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!

A lot of extended family don’t have central heating even now.. heating comes from real fires or the Aga. Nothing in bedrooms and it’s fine although there are now electric heaters for the few really, really cold days.

I’ve never ever had the heating on overnight, never felt any need to (and we have single glazed windows) but I was speaking to a friend recently who was trying to cut down on her 24/7 heating use and she felt like she couldn’t let the thermostat fall below 20oC in her DC’s rooms ever, even overnight. Based on what she told me they were paying last year their bill will be well over a thousand pounds a month now. I suppose it’s just what you’re used to but I’ve always loved being in a bed under layers of duvets and blankets.

Blankets should go under your duvet. Duvets works by holding air in them, if you squash them flat with a blanket they work less well.

Don't put fleece up as curtain lining or curtains, they're not fire retardant

Spray your window panes with a mist of water and put bubble wrap over the panes. The water makes it stick. Triple glazing for pennies

Extra curtains over your front and back door.
Measure up the space and set an alert for second hand curtains on eBay.

Keep tinned potatoes in the cupboard -a potato is a more nutritious staple than rice or pasta

I have lots of old flannels and no kitchen roll

Water, with a little fairy liquid and zoflora in a spray bottle, cheap degreaser and disinfectant in one for surfaces (don't use zoflora on paintwork)

Old fabric can be made into rag rugs to cover cold floors. Lots of YouTube on how to.
Takes time but can be made to fit your space. (Planning this for my kitchen)

Get a pet insurance with a free video consult service. Can sometimes save you a visit.
Many Pets have it.

If you can, keep paying even a basic insurance for pets and get regular meds from one of the online pet drug places. It's time consuming but worth the saving if your pet takes a few regular meds

Quit adult Christmas gifts

Sign up for the Libby app

Talk to family and friends about it all, you may find ways to co-operate on purchases and make savings. I would swap ironing for dog walking for example.

@Wishyfishy we had eiderdowns and counterpanes in the 60s, so I have just reverted to treating the duvet as an eiderdown. Its the same thing but with a removable cover really.

Might have been said but

Get a pump flask and fill this up in the morning to avoid boiling kettle all day.

Cook 2 meals at a time and take one to work for lunch where you can use their microwave to heat it up.

Buy notebooks and small gifts on sale for friends birthday etc.

Keep old t shirts and shorts for PJ'S.

If you sew and use quilt covers and bedsheets as you get double the fabric for half the cost.

Review subscriptions, get rid of anything not being used to the full.

Don't impulse buy. If you want it after a week, buy it. And one, put things in the basket but don't buy, often companies send and email offering you a discount to purchase.

Cooking oil has doubled in price so I have gone back to using lard which is still under 50p a block with the added bonus that I can mix the used lard with cheap bird seed from poundland and make my own feed blocks to hang on the bird feeder. If you don’t have a nearby Poundland or even a pound to spare then use a stale bread crust if you have it or even just scrap out the used lard onto an old plate and stick it out for the birds and they will still eat it.

Spend time to research and learn how to cook good food from scratch, with what you already have at home. No waste. Once you know how to cook, a simple pasta dish will be much nicer at home than at a restaurant.

And if you have children, teach them how to cook and not to waste food.

I do this too. If you have a tree in your garden you can scrape it thinly on to the bark. The birds love it. We do this during winter when it’s very cold. Works with peanut butter as well.

Here are some of the things I try to do:

1. Eat seasonally
2. Eat offal
3. Buy eggs from neighbours as much as possible (cheaper and nicer)
4. Batch freeze
5. Rely on supermarkets as little as possible (but regularly look out for marked-down items)
6. No junk food
7. Use the oven as little as possible
8. Stock up on tinned sardines and mackerel
9. Eat mince
10. Don't buy newspapers or magazines
11. Don't watch telly (got rid of mine 20 years ago)
12. Use pound shops
13. Use eBay instead of the high street
14. Stick to British fruit
15. Don't take supplements- eat healthily instead
16. Use the library
17. Wash in cold water
18. Dry hair naturally
19. Wear less make-up
20. Wear thermals and base layers
21. Wear Toesocks
22. A brisk walk as often as possible
23. Use Lakeland heated airers in winter
24. Ditch expensive cleansers and skin creams
25. Do your own nails
26. Drink mostly water
27. Make bone broth
28. Clean with vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, Dr Bronners liquid soap..
29. Wear clothes for longer and do fewer washes
30. Make the most of free/cheap pleasures: laughter, nature, orgasms!

@Proudboomer like this.

Great thread, and loads of good ideas. A few to add
we go to the company shop. People tend to think that it is only for NHS etc, but actually fast moving consumer goods employees and pensioners can also go in, as well as those on means tested benefits. Obviously, you have to have one near, but there are quite a few. www.companyshopgroup.co.uk/membership
Also yellow stickers and freezer
I shower at gym (realise that is a cost) or at work (realise you have to work in the right sort of place). Non wfh can be fab if you can get there without cost.
I only shop at charity shops for clothes and books (although you have to watch you don't spend on things you don't need but are nice)
Charge phones / powerbanks / tablets elsewhere (trains, work, libraries etc.)
Libraries (and the gym)
No tumble
Draught excluders
Sub-1 minute shower (yes possible if no hairwash, bits and pits, dab of cien shower gel ready then get in when it is warming up- could do it in 30s if I wasn't such a wuss)
Adult xmas pressies
Reduce subscriptions
Free museums and other things for the kids (saves in house expenses)
Slow cooker and Air Fryer
I also use alexa type bulbs, and regularly shout for all to be turned off simultaneously. YES, the bulbs are expensive, sometimes 10 times more, but I have never yet had one "go" unlike normal ones, and nobody turns the lights off in our house.
I agree with some PP about addressing the big things first (mortgage, transport, energy)
Think about the "cost of time". Saving money takes time. Can you make more by working an extra hour (obviously diff if childcare is involved).

Expensive, but one of the best things I did was to invest in Happy Fluffy Cloud duvets (when they had discount codes on) for the family. We had decent duvets before, but the quality of sleep and keeping just the right warmth no matter how cold, increased so much it’s just silly. Fluff it up and you have a metre high lovely just right duvet. I want one for the sofa too. 😂

Yes. Great to give the birds a helping hand when food is harder to come by plus it gets rid of the fat without clogging drains or making your bins smell.

Anyone who is looking for a fake oodie for this winter
www.onlinehomeshop.com/sienna-extra-long-sherpa-hoodie-blanket-charcoal?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwLTBhYOk-QIVi41oCR0qugVnEAQYASABEgKcCPD_BwE

these are on sale and great value at £15. Really warm and longer than a lot of the cheap fake ones.

My God, I just googled: £600! 😱

Oooh brilliant ideas - thank you… and I’m going to try making the ‘treat’ muffins !

That would be my money saving tip at the next election. Someone should tell Martin Lewis 😀

So the first box is completely free if you use a referral code ( which I’ve been given) but when do you cancel to ensure you don’t pay for a second box? After the first box has been received? Thanks

Paying cash can make you think twice before you spend.

I've stopped using the tumble drier and have bought a heated clothes rack which only costs a few p to dry a load of washing. I use my slow cooker more and an air fryer. But by far our biggest is getting solar panels and a battery installed. We don't have gas so only have electricity. Our average daily spend on electricity is 26p at the moment!

I just googled too and had exactly the same reaction. That's more than a month's income for me!

Can you sign post me to the treat muffins please ?
I seem to throw away lots of berries that aren’t good enough to eat, but would be fine in a cake.

The main thing I learned was to actually stop shopping. A lot of frugality tips are actually about shopping. People mistake it for bargain hunting. Just stop going shopping. Don't do it at all. You need food, so figure out your weekly spend on that and set up a regular order and forget about it.

You can go a long time without spending money on anything. Most days you can spend nothing. I used to spend nothing 6 days a week. I just stopped going in shops, stopped looking online, stopped trying to save money and just stopped spending it. It was honestly the most effective thing. You realise how little you really need. Obviously there are always things that come up a radiator key, your socks wear out, something - and you can get that on the food shopping day. But I never bought ahead or stocked up or "invested" and actually it was also psychologically helpful I didn't feel poor because I wasn't putting myself in a spending place hardly ever. I never went to the supermarket even.

I lived on less than 10k a year for over 10 years, and this is how.

I don't know why it crossed out a part oh well.

Put a large bowl or bucket in the shower so that it catches the water rather than it going down the drain. Use this “grey” water for flushing the loo. If it’s only got a bit of soap in it, you can even use it on the garden. My cousins live in a country where water is precious and this is what they do as a matter of course.

@Diamondsareforever123 are you claiming pension credit? Might be worth checking if you are eligible (it’s one if the most under claimed benefits). Also have a look at British Gas Energy Trust and your own supplier to see if there any help you can claim for your bills