To ask how you are economising

[contentedsoul]

We’re all going to be affected either personally or close friends/relatives

Just wondered if you’ve all started cutting back and how extreme

Heating not been on for 2 days
Still have hot water
All lights not needed switched off
Hallway, lamps etc
Airport flask filled first thing (holds 2 full kettles) lasted all day
I’m on a mission to cut back to the bones - not spending anything except bare essentials.

Thank god winter is almost over - had it been before Xmas... what with Xmas shopping, heating etc etc

Our food bill will be much higher as my DH is working from home and 2 DC are back from university indefinitely.
Lots of costs will decrease such as eating out, days out, me getting my hair done, I used to go to the cinema weekly, 2 gym memberships suspended, petrol, DH’s £400 per month season ticket won’t be needed, I’ve just cancelled 2 cruises which will save about 13k, DH’s lunches etc at work, no nights out, expenses for DC at uni such as summer balls although we still need to pay 2 lots of rent even though they are living with us.
It’s such a lot to adjust to.

I’m spending more on heating by working from home
Also had to buy office equipment even second hand have spent a bit
I only work a mile away so won’t save on travelling and will eat same lunches
I will save money on eating out - DS birthday today will be takeaway instead
Mothering Sunday cooking lamb roast at home
We are lucky in that 3 out of 4 of us have reasonable job security and work in essential services eg NHS

We need the heating on as DH and dd home all the time and me a fair amount when normally we’re all out until after 6 daily.

But less money on eating out. And I won’t be paying for Q2 parking next week (as I’m not using public transport).

We have more time to cook so better control over ingredients and portion sizes (especially as we have time to cook before people are starving so less need for emergency snacks and then not eating the full main meal).

And because people are at home, we are getting laundry out on the line to dry rather than needing to use the dryer - it can come in quickly if there are showers and also before the dew sets at the end of the day.

I am not buying coffees en route to work.

And we are not doing any shopping other than groceries and regular prescriptions. So there are definite savings there.

We have three months grace on our mortgage.
I'm ringing up to get my credit card payments frozen.
I'm not stocking up on anything. Usually I'll have a spare washing up liquid under the sink, a spare kitchen roll, spare cereal packets etc
Its necessity only buying, and if we can possibly do without it, we will.
We aren't eating meat
No heating on
No alcohol
Leftovers do not get wasted.
I've made smaller portions of everything. If folks are still hungry they can have a slice of bread and butter. I make my own bread.
No driving. When we really need stuff I walk or cycle to the little shop.
The one thing we haven't given up is netflix. I think we'd all go mad being cooped up together without it.
Our income got reduced to 0 overnight so we don't have much choice really.

@HarrietTheShy - me too. I love eggs. But I am stretching my food as long as possible. No choice really.

@Awayawaywe thank you that's a good tip. We requested vents fitted when the windows were replaced some years ago because we had the same problem as you described.

It's the weirdest feeling. Like we're living in Pripyat and have been told 'LEAVE don't touch anything.

When I wake up I have forgotten but then i suddenly remember: I can't just jump in the car and go for a coffee. Most people have been cheery and that's encouraging. It's nice when a neighbour waves across the street.

It's the quietness I notice. Eery.

Given there is nothing to buy I the shops we are economising on food spend.

I am not penny pinching as such but since I am teleworking I spend less per day than I normally would if I were commuting to the office since I am not paying for public transit, that vital cup of coffee from the work Bistro, no purchased snacks or lunches. At home I am trying to work my way through what we have in our freezer for our dinners.Husband and I have always been preppers in that we always have a 2-3 month supply of essentials on hand at all times as we are fortunate to have the space and a very large freezer and extra fridge. Being preppers comes from our upbringing NOT a desire to hoard. We haven't actually had to do any emergency or extra shopping at all

DH having no commute saves about £50 a week, no more eating out once a week saves between £20 and £50.

I have no plans on cutting back. There is no need for it

No need for you maybe. What a bizarrely selfish statement - and the justifications that have followed it are no less so. Try to develop some empathy.

We’ve always been pretty careful with switching lights off etc so not much is changing. We use our heating whenever we want to but we don’t like to be very hot, we keep it around 18-19 during the day and we like to be cool at night so don’t run the heating overnight. We won’t need to use it much at all come April, I don’t think.

We’re cutting down on the amount of protein we eat, to make our meat/eggs last longer. That’s no hardship as we normally eat much more than we actually need. We have always used all fresh food, freezing leftover bits of veg to use another time, and we always make extra meals using leftovers.

Most fripperies will go for the foreseeable future - I am going on a personal spending lockdown, so no new clothing/make up/shoes/etc. I’m actually looking forward to getting back to some of my other hobbies rather than my go-to of online shopping.

If we can still find fresh flowers we’ll get them every week or two but if not it’s absolutely fine to be without. However I do think some little inexpensive treats are nice when in a dark place like this so if I can spare the few pounds on a bunch of flowers, I will.

We won’t be going out at all for the next couple of months except for short walks and the odd supermarket trip, so that cuts down on spending too.

glad its not just me rationing loo roll! Im making sure were all only using enough sheets as we NEED, not wads lol.
looking at meal portion sizes a bit more. Making things eek out eg I use a less big dollop of shampoo.

On the plus side I wanted to be more eco friendly for 2020 and reusing, less "stuff" is all a part of it. Already looking at "what if theres no bog roll"? situation and doing what serious eco households do (reusing "bum cloths" and nappisan/ boiling them). My old be-ro cookbook is full of simple recipes with simple ingrediants. I wonder if many of are looking to what our grannies used to do? and following suit?

already use a menstrual cup/ reusable liners, so no issues on supply there.

Bought reusable nappies here. Bigger outlay at first though.

Other than food and bills I won't be spending anything, although I bought a turbo trainer today to put my bike on so that we can all get exercise if we get a complete lockdown and they are quite expensive.

Might also get a 2nd broadband line installed and will pay for ds' Netflix subscription as we will be using it too and he can't earn as a lifeguard (well I very much doubt he will be able to soon).

Just what I'm saving from not being out.

No coffees and cafes, no home ed meet costs. No paying for the kids activities, which pay for by cash.

And the big one: not using diesel, no 12 miles a day on school run, no supermarket runs for a small something we've forgotten. No trailing the kids round to activities. No meetings for me.

Also, won't be buying much food for a while, so going to be careful with that.

This is a great thread for sharing ideas, thank you OP

The DC have already moaned that food not eaten at lunch is making a reappearance at dinner... they will have to get used to it!

I've been through the fridge and freezer and made Excel lists yes I am very dull to show everything in there with expiry dates. Not so relevant for the freezer but shows me what I have plenty of and don't need to stock up on. Might even buy a (secondhand) extra freezer to keep more fruit & veg in, I've learned some brilliant things on MN about what can be frozen.

The buggy has been pulled out of storage to carry shopping (and small grumpy DC when needed) rather than driving as much. Although with incredibly bad timing my Fitbit has died, I'd love to know if my step count is up much!

Not a saving as such but I've bought a DAB radio and a landline phone - we're very dependent on WiFi/ broadband, would have no communications if our phone network went down.

The current situation has given me a real insight into why my DGPs (who lived through the war) were real make-do-and-mend types who would be horrified at today's throwaway society...

I'm trying to be very careful with food, it cutting back but making sure we eat every scrap we buy rather than chucking it out. Though Tesco delivered out of date food this week making it a bit harder! I'm not so much concerned about our income ( because I'm incredibly lucky my DH works for the NHS and will be needed and will get full sick pay if he gets ill) as other people might be ( and I feel very guilty) but because I don't want to buy food wastefully that others might have a need for. I'm worried because I cannot get stuff that my always chronically ill and bed bound daughter needs and simply isn't available even if I paid £1000. DH has suggested that we save all the money he isn't spending ( no Costa, no travelling around , no quick lunches ) and think of that as our silver lining. But actually I'm donating it this week to our local food bank

2 squares of loo roll for a wee, 4 squares for a poo, if you need anymore than that you’ve got to jump in the shower and wash your bum.

RubySlippers - we did the same re: landline too! The broadband went down yesterday which is fairly vital for working from home.

Am at end of phone contract so may just use work mobile as they don't mind us using it for personal calls - may need to think about the implications of this though.

We have all 3 DCs at home, so starting with low expectations, such as lunch is soup, dinner will probably be vegetarian, with meat being a luxury.

Got the juicer out and am making own juices.

I'm self isolating, got limited food right now so will be making the most of pulses and lentils. Not wasting a single scrap of food even the heels of bread. Eggs have been plentiful so will be doing things like omelettes.

I obviously won't be driving much or paying for parking at all since the only places I intend to go are shops (no delivery slots at all), medical appointments and the chemist.

There will be no impulse buys such as buying lunchtime meal deals or grabbing a quick lunch somewhere.

I am going to order reusable sanitary towels so greater initial outlay but saving long term.

Oh, and no monthly swimming and health suite pass which is £25.

@Sooverthemill for you and your DH, and your daughter/children.

You are a donating that money and thinking of others at such a difficult time.

@RubySlippers77 if you mean general leftovers and not individual portions, I’ve always found that serving leftover food the next day is a bit more inspiring. That way it’s just another meal rather than the same thing again for dinner.

Another way to avoid waste is to serve children half as much as you normally would - that way if they don’t like one element they can eat the little bit they aren’t that keen on and then have seconds of everything else - you won’t waste bigger portions that way.

We are very fortunate in that DH and I both have substantive posts that we will continue and get paid if sick. I am a mental health nurse so the next few months will be tough but at least the same money is coming in.

I guess we will save money as planned trips have been shelved and we won't be eating out at all. I am also going to get my acrylic nails removed tomorrow which will save money.

I really do feel for those going through a really hard time, I am aware that we are very lucky💐💐