to ask for your best frugal tips?!

[tryhard]

We are a single income family, 2 DC & things are suddenly very tight financially so I'm trying to find practical changes I can make. A big expense is the food shop which is currently Sainsbury's (normally over £100 a week) - DH thinks switching to Aldi save a lot of money but I'm not sure? Our clothes I get from eBay. Kids are only 3 & 6 so no expensive hobbies yet thank goodness. Planning short break in the U.K. for a family holiday. Takeaway maybe once a month, booze gets bought in the weekly shop, maybe £20-30 on that a week. My big weakness is Audible, I have anxiety & listen to stories in bed at night to get me to sleep so I need to just bite the bullet and stop that habit. How else can I make 2017 my most frugal (but not miserable!) year so far?! Any good tips? Or blogs I can read?

Have a spirit each evening rather than wine. Use own brand Aldi spirits. Lemonade is 17p or something ridiculously cheap.

Downward I tried that and ended up with a load of socks that couldnt be paired! So I dyed them all black :o

It's harder to do to start with but cooking from scratch and making meals in batches and freezing extra portions can really help. Homemade Lasagna, Tuna Pasta, buying a large chicken and doing Sunday Dinner, then use rest of meat up in a mild curry, buying a ham shank from the butcher and making homemade soup. Most of these meals can cost only £3-£4 for a family of 4 and if you have an afternoon cooking you can freeze the extra portions then half the time you just have to defrost and pop in the oven. Bulk out meals with fresh veg but buy in season.

As others have said you're spending a lot on alcohol so if you could cut down on that it would save you a lot. An average of £25 X 52 = £1,300 p.a.

Shop around for cheapest toiletries best deals on cleaning products etc (named brands are not better than generic ones) go for the value ranges and try them out to find your favourites.

Aldi / Lidil sorted. But have you scoped the reduced item time at local shops. I hit local Tescos/Co-Op after 8-9 and can get massive reductions on food. I am talking 90% off.

Clothes from charity shops, and not just children's. These days they are akin to new, find out when they put new stock out and bam you get great stuff for a few pounds. Last week I bought 4 pairs of designer jeans from St Peters Hospice for £19.96 and sold them on ebay for over one hundred.

Why take away once a month, waste of money.

Your paying for audible? Throwing money away, there is so much content on the internet that is free. Look around!

money saving expert . com is fab

Radio 4 on the iPlayer for drama/comedy. Two veggie meals a week help cut costs. Rethink the booze budget, if it goes on beers & wine, cut down. Meal plan to save extras. Library services also have audio books. If you can buy in bulk, that helps. Look at local Asian supermarkets if you cook a lot for things like rice, oils etc. Keep an idea of what to do with the kids that save money ( lots of museums have annual passes). Read Marie Kondo if you tend to buy things you don't really need.

Thank you guys these suggestions are really helping...I was up last night reading blogs....I was intrigued by the idea of homemade cleaning products, people suggestion a squeeze of lemon and vinegar works just as well, is that true?!!. I like that idea cos DH and DC all have sensitive skin so I try to avoid lots of chemicals anyway.

Also what about making your own clothes? I have no sewing skill at all but I do have my Mom's ancient sewing machine and I love the idea of making something unique in a fabric I really like....or would it just look totally crap?!

I have just ditched Audible in favour of the free Overdrive app which enables me to borrow audio books from my local library. it's boring I know but on line shopping and meal planning save me lots - spend about £60 per week (and that's with a growing teenager) as opposed to nearer £90 of I go to Sainsburys

Eep well included in my booze figure of £20-30 is a crate of Becks Blu which I work my way through on my 'dry' days, DH's beer & 2 or 3 bottles of fizz which we share over the weekend.

Maybe I'm missing something, but the alcohol-free beer just seems like a complete waste of money to me..? I just don't get why you'd bother, unless you feel that you desperately need the sensation of drinking alcohol every day (in which case I'd be concerned).

Aldi Prosecco is about a fiver, so 2 bottles of that plus some beers would save you a lot on your weekly alcohol bill alone.

I shop at Aldi and B&M / Home Bargains type places for some storecupboard / cleaning / toiletry stuff. Definitely feel that I get the best value for money possible that way.

Look on money saving expert website, it's a really good start.

Set a budget and stick to it and use a spending tracker app. I'm finding that v motivational!

Definitely shop at Aldi/ Lidl, their stuff is great. If you have time, shop around, eg, I've discoved Farmfoods have brilliant loo roll, really soft and thick, for cheaper than any supermarket own brand stuff - £4 for 18 rolls. Hardly buy anything else from there, but it's worth a little trip for that stuff (and sometimes branded frozen pizza)

£20-30 a week on alcohol is too much, maybe cut down your alcohol consumption? That much alcohol will only exacerbate your anxiety. Meal planning saved us a fortune, pretty much cut my weekly bill in half because I wasn't buying stuff we didn't need/ convenience food/ excess stuff that would get wasted. Also, never shop hungry!

Also what about making your own clothes? I have no sewing skill at all but I do have my Mom's ancient sewing machine and I love the idea of making something unique in a fabric I really like....or would it just look totally crap?!

Fabric is really expensive and if you have no dressmaking skill it will look crap. TBH people with dressmaking skills who make their own clothes still often look crap! Primark sell tshirt for £1.50. You won't do better than that!!

I once found xmas themed 5 packs of pants in Tesco for £1 (in march). 20p a pant!

If you usually spend £100 in Sainsbury's then the same shop will cost you approx £70 in Aldi. Every time.
The quality is good too, don't be put off by everything being own brand.

I avoid jars of ready sauces as I don't like them, but to be honest I don't buy them in other stores anyway.

Best buys for us are the Craze (craves cereal copy), the meat, tuna, cheeses, baking products, cleaning products and baby wipes.

I do a top up shop (in another supermarket) every other month for my coffee and things like lentils and curry pastes.

You will save a third in your shopping bill in Aldi.

Alcohol...... I'm slowly working my way through Aldi wine selection. I'm fussy but some has been super for £5.
Their lite beer served cold with a fresh lime slice tastes good too.

Never throw food away. Cook with what you have. Don't start with a recipe, start with what is in the fridge. Use leftovers for lunches, or tart them up and have for another meal (add beans and peppers to bolognese and call it chilli...).
Left over bread can be used for breadcrumbs, bread and butter pudding... The only thing I bin is salad leaves that's gone past soggy! Are some of your ingredients a bit pricey? I work out the price per head of most of our meals. Some things are really cheap, others really are not!

Learn how to cook a Mumsnet chicken...

Ok yes I did suspect my own clothes would look shite 😂😂😂

Beauty products & makeup - I do spend on that...I like nice smelly things in the shower & bath...makeup is Bobbi Brown, last forever (just replaced the blusher I bought for my wedding in 2008!!) but when you do need to buy it again it is expensive... & skincase is Bobbi Brown or Nuxe, I stick to these cos I have sensitive skin but will gladly shop around. Right now I need a very gentle body cream cos I'm swimming more & my skin is like sandpaper, I avoid cheap creams cos I fear they'll irritate my skin but expensive stuff can be just as highly perfumed & stingy?!

I don't think anyone has mentioned apps yet

For everyday savings I check hukd, I also have the ALDI and lidl apps on my phone so I know what offers are on for the next 2 weeks

Pound shops are good but if you have B&M or home bargains near by they are often cheaper by a bit

Farm foods are great so are fultons and a few others you will see mentioned on hukd

Slow cooker and Pinterest are fab for lovely low cost food, I have a fave chilli recipe picked up of Pinterest that I do with quorn mince, total cost to make £2 for 6 good portions which I then freeze

Then don't forget household savings, check you have the best price for utilities, insurances with a service, we recently changed and saved £250 a year, got cinema 2 for Ines and a meerkat thrown in

I love a bargain

Cheap body creams can be as good as, if not better than the more expensive brands: E45 is unperfumed and costs less than a fiver, but there are others.

High end makeup is not something I'd buy if I were on a budget, but I suppose you have to indulge yourself somewhere and makeup can be a reasonably cheap pick me up, provided you only buy to replace what has run out.

Oh have you tried aveeno spray oil? I use that after swimming/shower and it's amazing. I normally buy when it's on offer through. I tried own cleaning products and can be ok. Microfiber clothes are pretty good for cleaning while cutting down on chemicals. For make up, do you buy through boots and take advantage points? They can add up pretty quickly if you're smart about it. Also if you can, grow your own herbs. Pretty easy to do(from seed, not supermarket pots). If you buy online, sign up to quidco or look for discount codes. Oh and have a look at local area, we buy free range eggs from a local farm for under £1.50, and a local garden nursery sells excess allotment produce cheaper than aldo.(and we're in Southampton suburbs so not too rural)

I agree with checking you are getting the best deal for your utilities etc - and are not paying for tv subscriptions etc you could quite easily do without.
Then writing down everything you spend for a month or so - you will likely find you are spending a lot in small amounts on things you don't really need - a magazine or a cheap dvd /film for DCs, music, coffee, bottle of water, snacks whilst out ...that kind of thing. If you are - those are the things that it is easiest to cut down on. By taking a drink or snacks with you - or just doing without.

Think about everything non-essential you buy in terms of hours work - preferably on your or the income earners current rate of pay - but using the NMW is good, an eye opener.
So 'only a tenner' is 1hr 20mins work. Some people would have to work 4hrs - half a day - to have £30 to spend on 'booze'.
Also use cash - (I think the only way if things are really tight)
Lots of ways of doing it but if you give yourself a budget for a week/month for food and non-essentials (after taking off things like household bills) and take that out in cash.
Anything you buy online or comes out by DD (audible)- you take out of your spending cash and put in a pot as spent cash (to go back to bank or take off amount you withdraw the next month).
I think handing over cash makes your spending real and you can't over spend - even by a 1p. If you get to the point where you only have a £10 note left - you will be very careful what you use it on.
Even if you only do it for a couple of months it should change your habits - about 20yrs ago I had a relatively high income for a young person, no responsibilities spent money like water - then became ill, couldn't work had no savings - I really really struggled and went down the cash only route. I don't do it now but would go back to it if I thought my spending was getting out of hand...
I do tend to just live much more cheaply anyway with less clutter. Eg I would buy a couple of paperbacks to read a week whilst travelling to work - without thinking - I did give them to friends/charity shops etc but also I still have boxes full in the attic (that I need to get rid of some day -not only did I spend too much but I made work for myself!) I now use the library/ pick up books from charity shops/fairs - (our library does online books and magazines as well but I like resting my eyes from looking at a screen.)

We are dropping our income by over half in the coming months as my husband is taking a planned career break. Although some outgoings will reduce (e.g. Childcare) we will be significantly down on income. Things that have helped

1. I did a realistic budget and looked at all outgoings making reductions where I can. For example I switched tarrif on gas and saved 500 quid a year. I also gave me and my husband set amount for treats and we have an amount for family activity. All spends are written down so I know exactly how much I have left for each activity. For example I have 300 quid in food budget til end of Feb. I move money between these budgets if I overspend (e.g. We didn't need petrol in January so moved that to birthday presents budget as we have a lot of Jan birthdays). Seeing where your money goes is critical.
2. Shopping at Lidl and taking lunches to work is saving us a huge amount of money. Probably close to 400/ month. I haven't noticed any difference in quality but we mainly cook from scratch.
3. We have investigated free stuff. Swimming near us is free, the library is great and does audio books. We live in London so lots of museums etc which don't add much cost

Instead of alcohol-free beer, maybe try drinking sparkling water instead? It's literally pennies a bottle for the own-brand ones, and you can add lime/mint leaves/cordial (I love it with elderflower cordial) to make it more exciting. It still feels like a 'grown up' drink and it'll be way better for the diet as well. Instead of prosecco as a treat, try making cocktails, as not only do they feel special but the alcohol is diluted with juices and things - bellini, for example, is just bubbly mixed with peach juice (Lidl do one), or a mojito is just a measure of spirit, fizzy water, mint and sugar.

Another good tip is to withdraw a set amount of cash and go shopping with only that - don't take a card. That way you HAVE to stick to the budget you've set.

I would imagine that trying to make your own clothes would be a bit of a false economy if you don't know how to sew, as fabric and patterns can be expensive, especially if it all goes in the bin! The machine would be good for repairing things and making alterations though, or recycling old clothes/sheets etc (eg. turning an old shirt into a cushion cover - really easy, just cut off the sleeves and sew round it, using the existing buttons as the opening).

break the end of the Broccoli before you buy it! that's a semi joke DP does this

100% agree Aldi and LIDL save a fortune

check all major outgoings and write them on a an excel sheet, and agree to review spend, and do a cost analysis every 2 weeks

move to an account like Santander 123 that pays interest, or Natwest rewards

Freecycle, and get stuff for free of local Facebook pages

never ever eat out or have coffees out, have them as a treat

join a library

cut down on meat and dairy

I wouldn't make clothes, but make sure you have some basic sewing skills so you can mend them - sewing on buttons, repairing ripped seams, littke holes, etc. Just means they last longer and look better.

Just going to recommend Aldi own brand toiletries. Love the handcream, shampoo and conditioner and they really are ridiculously cheap.

Ooh, also, check the 'price per kg' for loose fruit and veg vs packaged - it's very often cheaper to buy loose (plus you only buy as much as you'll use). Things like bananas are a perfect example of this - a loose banana by weight is usually about 15p, yet they'll put 5 in a bag and charge you £1.

If you buy bagged salad, you can get a curly lettuce or a pack of little gems for about 60p, and it goes twice as far as a bag (and stays crunchy longer).