What’s one small thing you could give up that would save you a LOT of money long term?!

[early30smum]

Coffees in London are around £4 now. I definitely don’t get one myself every day, but between me and my husband we definitely average out at spending this per day just on coffee. We just worked out, spending £4 a day on coffee every day, is almost £1,500 a year. Just on takeaway coffee. Insane. Over 20 years, that’s just under £30,000…

My Emma Bridgewater addiction. I have officially given it up now, other than a few items still on my wish list. But buying a mug or two (or three!) here and there adds up quickly! I've already stopped buying Japanese tableware as that was getting expensive too.

Other than that I don't really have much to give up as I'm already pretty frugal. I get my hair cut once in a very great while, have never dyed it, and only have nails done for holidays away. I've stopped buying make up like sweeties and just stick to my favourites.

Don't go out for coffees at all, and we usually go out to eat once or maybe twice a year if something very special comes up. Tend to do/see free things most of the time.

We don't drink much at all anymore so there's not the drip drip drip of bottles with the weekly shop either.

It's worse than that - if you are a higher rate tax payer and put that in your pension - assuming a 7% compound growth rate, this would be >£100,000 after 20 years.

Have you looked at your local library? Ours do BorrowBox so you can rent magazines online free of charge. Perfect for those that you just want to flick through!

Cars , garden , Christmas and birthdays

Your DH rescuing the last Christmas tree makes me feel cosy and warm inside...Proper hygge!

Wine.
My commute.

Personal trainer but I've got rid of all my other luxuries (cleaner, facials etc) and I know I would be less fit without her. £1200 per year is a lot though so no sure I can keep her much longer.

I have massively cut back in my Coke zero habit and yhthat has saved me £30 per month at least.

Local library is only open when I'm at work sadly, and is very small and run by volunteers. I have thought about getting the digital versions of the mags on subscription, but it's just not the SAME! I do pass them on to others when I've finished reading though, and tell myself that it's getting my money's worth.

But then I don't smoke, don't drink, don't go out much, don't have many hobbies that cost anything - I can't work out why I'm not a milliionaire, when magazines are my only real spend!

Yes the max is 50k, and most of the "winnings" other than the jackpot are effectively interest rate payments. Getting £150 a month on a 50k investment is half of what you'd get on a building society savings account...

More than once, if I went with dds to buy the Christmas tree, we went for the wonky, sad looking one, since nobody else would want it.

OTOH if they went with dh, they’d come back with an enormous thing that needed at least a foot cut off the bottom before it’d fit under the ceiling, and we’d still have to shift the furniture around to make a suitable space!

Pets. 2 cats and 2 dogs.

Dogwalker 2 days a week: £200 a month
Insurance: £50 pm
Pet Health Club: £80 pm
= £330 pm, £3960 pa

That’s not counting food or vet costs not covered by the Pet Health Club or insurance. Bloody animals.

I feel very strongly we need more attractive public indoor spaces, e.g. combined with libraries, art galleries, leisure centres etc, where you can buy food and drinks, but also you can sit in pleasant surroundings and eat your own without spending a penny. Or you could combine: treat the kids to a hot chocolate or ice cream but eat your own packed lunch.

It’d really help lots of people get out: families, older people, people who don’t work due to disability or ill health etc.

National and local government should invest in this. They could provide their own cafes, which focus on employing people who face discrimination in the workplace: lone-parents, older people, people with disabilities etc.

I’m sure would save the NHS and DWP a fortune in the long run.

I’ve given up my nails and cleaner so those two combined save me around £1600 per year,

As per my user name I’m trying my best to give up the booze, I’ve gone from 3 bottles of wine, a few cans of lager and shots of gin a week to one bottle of wine and a couple of cans every couple of weeks, it’s still not perfect but definitely saving me hundreds if not thousands a year, I am trying to be teetotal so the savings should be even more if I manage to kick the habit completely.

I won’t give up eating out once a week, my hairdresser every 6/7 weeks or the streaming services though.

Lidls Diet Coke is like 40p for a 2 liter bottle and I honestly can’t tell the difference between that and Diet Coke and I am a massive Diet Coke snob 😂
I get a Coke bottle and decant the cheap stuff into it and drink that

If I gave up my eyelash subscription 100 a month
nails 100 a month
pedicure 40 a month
Botox 500 a year
that would be a min of around 3k a year
and I reckon another 1k on hair / beauty crap

but I don’t smoke rarely drink
or take drugs 😂😂

Chocolate. But I like it too much, and the world is pretty fucked. So, the chocolate stays.

Stop snacking! Why do British adults need to snack or eat between meal, or after dinner in front of the telly. Or drink frappucinos, smoothies, protein shakes.

It is bad for your wallet and waistline. French women don't snack or eat between meals and don't seem to collapse from low blood sugar.

@Vroomfondleswaistcoat if that's a treat you really look forward to then I don't see why you should feel like you ought to give it up!

Baking. Not a cheap hobby these days, but I love baking things and taking them to friends.

I can't remember the last time I bought a coffee, I just can't bring myself to pay these prices for them so I just wait til I'm home.

You need the Refill app!

How To Find Free Water Refills!

Thank you! But I'm giving up work soon, so I might have to cut back to just the one magazine a month for financial reasons. Mind you, I won't be standing in front of them either, so the temptation won't be there. I'll probably become addicted to Pinterest instead, but at least that's free-ish.

I'm thankfully done with "the ways to save money" days (retired at last!). But when I was on my own with my first house and rather penniless I brought a packed lunch to work (wasn't easy when everyone else went out to eat), and gave up my car when the mortgage rate went sky high, bought a second hand bike instead. Used a gas bottle heater in one room (could budget for a bottle of gas) and an electric blanket instead of having heating on everywhere. Things like that.

It paid off in the end, and I got another car eventually, and turned the central heating on , and went out to lunch on Fridays haha.

Absolutely not. It took me 50+ years to be able to buy one. It’s my pride and joy. As is my camper van 😉

Well he's not a little thing, but Ddog. He's 11, so he won't be around that much longer and we'll be so sad when he goes, but god he's expensive! Insurance, food, dog walker 5 days a week since I went ft at work 3 years ago, kennels/dog sitter when we go on holiday somewhere we can't take him. I don't even want to think how much he actually costs us 😬

I don't spend on lots of the other things mentioned on this thread though. No beauty treatments, no fizzy drinks, no expensive workday coffee or lunch habits etc (make my own). Infrequent haircuts, a few highlights twice a year. Don't drink much any more either!

skincare.