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…

Maybe it's the cigarettes that keep them going. Twice as many smokers in France than here. That's not great for your wallet either.

Wine from local shop at overinflated prices because I've convinced myself I won't drink at all that week when getting the weekly shop.

Theatre and concert tickets.

Hair and nails

Gym membership

Me three. I’ve had some items thrice as I’ve gone down the sizes!

Most `I got was 700 one month but I reckon 150 is average.

No thank you.

I have three already.
And two wind-up gramophones.
And a phonograph.
And a polyphon.
Enough! I have reached peak stuff!

Grocery orders on Uber Eats. We do our usual shopping at Aldi but have a few branded items that I like to get from other supermarkets. Instead of just going and getting those few things (usually get back from doing the Aldi shop and cba to go out again!) I get lazy and order them from Uber Eats from that shop. But then I’m adding XYZ to the order as well to make the delivery cost “worth it” and in the end it all adds up. I’ve also realised UE has become my go to when we run out of something, like milk, rather than just nip out to the shop too. I am well aware this is a ridiculous habit! We’re moving areas soon and our new town doesn’t really offer Uber Eats. Can’t wait to see how much I’ll save!

I have given up the following:
Gym
Having my nails done
Having my hair coloured/hi-lighted
Eating out
Takeaways
Going to the cinema
My car
Expensive make up
Having more pets

I could give up going out for a coffee at the weekend but blooming heck there has to be some enjoyment in life!

Totally agree there needs to be a support group for Vinted addiction 🤣.

Mounjaro…. Fizzy drinks…. Hmmmm.

Clothes - I've just deleted clothes apps and next is to stop following all those influencers on Instagram who make me feel like I need new stuff.

Books - Amazon. I've promised myself I can't buy a new book until I've read all the ones I've already bought but am powerless to resist. Am going to be found crushed under my "beside the bed" tower of books soon.

Stuff for my skin / face - keep falling for expensive foundations / makeup when I just return to a cheapy rimmel BB cream.

Otherwise am totally low maintenance. Dye my own hair, have terrible nails, don't drink anymore, use YouTube to exercise, no cleaner, WFH so rarely buy coffee. Blimey like I am still in lockdown.

Getting a meal deal for lunch instead of just preparing my own packed lunch the night before!
PT sessions at the gym (£152 a month totals up to £1824 a year!)
Curly hair products

buying lunch at work - have started bringing in my own lunch which is costing me approx £10 per week instead of the approx £10 per day I was spending

i am addicted to the Kindle Daily Deal. Yesterday I bought 12 Dick Francis books! Even if they're 'only' 99p it mounts up.

Reading through the thread and gin came to mind. DH topped up on the ferry last month as it was so cheap. We probably drink 20-25 bottles a year which is £1k.

Not that small, but my David Lloyd membership. I joined only for the pool, and told myself I’d go twice a week to get at least some of my money’s worth. I do manage twice sometimes for my 20 lengths, but fairly often it’s just once, or not at all if ‘stuff’ gets in the way.

However, if it was a case of going to the public pool - a drive (parking charge) or 2 buses away, (the DL is much more convenient] where you now have to book, I would probably find excuses never to go at all.

And at least at DL there’s no soggy towel to take home.

There's not a lot left to give up tbh. Not spending 40 quid on a microwave meal in a pub anymore.

Wine....about 30 quid a week, appalling I know. £1,500 per year.

Gave up the annual Greedfest of Xmas, years ago.

Gin

Oh me too. Family agreement only to buy for kids under 21 now, nothing for anyone older than that. Everyone's happy with that. The "just" over 21s don't care as they don't have to buy for anyone else either, and I don't think they are that interested in Christmas much anyway apart from time off!

I’m with you on the coffee OP. Paid £4.05 for a flat white at a hospital Costa a couple of weeks ago and then £4.50 for one on a day out with the kids. We live in a very rural part of Wales! Coffee at a cafe in France is about €1 😒

I often have this conversation with myself and it would be wine, coffees and food out, takeaways, books. I am very low maintenance on my hair, nails, make up, clothes, shoes.

But you know what, I really enjoy them and my life would have less joy if I gave them up. And we all need some joy.

I have an elderly relative who decided to sell her home because she wanted to release equity. I have been trying to help her. Initially to sort the house to sell but now to sort her finances.

she was spending over £1,000 a year on newspapers, over £1,000 on having her hair done, a lot of money on servicing debt, she would tip the delivery driver from the pharmacy (with a note not coins) her house is full of stuff that has never been used or worn. I could go on and on.
however council tax eats up about 15% of her income, BT seem to have upsold her endless plans for her TV which she never watches, this is her second largest bill.

she has a spending problem not really an income problem she has enough to live off if she would just live like someone on a pension not someone with a trust fund.

We’ve stopped the papers, stopped the haircuts, rationalised what we can (still have BT to go) but it’s been hard to get her to understand that she needs to stop spending. It’s amazing how quickly it all adds up.

I stopped my own coffees a few years ago, we have a coffee machine at home now!

For my relative and her family it’s actually really sad, she has been left enough money (nothing excessive) but enough to live a sensible frugal life without worry but everything has been frittered away partly on funding her boyfriend’s lifestyle and partly on endless shit (so much needless home maintenance painting, repainting, new sofa, another new sofa because she didn’t like the colour, new garden fence, another new garden fence because the old new one wasn’t what she wanted. SO MUCH SHIT!

I am certainly going home with an attitude to change things in my own life.

Oh yes, I forgot about daily meal deals. I'm vegetarian and have decided to avoid dairy so that significantly reduces my choice anyway so Ill have to make my own lunch.

Same here but we stopped for overseas kid relatives too and our local relatives announced they weren’t buying for us so that became very easy!

My elderly relative’s niece insist on buying her something so she keeps sending them gifts (they are 45+) this years gift was a box of chocolate biscuits from Amazon, clearly made for an overseas market and relabelled for here, they taste stale and have no flavour and no sell by date or eat by date.

Relative won’t eat them, I assumed they were a 99p special but no they cost almost £7. What a waste!

I was helping my daughter with her paper round and was shocked at how much papers cost now! One person was spending £12 a weekend on them plus whatever delivery was. Obviously the more /bigger papers you ordered, the smaller your postbox.