To ask for your best money saving tip?

[AirFried]

What have you found genuinely made a difference? I’m thinking things that are accessible, not ‘paid off our mortgage early’ or ‘put £10k savings into this that or that or the other’ stuff which is suitable for lower incomes too…

Go through your direct debit - do you need them all? can you get any of them cheaper by changing provider?

Do food shopping online and plan meals around whats on offer. It also means you don't end up putting random extras in the trolley. Cut our shopping bill down by loads

Save something on pay day. However small. Don't wait until the month is over to see what is left. Then when a crisis occurs: broken washing machine/ car etc you have something.
And no credit cards..ever.

Yes agree with what the first poster said. Try as hard as you can to save money on the essential DD's. Shop around for everything. Lots of people are paying far too much for insurance, sat tv and mobiles when there are better deals out there
Also, it's boring as hell but meal planning. Try to plan meals and do one big shop avoiding top up shops as much as possible
I've terrible for doing a half arsed food shop. Spending loads but not planning proper meals. I then find myself popping to the local supermarket most nights spending £20 a time just to get other bits I need plus a few treats while I'm there

Do I want it or do I need it? Nine times out of ten I just want it, so I don’t buy it.

This! And if I’m not sure I wait and think about it for at least a month - if I haven’t needed it in that time, it’s definitely a want and so doesn’t get purchased.

Detailed meal planning to fully use up fresh ingredients, especially where they come in packs or quantities that are larger than needed. It reduces food waste but also saves money. It's worth taking the time on this.

Have a month of essentials only. Put back on the shelf everything you'd normally stick in the trolley without thinking. Use up what's in the freezer and cupboards and toiletries stash. Make it a challenge to see how long it would take to empty the freezer.

I rate too good to go app, we've found some decent offers on there.

Anything I think I need goes on a wishlist. When I look back on it in a month or two I usually don't want it. Delay all non essentials for at least a month.

I have the money hub app. It's
A real eye opener and made me realise exactly where I was wasting my money - it was subscriptions, eating out and Amazon! Now I know exactly where ta hun x eminent is spent and I check in every day. I've even managed to save a little this year.

Join a library and make full use of all the resources.

100% this! I always think of what Dilly says on sort your life out- do I want it, do I need it, does it serve a purpose. If not don't buy it or if you have something ask the question and look to sell it. Saved me a lot of money as well as checking DD and getting cheaper alternatives.
I meal plan and only go to aldi once a week and only get what's on my list. That's also saved us a lot instead of online shops at tesco etc and then getting top up bits.

Also a massive saving has been buying all my kids clothes off vinted. It's honestly saved me an absolute fortune and selling their outgrown stuff has made me some extra money.

Food shop online. Helps to meal plan and keep to a budget. When I shop in store I send to put extra into the trolley or forget things which costs more in the long run.

Shop on Amazon with wish lists. Put items onto wish lists and if you ever come to buy an item on your wish list when you review it you'll probably have gone off the idea by then!

Also - use up what you've got of anything before you replace it - passata, pens, shampoo don't buy new until you absolutely have to.

Go through your subscriptions (Netflix, Prime…) they add up quickly to a significant amount

Copying and pasting from my own post a few days ago -

“
My successes have been -

1. Saving first: Automatic Standing Orders set up into savings accounts which are not visible to me as part of my main banking apps which go out on pay day. What I do not see, I do not spend.
2. Accounting for everything: Not just accounting for "savings", but accounting for 1) Savings I don't touch or see 2) Rainy day pot 3) Car/trasnport 4) Holiday 5) Birthdays.
3. Paying myself an allowance: Just as auto standing orders (overpayments, savings, bills go out) - I "get paid" by my own salary bank account into a separate Starling account. This is my "allowance" which I get paid (by me!) and I spend from inside that.
4. Pot up the allowance I "get paid": This allowance to myself I "get paid" into Starling, is divided into separate pots. 1) Work snack top ups 2) Eating out/takeaways 3) Personal fancies. If a pot runs out - too bad - I don't "get paid" till next month, so in my best interest to make pot last!
5. Paying ourselves an allowance: For our Joint Starling account, same - just as auto standing orders (overpayments, savings, bills go out) - we "get paid" by our own salary bank account into a separate joint spendy Starling account. This is our "allowance" which must pay for 1) groceries 2) kids' sundry extras 3) home and garden this and that. Run out? Too bad. Dont get paid till next month.
6. Put away some dinner each night in a box before sitting down to eat: Cos that's tomorrow's work lunch! Costs £0 from personal spending pot. Mrvellous no spend days accumulate at work, whilst tucking into yummy hot leftovers for lunch.
7. TopCashback everything.
8. Own brand everything
9. Get it off Vinted. Sell it on Vinted. Fancy things on wishlists for grandparents
10. Making sure a fun budget exists AND is used. That takeaway pot? Used. Personal fancies? used. Feels lovely and special.
11. Motivator spreadsheet: Revise budget as freq as need be. Come back to it as often. D financial projections and motivate myself with watching £ grow! (And reads lots of Dave Ramsey, Martin Lewis etc)“

-- Batch cooking.
-- Haggle down your broadband deal (no more than £15 per month)
-- Buy a cheap smartphone & have a cheap contract all inclusive instead of spending £££ on phone deals (I pay £5)
-- Buy second hand clothes.
-- Use cashback sites for everything.
-- YouTube workouts instead of the gym.

Loads more!!

Shop at Aldi
batch cook

Stop buying junk food - there’s absolutely no need to keep piles of crisps, biscuits, chocolate in the house.

Use cash back website/apps or a bank account with cash back to make something extra on purchases

Put money into savings account on payday. I put anything that's left at the end of the month into a savings account too. Even if it's just a few quid.

I use the pound round up through my card payments and the round up amount goes into my savings. I usually save an extra £15 a month doing this . Not huge I know but soon adds up .

Write everything down. The task of adding up what I'm spending made me think twice about everything. It is especially good at keeping 'top up shops' to essentials etc.

Moneyhub is great for working out what I’m spending.

Money saving expert for everything - check my gas / electricity deal is a good one, make sure my home insurance is competitive etc. That goes with making a calendar note a month before things end (like insurance or breakdown cover) so I have time to research and get the best deal. I just saved over £200 by going with a different boiler insurance provider, compared to staying with my current one.

A long long looooong time ago when we were first married and always into our overdraft the day after payday, I read in a book of Victorian children's literature that when deciding to buy something when you are trying to economise you should ask yourself three questions first:
Do I want it?
Do I need it?
Can I do without it?

The last one changed our spending habits and helped us out no end!