Turning a new, frugal leaf. Anyone with me?

[Pickledturnip]

Hi guys,
I've decided to take control of the family finances as we are currently just cruising along with our eyes closed!
Here are a few things I'm doing:
*Monitoring electricity and gas usage and cutting accordingly
*Menu planning and sticking to a £50 a week food budget
*cutting out non essential purchases
*cutting way back on snacks and alcohol
*saving my entire part time wage wherever possible
*showering instead of bathing
*getting electric blankets and using wood burner - no heating until very cold months
*not replacing our recently deceased car

Any other tips?
Anyone care to join in the battle against consumerism?

All sounds like a good plan however the saving part time salary could be no struggle at all if your DH is a high earner?
I find setting goals on my savings helps, tells me daily, weekly, monthly etc what I need to save so I try to save to target...don’t buy a coffee, transfer to savings etc.
I definitely need to get a grip on my finances again though as things have started to slip!

Hi SandysMam. Hes not a high earner I'm afraid! His wage covers bills and food and mine tends to be 'wasted' on living - meals out, takeaways, birthdays, holidays, socialising, etc. So, I'm looking at ways to earn more and spend less to give us a cushion/chance of ever getting on the property ladder :)
I like the idea of transferring the money that would have been spent - I did that when I gave up smoking and it really helped!

Even tiny amounts can make a difference. I resisted a McDonalds the other day and transferred £4!
How much do you need to save to get on the ladder? Having a goal in mind is the best incentive.

Some helpful apps. Genuine market research you get paid to PayPal. Not going to make loads but every little helps!

Voxpopme
Valued opinions
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Qmee

Can you make do without a second car? Save all those related costs? We’ve just done that this year x

If you pay your council tax over ten months check with the council and change it to twelve months. It means you don't get the two months off, but can make a difference to your monthly outgoings overall. We did this when DH was made redundant and haven't changed back, what we save each month covers the cost of my car insurance payment.

I would suggest not auto renewing anything like house insurance, car insurance, other insurance, bills for utilities, shop around on comparison websites for cheaper deals. Secondly, some banks are offering money if you change your bank account. Look at money saving expert website for best deals. Some banks provide better saving rates too. Also look at regular savings accounts, ISAs, pensions.

If you have a wood burner you can source your own free wood locally by yourself or look at Freecycle, Gumtree. You can source things for the house, toys, clothes etc at car boot sales, charity shops, Freecycle, including presents. Use library for books, music. If you save regularly, I would save X amount then have a treat. So save £500 then small treat.

Can I join please? My main one is meal planning to avoid temptation at extra supermarket trips, it really is my downfall.

Went this morning so all set for the week now.

Buster I have exactly the same issue, always coming home with too much crap.

Might start setting a budget and taking cash.

Oh we need to do this, going to follow/join in where ~I can. We have a 3 week meal plan on rotation with 2 'empty' days where we can swap days or have something we fancy rather than sticking strictly. It's helped us loads

Some people do their food shop on line, because it helps them avoid temptation.

Watching for tips with interest. But could I make a plea for people with wood burners.It is very tempting to go into your local woods and clear up fallen branches,trees etc but as a regular dog walker and a keen conservationist it's starting to have a massive and detrimental impact on woodland ecology.I recently saw someone turn up with a trailer and literally clear out the woodland floor,leaving little for bugs and wildlife.I have a wood burner,and I'm keen to save money too so will find lots of little ways.But not this one.Batch cooking and using every scrap of food has had the biggest impact on our outgoings so far.Hope I don't sound preachy.Just keen to help the environment as well as my purse.Also stopped buying bin liners ,just wash out the bins.So that helps both !

If you do end up making any online purchases use TopCashback.com, I think over the year I've got paid about £200 over various purchases.

Transfer whatever savings you have into an isa or a high interest account.

Sign up to Martin Lewis' emails, he gives some great tips!

Good luck with getting on the property ladder

Thanks for the tips everyone!
That is food for thought Snuggle, maybe I'll leave the kindling idea.
So far I have been carefully monitoring gas/electricity usage
Meal planning - and sticking to it
Baking our own bread
Not buying cleaning products
Just about to do shop online with max budget of £50 a week
Making desserts so not buying chocolate/crisps etc. Better to use up the glut of rhubarb or make some flapjacks
Cancelling any silly DD's like Amazon prime
Got electric blankets and leaving heating off
Not wasting any food at all
No random shop runs. If we are out of something, we eat something else
Doing well without a car.

Work in progress but I am finding it very empowering! I've started a little blog to keep on track :)
Anyone else enjoying being more frugal?

I need to join!
We are terrible for wasting food. We buy it and it goes off before we eat it. I used to be so good at budgeting and meal planning before I worked full time.

We have also decided no stockpiling of things, I used to always buy loads of toilet rolls, or mayo or something which would add money to the food shop and sit in a cupboard for weeks on end until required. We now have a notepad in the kitchen, if anyone opens the last of something or uses the last you write it on the pad and it is topped up in that weeks shop. Seem to be saving money and have less stuff cluttering up the house too!

I need to join. Last two months have been financial disasters with spending out of control, not completely our faults due to weddings and house repairs but still not good. Need to stem the flow.

Place marking. Thanks for new thread Pickled 💐

£58 yesterday on Christmas presents, couple of bits for DDs.

All newbies are welcome here, you’ll get good advise and support.

How many people are you feeding on £50 a week OP?

Not been to a supermarket / shop since first thing Monday and also got petrol today without going inside and buying extras! Not much in grand scheme of things, but a big step for me!

Look at us, we are getting quite a frugal gang together! How is everyone else cutting costs?

Monday55 - I'm feeding three people for £50 (although that includes all cleaning/laundry products) It is easily doable with spare for treats (this week it had to include halloween goodies) but we are vegan. I have really noticed a HUGE difference in our shopping bill since we don't eat meat or dairy. I know being vegan would be too extreme for many but a few veggie meals a week can cut your shopping bill down. Example of an average week:

-Bosh rich and smoky chilli topped nachos with vegan cheese and salsa
-Veg and black bean stew w/herby dumplings
-homemade pizza w/whatever we have for toppings
-mushroom risotto w/kale and green beans
-veg fajitas w/ spicy potato wedges
-Sunday dinner with a homemade pie/nut roast/veggie sausages

• A curry, usually thai green, chinese style or katsu.

Unfortunately, the heating has gone on here this morning as we have bugs and chilld doing the rounds. I'm trying to find a balance between controlling finances and not obsessing about it!

That can be one of the biggest drains I find Buster. I'm also avoiding shops for the same reason. I just end up spending a fortune otherwise throughout the month!

I think a few veggie meals are a very good idea. I have a rota of home made meals but it could do with an overhaul, a few are on the expensive side.

A friend of mine fills her children's Christmas stocking with practical stuff they need for the year rather than silly nik naks and crappy toys such as new pjs, hairbrush, socks and pants. I wish I had thought of that years ago especially as my kids never really liked the tat anyway, it would have saved a lot of money too! Sigh!

We were in a similar situation. When we totalled up a months worth of 'unnecessary' outgoings we realised it pretty much equated to my monthly income.

From then on we automatically put my income into savings and lived off my husbands income. Over two years we saved our house deposit of 30,000 that way. It meant two years of going to work, going home, no luxuries and hardly any even little treats. Very cheap or no bday/Xmas presents for people as they knew we were saving etc. It was hard to be so frugal but worth it when we bought our house with no help from anyone.

We are not so frugal anymore but some good habits have stayed like meal planning, switching providers for good deals, only one car, online supermarket shopping so you stick to a list. Wise use of credit was also great to get our heads around, so 0% interest rate cards used well but at the moment we are using a credit card which builds airmiles so that we get cheaper holidays.

It is very satisfying to be frugal but in my experience only when you have a goal/reason to and something to save for. Its miserable when doing out of necessity.