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 :(

Energy

Heating only on for a morning hour on weekends we are home. Weekdays we can eat breakfast in eight degrees as we are both gone by 8am. Two hours in the evening, set to 14.

Two minute showers, four with hair wash.

Two washes a week, one clothes, one towels with bedding etc on rotation.

January bill was £110

@Wonderpoo No, it means one room in the house is slightly warmer, which I do want. It’s all the others we use, like kitchen etc, that are much colder. The rooms we don’t use, the rads are switched off and we’ve got draught excluders under the doors. Sorry, didn’t explain myself properly there!

Posted too soon! Also:

Eating out less

Paying more attention to deals at supermarket - I've had some amazing money off vouchers from Waitrose, most recent was £8 off £40 spend. I have done a LOT of small shops this month to take advantage of this, stocking up on essentials.

Making full use of our national trust membership for a cheap weekend day out, reviewing and cancelling the memberships we don't use

Changed my office hours so I can travel off peak (saved a fortune on this, my train fare is £20 per day rather than £50 😱)

Save regularly into pots on Monzo for future expenses such as car insurance, service etc. might not save £ on the actual cost but is lovely to feel organised when the time comes and I've got at least some of it there. I literally save my spare change for this, tidy my bank accounts before payday and allocate the funds to pots. It's amazing how easily those little bits you otherwise might fritter away add up. One (exceptional!) month I saved almost £300 into pots like this!

We just cancelled our summer holiday

also Eating a lot less meat and fish, and a lot more eggs/veggie stuff

hair cut every 4 months instead of every 2

no more top up shops at the coop (prices must have gone up about 50% there)

It was not a conscious plan, these are all just small tweaks

am also trying to work more hours (free lance)

it feels money is worth a bit less every day

Inflation is NOT 10%, it’s way way more

@BiddyPop , what travel mug did you get?

Only use the tumble for towels

Hang a lot of washing over the banisters using radiator clothes dryers - can fit a whole load on them and it's the warmest spot in the house

Tea lights and candles to take the edge off in the evenings

Shopping at Lidl more often, swapping more expensive brands for their versions and often getting 30% off mince / chicken / fish. Sometimes buy their £1.50 boxes by the till which are always good value if you're prepared to use up the fruit and veg quickly

Making more soup using lentils which are cheap and filling

No alcohol

No take aways

Using the library more instead of buying books from Amazon

Wearing clothes a bit more often and trying to wash everything a bit less

Using gym membership as much as possible to make the most of it and to keep busy and warm

Using all toiletries and make up not buying anything new

Using up all cleaning supplies and not buying anything new

Participating in energy saving sessions (saving about £2 each time!) but helps to keep focused on turning lights off etc

No holidays or breaks booked at all for this year, we hope to do something like camping

We used to have a roast dinner every week, we still do but instead of expensive cuts of meat we have sausages now and then which the kids love, all the trimmings are the same but this is a bit more cost effective

More packed lunches for the kids at school because it's better value than paying for school dinners that they mostly complain about

Getting hair done less, every 4 months instead of every 2

Walking everywhere as much as possible instead of taking the bus

Using a fake hoodie and a hot water bottle during the day when WFH to keep warm

Meeting friends for dog walks and home made coffees instead of going to the pub

Cancelled Kindle Unlimited and Disney Plus.

Switched to Lidl cat litter instead of Cat San.

No heating during the day. I use an electric throw if I get cold WFH. Heating only on for an hour or two if needed when DS comes home from school.

No takeaways.

Reduced alcohol significantly.

Meal plan and batch cook, using reduced ingredients if I can obtain them.

Eat much less meat and fresh fish.

Serve slightly smaller portions for myself to get more meals out of the things I cook.

Changed job to a fully remote one. Similar salary to previous job but save over £1500 a year on travel.

Being careful with lighting/length of showers.

Stopped dying hair.

Only shave legs once a week rather than daily. Decent razor blades are pricey!

It’s expensive, but my dh swears by the Yeti mug. He reckons he's recouped the money, as it keeps the coffee hot for ages.

We have barely had the hearing on at all.
We invested in fleece electric blankets and I turn them on when I first wake up for the kids to snuggle under in the morning before school and we all use them in the sitting room in evening. Hot water bottles in beds.

Cancelled loads of DDs and SO/subscriptions on phones etc and have shared passwords/logins with my sister for Netflix and Disney although I hear this is being stopped soon. Kept the charity DDs for now.

No blow dry at hairdressers. Realised I wash hair most days anyway so what’s the point and hairdresser happy to just cut it and reduce the price- it’s saved me a fair bit already. Also stretched from every 8 weeks to 10.

Strict meal planning and meat in bulk from butchers then freeze for the month. Also discuss with butcher re cheaper cuts etc.

Late night shopping for supermarket bargains and freezing things like bread. Really avoiding extras like treats and ice creams etc that drift into the trolley by sticking to an organised list.

Totally stopped buying new clothes unless essential. Amazing when you start properly looking again at what you have clothes wise that you find the love for forgotten items.

Making use of deals and offers for essentials we have to buy. Waiting for the sales etc.

Reduced frequency of window cleaner. Ditto Gardner to cut hedges. Feel bad about this as they need to earn a living but at least I haven’t stopped it totally.

Walking or bus as much as possible to reduce car use.

The comment upthread about making sure all toiletry products are used up is genius and I’ve just looked in the bathroom cupboards and in travel bags etc and we have loads and loads of half used products. Ditto cleaning stuff so I’m going to put an embargo on new stuff until it’s all used up.

@ssd I replaced my Nespresso mug (teen Dd had "borrowed" my old one and broke the lid so I spent €20 to replace the whole thing (they don't sell replacement lids). But it's worth it as it does keep drinks hot for 3 hours (not just warm) and it doesn't leak when I close it properly.

We use the Lidl app and get 10% off every 4 weeks or so. Once we have the voucher each month we bulk buy all the big items like cat food, cleaning supplies etc.
we also use the cinema discount that comes with Lidl app - tickets under £5 during the week.

I am so fed up with the prices at sainsbury I now mostly shop at Lidl. I buy large packets of mince, chicken or any meat and then divide them into four or five portions and freeze. There are only the two of us. I fill meals up with beans etc instead. I have scoured recipes for low cost ones, the BBC page is good. Tonight we had a very hearty soup made with a tin of chickpeas and tin of tomatoes and some pasta hiding in the freezer. We had French bread and a tiny bit of cheese with it. It was lovely.

in other ways I use a quarter of the recommended amount of soap powder, now bought at Lidl and I. I’m in some soda powder in with the washing powder too. No tumble drier use, but I do have an electric drying frame which is cheap to run. Also bought a small air fryer.

i think my favourite is my heated throw from Lakeland, bought last winter. Costs little to run and I don’t put the gas fire on!

I have also given up alcohol, apart from when out, which is very rarely and as a bonus have lost weight! To my surprise I don’t miss the wine with dinner anymore.

Some things we did already for the sake of the environment: less meat, rarely buy clothes, try to buy things secondhand, repair or make do. Walk short distances instead of driving Never had any tv subscriptions or Amazon anything. We already did four minute showers to save water. Starred cutting everyone's hair at home during covid and I have never spent anything on my appearance. All my makeup is at least ten years old.

This winter we have turned thermostat down to 18 and heating off except for an hour morning and a few hours evening. ,(DH and I WFH in big jumpers and blankets) We have also reduced the boiler flow temperature drastically which has saved a lot of gas and well over half a tonne of carbon this quarter. We only turned the flow temperature down recently so there is more to be saved.

We have solar panels so can still run the tumble dryer a lot of the time. Dishwasher goes on overnight on cheap electric tariff.

We can't afford online supermarket any more. I shop once a week in Lidl aiming for 100 pound mark and there are NO topup shops. Once a month I get the few things we can't get in Lidl and can't do without.

There is no eating out of any kind and adults don't get Christmas or birthday presents. Lack of eating out is very painful for our family and we sometimes make an exception to stop the teens feeling too sad but it has to be a special occasion now.

We have got a UK self catering holiday planned and the kids are due to travel abroad with school so that is really nice. Days out are walking and free activities. I pack picnics which everyone hates.

I've gone full time at work but never felt so stretched financially apart from student days (we were a couple living on one phd stipend at one point). We have a comfortable home and can give our children what they need, including paying for trips and extra curricular. We aren't in debt and all being well will avoid getting into debt so we are much luckier than most. Still feels a bit shit though.

@QueenCoconut what's this Lidl cinema discount please?

We moved house last year and gradually replaced all of the old lightbulbs for energy efficient leds. It’s a fairly expensive upfront cost and we’ve probably not recouped the money yet but I can’t believe how much our electricity bill has reduced.

We're also using up what's in the cupboard for tins and freezer. It's amazing how much there is. We've also switched to cheaper meals which tend to be more carb heavy and do a weekly online so to help meal plan plus basics once a month from Lidl.

Our biggest cost currently is childcare so I'm working on how to reduce that with work patterns and possibly mixing nursery and preschool. We've never had to rely on grandparents before but starting to have those conversations.

Being open with family and friends about cutting back on things has been key. The expectations are killer.

I'm not desperately worried yet as we have significant savings but we won't be able to add to them for a while and we're definitely having to rejig things. It's definitely put off longer term expensive plans like renovations or moving to a bigger house.

Stopped buying new clothes and now wearing items already have, I had a weakness of wandering into shops and buying a pair of socks or a t shirt about once a week...we also plan our meals and cook in batches so avoids popping into a shop and spending on other items. not cutting out holidays or days out in the car. Have also bought seeds for the garden plants and flowers this year and the cheaper plug plants online. stopped the coffees in cafes now they charge £3.50 which was a twice a week treat. No online shopping on Ebay unless its a good second hand item of clothing. Difficult to save on food shopping as they are all charging high prices now. we dont eat meat so save there.

Also try to compare prices before making the food shop list and try to only buy certain items in each shop, retired so have time to do this. The fatal mistake is buying everything in one shop...even aldi and lidl are dearer on many items now over sainsburys etc.

We have used the tumble dryer once this winter. When it was -10, I have always line dried anyway, but we wash less often now, only on dry days uslees absolutely necessary, and wear things more. As we are wearing layers it's easier washing the bottom one or two thin layers and the thick jumpers can be washed less often. We have a dehumidifier (bought around 3/4 years ago) this allows for no tumble dryer. I also bought a few extra hand towels for less than £10 this lets us wash towels much less often too.

We have changed some meals as they were very energy heavy. Some of the cheaper cuts actually end up costing more in energy vs price for coking. Cottage pie is one, hob for the meat, the potatoes and veg and then a long time in the oven. We do use the slow cooker for the meat part now and cook in bulk now but it's still a very energy intensive meal. I'm really not a fan of frozen mash so bulk cooking that feels a waste.

Last spring we were still in a fix on our tariff but everything started going up. I bought a new winter coat (£45 down from £200) and a few pairs of trainers in the sales. Rather than waiting until this time of year. I still have a brand new pair of trainers in the wardrobe waiting. If I see something I know I'm going to need reduced or v cheap I'll buy it then rather than waiting.

My final one is I had to renew my broadband contract in December, I went into a 12 month contract rather than any longer due to CPI increases. While my monthly price started at 21.99 from April it will increase by £3.39 a month. I'm hoping to be able to get a similar deal to the original price again in December.

I forgot probably the biggest saving, turning the heating off at night completely. I needed to buy a bedspread for our bed (£35 from matalan) but it will last years and wd have probably saved that already this winter on gas. Dc have brushed cotton sheets for the summer and I added those under their duvets for an extra layer which really helped them keep warm.

We were already pretty frugal with the heating, it's off at night and I will generally only put it on if I feel cold and it's 17° ish

I have found out that I can get a cut and blow dry with a "graduate stylist" (college student) for £20 at my local hair dressers. My cut is pretty simple and she did it well.

@Tumbleweeder I was thinking of a wet cut but was worried about leaving with sopping wet hair! Is it not really cold going outside?

I've switched to cash so I can draw out £x at the beginning of the week and make sure I don't spend any more than that.

Apart from turning the heating down, WFH (saves on travel) etc. I am a lot more conscious about trying to make a bit extra. I have started selling on Vinted whereas before I just used to take to the charity shop.

Also try and buy more secondhand. All daughter's upcoming birthday presents bar one are secondhand. Feels a bit mean but hopefully she won't mind.

zero based budgetting work out income from all sources for month, allocate spending then record everything spent so no category over runs, also include sinking funds for annual expenses like house insurance, MOT on car plus an allowance for things like oil changes and tyres, brake pads etc, birthdays, etc etc
so if I've allowed £400 for food supermarket toiletreis and cleaning stuff everytime we buy food I deduct it so if come 20Th feb there is only £56 left, only £56 can be spent, if there is any left over I direct it to either sinking fund or savings or use it towards next months food but I would not up next months food allowance
both myself and DH have a small allowance each month for buying whatever we want, coffee out subscriptions books etc, we have a separate clothes budget
my DD has to manage with her pocket money, i don't bail her out or give extra
her pocket money doesn't cover essentials but if she has spent it on chewing gum and want a new lipstick well that's tough until she has next weeks money

It’s called the cinema society and you can find the link to register under the ‘other offers’ tab on the app (I think).

Have you tried doing an extra spin? It gets more water out and helps washing dry quicker. Stops the house getting as damp. Not as helpful for clothes that need ironing though.

I stopped getting food deliveries - was missing out on so many reduced bargains!
Now properly meal plan so only buy what's needed for that - no extras sneaking in (unless one of the reduced bargains for the freezer!)
Fewer takeaways, less eating out.
Also rewearing clothes before washing, was very much wear it once and wash it regardless before.
Swapped to a lot of own brands.
Wear make up less often so don't need to buy it as much, don't wash my hair every day anymore.
I'm sure there's more as well but that's all I can think of just now!