What do you waste money on?

[Rollerskaterabbit]

This year I'm trying to identify what I waste money on and try and stop it!

For me the biggest wasters are shop bought coffees and pre packaged foods!

We spend far too much on food. Take always, meals out, junk food that we could do without.

We're trying to be better.

Fresh fruit and veg. Iv only just worked out that my family only eat fresh apples and mushrooms, everything else is frozen!

Ashamed to admit this...food that gets thrown away.

Same here etain - am making a big effort to not do this anymore by meal planning

Yes, that's why we have an energy efficient home, including solar panels. In our old home we had photo-voltaic panels which meant we "downloaded" energy in the day time when we did laundry, dishwashing, etc., and DH charged up his electric car where possible and the excess was sold to the national grid I think. I don't really think we can do much more. I keep my car for 10 years, I try not to have things switched on standby, etc..

Tax

Bumpsadaisie Fri 17-Jan-14 08:45:53
There's a difference between pure fruit smoothie and apple juice in cartons from concentrate. The former is better tho still pretty sugary.

There really is no difference. Innocent smoothies actually have more sugar per 100ml than bog standard supermarket apple juice. Read the labels!

I have been trying really hard since going down to pt hours. I no longer buy a cappuccino on my way to work(2:20 per day =12.50 per week= dcs horse riding lessons !!!) and always bring my own lunch and drink tap water (25 per week =1300 = nice summer holiday or my half of annual ski trip :)). I meal plan and we don't really eat out. I reckon by switching to Lidl I save £100 per month which I use to buy the dcs and me nice clothes (being well dressed is not a waste of money to me). I think we have a much better standard of living than we should for our on paper income.

On DOTD it asks "worst culprits?" and I just thought surely it has to be "lotions and potions" (thinking of my shelf of mainly unused vitamins again - though to be fair getting DH and I to take a supplement may have made a difference when ttc DD) But I think it's the "magic" element - people have always parted too readily with their hard earned cash for that miracle cure!

Take away coffee
Lunch out instead of making my own for work
Shampoo/bubble bath/face wash- fancy stuff in don't need
Precooked and mashed potato lazy

Oh. Just saw someone else said ready made mash! I just took longer to say it...

Just a warning on the Waitrose coffee and free newspaper.

I was all set to trot there this morning as I had invented got a few things a needed to get. However once I added them up I realized that we didn't need a free newspaper or coffee and that it would be cheaper to go to Asda because of what I needed to get !

Yy rookie, waitrose/ocado is significantly more expensive than asda. Those supermarket price comparisons should include own brands and veg, not just "branded" stuff.

We were chucking out veg, now mainly using frozen. No more guilt over not having cooked!

coffee shop porridge/latte a few mornings a week from , over £4 each time, now having cereal and tea at work.

Etain again, am another one who gets awful library fines, this is really unethical but at our library you don't get fined, even for adult books, if you use the DCs' library card!

Expensive face creams - following another thread I am off to Aldi when these run out!!

I buy bags of frozen chopped onions and sliced peppers as i was always throwing away in un used veg

MermaidAvenue ... I got the Proxima lamp from Amazon, and Blue Sky Shellac colour, bade coat and top coat.

Works perfectly. What I didn't realise first is that yor nails stay tacky until you finally set the topcoat by wiping over with alcohol.. and don't buy the expensive 'labelled for purpose' alcohol gel... The anti bac gel from Wilkos or Aldi does the exact same thing...

Base, not bade! On phone...

I also have a shellac kit and uv lamp. Cost me £80 reduced from £220. I used to spend a fortune on sale clothing and never wore the stuff so am now very careful. I am generally very careful but do spend a lot on eating out, far too much but I just love doing it.

Party bags.

They are my weakness.

Helping Santa out with the Christmas stockings is a bad one too Guitargirl ?

I waste money on cigarettes, fizzy drinks, food when I'm out and about and flippin chewing gum I love the stuff! I'm quitting smoking so will have a bit more cash