To be worried we are £75 a week worse off. Tips on being frugal please

[balenciaga]

Something has recently changed in our household which means we are now worse off by £75 a week

I'm gutted as tbh I had got far too used to not worrying about money, buying treats, going for lunches etc. we even occasionally had a cleaner. I realise this sounds spoilt of me as we are not going to be on the breadline as such just a bit tight. 75 a week will seem a lot of money to some and a little to others I realise, but to us it's going to make a big difference in our quality of life

For example I've put off meeting a friend today as she wanted to go for lunch and tbh I couldn't even justify putting petrol in the car to go meet her never mind lunch out as well. But this time last week wouldn't have thought twice

Anyway am posting as hoping for some money saving tips and general advice on just living a bit more frugally ... I'm going back to work which will help a bit but not til September

I would skip the soya meat unless vegetarian.
Its nice but oestrogens etc wouldnt eat too much of it.
Especially as lots of food now has it in (bread, yoghurt, chocolate)

Could you do some of your journeys on foot or by bike to save on petrol and help you stay fit at the same time?

Do a thorough audit of all your direct debits and standing orders, and cancel whatever you can or switch to a cheaper package/tariff.

If your phone's out of contract, switch to pay as you go/SIM only.

When you're meal planning, have a 'fridge scrape' day when you make what you can from what you've got hiding at the back of the fridge/freezer/cupboard.

Our local library has just started an eBook and magazine lending service, where you can download onto your Kindle/iPad, worth checking if yours does too.

Try and have a 'no spend day' or a ten pound week, where you set yourself strict spending limits. It's doable if you're prepared.

Check out the PennyGoLightly blog, I found the advice on getting on top of your finances quite helpful when I was skint at the start of the year.

OP i feel your pain! I'm on mat leave atm and believe it or not we'll be worse off when i return to work due to excellent maternity package but only returning part time. So we have just started to audit ourselves and cut back in preparation.

Id say even if you shop at aldi already, if you don't scrupulously plan meals etc already then there are still vast savings to be made on groceries. We have one week per month where we don't do a big shop and just eat what we have in the freezer and cupboards and only buy essentials such as milk, fruit and anything important we have run out of such as loo roll.

We have also got rid of our home phone and switched to Virgin internet (which doesn't require a phone line) and got rid of sky. I don't even miss it as with our super duper fast new internet we can stream stuff from t'internet straight to the tv with no problems!

You Need A Budget (YNAB). Google it! It really is amazing and is helping me get total control of my budgeting.

Fantastic tips on this thread, not sure there's any more i can add but just wanted to say i know exactly how you feel OP as my household income has just dropped by around £110 a week but im already quite a frugal person so have savings incase of emergencies.