If you're trying to save some money....

[JamSandle]

Tell me your tips. I've decided this winter I want to save as much as I can.

Any advice on how to keep going? I've already decided to limit social media so I dont get jealous if I see people doing things im not. There are things I've planned so my winter isn't without its fun. I just want to prioritise saving a much as I can this winter.

Anyone else doing the same and want to encourage each other?

I do the same except no rinsing just a fresh clean flannel every morning. I work at home and wee plenty so I am definitely saving money on pointless toilet roll! I keep it in a plastic bag... great minds think alike!

Oh and I use the 'council tax' method of saving.

Say my council tax should be £50 pm, I actually pay £100 and then when it is paid I switch the SO to a savings account so I don't notice the difference.

Obviously you don't need to overpay, you can just pay monthly and then switch the SO for the 2 months with no CT.

I fallen back in to Sainsburys deliveries, so I will stop that and go back to weekly Lidl shops.

Audit the kitchen before shopping to focus on using up leftovers

Once my Christmas shopping is finished, which it nearly is, I'm simply not buying anything else. We don't need anything. The kids clothes still fit from last year.

Another good tip is the Chase app. You get 1% cashback on all debit card spending, you can switch on round ups which round your spend up to the nearest pound and put the difference in a savings account which pays 5% interest. It also pays 1.5% in interest on normal savings. I've made £150 so far in cashback and interest.

This is a great thread by the way, thank you. Very inspired to sort my finances out!

There are some more decent rates of interest starting to appear on the market.
Atom bank has several fixed rate bonds, this is the same CEO that ran first direct and the app is very easy to download and set up an account.

lump sum is needed but at 4.75% on there 3 year bond it’ll give a boost to savings.

I use borrowbox now for for audio books and cancelled audible.
I keep chickens for eggs
Use the local community supermarket, it cuts food waste and supports local projects.
Use cash back sites, ie; shopmium, topcashback.
Scan receipts for points. Supermarket loyalty points. But I shop between them all as I find they send money off vouchers if you haven't been for a while.
I compare all expenses like insurances, and use cashback sites. I buy 1 day of travel insurance every year via the meerkat site. It cost about £1 and I get all the 241 meals and cinema deals for a year. Tesco vouchers for meals out and hotels. Nectar card connected to eBay so earn points there.
Loads more, I like to save on stuff where I can so I can get more with my money

• don’t buy new clothes or shoes for a year, unless you desperately need something you don’t have like a winter coat. This means no replacing items you already have or buying extras on a whim. Most of us have wardrobes bursting with clothes.
• Eat at home or take from home. That means no buying lunch out or getting takeaway coffees etc. Set yourself a goal of 6 months or allow yourself one takeaway lunch or drink perhaps per week or per month, depending on how much you need to save.
• Dont have heating on when you’re not in or at night. It’s amazing how many people have the thermostat set to a temp which means it’s heating the house through the day when you’re not in or cosy in bed. Have it on for max if 1hr in morning and max of 5 hrs in eve, with temp not above 18 degrees.
• Reduce the amount of loads of washing you do. If you wear jeans 3 times now, then wear them 4 or 5 times instead. Stretch bedding and towel washes by another few days. Look to reduce your laundry load by one or two loads per week.
• Look to keep the average cost of main meals to around £1-1.25 per head. This means you can have a more expensive meal, but you then need to have an evening if baked potatoes with beans and cheese to create a cheaper meal. Keep track of how much it costs to make a family meal and if you’re a family of 4, look to batch cook 8 portions for around £8-£10. If you’re cooking meals that require a salmon fillet or chicken breast that’s costing over £1.50 per head, just for that element of the meal, cut down. If you’re using ore-prepared food that costs £2-£3 per portion, cut down. Batch cooking is the way forward for bringing shopping costs down. There’s a current thread on how much did your dinner cost.
• re-visit all utilities and phone bills, insurances etc, don’t auto renew.
• Look to do at least 2 bank switches per year. You’ll get over £250 by doing those alone and £500 if 2 adults in the hosue can do them.

No take aways or Netflix / Prime / Disney plus, no alcohol.

I find it mad that people are not putting the heating on to save let's face it max £3 a day or something? But yet spend loads of crappy Domino's pizza, coffee's, pret lunch, multiple TV packages. I mean I know everyone has different priorities, but really... !?

Smoking is pointless, but buying toilet roll? 🤔

1. I started shopping on vinted and on sales. I was never a big fan of charity shops, secondhand clothes etc., but prices of new items are freakishly high now, even H&M is getting expensive. I will still buy underwear and shoes from the shop (although I buy them on sale now, like in Clarks outlet), but not that fond of paying full price.
2. Cancelled Netflix, switched to cheap mobile plan (10 quid with Giff Gaff).
3. I am trying to manage my urge to buy new stuff and switch to cheaper brands for make up, toiletries etc.
4. Limit of one coffee out a month and we don't order takeaways anymore. Instead, I buy frozen pizza or stir fry noodles etc. so I don't feel deprived that I can't afford fast food.

I did a no buy challenge for 12 months the other year, no clothes except things like underwear or to replace something that had worn out. The It really changed my buying habits and made me reassess what I actually liked to wear. The following year, I eased up and could buy clothes but they had to be second hand and only specific things I really wanted, no impulse purchases. I now own a lot less clothes, buy better quality, and 2nd hand of possible

Try this time of year to get free food box or subscriptions.
Often they are flouting first box free or test box.and cancel after you get the free one.
Also on social media this time of year "popular folk" will be used as advertisement billboards left right and centre so look for them pushing codes🙄( but of course they are there, like, favvvvvve product)

I have a code for a free Simply Cook box if anyone is interested.You get 4 recipes for free and there's no obligation to order any more.
www.simplycook.com/invite/N6FYNV?t=cp&pg=ref&via=dt

We both get a free box if you use my code,and the recipes are great.We have been using them to replace expensive takeaways and been very impressed.The food is delicious and we've saved a big chunk from not ordering takeaway food on a fri or sat night.

I am going to scour car boots whenever I want any clothes. Charity shops are just too expensive. I sometimes buy Next online in the sales if an item is half price but even those seem pricey nowadays as although I have a Next account things have shot up.

Charity shops are really expensive round here too now.I love car boots and have got some really good buys over the years.Most of the warm jumpers and cardigans that I am going to wear over the winter months have come from car boots,shame that the outdoor ones are pretty much done for the season now.Hopefully there will be some good indoor table top sales in schools,church halls etc as they can be great for bargains too.

I think the key is to look at everything from a cost/benefit ratio.
For example sitting at home in the dark with a candle on to save maybe a penny a day on electric is a big detriment to life for miminal saving. Same if you wfh and feel isolated but say no to a catch up with friends to save the £2.50 cost of a coffee. Or if going to the gym is your main hobby and you go several times a week then it may be expensive but the cost per use and benefits to your health, mood etc make it worthwhile

However other things often aren't worth the cost. E.g paying 20 quid for a domino's pizza when you can get DIY ones that are as nice from asda or somewhere for a tenth of the price - the very slightest added convenience isn't worth the cost IMHO. Buying presents for people just because you usually do when neither of you really appreciate the random tat you get each other. Taking really young kids who don't know what's going on to see father Christmas for a tenner a go. Paying for netflix, Disney and amazon prime when you only watch one at a time - just alternative them by month!

Also things like buying an air fryer - workout how much your oven actually costs you first. Otherwise you could spend £100 on an air fryer but if you only use it once or twice a week could be years before you make the initial outlay back!

Everyone's cost/benefits are different but to me it's worth working them out for your particulalr circumstances rather than going mad and cancelling everything you enjoy just to save a few quid.

I have started withdrawing cash on a Sunday evening which I use for the following week.I find having the physical cash in my purse makes me much more controlled than if I was using my card.I find it much easier to not be tempted just to tap my card here and there,and try to just use my card for things like school dinner money and petrol.

Just used your link,thankyou for the free box.Takeaways are definitely off the menu in our house for the foreseeable so this will be a nice change.

We are pretty much vegetarian now as its so much cheaper to really cut down on the amount of meat.We pretty much only buy meat if its a yellow sticker bargain,and it has really brought the costs down.

Indeed...I find the no toilet roll thing grim.
That's not frugal, that's cheap and nasty.

We don't bother with meals out very much or takeaways - too often disappointing.

Go through all your things and anything you don’t wear/use any more sell on marketplace or similar. Three times a week have a really cheap meal beans on toast/ egg on toast or soup. Don’t have the heating on at all whilst the kids are at school and in the morning when everyone is rushing around, you’ll be fine. when the children get home try and do without heating but if you must just put it on for 1 hour to warm things through then turn it off, the residue heat should be enough until the children go to bed. Buy cheap biscuits instead of chocolate bars and other snacks custard creams can be as cheap at 35p and last a few days.

I have pretty much resisted putting the radiators on,but when I have done,I'll flick them on for ten minutes,then crank the temp right down and the radiators stay warm for a good half hour.I don't know if I will actually leave them on for long periods until it's absolutely freezing.

We have also got blankets,throws,hot water bottles and draught excluders to try and cut the need for the radiators/electric fire.

How much are people actually saving by not having radiators on? I think there are probably easier areas to save money rather than seeing how long you can last without heating...