How to be more frugal

[Namechangedforthis25]

I’ve had a promotion at work with a 30% pay rise - it’s a leadership role and the culmination of about 20 years of work.

I will not be rich by any stretch of the imagination. But it should help us to save a bit more for the future and pension scheme

but I also find myself being attracted to lots of nice things which won’t help - flower subscription, veggie boxes, meal services etc etc. I haven’t signed up though.

no bags or jewellery or anything of any luxury

i have two young kids under 7. How can we be more frugal in our day to day life- currently we visit a Tesco or Sainsbury’s weekly but without much method to it!

life is so expensive. I really really don’t want to waste money

If you don’t already do this track your spending, this will give you a really clear picture where your money is going.

You can then set up a monthly budget and make goals for savings etc.

Local veg boxes are often not that expensive and i think make economic sense cos higher quality and less trouble/end up going shopping less. Otherwise my frugal tip is try getting everything- everything- second hand first. And check freecycle etc when you need something.

Do you have a mortgage and pension which you pay into? Look at all the bills that is everything that goes out monthly.What about car costs ,child care,clothes,days out,How much comes in and how much goes out.Food budget keep receipts.You need to have the facts otherwise you are just going along.blindly.Once you start saving you will be less likely to waste money as you watch it grow.Sell unwanted stuff to start of the savings pot.

Take your own drinks/coffees and snacks whenever you can, and a packed lunch for work.
Meal plan to create shopping lists, cook extra portions and freeze them. Don’t shop when you’re hungry!
Try to get secondhand clothes, furniture etc.
Shop around for insurance at renewal time and use Quidco or another cash back site whenever possible.
Sell outgrown kids clothes in bundles online and use any profit for bigger ones sold similarly.

I plan meals so that I don't waste any food at all. I make soups and freeze for lunches at work. DH sets the heating at 16 in the day and 18 morning and evening. I cut my own hair though I appreciate not everyone can or wants that! I also cut DD's hair. We bulk out meat dishes with veg and pulses which is cheaper and healthier. We get rarely get takeaway or eat out (5 of us - all kids are young adults - so it's a massive treat). Occasionally get coffee out but it's 'intentional' eg. meeting a friend or taking one of the kids out for a catch up, not just buying coffee out as a regular expense.

Can you save a preportion of the 30% pay increase.

Become vegetarian, it's healthier and meat costs a fortune, there are oodles of cookery books and websites out there from which you can make delicious easy recipes at home.

Work out how much extra you are getting with the pay rise and send that direct to savings- you won’t get used to having and spending the extra but it’s there for when you want /need to spend it.

First thing to do is to track your spending.

On our app we can see how much we have spent in supermarkets, eating out, subscriptions etc, which is a good place to start. Transfer x amount to savings on payday.

I would also try and enjoy your pay rise for a few months! Well done!

Set up savings pots and have the money go out of your account before you can start spending. We have allocated fun money each of around £700 a month, and joint account that pays the mortgage and bills, but before any of that happens £1200 goes to savings pots and overpaying the mortgage so we don’t see that money and it can’t be spend on day to day things. Work out how much you want to save and how much you allocate to spending.

You are getting the pension as of now??

If so, max it out I'm e contribute as much as you can.

Kids:

Don't bother with expensive activities, they really do not care.

The biggest way to save money long term is to eat at home.

Arrange for an amount to be automatically paid into a savings account the day after payday, and similar for pension contribution. Be strict with yourself -why not save / pay into the pension 90% of your rise? You managed before the rise so will still have the same amount plus a little extra.
It is possible to live on very little. I'm currently being ruthlessly thrifty and have given myself £100 / month for flexible spending outside of a tight budget with every penny accounted for with savings imposed in every category: food shop forensically analysed, subscriptions slashed, a stop on clothing, motoring expenses reduced, DC spends limited to actual child benefit etc. It is for a limited amount of time but will generate a specific amount of for a particular purpose. Whatever is left of £100 at end of month goes into savings: the last few months it was something like £6.50, £21 and £8. Looks petty but with my new lean lens every £ is something and I'm finding it so rewarding.
Enjoy, OP!

Thank you so much - so many great ideas on here

i will look into paying in more into my pension - that didn’t even dawn on me

and think about being more structured and mindful in our day to day spending eg no more coffees just because I feel like it, or Friday takeaways for the sake of it

and there really is no need for a pret sandwich most lunchtimes!!

and I loved the idea of making do with what I got before - which actually I could because I did (although it was was tight at times)

I really like the idea of pots and watching my savings grow

this has given me exactly what I need to move forward

Thank you so much