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

My friend has a very good washing machine repair man and the amount of powder he told her to put into the machine was like 2oz as equivalent to the cup I normally use.
Don’t live to frugally though. We where poor growing up and my father used to take the knobs of all the radiators and he’d keep one for controlling the heating. Other times the radiators would be full of wet clothes!
We need some comfort in life and to me warmth is definitely one of them.

Dry clothes outside not possible when its cold and wet and dark.

Dont use fabric conditioner it does not make a difference it does actually makes the washing smell alot nicer.

Always check your receipts.

I went to the supermarket today and was overcharged for two of my items - £1.60 for butter and 64p for 2 bulbs of garlic, when the tickets on the shelves said £1.50 and 30p per bulb.

Morrisons Customer Services refunded me the £2.24 and I got to keep the goods as well.

I have a refund for incorrect supermarket charging at least one a month. Tesco also have this policy. They double the difference, so I recently had £5.24 refunded on an overcharge of £2.62.

Haven't read through the whole thread, so apologies if these have been repeated.
Cut your own and your family members hair. Have a look on youtube for a tutorial. I have done this for years, and it looks fine I promise you (unless you need a very professional look for work). Same thing for colouring.
Don't buy clothes unless you really need them. Mend what you have.
If you're average height and weight try primarks kid dept (I'm 5'4", and age 13-14 jeans fit me at £6 a pop).

Ooh yes I second the checking receipts - I have always done this and I would say around a third of them have errors - and not in my favour! Special offers/BOGOFs etc not gone through. Shops must make a fortune on all this overpricing.

Not RTFT but just wanted to add, Primark, Wilkos or Poundland for makeup. Also when my foundation in a glass bottle is near its end, I prise off the top, turn it upside down and leave it to decant into a little plastic pot. You’d be amazed how much foundation is still left in the bottle!

@MushroomTree I’ve recently gone through the menopause and have some tampons I can send you if you’d like? Send me a PM if you’d like me to send them to you.

Of you buy branded food,go to supermarket brand, then after a while try the supermarket basic range to see which ones you are happy with.
Buy a large quantity of mince( so cheaper) chop onions, fry off, then separate, turn some into spag bol,then chilli, and some to cottage pie. Freeze. If you like you can eke the meat out further by adding a tin of lentils or finely grated carrot.
Non food. Go around charity shops regularly. Look out for clothes, books,cds,dvds, even houseware sometimes.

After many years paying a small fortune at the hairdresser's, I now cut my own fringe (better than them, they never understood exactly what I wanted) and more recently have converted to at home hair dye and root touchups. Saving £££ and just have a trim a couple of times a year, my hair looks just as good.

Pitrok deodorant is a crystal that lasts a whole year or more. Has saved me loads.

Always ask for generic versions of the branded stuff at the pharmacy eg ibuprofen not neurofen etc

I never look at the dosing guide for washing powder!!!

Also multi packs of Chinese takeaway boxes in Poundland to put batch cooking in

The takeaway boxes in Wilko are the best!

Washing soda crystals. Can be used for so many things. Cleaning, stain removal, washing, blocked drains ... the list goes on. Very cheap and dont need lots of different products. Worth reading up about.

If you're buying veggie mince, tesco does a frozen soya mince for £1.75 for a decent sized bag

Nothing to add but some great tips in here... The resourceful cook website looks very interesting 👍🏻

I didn’t know you could use washing soda crystals for unblocking sinks! I spend a fortune on Mr. M products!

Cheap bleach unblocks the shower better than expensive Mr. M - just leave it overnight.
Take a sports bottle of water everywhere.
Use the dishwasher every other day.
Home box hair dye
Cerave face wash
Meal plan
Stop eating meat
Eat eggs - so economical and you can’t beat a delicious poached egg on spinach or a mushroom omelette
I second, ‘go a day later than you need’ to the supermarket
Click and collect or delivery often saves you money, as you can shop only for what you need, or just for ingredients
Especially if you have small DC, use the library - in non-pandemic times, they have lots of free activities, which may be opening back up now.
Sell clothes on Ebay etc.

Great suggestions here (haven't read them all) but at the base is an analysis of your expenses.

Write down a very detailed list of where your money goes. Only then you can see what can be cut or reduced. I.e. if you are spending x amount a month on ready made food for lunch in the office, you can switch to bring your own and reduce that expense.

Then make a budget. Write down what you are aiming at spending each month for food, bills, etc. Factor in a portion of your annual spend for things like insurances, car maintenance etc.

By the way, I think for me it would be the following tips:

• always bring water/coffee with me vs buying it when out. Of course not if I am meeting someone in a coffee shop, but it's really no effort for days out with children.
• buy the biggest sizes of products you can and always look at price per vs total price. I always buy the biggest box of laundry powder, toilet rolls etc as much cheaper in the long run, even if my bill that day is higher.
• cook from scratch as much as possible. 'Row' ingredients are so much cheaper. Think a salad head vs a bag of ready to eat salad, or make your own sandwich vs a shop bought etc.
• freeze, freeze, freeze. You can freeze pretty much everything, no need to bin food

If you budget/shop weekly try to stretch to every 8 days. Meals on day 8 could be surprisr day and a total mix up of using all odds and ends in fridge. By stretching your week to 8 days you gain 6 weeks worth of money a year . Big help xmas/birthdays etc.

If you go to the pub with a group dont get involved with rounds of drinks or kitties, especially if you drink slowly or only soft drinks. Buy your own as you need them.

If you go for a meal in a restaurant dont split the bill unless youve alll had equal courses. Just work out your own and add a bit for service and tip.

Magic bags if they are near you have saved me a fortune x

I’ve just bought a 3 person tent in the sale (Millets) with the accessories so hoping I can get a few cheap nights away with my 13 year old instead of paying hotel bills!

I physically imagine the money in the till.

@SodTheGreenfly

I know you are thinking veggie but you can buy a cpl of gammon shanks to braise, an onion, bay leaf, carrot, leek. Cover with cold water and simmer gently for a few hours.

Meal one: gammon, mash, carrots and the braising liquor

Meal two: chopped up gammon spread over suet (atora, flour, water), wrap in foil and steam about 90 mins and serve with parsley sauce and a veggie.

Gammon chopped for carbonara. My version is gammon, parsley, cheese, ladle of liquor and creme fraich.

Any gammon left can go in a pie. Puff pastry roll. Bit of onion, butter, chicken thighs (2), spoon flour, gammon, liquor or stock, cheese, add some cooked leeks.

The two bones will make a hood minestrone with and onion, carrots, shredded cabbage, cpl tins toms. Lunch for two to three days with cruaty rolls.

So that's probably £6-7 on meat and lots of yummy meals.

You can do this with a chicken. I did this in lockdown. Roast a chicken and then shred all the meat off. Keep in a tub in the fridge. Add a handful to what you are making, and bulk out with veg, you'll only need a handful so it will go really far.

I made
Chinese curry - onions, mushrooms, peas.
a pie - a bag of cubed potato, carrot, peas, green beans, and I made a crust out of flour and yoghurt because I didnt have butter.
soup - carrot, potato, peas, sweetcorn, mushrooms.
stew - potatoes, carrots, peas, mushrooms.

all things that made multiple meals/leftovers from one handful of chicken. I actually did feed us (2 adults) for over a week from one chicken by freezing portions.

When using in cooking tinned mushrooms etc are perfectly fine.