Please tell me crazy things you've done to cut back cost of living

[Moneyschploney]

I'll go first and share some of the lengths I've gone to.

Cut own hair.
Gone days without eating a main meal.
Stay home every weekend and make zero plans for weeks on end.
No birthday or Christmas presents for anyone, except DC.

I'm in £7k debt and need to pay this off by halfway through this year. Single income/parent household.

Doing my online shop yesterday and Sainsbury's pops up telling me it's payday and perhaps I'd like to treat myself to bottled water and loo roll as a "payday treat"....

Remember when a payday treat used to be an actual treat?

Sigh!

Wouldn't it be cheaper and less wasteful to use microfiber cloths that you can wash and reuse?

I have a spray mop from B&M it has a tear off velcro washable pad that gets washed and re-used and it came with a spare. Cost about £5 a couple of years ago and still going strong, I just fill the reservoir with soapy water.

I used to get my hair highlighted every 8 weeks but I no longer go to the hair salon at all anymore - I haven’t been in over two years as I can no longer justify the prices.
I've stop all subscriptions.
I no longer have takeaways - I used to have one every weekend around four years ago.
The first time in my adult life I have found myself nearly 3k in debt with my energy supplier - and that’s with limiting my heating, so I go days with sitting in the cold.
I’ve cut back on my food shopping but my bills are more than ever.
I’m working to just pay bills and that’s basically it. It’s a very different life to before the pandemic.

Why so much on debt @Pinepeak2434 did you not pay monthly direct debit for months - that’s like over 1.5yrs of heating for me

This weekend is strictly no spend. I have an online grocery delivery tomorrow, but that's it.

I am a bit more energetic this week, which is probably mainly due to eating better. I also visited a friend during the week for a catchup, which lifted my spirits.

The £115 balance on the store card is paid off, paid towards the 0% credit card and have done a proper stock inventory of the pantry and other consumables.
For further money saving, I'm going to completely use up all toiletries, household detergents and food in the freezer before buying more. I aim to eek everything out and restock toiletries and detergents end of Feb.

I always meal plan, though don't always stick to it! Tonight I'm cooking spicey mexican rice with diced pork shoulder, frozen sliced peppers, frozen mixed veg and onions. A sachet of fajita mix lasts ages and my DCs love the flavour.

I've also managed to switch to a social tariff for my broadband.

That all sounds great! Good luck with it all :)

One thing that occurred to me re: online food shopping… before the pandemic, i used to do online shops with a particular company, and it was really convenient, because you could save your favourites in a shopping list and just click on it to re-order the following week. One week I spent a bit more time looking for items, and I realised that the things saved in my weekly shopping list were actually much dearer per item than other sizes of the same item, as there were ad-hoc offers on, which meant to really get the cheapest shop each week you had to search for and add each item separately, every single week, to see whether there were new offers.i thought it was really cheeky actually. It’s years ago now, but eg fairy dishwasher gel sachets… so I would have say a bag of 48 in my saved list for perhaps £10, but if you actually did a search for the product, you would see that the same item, but in bags of 72, were on special offer at say 2 for £10.

Not sure if all shops do this, but if you are time-rich, then worth taking more time to find the offers online..

Lentils (specifically Puy for my main use), the massive blocks of value cheddar (which are now sold in mature which I'm happy about) which I grate and then freeze, instant mashed potato which is on offer at 3 for £1.50.
Bananas as a staple as they are cheap and filling, I use a big shopping trolley to bulk buy food as opposed to smaller shops.
Giff Gaff £10 monthly plan with my own second hand smart phone, frozen vegetables and frozen fruit when possible, I very rarely purchase branded food items and almost all the time search for value alternatives in the supermarket such as grapes and baked beans.
I mix cordial with fizzy water to lessen my intake of pop (more for health reasons), I withdraw cash for the week of a set amount to spend so I can more easily track my spending, although there are times when I pay with card.
I cook from scratch where possible and I batch cook and freeze which is hugely time saving and more obviously cheaper when I store it in the freezer.
I use a disabled bus ticket which is free if applied for and issued, I pay a small cost for a third reduction fare disabled rail ticket which requires a PIP award presentation and it is possible to buy a three year one which further reduces the cost of it when used regularly.
I shop at Home bargains, which is an amazing shop that is genuinely cheap rather than just a slogan, I also shop at Savers for the same reason.
Note the cost of vitamins and supplements at both of these shops are amazingly good, as is their gift selection and pyjamas which are very good quality (the ones I have are pure cotton and thick)
Vinted is very good, as is obvious, but note that they sell items that you may be unaware of such as vacuum cleaners, prams, dolls and toys.
I am a lover of pure lanolin for skin care purposes, and a big tub can be bought instead of £12 tubes if you use it daily.
In my region you can apply for a 'passport to leisure' from the council if you are eligible for it (check if you qualify) and it entitles you for free (selected) sessions in council/subsidised leisure centres. The name 'passport to leisure' will likely vary depending on where you live.

Grew my hair. Got fed up with paying extortionate amounts so a hairdresser could do what they like and ignore what I wanted

Make my own alcohol. We don’t drink much at all but with family over now and then we need some. So I make mead.

We pick wild elderflowers and make my own cordial
We go for walks and pick blackberries and other wild fruits. Not brave enough to do that with mushrooms yet.

Grow some veggies
mainly potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, sunflowers for seeds and all the summer salads inc tomatoes

Wash clothes on cold. Started this originally as our washing machine used to cut out the house electrics if the setting was anything other than cold. Now do it all the time except for really dirty stuff or whites

We don’t eat meat or fish so food is cheap but we batch cook aswell and never buy fake meat upfs

we wear thermals in winter. Our house is single glazed so no amount of heating really heats it up. We have lots of tress including limes so plenty of free wood for the wood burners too.

We don’t browse in shops, we hate shopping anyway but it’s a big saver.

We shop in Lidl using the 10% off bargain on their app and Aldi. We don’t buy brands inc face creams etc Lidl and Aldis are great

We save and invest in bonds etc.

We do nearly all our diy except electrics.

We don’t buy commercial cleaners. We use lemon etc

We use the discounts with compare the meerkat for the occasional treat and have just secured free tickets to two visits to National Trust properties.

I have never had nails bottox suntanning etc regime. It’s just not my thing.

We share a car and a phone. We work together so why bother with two.

All in all we spend very little I think. Even our hobbies are free.

we wear thermals in winter.

I started wearing thermals, then started getting vulval thrush. Stopped the thermals, the thrush stopped. Clearly, my vulva needs fresh air.

Ahhh!! I keep adding on to my 0% credit card. This happens when I feel particularly stressed.

I have 15 months left on the personal loan. £5700, 6.7%
£1850 on credit card !! 0% runs out Dec
£76 on very, runs out June

Along with broadband, I've managed to lower the water bill. Next will be insurances when they're up for renewal.

I have some home repair costs coming up that will set me back around £1k.

Still, I am trying my best to use up everything in the house. During lockdown I had no option but to! I can and will get rid of this debt. 😩

Has anyone cancelled their TV licence. According to gov.uk, I fit the criteria to need require one legally.

The BBc action line has some good advice on its website.

I've cancelled it 😔

I did cancel more than a year ago, however still receiving letters to buy it! You can get refund too, even if pay monthly, not yearly. I got random £54 .
We watch only YouTube.

I've applied for the refund. Debt repayments and the suffocating cost of scraping by are utterly depressing.

Going without a main meal most evenings but taking advantage of a cooked lunch at work. Not buying kitchen towel anymore. Really thinking about where I’m driving to cut back on fuel usage. Not buying candles anymore which I used to love. Giving up subscriptions. Buying really limited food so no wastage. Myself and primary school daughter at home and a dog. Cutting and dyeing my hair myself.

I turned down the temperature on my boiler so the water doesn't come out as hot and noticed a bit of a difference in the gas bill. Also trying to keep showers shorter and turn off the water when I am shampooing my hair rather than have hot water running down the drain while I don't need it.

I have bucket in the bathroom that I use to collect the cold water from the shower while I am waiting for it to heat up and I use the water for flushing the toilet, watering the plants or mopping the kitchen floor.

Try to get out of the house on weekends so we aren't using heat, light and water. But we do have places with decent public toilets available. If you don't I can imagine it's hard to spend the day out without spending money.

One place I have started going it is not too cold is the local football team pitch. It's open for any one to go and watch training and matches for free. I take a book or a magazine and sit on the benches reading while my son watches the training or plays with other kids there. They have a small sheltered area and a bathroom so we can spend a good half a day there if there is enough going on.

Try to maximise use of the oven. If I put the oven on I make sure it's full. When I'm roasting veg for dinner I'll put a quiche and baked potatoes in as well to warm up the next day for example.

Have you seen CAB to ensure you're claiming everything you're entitled to, including council tax benefit (which has to be applied for separately)? They can also refer you to a food bank or a community pantry (the latter being where you pay £5 and are given, say, £25 worth of food - usually donated by local supermarkets / shops). Plus they know of other schemes or grants / freebies etc that you may be entitled to.

I like to make big batches of mince that I can use for cottage pie, chilli, bolognase etc that can be served with value rice, pasta or potatoes. I bulk out very little actual mince using onions, grated carrots, celery and any combo of red lentils, pearl barley, porridge oats but usually all of the above (soak before use).

I also use the Trolley app for best prices and HotUKDeals for alerting me to weekly bargains & deals.

I know what you mean.

I have a low income so I am on 'warm homes' scheme, it might be worth you looking at it.

The basic scheme gives you £140 towards your electricity bills.

My supplier has an additional fund that you are given a list of things you can pick from, there are two catagories and you have to choose from including heated throws, shopping vouchers (worth £40), soup makers and I can't remember the rest.

Which supplier it is please? Im with British Gas, got warm home discount and on priority register because of child's medical equipment - never had anything free offered....

I'm with EDF. They call it 'Winter Warmth Choice'. If you don't want the items you can have an extra £100 applied to your bill.

Quite a few companies have funds or charitable funds. A friend got a bed and a washing machine from Severn Trent's Trust Fund. If you are a ST customer it is worth knowing about next time you need an oven / washing machine / bed.

In the 80s h (now ex) tried to kill me. Boss came round from work said he couldn't possibly have me working in their fine upstanding family firm when this hit the papers. Dismissed. My last wage packet went on buying oldest Ds a bike to get to school, and a trolley on wheels. I walked to Iceland bought the cheapest food going.Ex took the car, phone was disconnected landline only, couldn't afford the bill. Walked to a phone box.Had to crawl to the jobcentre standing in a queue with everyone hearing my personal business, and wait 6 weeks for benefits. No food banks,no family help. Kids got free school meals, I did what was called "the breadline", slice of white toast for breakfast,rinse and repeat for lunch and dinner. He stopped paying the mortgage, the house was repossessed and we spent over a year in emergency accommodation. It's left me with a very careful thrifty mentality.