you’ll both get cash back into your accounts too 😉

Good tip, thanks
Also we have Netflix with Adverts because of the cost difference and they really aren't very intrusive; the ad breaks are few and short. Watching things on All 4 or the ITV hub is much more annoying because of frequent and relatively long ad breaks (which unlike the days of recording things you can't fast forward).

@PumpkinSeasonOctober
Laundry. I wash colours with an eco liquid on a 30. Apparently this is better to prevent the colours from fading quickly, also much better for jeans. But DC are older and don't get their clothes very mucky any more.
Whites and pale clothes I use a box powder and a scoop of eco bleach (sodium Percarbonate that I buy in bulk): I am more likely to wash those on a 40, (or in the case of white bedding 60) I will also check and pretreat any marks with vanish soap bar. I hate white socks that aren't white any more.
But having to wash things twice because they haven't come clean isn't money saving at all so it has to be effective.

My money saving tips are;
Aldi/lidl are definitely cheaper than the big supermarkets
know your discount shops Poundland, The Range etc for toiletries and snacks.
Small cars that are cheap to run and cheap on insurance and tax, I have a Hyundai i10 which costs me very little.
If you think you need something on Amazon leave it in the basket for a few weeks to see if you still need it.

Great thread, thank you!

Save first. That's the life changing hack.

Dropped from meat 5-6 times a week to 2-3 times a week. Replaced with e.g. tofu, eggs, beans.

Buy more fruit / veg that's in season, as well as frozen. Fresh spinach constantly went off, and frozen is much easier to use with the same taste. Sadly the frozen sprouts were watery mush and won't be purchased again.

I use JamDoughnut to do my weekly Tesco or Sainsbury's shop. You buy the "gift card" when at the til and get cashback onto the app. I make about £15-20 a month.
My referral code is QNEZ, which I think gets us both a £3 bonus.

Family movie night with home made popcorn instead of cinema, as the last time we went to Odeon the price was astronomical.

I've stopped impulse buying clothes as I have too many.

We do the dishwasher and clothes washing on eco setting and colder temps

Reduced my boiler to 55°

Changed my Octopus to a fixed tarrif yesterday before the rates change

Unfortunately DH won't agree to sacking off Spotify, as I think it's a waste...

Weekly meal planning and only buy what's on my shopping list - saves money and reduces waste food. Batch cook in the slow cooker - cheaper cooking plus bonus of meals in the freezer to just microwave on evenings youre busy or haven't got the energy to cook.