What have you done to cut back on spending ?

[Kindnessproject]

Interested to know what people are doing to make ends meet from a reducing outgoings perspective plus looking for extra ideas!

here is mine:

energy bill:

• heating on 15 during day and 10 during night (used to be 18 and 12). keep warm as have fleece bedding with extra blankets, an electric radiator in room in if needed, electric blanket if needed, warm drinks, layers, oodie, double socks
• barely use tumble dryer
• use air fryer instead of oven
• Turn all plugs off when not using
• rewearing clothes more so washing them less
• hoovering less often
• only putting enough water in the kettle for the No of cups I’m making

food/drink

• buying supermarket own brands or value brands instead of more expensive brands for items such as coffee, weetabix, tomato sauce, shreddies, crisps, squash
• buy much less fresh meat/fish
• buy much less treat food
• given up alcohol
• making hot drink to warm up

beauty:

• Using home dye rather than hairdresser
• New toiletries and make up ban (I have loads so will use all up first which should take months)

household

• changed from tabs to washing powder

entertainment :

• cancelled Netflix
• Strict one meal out a month only
• strict two coffees out a month only

other

• cancelled dds to charity :(

I have given up on the tumble dryer which is a pain with 4 kids. No breaks away and just generally more conscious about what we spend.

Oh yes! I am using home hair dye too. No where near as good but manageable. Growing my hair too as it was in a bob and needed cutting every 6 weeks or so! Going about every 12 weeks now.

Made bread pudding from left over bread.

Still using tumble drier for towels, sheets and ‘finishing off’, as rather use it then have these hanging around for days.

Using up existing toiletries.

I’ve been using washing powder for a couple of years now, it was one of my really easy wins to cut down on plastic!
I’ve decided to take my own lunch to work more as I work right next to an M&S (next to a train station!) and when I’m in the office I just nip in, grab a sandwich, little side salad and then some biscuits/treats for the office - £15 every time! Don’t mind once a week but 3 times a week if I’m in the office that much is ridiculous!

Sorry, just seen this is in the cost of living topic, thought it was chat as I was scrolling down active 🫣
Other people here will have way better ideas than me!

No tumble dryer, no hairdressers, no oven or hob, no tv/video player (just via mobile phones). No unnecessary lights or anything left on charge/standby. @Walk to town (easy as roadworks make anything else impossible). Always have a supermarket delivery - no opportunity to put more in the trolley. No holidays or days out. No longer do any Christmas or birthday presents or cards etc. Nothing is thrown out unless totally used up or it’s rags.

I have swopped to mobile hairdresser. £60 for 3 of us instead of about £100.

Sometime ago but I bought a trolley and always walk to supermarket I can fit loads in trolley so no need to use car and pls tunic space for any yellow sticker bargains i find. Heating down to 17 from 18 during the day and I try to manage lower.

Trying to cook different recipes at home so I don't long for a takeaway at weekend.

No popping to town for one thing and then end up browsing shops and spending lots/

Similar cuts to the OP and also

I shop at Aldi now.
Cancelled my TV licence and Netflix
Reduced my phone contracts to Lebara £5 a month
Reduced my internet
Closed off part of the house (annex)
Insulated windows with plastic wrap and bubble wrap
Insulated roof space
Collect and chop up free wood for the fire
Changed all bulbs to low energy
Used smart plugs to ensure things aren't left on
Using camping towels target than normal bath towels
Washing in cold water
Using a dehumidifier to dry clothes indoors
Hung up thermal curtains (close then at dusk and open at dawn)
Got a smart meter fitted

Basically trying everything I can think of.

Meal planning. Saved so much
Learnt to cut the kids &DH hair from a YouTube video. I'm good now. Save ££££s over the years.
Went through every direct debit and cut back were could.
Buy all presents second hand for kids (none for me and DH).
Cycle and walk more.

Also don't have holidays, days or meals out of takeaways. Wear clothing far longer than I probably should.

Electric radiators use up a fuck ton of energy - way more than heating. When my boiler broke I had them in 2 rooms for a few days and the cost was extortionate

I've got an Alcove with a radiator in it, I've fitted discrete hooks 6 ft up the wall so I can string a line up and remove it when not drying. 10m of drying space . As it's all right advice the radiator it dries in the 2-3 hours the heating is in of an evening. So much much less tumble drying. I barely ever have the oven on and off I do it's got to be maximised. So I'll make a batch of bread and then do a roast. I made sure both sleeves are used at all times. Mostly is the air fryer , George fisherman and toasty machine for food. In the day time if I am home alone and want to watch tv, I'll use the iPad instead of the big screen. Everybody has fake oodie and warm socks. Zero heating overnight at all ever, just the frost protection thing. I turned my hot tub off in august and it's been off ever since 😞. Shame as it's amazing for my arthritis.

We eat a lot of cheaper food these days. We used to have a roast a week, regular braised steak, lamb shanks. Not anymore. A roast every two weeks. Lots of simple pasta and sauces. Home made soups using chicken bones. Home bargains Springvale sausages are a staple now at £1.15 for 8. Their thick cut bacon too £4.25 for a kilo of back is brilliant value. I use half for a weekend fry up, 1/4 for carbonara and 1/4 for bacon and lentil soup. I grow my own salad leaves in a mini led hydroponics set up I got for Xmas. It's actually quite good. I buy any reduced meat I see and freeze it. I spend a lot in farm foods filling the freezer. Some stuff is hit and miss but you also get some brilliant bargains. And the vouchers take 9% off the total. Last week I got tubs Ben and jerrys ice cream and magnum duo for 99p a pint. A huge 3kg pack of catering battered chicken breast chunks for £10.99 and they are better than kfcs apparently. So I use them as nuggets, in katsu , sweet and sour etc. I make my own rice pudding in the pressure cooker and keep it in the fridge. The teens are happy to eat it cold or hot and it satisfies their sweet tooth. I buy rice and pasta in bulk now. And loo rolls too.

I do quite enjoy the challenge of it but I still never seem to have any money left over 🤷🏼‍♀️

I dropped my water DD by £10pm by saving water and using it in the flush.
I use water butt water, keep any clean water like from the dogs bowl, keep bath water, and catch the first bit of cold water from the shower.

Tried being good by not using dryer, but drying washing on clothes horse was making the place smell damp, so I went back to using dryer.

My heating/hot water is never on overnight.

-Cancelled Spotify and down graded Netflix account
-make meals out of what we have and meal plan for the week
-packed lunches
-no bought coffee, make it at home and take with me for commute
-travel a different way to work, takes 20mins longer but save £100 a month
-we go out once a month (well, BF does)
-no takeaways, make takeaways if we fancy a junk night

• sell kids clothes on vinted and use the money on the account to buy them new (2nd hand) bits.

-we only really put the heating in for a few hours if it feels really cold.

• stopped buying kids snacks and they just have fruit or snacks I bake and freeze
• do a few months financial forecast so I know when a tight month is coming up. Both kids at childminder so some months are tight as more working days

Hmmmm

We already live quite frugally but really trying to cut back on our food shopping.

We do our weekly shop in Lidl rather than Tesco. Only going to Tesco / Asda once a week for cat food (fussy) or things we can't get in Lidl.

I stopped putting the heating on in the day when I'm off work and the kids are at school
Using heated clothes drier rack as little as possible
Limiting eating out
Wearing clothes for longer and getting sheets and towels to last for longer between washes

The depressing thing is that doing all these things doesn't result in there being any extra left over...it's like living crapper for no reward.

Not anything too different as we lived quite simply anyway (I cut our hair, charity shop shopping, etc), only things were; heating on only 5am-7am, and 7pm to 9pm, and bought 2nd air fryer.

We put thermostatic valves on all the radiators so we have complete control, and can turn them off in unused rooms. Also a Sheila Maid in the laundry room with an economical wall heater for the winter and window for the summer so a fairly cheap place to dry clothing.
We're cutting down on meat for environmental/ethical reasons and a lovely lentil dal is very cheap! Also just considering cost at every level - eg I was keen to replace our en-suite wall lights, which were too fussy, so I instead of my first reaction, to just order new ones I just adapted them myself and they look more streamlined now.
Our current leather sofas were bought second hand and almost new from a couple who were moving abroad, and we still have them in great condition 9 years later!

Saw a hint where you leave your Hive thermostat by a radiator and it switches the heating off quicker.

Plus point - definitely saving on heating!
Minus point - the house is bloody freezing
(Plus point 2, the cats want to snuggle up/leach body heat all the time 🥰)

Also, erm, stopped eating breakfast and started walking during meetings to get out of bloody cold house. Saving money, and lost 12kg (of excess, don’t worry, folks) over the last few months, so…yay?

I have done the following:

Storage heaters set to 17 rather than 18 - tried lower but made my asthma worse. 17 makes a surprising difference to the bill still tho!

Changed my mobile and iPad to sim only last year instead of upgrading as soon as allowed.

Now want a new phone so I can give my current one to DD. Instead of just going for the deal my provider recommends I've shopped around. I'm going to get a handset from somewhere else on interest free credit - will save me almost £1k over 2 years compared to the "deal" with my network (which would have seen me pay double for the handset alone!)

Turning off the hot water supply (economy 7) when I'm travelling for work. I'm often away for 3/4 nights at a time. This has saved a fortune on my energy bill. Heating stays on for the pets tho!

Saw a hint where you leave your Hive thermostat by a radiator and it switches the heating off quicker

or just turn the hive temp down. Think about it. It’s the same thing

We do most of our laundry in the mornings and as much as possible aiming for sunny days (so getting solar electricity from the roof). And the same the days we run the dishwasher - we set the timer for mid morning but definitely try to organise it for sunny days. And alternating machines on less sunny days so we have enough solar for 1 but not both.

And drying laundry either outside on the line on the better days, or on the clothes horse, and not really using the tumble dryer at all.

I'm back to slow cooking more often and getting more stewing meats in the butcher, as well as just getting meat in the butcher for better value. And the greengrocer next door for lots of veg. And the baker down the street.

I got myself a GOOD travel mug (keeps the heat well and seals so doesn't spill). So now I am making my coffee at home in the morning and bringing it with me for my commute instead of buying coffee at the station. (I did this before the station coffee shop closed, and it wasn't just because I wasn't buying there that it closed). I still buy good beans but I am spending less overall on my coffee.

I had to buy a lot of new clothes last year (new job and old office clothes too small) but was able to keep a lot too. So I don't intend to buy anything except new tights for at least 6 months.

And I renewed my tax free train ticket this year for the first time since covid.

They're my main things at the moment.