To ask for your tips on frugal living?

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First time poster. Reading some posts earlier prompted me to start a thread for us to share our tips on frugality and budgeting. Most of us are feeling the pinch and I thought it would be helpful to hear all the different ways we can save some money that perhaps we hadn’t thought of.

Would love this to be a friendly, judgment free thread. Hit me with your top tips, no matter how big or small - I want to hear them all!

🤣🤣🤣

🤣😂! How gracious of Your Royal Highness to deign to do this. Is one saving on fuel by not lighting fires under the chimney sweep boy anymore?

You can save a lot by going into the office instead of wfh in winter. Also there always seems to be free food at my work. I don’t have an expensive commute so this will not be so good for everyone. But being at home all day in winter will push up the bills

Vinted is amazing for getting new clothes at really low prices

Amazon is great for low priced good quality skincare

Beauty bay have loads of cheap unusual make up brands

Heated blankets for the autumn/winter are cheaper than switching the heating on

My final tip.....never vote Tory ☺️

I'm getting curtains from charity shop for windows and door in sitting room. Shutters are draughty.. I'm only going to heat the sitting room. It's a tiny one bedroom basement flat and gets very cold in winter.
There's nothing left I can cut back on. I'm a pensioner and won't be able to afford the fuel increases - just not enough money coming in to cover.
I am worried though..... I've worked all my life and for it to come to this is horrible. I would suggest that people shouldn't vote Tory.....

Bulk cooking and freezing food
Using the library is one of my savers. I order books I want for free

I read recently that putting wet washing directly onto radiators means they have to use more energy to heat the room - so use a clothes airer near to the radiator instead.

DIL sent me link to Gusto which first order is 100% free and cancel at any time x
Gusto link

Mine is using an app called supercook. You put everything that is in your cupboards, fridge, freezer etc in it and it suggests meal ideas to use up what you have.

It’s a bit late for this year, but grow your own salad and veg from seed. It saves a fortune over the summer and early autumn. You don’t need a big garden, most can be grown in pots and bags (YouTube is your teaching friend). I usually by flowers in pots, or as young plants, but this year I have grown those from seed too. I have bern stunned by how effective, satisfying and cheap it’s been.

We we’re already batch cooking. We’re vegetarian and don’t drink or smoke. I can’t imagine how expensive it must be to buy those things.

Following with interests

You are so right about the mortgage. I looked at paying the redemption to remortgage last year to get a (new) ten year fix, and wish we had.

Also : our bank has remortgage discussions in person (we need one because we are borrowing more) 6 weeks from the initial request. So book in now even if you are a maybe.

We’ve cut down massively on gas and electric over the last year anyway (not that we were high users before - no tumble dryer, only had heating on a few hours a day in winter etc).
I was trying to think of what I can reduce further and I am wondering if I should be switching off the Virgin box and router overnight. The only thing is the router takes an age to start back up and it’s annoying.

The thing I find confusing is that for a lot of things you get told that having the TV on only cost pennies.. modern fridge / freezers are only pennies .. etc etc, we’ll what is it that costs all that money we are all paying then? the gas bill is so much easier to see what you’re spending.

Oh that’s my suggestion for the thread. We have a leisure centre membership and I think it works out well for doing things with your kids if you stump up (if you can) for one big ticket subscription - like National Trust, or a leisure centre or whatever - and just use that as a default for most days out. I feel like I take DC out plenty and it’s somewhere which still feels like a bit of a luxury. My friend uses her NT membership in a similar way - they don’t really do “days out” at all unless it’s a NT. Pick one luxury if you are able and use it RELENTLESSLY!

Avoid on trend clothes. A lot of my clothes are 10 plus years old mend small holes etc,

keep your home neutral

walk to places as much as possible

keep eye out for discounts etc

switch everything off at the wall

eat left overs

meal plan

shop once a week

@BlackeyedSusan claiming a tax benefit for working from home regularly can open up a hornet’s nest though. You are then declaring regular work from home. That has big implications for your home insurance and taxes if you then sell your property.

Think carefully about just saying “sod it” and paying the penalty for a cheap fix.

Can I share some of my 'cheap' teas?

1. Chicken Fajita Rice Frozen Chicken Breasts (6 pack) - £4.00 Peppers (Frozen or fresh) Onion (We always use frozen) Garlic (We buy chopped garlic as it lasts longer) Fajita Seasoning Rice

Fry peppers, onion, garlic and chicken together. Once cooked, mix in with the fajita seasioning and rice. Serve. It's also lovely re-heated the next day for lunch

We only use as much chicken as necessary so quite often get two meal options from a chicken bag.

2. Cheesy Pasta Soft Cheese (we use primula but supermarket own works well) Bacon Lardons (not necessary but we love them!) Pasta

Cook and Mix together.

3. Chilli Non Carne Chopped Peppers/Onions Baked Beans Chopped Tomatoes Chilli Powder

Cook together. Mix with rice.

I've already bought my throw over electric blankets for the winter as I'm thinking there will be a run on them and prices will go up.

I hope the places like foodbanks etc are going to ask and take in blankets and the like as they will be needed. The poorest in society won't beable to afford them

Yeah, there's always a bloody catch

Try car boot sales too! Recycling, cutting down on waste and some unbelievable bargains!!!

Meal plan and baking so when I go shopping I don't feel like eating anymore sweet stuff

I shop for fruit and veg at the market, so cheap compared to supermarket.

Using a compost bin means extra space in the bin bag.

This year I also started renting an allotment ! It's a lot of work but you could get an abundance of food if gardening with great fertilisers such as seaweed. And I can use my compost. Other tenants are also very friendly and give you their seedlings or even grown food. This evening I was given a massive bag of cherry tomatoes, courgettes, green beans and carrots!

On another thread I recommended the hay box instead of a slow cooker. You bring your dish to the boil and pop it in the hay box. 0 energy used to finish cooking. Really easy to make a DIY version.
Recently I realised how many paper towels I used. Saw a tip on Youtube and have cut all the outgrown T-shirts into paper towel sized "sheets". I roll them onto the towel holder, use a sheet then throw it in a basket on the side. Then I stick them in with my next wash and use again.
I do have a wry smile when I read all the comments about keeping warm. When I was small no one had radiators, we had coal fires down stairs but no upstairs heating. We used hot water bottles and lots of layers. Also winceyette pjs! We were not hard up, it was just the 1960s... Flash forward 2022 - we have upstairs heating on low when its cold and I have reinstated blankets on top of duvets. I have turned the boiler down like other posters have said. You just don't need tap water all that hot. My DCs cannot believe I survived without central heating, but obviously it was fine.

I'd just like to remind people that for things like rice, pulses, herbs etc it is MUCH cheaper to go to a wholesaler, or even China town supermarket and buy from there. You can easy pay £3-6 for a kg of decent quality rice that will last a month in Asda- but for £12 you can get enough to last you a year AND it tastes much better. 500g of lentils can be £2 in the supermarket but a sack can be got for £7-9 . Even better if you have somebody you can split a few sacks of each with for variety.

The old system (used before and during covid) was that you worked from home 1 day in the tax year so this was not the case at all. The gov have realised how much this cost now so have changed the rules www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home do you have a link to it impacting on house insurance?

Work out supermarkets, or Express grocery stalls, which always seem to discount produce. Our Co-op does. With the Co-ops, there is none of the strategically waiting and outwitting shoppers - it all gets tipped in the discount area, at all times of the day, and as the buyers seem to over-buy, there are always some fruits and ready meals, etc. to enjoy cheap - yes, even though Co-op is quite expensive, at the normal price.

Try to use markets for fruit and veg, if you can. Fresh sardines are tasty, and tinned ones at 37p in Lidl and Aldi are reasonable, as is microwave rice there, and pasta and tins of tomatoes. I think going Italian and eating pasta with passato and various other ingredients is a filling and healthy way to eat. I guess tiny bits of anchovy and artichoke would vary up the flavour. I should think that generally cooking and eating carbohydrate-based meals, such as fruit and meat pies, is filling and cheaper. Buying little pasties for lunch, is also cheap, if you get them in the big supermarkets, like Tesco. If you walk a lot, you won't put on too much weight.

I think we are all going to have to ignore health warnings about sugary jam and take to growing our own and bottling - making chutney too.