To ask you what specifics you’re cutting back on

[Bunnyfuller]

The only trickle down I can see from Tory economic policy is lots of people’s incomes dropping. As this recession really grips, the small number benefiting from the tax cuts at the top won’t be enough or spend enough to keep many businesses profitable.

what things have you cut back to help you manage your household finances?

caveat: I 100% realise that there are many people who are already cut back to the bone, and have no further cuts they can make. I think there will be a growing number in this situation as prices continue to rise, and people only spend if they have to.

so us -

we used to go to Waitrose/M and S for occasional treats or stickered items. No more, price increases mean even stickered items are too expensive.

Main shop at Lidl. Stopped going to Sainsbury or Tesco as the quality isn’t much better and it’s too expensive.

Go to Asda for branded items because the fucking cat some want only the original

Haircuts - will get them done 4 months/6 months and I’m not having the colours done any more

Window cleaner - stopped

Restaurants - only on 2 for 1 vouchers, once every 2 months if that. We drink tap water

Takeaways - we make 1 Chinese last at least 2 meals, one takeaway a month from a Saturday night every week.

DIY - we had planned to recarpet upstairs and get wood flooring downstairs. Won’t be happening.

Were going to get garden fences painted (large garden so lots of fences) - not happening

Ditto the door on a cupboard upstairs, the bi-fold doors in the living room and the wall move/2 bathroom revamps

No new clothes, Charity shops/Vinted/eBay etc

No new furniture, as above if needed (recently bought a heated surer to avoid using the drier).

We’re a family of 4, I’m not sure what that takes out of the economy annually. I am conscious of the knock-on effect to hairdressers, Tradies etc. This in turn will force them to spend less…..

Probably; Northern Highlands :-)

The other day I put away the summer duvet and its covers , put on the winter duvet with brushcotton cosy bedding and fired up the electric blanket.

Oh and I sold my Nintendo Switch Lite on eBay. I'm considering flogging my bike. My husband is considering selling some of his valuable prints. I'm doing overtime. My husband is shopping around for groceries. It'll be a reduced Christmas this year.

Only using the tumble drier for towels now - bought another bigger clothes airer and dry most like that. It's only taking a day so far (may take longer when it gets colder) and that's fine.
Spending less on food shopping - well, buying fewer items and trying to avoid stuff I don't need. It's costing so much more.
And I'll not be bothering with chinese takeaways as I do object to paying £6 just for plain noodles!
Other than that I can't cut back much as I don't go out, barely use the car, and don't really have expensive hobbies.

I've cancelled Amazon Prime, Cineworld Unlimited and the Liberty beauty subscription I had (which was fun but totally unnecessary).

I do my hair and nails myself bar a proper manicure every couple of months, and I'm ploughing through the hair and beauty products in the cupboard - I've done my own advent calendar this year too as I couldn't justify the cost when I have the lovely F&M box from last year sitting there. I was buying clothes and shoes almost entirely second hand anyway, but I'm trying to avoid buying anything at all if I can help it.

My main challenge at the moment is cutting back on food spending and finding more ways to use cupboard stuff; things like having prunes with honey on Greek yoghurt instead of blueberries and baking my own scones and biscuits rather than buying pastries and suchlike. I'm also trying not to put the washing on before 11pm when the electricity is cheaper and I'm only using the dryer to finish off towels for a few minutes as they're cardboardy and awful if I don't.

I'm very lucky that my building is warm and I rarely need the heating even in winter, but I'm thinking of trying to knock an hour off the nightly hot water timer if I can figure out how. I never use it all.

PollyEsther We like Sainsburys too.I have shopped there so long now,know all the bargains .Doesnt seem any more expensive than anywhere else really.We only go out for meals Birthdays/Visits .Do use Tumble Drier . Usually holiday in UK/Europe anyway .Cut/colour own hair anyway(Dont like Hairdressers!)

Nothing, but we don’t have a window cleaner or go to the hairdresser or get regular takeaways anyway, and Lidl is our closest supermarket so we tend to alternate there and a Sainsburys delivery.

We are fortune that we don't need to worry too much at the moment. My OH works away so when he's away I can eat pretty cheaply. I've stopped getting my brows done. We've cancelled prime. No one used it. We shopped around for all the renewals eg insurance, WiFi etc this year. I save for Xmas with park every year. This year the kids decided they are too old for presents and wanted money so a third of this year is saved for next. We definitely don't have as many Melas and nights out. I have a spreadsheet with all the finances on so I'm strict about savings and spending. We all have oodies and I've had an air fryer for about 2 years and not opened it. I use my clubcard and Asda rewards app every week.

I also shop at Sainsbury's and try to buy the Nectar offers they send me every week - I saved enough last year that the Christmas food barely cost me anything. I also have the Tesco Pay + card which is OK, but I like that if things are a bit thin that week I can spend the Nectar points on the food shop like money .

I also shop at Sainsburys. Have managed to shop for £59 per week for most of this month. Tomorrow's shop (click and collect) is £49.

Last time I mentioned it on Mumsnet a horrible poster told me I was living like a peasant.

I'm unemployed due to redundancy but applying for lots and lots of jobs so hopefully it'll be short lived!

Sainsburys isn't too bad actually. We have house and contents insurance with them too and this means we get £6ish in Nectar points each month.

Still manage nice treats (cake, sweets, nice tea, share crisps), fresh fruit and veg! We're a family of 3 and a cat 🐈

Sky is going end of the year when the contract ends. Will buy a smart tv instead. May give up the car as realistically I work from home and work for myself. D's is 18 in March so will no longer need lifts to army cadets.

However still debating whether to give up the car. I love wAlking and there are many buses where we live. Asd a home delivers. Depends how well work goes really .... Such a big decision .

I already cancelled spare mobile plus BT email address plus our leisure centre memberships.

I cancelled a magazine subs as I was literally reading two pages a month of it.

Oh and I stopped seeing the monthly beautician. Now go to a cheap walk in nail bar monthly instead and with all the extra walking I now do my back no longer needs a regular deep tissue rub. Walking in fact strengthens the lower back!

Oh yes that is a thought- it's been a good few months now but I have cancelled Prime and also i used to buy about 3 lifestyle magazines a month. That was circa £15 a month and I stopped that about March. We have never had any paid for tv.

Extremely grateful and fortunate that won't have to make any changes, but will be donating more. We are savers though, have never bought anything that I couldn't buy outright.

Trying to keep the heating off for as long as possible and just layer up. Also now keeping a duvet on the sofa for evening.

Online shopping so I can control the price, we use own brands a lot anyway.

No more takeaways at all. Instead, we buy the more expensive frozen pizzas like Dr Oetker for our weekend treat or I make homemade curry / fajitas / burger and chips. Like a homemade takeaway 😅

been buying our and DS' clothes from vinted / jumble sales instead of new. (Although the occasional new item is still bought!)

Our toddler is 2 so we don't need to worry about the expense of cinema trips / bowling etc. He's still happy dressing up warmly and collecting pine cones in the woods! So lots of walks, or museum trips. Cutting back on the more expensive things like zoo / aquarium.

We are having a big money chat soon so will also be looking at where else we can cut!

We are fairly high earners so don't need to worry too much about energy bills - I am more worried about when we come off our fixed rate mortgage in 3 years time so keen to overpay now.

We are therefore:

Delaying putting the heating on and trying to have it set lower - usually we have it on from September and set at 22

Postponing home improvements which don't need doing urgently - little things like getting the woodwork repainted

Considering going back to full time work once my younger one starts school - currently 4 days a week

Holidays - don’t enjoy them enough to justify the cost
Meals out and takeaways - costs have soared as quality has plummeted so this one is an easy thing to ditch from our spending

dh is a high earner but we’d rather cut back on these things than on anything else.

I cancelled the cleaner, the gardener and the window cleaner.

Cancelled the gym and most tv subscriptions.

Didn't renew Beauty Pie.

Hair is now cut every 8 weeks instead of every 5 weeks.

Do my own eyebrows and gel nails.

Meet friends every Friday in one of our homes for coffee or wine, instead of going to a coffee shop or the pub.

Stopped buying books and joined the library.

Started shopping at Tesco, and now order online to avoid impulse purchases.

Intended to renew my phone last month but will keep this one for longer.

Not buying another dog.

No new school uniform, it's all second hand now. Everything including my dd shoes.

Selling clothes on vinted to rebuy on Vinted. Not buying much new clothes or footwear which is fine as no where to wear anything nice. My friend has not gone back to going out in the evenings as a throw back from lockdown. I can't see myself ever doing drinks or meals out with the girls ever again. I can live in jeans and leggings.

Takeaways have stopped completely. We are trying buying some treat foods from.the shops instead like Asda counter pizza or meal deals or curry packs in Sainsbury's

We have completely stopped popping out the high street for a mooch. Parking costs to much. We prefer to wait longer and go to a historic town like Winchester do a longer drive for a proper day out once every few months.

Most money is either going into basic nessities and any spare I'd rather put into the mortgage or major house upkeep so it's always ready to sell if shtf.

Basically keeping my kids secure. We are very lucky as we have a property and have increased its value way over the remaining mortgage so very unlikely to get into negative equity but I'm still extremely worried.

Swimming lessons have stopped replaced with annual leisure centre membership so I take the kids swimming (progress has been bloody amazing to be honest!)

no baby classes, one baby group at village hall and then free soft play and gym with membership where there are other babies to goggle at.

free days out/places, we have annual (cheap) membership to two gardens and we go to their activity’s. Have saved a huge amount on this as for really good deals and the memberships include huge amounts of extras.

changed from Waitrose to Aldi to Tesco. Tesco is same price as Aldi and when feeding baby at night I scroll the offers to get branded items if we like them at similar price to shops own. Still using local veg stall as amazing range and same /less cost.

used Tesco vouchers to buy a years rail pass and click and collect pass.

use train to visit relatives. Saves on petrol and found it’s cheaper to buy a child and adult ticket with rail pass than just adult ticket without. DD is actually free as is under 5 but using the rail pass I save money and can book2 seats which makes travelling with 2 under 5 possible.

eating less meat. Using lentils in mince to double meals we get (I don’t like it but kids haven’t noticed so I do it).

using second hand Uniform at school

recently used baby bank for baby clothes and toys=free. The lady presumed I was there for eco reasons, no I actually can’t afford baby clothes now.

avoiding car use where possible. My week is based around minimising mileage.

not using tumble dryer anymore.

washing at 30 degrees.

trying to use the oven for multiple things if I use it.

take a box of mini marshmallows out with me so when the 4 year old asks to go in a cafe for a treat I can surprise her with her favourite. She loves this and saves on me buying her and me a drink and cake that no one really wants (she really just loves mini marshmallows!). So no more cafe drinks/ food unless DP is with us as he can’t grasp this and spanks at least £20!a time.

Have stopped taking family out for meals when we visit. I just can’t afford it. I’ve invited them all here tomorrow. Feeding the them all is taking up a lot of the weekly food budget and I’m really hoping they leave before tea as I cant stretch to 2 meals for 11 people! If they stay it’s going to be random things I have (please let them leave by 5!).

rugby season tickets, weekly pub, meals out, takeaways, all went a while ago as did new clothes for me.

DD and I have a trim at village hairdresser every 8 weeks, under £20 for us both. I might stop mine soon but DD looks smart with a bob so I’ll really try to keep hers up.

im very privileged. I had things to cut and have way more I can cut but don’t want to. And I’ll be back at work next year so will have more income.

however I’m a senior manager in a local authority and I am completely stuffed if something breaks as I have no savings and nothing to fall back on. I save all year for a holiday that costs under £300 all in (camping), I have a 12 year old car that I hope keeps going , we do all house maintenance ourselves, we have no hobbies/additional costs because we have no spare money or time.
Before austerity I was fairly affluent. Now I can afford the basics. If it gets worse I’ll be struggling.

thanks Tories (the budget yesterday was a complete travesty and I hope there is some kind of God for Truss et al to answer to as they sure as shit don’t give a toss what anyone thinks below their own pay grade).

Also meals out. We took to kids for a pub lunch and it cost more than two weeks worth of shopping for the 6 of us. Any enjoyment was outweighed by the guilt of spending so much. It's Weatherspoons or a bowl of chips and a glass of wine for special occasions from now on

"Bunnyfuller · Today 12:15

I started the thread with the thought of how people were cutting back, and those impacts on those in those type of careers…

MN has been fab for money saving ideas, I was just wondering about services etc that will no longer get the income they were - like window cleaners, hairdressers etc. Say 9 other people my window cleaner does decides to stop, average £25 a clean - that’s his monthly income down £250 before he even starts .

my point being the trickle down theory is more about immediately negative trickle down effects, and not more money from the rich having a positive effect."

Yes, our household benefits more from the budget than many others, but even so, higher mortgage rates, gas and electricity prices, higher material/building costs are eating up all of it easily, so can't see many people coming to the rescue of local businesses, but now worried that GPS, NHS, ambulance service, schools etc are even more underfunded.

We have made lots of cut backs. We only buy reduced meat and if we can't get that then it's chicken legs instead of breasts.

We use 6 chicken legs and then split the meat into 3. one roast dinner, one curry or soup and then packed lunch sandwiches. That's between 3 adults. I use the bones to make stick for the next soup/roast dinner.

I use one small gammon joint and boil it. Half goes to pea and ham soup and half goes towards sandwiches/packed lunches or carbonara

Sausage and beans on toast once a week for evening meal. Corned beef hash and beans. Pasta and home made tomato sauce.

Everything is bought as cheap as possible. In bulk if it's cheaper. Dogs are now eating the cheapest kibble. As they get older they will be euthanised when any serious issues pop up to avoid lengthy and expensive treatment. They are all 8-9 plus and have had great lives. They won't be replaced.

I desperately need to replace my stairs carpet but the cheapest I've been quoted is £900 as is a 3 storey town house. No way I can afford that. So £70 to get it cleaned will have to do and that's a stretch.

I’ve not had the chance to sit down and do a list like yours, it’s very helpful, thanks.

I work from home in the smallest room. And I have been thinking of ways of staying warm through the day without putting the heating on at all. Thick socks, a special hot water bottle for my feet, and just lots of layers.

ive not got a microwave but I thought I might batch cook with the oven once a week and buy a microwave for reheating. Doesn’t help that my boy has a limited diet and likes frozen things… but I recently saw FIL do fish fingers in a frying pan! Lol.

and I’m self employed so I think I’m putting my rate up.

What we've done:

• I used to do one or two small supplemental shops per week to pick up things like fresh vegetables. I've eliminated those extra shops.
• Eliminated the "nice" things I used to buy for cheaper/better value options. For example, used to buy a certain lovely brand of butter, now getting the store brand or whatever is on sale.
• Used to occasionally have lunch out at work -- now make lunch every day.
• We agreed not to turn the heat on before December and have bought cozy indoor outfits for the children.
• Trying to switch the baby over to cow's milk instead of formula. He could have been switched earlier (he's 17 mos) but he isn't wild about cow's milk. Now I'm feeling the press of spending 13.50 per week on a box of formula (just went up 1.50 this past month). Unfortunately, kid just hates cow's milk.

One thing I haven't stopped: I regularly donate money to my local foodbank. There's a lot more I'd cut before I'd eliminate my regular charitable giving as, to me, it's an acknowledgment that I'm lucky to have something to give.

We’re fairly frugal day to day so the only thing I’m actively reducing is deep winter baths, my downfall when it’s really cold.