The latte factor - pah! What if you've run out of small expenses to make?

[nkf]

Been trying to think of ways to save money. So called latte factor. The idea being that you cut out small expenses such as a daily Starbucks and it all adds up. What if you don't buy Starbucks? Or buy lunch at work? Or get your hair cut? Or anything. When you've cut everything to the bone and sitll you don't have enough. Maybe I could sell a finger. Just letting of steam really.

Quidco is fab! I still can't quite work out how I get so much money back .
I am also trying to look at saving money as a challenge, not a necessity. If I change the way I think about it, I will feel less resentful (which usually results in a buying splurge!)

Thank you for all these suggestions. I'm going to look at Quidco. That's a new one on me.

Have you thoroughly checked all the big expenses too? Possibly a v stupid question, but when DH was made redundant last year (when DD was 4 weeks old), we challenged our Council Tax band and were rebanded downwards - £25 saving per month and eight years rebate! We changed mortgage, insurances and utilities - saving about £150/month in all.

8accumen* can you explain what you mean please ' Buy the computers on clearance every year and sell on the upgrade cycle.'??
and what type of books do you write? interested as I am off work sick for 6 months at least while having cancer treatment and need t get some extra cash in if at all possible

I've got the lowest possible mortgage. I'm due utiliites renewal and so I will check if I can get a better deal. How do I go about checking the council tax band?

nkf there is a moneysavingexpert guide to this and all sorts of ways to cut back on the website. You need to remember that bandings CAN go up as well as down

how do you change utilities, seems so complicated to me

"If you have two takeaway coffees a day"

Then you are not really badly off, are you?

I hate those tips - they all imagine that we are
a) rather dim
and
b) living in Sex and the City

or not having to cut back to start with, as if its all a game, a temporary thing

I suppose it depends on your starting point. Some people do snack and use Starbucks a lot and buy their lunch out every single day. I guess I felt that I'd looked at the list of things to cut and thought, I've cut most of those already. Of course, there are more I could make and that's good to realise.

NKF How to challenge council tax band. You need to be pretty sure you are in the wrong band. I was because we live in the end one of five houses that look similar from the outside, but the others all have 4 bedrooms and big gardens; we have 3 bedrooms and a small garden. I checked my neighbours' council tax band (link in my link) to confirm we were all in the same band (we were) and assumed that fewer bedrooms = lower banding. This is what I told the Valuation Office
I spoke to. The did the rest. One phone call, very easy, 6 weeks later letter from them and £2200 rebate from council!

We changed utitlities using this website U Switch.