Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget?

[dorisdaydream]

What things to you skimp on/economise on, and do to save money, and what things do you refuse to compromise on?

I always shop at Aldi these days. We used to shop at Sainsburys but since going to Aldi our food spend has halved each week. I also get clothes for the DCs and I mainly from Primark, Ebay and charity shops (DH likes his labels though so doesn't really buy from them).

My main splurge that I refuse to compromise on is hair products; I use Redken shampoo and conditioner and cheaper stuff just never seems the same on my hair.

This is me. I spend what I think is reasonable but I won't compromise on quality. With a few exceptions (Heinz beans and coke cola) I am opens minded about trying new products.

Scrimp
Food - aldi for main shop. Then Asda

Cleaning products - multi purpose cleaner.

Lunches - bring food from home.

Travel - found a cheaper route to work, although it is more of a faff.

Treat
Sky tv - we rarely go out

Clothes - not expensive but try a d get clothed that will last.

Leather - pleather shoes and bags don't last.

I have plastic shoes but they are kurt geiger, I use shoeaholics. The trick is to spray your feet with underarm antiperspirant, not foot deodoriser etc but proper anti perspirent.

Scrimp:

Food
Alcohol, apart from Barolo at Christmas.
Clothes, Karen Millen from eBay, socks etc from supermarket sales.
Shoes from shoeaholics
Bedding and homeware from tk maxx
Make up, superdrug MUA range & Aldi eye shadows but they discontinued it
Cleaning stuff, all aldi or astonish or co-op own rand because they are cruelty free. All you need is multi surface, washing up liquid for most cleaning around the home. Vinegar descales the kettle and replaces fabric softener. Laundry gloop gets our coloureds clean.
Soap, every soap pump in our house contains Aldi cheap bubble bath. I did treat myself to a shower gel yesterday though
Tea bags, sainsburys basics
Packed lunches & picnics.

Splurge:

Haircuts, not had one since December 2012 though.
Aveda shampoo etc
Mascara
E-Cloths for cleaning, tried ordinary microfibre but they didn't work as well. I buy them in tk maxx or in B&Q sale.
Household appliances, it's Bosch all the way here & Miele on the rare occasions I can afford it eg vacuum cleaner.
Vetinary care, he gets what he needs even if I have to scrimp and save.
Legal cover on my car insurance, very important to have legal cover.
LED lightbulbs, they cost a fortune but save you a lot over their lifetime, plus led hut do really good cashback on topcashback.
Le Crueset oven dishes, but bought in tk maxx for less than half what the John Lewis over the road charges.

Scrimp
Lunch - make from home

Magazines/papers- only read Metro and Evening Standard which are free

Travel- have a slightly longer journey to avoid going into zone 1 and saves £70 a month

Eating out - perhaps once a month if that

Clothes - Sainsbury's TU range, H & M, New Look

Hair - dye and wash myself

Treat
Sky - not Sky Movies though

Food shop - Sainsbury. I do not like shopping in Morrisons or Asda at all.

Foundation powder - Mac

Scrimp
Food - combination of ALDI, LIDL and other supermarkets when things are on offer
Clothes - charity shops, eBay
Book/magazines - borrow from library
Furniture - eBay where poss
Make up - combination of ALDI, Boots Natural Collection, Bourjois
Lunch - take to work

Splurge
Hair - cut every 7 weeks
Sheets/towels - egyptian cotton from John Lewis
Toothpaste - Colgate Total or Oral B (the expensive one)
Cat - vet bills and decent food (though he does like ALDI food!)
Appliances - Bosch or similar

Scrimp
Electricity and gas - it irritates my family a bit, but they're getting on board
Own brands almost everywhere, and scrupulously use special offers
Haircuts and new clothes - few and far between
Rarely go out/eat out, and holidays are an occasional treat, not every year
One car between two, and a 10-year-old, very fuel efficient and low tax model

Splurge
Dog food
Bog roll
Booze - drink little, but what we do drink is the good stuff
Lasting and beautiful things for the house: wallpaper, art, furniture... Makes it worth staying in!

I love the name of this thread! Makes me think we can be frugal a d have treats.anymore??!

Scrimp - utility bills, food shopping, no magazines/papers, make lunches

Splurge - holiday! Once a year (a week tomorrow to be exact)...some rare down time, still done on a budget which I scrimp and save for, but done none the less

Thankyou mum2fergus- ! Need inspiration to see rewards! Yay! Enj yr hols !