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).

I’ve stopped ordering organic veg box. I feel sorry for the suppliers but I have to put our costs first.

No takeaways, less going out for coffee. I used to that daily as I lived in a town and disliked the house we bought. Having moved- again- I no longer need to get out of the house every day.

Growing veg at home.

I cancelled my cleaner. I’d been holding on as long as I can but it’s an expense I can’t justify. I do really struggle to keep on top of things but I will be doing The Organised Mum Method and cleaning myself instead.

That is a simple but excellent idea, thank you

@Goldmember please could you give me the recipe for the peri peri chicken kebab as it sounds delicious.

massive money saving for me, have been self funding my MSc but could no longer afford it. I contacted university and they have found funding for it. Thrilled as hadn’t even thought of this, they suggested it and it was an easy process. I work part time and due to dh work/childcare I couldn’t increase my hours so am delighted.

I'm planning to shop my cupboards and freezer and only buy essentials... then meal plan properly!

I'm currently de-cluttering and only buying capsule clothes for the DC (I have a terrible habit of buying lovely smart outfits that they grow out of because they don't go places that require a suit at 5 and 7!).

I'm going to keep my gym membership but use it more (to take the kids swimming myself instead of swimming lessons...). One of the gyms I can attend has a spa too so I'm going to go there on a Sunday night for a de-stress before the working week starts again!

@Joevanswell
Peri Peri kebab;
chopped up 2 chicken breaststroke or thighs into chunks, in a sandwich bag with a drizzle of oil. Added peri peri seasoning (I'll make my own next time with all the spices I have). Mix up together. Empty into airfryer, Airfry for 20-30 mins until slightly charred.
I use bought naan breads, my local convenience store has amazing naans which are huge and just need to go into the toaster and are exactly like curry house naan.
Load up naan with lots of salad, some chunks of chicken, any sauces you have, I used mayo and sweet chilli. Fold and demolish. Soooo good, and pretty healthy.

Thank you @Goldmember, am going to make this for tea tonight 👍

Hope it's 😊

Took sachets fruit and cheap biscuits to work save going to the canteen on my break!

So pleased to have found this thread.

Last week we saved £40 by not drinking wine at home.

This is the perfect thread for me. On holiday and horrified that lunch at a garden centre for 2 primary age and 2 adults cost us £40.

It's chucking it down tomorrow (again) and was considering cinema with cheap tickets, but even with home bought snacks, once you add petrol and parking, you've spent £30. So I'm suggesting baking and maybe £10 on some crafty tat to keep them busy in the caravan.

Chose a tea instead of a hot choc at the café today and saved £1, it all counts right?!

I'm hoping you drink expensive wine rather than a fuck ton of it!

This will be me after September 5th when I get back from my holiday an embargo on wine. Also like PP suggested I will be shopping from my cupboards too.

Great thread! I've had a lot of expense with back-to-school purchases recently, teenagers are so expensive!

My washing machine has a fairly big capacity, so I'm trying to wash bigger loads less often rather than just chuck a few things in most days. When my last tumble dryer broke I didn't replace it – managed fairly well with trying things on airers, especially on my Lakeland heated airer. I would really recommend these- I understand they ate cheap to run. Getting Towels in winter was my main issue.

We have a open fire, so I have warned the family that that this will be used more than the heating and they will have to be sociable and stay in one room together if they want to be warm!! Having that also keeps our house and warm and welcoming when we have guests

The other week saved a couple of hundred put aside for taxis due to strikes

It was fine getting pt - trains running, late bus home etc

Late at night when I'm suddenly tempted to buy a book I'll never read or some weird gadget on Amazon, I have a good look at it, read reviews etc and then tell myself 'maybe later' and then transfer the money it would have cost into my online savings account. Amazing how all the little £2.99s and £7.99s add up. It's a bit shocking/gratifying at the end of the month to see how much money I might have wasted!

I've said this one before.

When I get my council tax bill I over pay it, so if it should be £60 a month I will pay £80 - 100, once the council tax has been paid I change the standing order to a savings account so it doesn't feel like I am saving, just paying a regular bill.

@stoppedmyselfwastingmoneytoday i used to do the envelope thing when I was paid weekly cash at work! It does mount up then every couple of months I would deposit a chunk in a building society savings account., Saved for my first car this way! The only words of caution I would advise is be careful where you put the envelopes - I had a handbag stolen with the cash in once fortunately only one weeks worth. Also know someone who did the same and put the money in a sideboard drawer but had workmen in and it disappeared. No proof they took it or a family member but...............!

I had a pulley drying rack in my old house and want to get one for this house. I also dry things on an airer or outside until nearly dry then finish in the dryer. Not perfect but saves using a whole tumble drier cycle and you know the clothes/sheets/towels are actually fully dry before you put them away.

I've bought my children's winter waterproof coats on Vinted. Have got better quality than I would have been willing to pay for them new.

I've been doing the Tilly Tidy thing from the moneysavingexpert forums. This is where every day/week, you go into your online bank and round the money down; e.g if you have £47.32, you could round down to £47.00, £45.00 or even £40.00. You move the change to a saving pot. Some people use it to pay down debts or make mini mortgage overpayments.

Walked to q conference for work at q local football stadium
Near my house, used their hospitality for my lunch, free coffee and welsh cakes! Yay!

I've done this for a while and OMG I've saved loads. Taking my own lunches, stocking up my locker with multipack drinks and snacks etc. if I do have a takeaway I order less and bump up with microwaveable rice etc.

It's the impulsive nature of it. I worked a late shift and knew there wasn't much waiting for me. Could have spent £10 in co op for ready prepared food but went home and made a sandwich and ate some leftovers from yesterday. It was easier to prep and I probably saved calories, money and time.

And when you do eventually have a dominoes you'll either really enjoy it or think 'why did I ever waste my money on this'

Sorry, cut to the end, having read half.

We Brits love hardship, don't we? This is entirely us; going without, saving, thrift. We're in our element.
Which is why we don't get off our arsed and March on the streets when we see how our lives have become so 1950s.

Cos Brexit/Tory/Putin.

Much of Europe isn't enthusiastically pulling its belt in.

You might have a point there @Fordian

Love it. I try and have a few no spend days in a week, really helps get out of the mentality of spending a few quid here and there on coffees, grocery top ups - which was where Ieached money the most.

I have reduced electricity kW hours by 3 a day since last week.

Turned off the second fridge freezer in the garage which we really didn’t need. Used mainly at Christmas or for storing drinks.

Also only turn on the PC when I’m working on it rather than leaving it on 24/7.