Can I have your best frugal living tips please?

[MushroomTree]

I'm nearly back on my feet after leaving an abusive relationship and I'm looking to move into my own flat with DD (13 months).

I can afford it but money is going to be tight so could I please have your best frugal living tips? TIA

Look on Freegle and Freecycle for things you need, or put a 'wanted' on there.

I have given away the most unlikely things to some very grateful people, so do look and do ask.

I use money saving expert and uSwitch websites to make sure I'm on top of finances, making sure I have the best value bank account, energy provider, phone contract etc. I will change them once a year if better deals come up. Most things are easy to switch.

Frozen fruit and veg are cheap, generally good quality and great for cutting food waste.

Agree with pp about not buying cheap toilet paper.

Don't go food shopping on an empty stomach.

Get baby/kids clothes from supermarkets (I'm liking Tesco at the moment, but I've heard Sainsbury's are good too) or second hand from charity shops or eBay. There's loads of second hand stuff on sale that barely been worn

Slow cooker. You can buy one for £25 & then they cost pennies to run.

Use it to batch cook lots of cheap vegetables into sauces, soup etc.

Bulk mince out with lentils to make Bolognese, chilli etc.

Buy chicken thighs - really cheap & you can make amazing curry (again in the slow cooker).

Buy big, economy brand pasta & rice. Potatoes are also good value - buy them loose.

It won't necessarily be exciting, but you'll be able to eat every day!

If you have a freezer, freeze any leftovers however tiny the portion. Then you can make a pasta bake or a biryani from several pots of leftover pasta sauce or curry.

Homemade cake for a treat rather than buying chocolate etc - you can put just about any leftover fruit in it - just use a basic carrot cake recipe but throw in things like apples, bananas or grapes - in my house this is where the uneaten fruit from lunchboxes always ends up!

Natural yogurt with a spoonful of cheap jam rather than buying posh fruity yogurts.

Buy cheap shampoo but decent conditioner. Bar soap not shower gel.

Only heat one room in winter - & get everyone to wear warm socks & a jumper. Cold bedrooms are fine as you warm up quickly once in bed!

If you drink, go own brand on vodka & gin. They are fine whereas cheap wine & whisky are just nasty!

Charity shops for clothes. I’ve got my DC’s winter coats for the next 2 years sorted, the most expensive was £4.99 and it’s an immaculate M&S one. They’re also brilliant for kids’ toys and books, I’ve got all the classic kids books in brilliant condition for no more than 99p each and some charity shops for four for £1 sometimes. Library membership is brilliant too.

I think Primark for kids is amazing, they get them wrecked so quickly anyway. And for me to be honest. I'd rather have a couple of new tops worn a few times than one to last for a bit longer. Charity shops for clothes are dodgy here and cost a lot.

Oh and Facebook bundles for clothes, some are better than others but I got a huge amount of stuff for £15 for my DD’s next size up, all nice brands too and it included jackets, leggings, dungarees, t shirts and jumpers

I have just switched from expensive Boots shampoo/conditioner to Asda own make. 69p per bottle and lasts ages, it is also lovely on my hair, no different to the expensive crap

For DD, go to the supermarket and buy sale items (clothing) even if it is years older, we did this for DS and he wears the stuff now (age 9), it will be worn eventually and will be well worth it.

Dry clothes outside

Freeze leftovers, even small portions as they will be lovely for DD

Finally, well done you

Walk as much as possible. Saves money and keeps you fit at the same time.
Cut and colour your own hair. Have a look for tutorials on youtube .
Clothes - only buy what you really need. Learn how to sew and make simple repairs.

Charity shops/ Facebook selling sites for children’s clothes

Don’t get sucked into thinking young children need lots of stuff, they really don’t. Mine only ever played with a handful of their toys, and I got fed up of their relatives buying more tat.

try entering competitions / survey sites etc so you can occasionally treat yourself.

good luck, it will be worth the struggle. I skipped meals and all sorts in the early days after leaving abusive ex but they are such happy memories because I was finally remembering what it was like to just be me.

Has anyone actually ever won comps or surveys? I've always been dubious and never won anything ever!

Yep! I have won theatre tickets, and shopping vouchers and a spa day (mix of netmums, mumsnet and Facebook comps). They enabled me to have a few treats in the very tight years after leaving my ex

If your DD is still awake..visit the supermarket at 7=8pm when food gets hugely discounted! (for example I got 4 chicken kievs for 50p the other night) I always try and go last thing at night as the discounts are amazing.
Phone..if you are on contract, move to giffgaff when your contract runs out .£10 a month and no contract will give you shed loads of data/texts /calls.
Freecycle for furniture, kids clothes
Freeview tv... the package channels are mostly rubbish anyway! We haven't missed ours!

If you can, grow your own ..you don't need a proper garden to grow tomatoes in pots, peas, runners, onions...all dead easy to grow and fun to plant and pick with a toddler. Mine all loved eating food they had picked themselves !

And congratulations on making a new life for yourself and your little girl :)

I get dishwasher tablets from Lidl or Aldi and only use half one.

Lidl and Aldi washing liquids are also good and Lidl do fake j-cloths which are really decent quality.

I don’t think I would sink so low as washing up liquid for shampoo if I could avoid it. Lidl sells 400ml of shampoo for 49p, which would last me about 3 months.

I think if it’s something you don’t already do it’s worth getting to know all the prices of things. I have some items where I prefer the brands but I will only buy them half price and stock up then. I imagine not half price is in fact double price, to stop me being tempted.

As suggested above really important to minimise electric and gas by choosing a cheap tarif and by avoiding excessive useage where you can.

I’ve won all sorts in my time
2 virgin upper class flights worth £8,250
Hampers, spa days, a couple of tvs
Holiday to Spain
Weekends in London/ Chelsea flower show
Trip to Belgium on sea cat
Weekend at the ritz/ phantom of the opera
Several prizes of £1000
Lots and lots of littler thingtoys, household items
Family days out, Cadbury world springs to mind
Jewellery

Planning my menu and then following the plan! loads cheaper (and usually healthier).
Getting the DCs to carry their own little picnic on days out.
Always carrying a drink (usually just a refillable bottle of water or squash) and a few easy snacks because Costa and cake with the DCs costs £15!
Taking my thermal cup to work rather than buy a coffee. (Does anyone see a theme here?)
Bars of soap not shower gel or handwash.
A mobile hairdresser rather than a salon.
Shopping in Lidl or Aldi but avoiding the middle aisle. You don't need it!
Own brand everything, laundry detergent, squash, toothpaste... It all works the same just smells different.
Looking for free events at museums and local libraries etc. (I know there are often parking or transport costs with this but it's still cheaper)
Hot water bottles rather than turn all the heating on (but I am often cold even in summer)

@Dowser - How?

I promise that had paragraphs when I typed it. Sorry.

For hair cutting, you can buy cheap gadgets from eBay - you just slide it down the hair, line it up (using the spirit level) and cut. Less than a fiver.

Not sure I can add anything that hasn’t already been suggested. Do you have family who would buy presents? If so ask for clothes and shoes / coat for DD, maybe for yourself too when birthdays come up.

Look for wool clothing in charity shops. Even an ugly wooden sweater will keep you warm and if you wear sweaters over a T shirt they don’t need washing frequently.

As well a Jack Monroe’s recipes there is a website, Penny’s Recipes, that has low cost simple home cooked recipes.

Well done getting free 💐 onwards and upwards now.

If you have a dishwasher (cheaper to run than hand washing) use tesco value dishwasher tablets. £1.99 for 30.

If you have a home bargains there toilet roll with the rabbit on is cheap and good quality.

Find a cheap local toddler group and so as many free/cheap activities with toddler as you can find. The library is a good place to start.

Use the money saving expert website. Focus first on big ticket things like utilities and phone.

Meal plan.

Make the most of your local free resources, libraries, children's centres, Church groups etc.

Thank you so much everyone.

I do some of these things already but there are some great tips I hadn't considered.

Has anyone got any good recipes they can share? I love the idea of the carrot cake with leftover fruit.

When you little one gets older even a sandwich and crisps for lunch is more fun if you make it into a picnic - just put a blanket on the floor with the food in a plastic reuseable plate (dd and her friends still say about all the fun picnics that they had at mine 😂)

Not sure about leftovers and cake, but a cheap bag of frozen mixed veg boiled up in an icu cube and wizzed down in a blender is a nice soup, and spaghetti Bol with all veggies and no mince is cheap, filling and with all the pasta sauce really tasty