Frugal/money saving tips

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AIBU to ask for your top money saving tips and tricks?!

I'm living in my overdraft at the mo. Family of 4. DH works full time. I'm a SAHM looking for part time work. A 4Yyo and 2 year old. 2 cats. One family car. One work car (included in job)

I'm asking for tips on anything! Food bill, bills, activities for the kids..

Thanks!

Also to add, I've heard of people doing something called wombeling. Basically Asda do a thing if you can buy your products cheaper elsewhere you get the difference back. However, you have to enter a code from the receipt online to check. I've heard of people going to the supermarket and just picking up discarded receipts. The longer the receipt the better. You put the code online then you get sent a voucher. Save the vouchers up and use them for the 'expensive bits' wash powder, kids clothes etc.

Have you got someone who can take your cats in whilst your financials get better? Even £5 p/w on cat food can add up.

Menu planning. Probably the biggest saving you can make here is to stop eating meat, or reduce it to once or twice a week.
No alcohol.
No new adults clothes/shoes unless they are absolutely essential for work. Do simple repairs yourselves - sewing up hems, repairing littke holes, etc. Only buy children's clothes if they have grown out of them.
DIY hair cuts - have a look on youtube, there's plenty of decent ones on there.
Same with simple DIY and house repairs - youtube.
Kids entertainment - have a look online or in your local library for free events. If nothing available then get creative yourself.
Do not buy any snacks or drinks outdoors. Everyone (including 2 year olds) is capable of going 3-4 hours without snacks and drinks.

Oh, one more. Never think of an offer or sale price as £x saved, think of it as £x less you've needed to spend.

Sounds daft, but it really changes how you think about purchases - "saving" is a positive, "spending" less so - it's very easy to get sucked into buying things you don't really need because you're "saving" so much.

Wash sheets and towels half as much.
Get rid of subscription TV channels.

Don't buy books or DVDs for yourselves or the kids - join a library and rent them for free. Check your TV/internet deals - if you have Sky, ditch it and get Freeview. Ditch Netflix if you have that too. Little things add up.

Make meals from Aldi super 6 were poss
Go veggi
Always freeze left overs then use as a meal another time when they build up - like a buffet / take away !
Baked pots with beans or beans on toast
Don't take purse out with you
Unwanted clothes to dress agency ?

Eating cheaply - Tesco chicken legs, £3 a pack but they have LOADS pf meat on them and you can bake them or casserole them. This week they were on sale for £2 a pack and so I got 12 chicken legs for £6!

Don't buy ready made sauces, get a good selection of herbs/spices/stock and chopped tomatoes and make your own from scratch.

Basics/value spaghetti from any supermarket costs about 25p (tastes the same to me!) Basics biscuits for the kids snacks, about 35p a pack.

Cheaper to buy loose onions and carrots rather than pre-bagged.

Morrisons do a pack of Wonky Veg for about a £1 - very good value for what you get.

Bulk everything up with carrots!! Carrots are the way forward!!

Make ice lollies for the kids pudding using diluted value squash - pudding for practically nothing!

Custard - powdered is much cheaper than ready made.

Cheapest place to buy anti-bacterial wipes - Wilkinsons. Best place to get cheap birthday presents for kids also Wilkinsons.

Also kids school shoes - George at Adsa last just as long as Clarks. Or ShoeZone for super cheap footwear.

Agree with those who say the best thing to do is to spend a fortnight (or month if you've the patience / time) writing down EXACTLY what is being spent, where - including "the odd £ here and there". Be honest about it, then you will be able to see where the money goes.

We can all list ideas, but it's a bit pointless if they don't apply to you / you are doing them already / etc.

Cats don't just cost a bit of food and litter. If you're looking after them properly, there's insurance, worming and flea treatments, vaccinations, trips to the vet. It really bugs me when people save money by not looking after their pets properly. Pets are ruddy expensive!

I'm pleased to read that OP has insurance, but that's a further cost for you each month that you can't afford.

I'm another vote for moving the cats on.

Oops, posted too soon.
What I mean is, on these threads people often post things that I consider to be 'normal' anyway (am not particularly looking to save money, but it wouldn't occur to me to do otherwise). There are things one person does that would seem extravagant to another , but the 2nd person has never done it any other way so it doesn't occur to them to look at that as an expense that could be cut back.
If you want to let people know - for example - that you are spending £X on supermarket, or your heating bills are £Y, then people can help you look at reducing those.

Don’t think that Poundland is the cheapest option. Ok it is a pound for mr muscle kitchen cleaner but wilkos own is 80p and does the same job. Same with toothpaste, mouthwash, washing up liquid, shampoo etc.
Use half the recommended amount of soap powder and conditioner and your clothes will be just as clean.
Use bars of soap rather than liquid soap and shower gel. Cheaper, longer lasting and better for the environment.
Go through your waldrobe and get inventive. You probably have stuff in the back there which is perfectly wearable but forgotten about. Try doing a 6 month no clothes buying challenge. Same for your children.
If the 2 year old is still in nappies get him/ her potty trained. If not possible go for the cheapest nappies available rather than brand names. Don’t buy wipes but use flannels and water. Same for kitchen wipes just use a cloth and rinse in bleach which is 40 p a bottle in wilkos.
I find shopping by list more expensive as often the preplanned meal food needed is not on offer. I plan my meals around the special offers so if pork is on offer than we eat pork.
Lidl is great for cat food. Cheapest is £1.75 for a 12 pack which my cats will eat. Wilkos do a own brand pack of 44 for £8 which is also good value and my cats will eat.
Do two meals a week without meat. One night jacket potatoes with beans, cheese or any left overs from the freezer.
Buy the cheaper cuts of meat. Brisket is lovely is cooked slowly on a low heat. ham hocks, chicken thighs or legs will make good wholesome cheap meals.

Lots of good ideas here - I would add go food shopping as rarely as you can get away with it. There is less temptation and as you run out of things you will discover what you can actually manage without.

Buying top ups of bread milk etc at a corner shop can actually save money as you only buy what you need.

Also be wary of buying in bulk - unless all the family have a lot of self control you often end up using more at a time rather than making a smaller amount stretch much further - and this can end up costing more.

Overall you need to try tips and find what works for you and your family.

If you look at frugal blogs etc many say to avoid sales and offers as you often end up with things you didn't really need or struggle to use or have too much of. Others swear by them.....take ideas but not all will work for you.

Not sure if already been said but take up knitting. I started about 4 months ago (mainly free patterns and Youtube plus FB group) and already managed a decent hoodie for my 3 year old (cost about £8 in wool), hats (come in about £1.50 each and also given as gifts), mits etc now I'm moving onto a poncho for my 9yo and then might think about something for myself :)

Also an excellent method of stress relief, it has helped me enormously through a very shitty period.

Leave the cats alone, OP has already said they are staying!
Farmfoods often have good deals on cat food.
Buy onions in the big nets from Asian stores or an ASDA with a world food section if you can, about £3 for 5kg and keep really well. I use a lot of onions and an onion plus can tomatoes is a basis for many a basic meal.

Really hate it when people suggest getting rid of pets, as if it's that easy to re-home and for most people it would be an absolute last resort. I'm sure op only mentioned them in relation to sourcing cheaper pet products or insurance.

@cuddlesandcannulas 'moving the cats on' - what a nice euphemism. What you really mean is 'abandon the animals who rely on you in a shelter where they will be miserable and might end up being put down'.

Absolutely revolting attitude and a sign you either don't have pets or shouldn't have them. Animals rely on their owners and abandoning them should be an absolute last resort and only considered if the animals' care is suffering. There is no sign that that's the case here. You're all just looking for a quick fix at the expense of a defenceless animal.

There may come a time when it's better for the cats to be found a new home, but that would be if the OP really can't make any other savings and is still struggling.

It's actually not so easy to just get rid of the cats anyway. There's often waiting lists and the waiting times can span many months as rescue centres often just don't have the room, so it's not really a very practical, short term solution.

I knew a family that were relying on food banks and couldn't afford to feed their cat. They could only afford to feed it the cheapest dry food and even then they were having to stretch it out to make it last by only feeding it once every other day, and even then they were only giving it half what it should've had in one day.

They were of the opinion, the cat is part of the family, we can't get rid of it, but in the end they weren't being fair to the cat, as it was losing weight and wasn't happy.

As an pet owner you have to put the animal first, even if it's not what you want, and they weren't able to do that. I did eventually get them to let me call a rescue centre and I explained the severity of the situation to them and asked about them taking the cat on. I ended up ringing all such places within our county that I could get through to; not one place could do it immediately, they all had waiting lists, and the shortest list was around 3-4 months minimum. If they'd looked into it earlier, and got him onto the waiting list, it would've been better for the cat. They let their emotions get in the way of doing what was best for the cat.
I ended up paying for the cat food as I couldn't see it starve to death. I think they partly expected the cat to cope by hunting for food, but not all cats can/will hunt, and they have varying levels of success, especially when they don't have the energy spare.

@2Cold4Me

I think you have confused the advice that the OP was given. Amongst more common and typical advice on threads like these, I, and a few others, suggested that keeping pets is a luxury and it sounds like the OP is struggling.

"As an pet owner you have to put the animal first"

I disagree. I have dogs which I love dearly but they come a long way down my list of priorities and especially in the context of my family's and my children's well being.

You shouldn't have mentioned the cats OP. Take on board all the tips, just forget the anti keeping pets posts.

If you reread my post properly, that's what I've said, mail, she may consider them part of the family, but if she can't afford to keep them, she will need to put the cat's needs first and rehome them; NOT just keep them because "they're part of the family". That would be selfish and not in their (the cats') best interest.

I found the random bolding a surprisingly large hindrance in reading your post.

If you really are on the breadline the best thing to do would be to try and rehome pets via friends or family and put your name down on the waiting list with a rescue.

But there's not enough information in the OPs posts to decide whether or not she's in that position, so it's not something people should suggest.

It's not necessarily the first thing I'd do, but if we were struggling that much, I'd certainly look into the options early enough (due to waiting lists, etc), before it was too late & I had no choice left but to get rid. At the end of the day, if it came to managing without pets or being in debt with them, the humans would come first and I would look to rehome them, for their sake as well as mine.