Stopped Myself Wasting Money Today. Have you?

[stoppedmyselfwastingmoneytoday]

In from work. Tired. Hungry. Grumpy. Dominoes pop up on my phone any pizza of any size for £7.99. So tempting. Resisted and had beans on toast and a cup of tea instead. I Saved £30.00 in total as we always have wine with Dominoes but IMO wine does not go with beans on toast. I have put the £30.00 cash in an envelope labelled 'Money I felt I did not waste'. Going to keep stuffing this envelope with cash (I hope).

Well done. I like the envelope idea. I am avoiding shops. My will power isn't great so I find it better to avoid temptation instead.

Well done on resisting, and yes, wine definitely not with brand…champagne perhaps?!

Were big meal planners and batch cookers so takeaways are few and far between but I have managed to get our electricity down to 10kw usage a day even with me working from home so that’s my small win 🙌🏻

@Sprig1 I agree shops are a temptation for me to overspend too. We have run out of bread and I would normally nip to Lidl to pick some up but I have stopped myself because I am doing a shop in Lidl tomorrow when the new XXL line is in stock. We have some part-baked rolls in so if anyone wants bread they can put these in the air fryer for a few minutes. Trying to make do with what's in the cupboards.

@AperolWhore I love Champagne but that is a treat saved for special occasions. I normally buy my wine when it is 25% off six but I am going to try and make what I have in last til Christmas! I am going to do a stock take now. Well done on the electricity 10kwh per day is brilliant for your wallet and environment. I don't have a smart meter yet. I have just checked my bill and my daily usage on my last two bills was Electricity 8.20 kWh and 9.11 kWh and Gas 30.7 kWh and 15.36 kWh. Thanks for the tip on daily usage I have never looked at these before think I will start a spreadsheet.

As I am typing this Dominoes has popped up again with the Wednesday app offers! So glad I have had beans on toast as I am not tempted at all now.

@stoppedmyselfwastingmoneytoday I don’t have smart meters so I had to take it old school off the meters and check 24 hours later but I’ve been actively trying to get the usage down in preparation for October.

We have a lot of large appliances that need to be on 24/7 so I’m pretty pleased with myself 😀

I have finally got a weekly budget. I don’t go over the amount and each Monday I put £5 on an Asda gift card for my Xmas food shop.

ive planned summer 2023 holiday and paying monthly.

I’ve finally admitted that my finances are shit and I’ve got repayment plans in place.

maybe I’ve become a grown up at 49 and a half 😂

@AperolWhore We had holidays in the last two billing periods so the next daily usage will be more accurate and higher but glad I know how to compare daily usage now it is a helpful tool.

@MadonnasKebab I am nearly 50 too and I feel like I have to grow up and start budgeting and looking after my body better. I am looking forward to my fifties and being more organised and focusing on new ideals.

I have booked a 2023 holiday in a big house for my son's 18th which is split between family parties (paying a portion each)and we are paying it off monthly. It definitely helps.

I have also today just put a £20 note in three envelopes.

Holiday food spends.

Holiday activity spends.
Son's 18th birthday meal for 10 (scallops, fillet steak, ready-made dauphinoise potatoes, asparagus and patisseries). My son is very food orientated!

I hope in 12 months I will have enough cash in the envelopes to cover most of this.

Well done! I called AA and bartered down breakdown cover renewal so that's a 20% saving

I stop myself having tea and biscuit when I go into town, and catch the bus home instead. If I snacked I could walk home but it works out cheaper this way.

I’m not sure of the overall effect on my fitness levels - probably a bit fatter if anything!

I got all my winter curtains from charity shops, boiled my kettle and used it from a themos all day and had 2 hours free parking. I'm watching my electric next. I like this thread!

Hi, I'm watching this thread for ideas on cutting costs. I am a big online shopper and takeaway fan. Hoping to start next week after pay day on resisting temptation to spent . Currently I've stopped using the tumble dryer as a way to cut costs and using up food in my freezer

Watching this thread too, currently on holiday and looking forward to cutting down when we get home, starting with meal
planning and an Amazon ban. Sadly my family of growing teens would think I was starving them if I gave them beans on toast for dinner 🙄but I think I’ll do them for me once a week.

I made a peri peri chicken kebab yesterday. It was delicious, as good as the local takeaway which charges £7 each. Its now a family favourite.

@AperolWhore - tips please for getting the electricity down especially when working from home. I'm still hardly using lights.

@Sally99 of course, I turn absolutely everything off. The only that is left on during the day are;

2x sky boxes and tv on standby - for some reasons our boxes take close to 20 minutes to re-boot so I’ve made peace with them being on
1x peloton on standby - it constantly updates so needs to be on
1x fridge
1x freezer
1x fridge freezer in the garage
1x laptop, monitor and Wi-Fi

When I say I turn everything off I mean everything, the ovens, the microwave, alexas, everything is off at the socket apart from the above. I play music or the radio on my phone and charge it from my laptop.

I have a throw on my chair, and wear slippers and socks when it’s cool.

When the temperatures drop I’ll work downstairs which is heated by our log burner. 3x logs can tick over on low all day heating the open plan kitchen, lounge and dining room.

Lots of good tips here. Am watching with interest.

I have discovered that Iceland give 10% discount to over 60s on a Tuesday !

I think b&q give that discount on a Wednesday too

@FayeGovan thank you !

@AperolWhore Thank you! Just turned my microwave off (clock always wrong anyway). Only appliances currently on are

• fridge
• freezer
• clock radio (too much faff to reset)
• laptop
• smart meter!

Part baked bread in the air fryer?! I've got an actifry.... how long do you leave in for? Obviously without paddle!

Just saved £20 off my first shop with Ocado. There’s a lot of codes on money saving expert atm so I might try them all, and then sit back and wait for the vouchers to flood my inbox wanting me to return 😊

I’ve just saved myself some money by cleaning out my bathroom cupboards. I found stuff I thought I needed to buy!
Will stay on the thread for more tips!

Loads of excellent examples of not wasting our money added. I am taking note of them all.

@courgettigreensadwater I have a drawer air fryer from Costco my SIL has the Ninja drawer one mine is not as fancy it was < £40.00 though.

@Passthecake30 My teenagers were not overjoyed by the prospect of beans on toast either especially when we had to add in the baked rolls as we ran out of sliced bread! They just loaded it with loads of cheese and were both glad I didn't order Dominoes as they both hate takeaways. I am trying to prepare them for student life too. Enjoy the rest of your holiday.

@ stopped- yes I am trying yo prepare my twins for student life too. Could you deliver beans on toast in toasties format? My teenagers love that. I have swapped from morrisons to lidl, stopped using the tumble dryer, un plugging everything, reusing ans using up and eating the food so no waste! I love this thread!