Has anyone got any tips on living below your means.

[ScarboroughFairy]

I don't mean setting a budget I mean tricks and tips. This could help anyone if you want to chip in. my idea is bar soap instead of bottles. I don't have a problem with frivolous spending but I am living above my means. I am OK with the cost of my food and bills etc which are reasonable. It's just everything else.

Check what you've got in the cupboards/fridge/freezer before you go shopping. The number of times I've bought something because I'm not sure if I've got it at home (looking at you, 8 tubes of tomato puree)

Track every last thing you spend money on for a month. I did it for January and it was eye opening how much I spend on things I just don't need.

Cancel zombie subscriptions - if there's nothing on netflix you fancy, cancel it, you can always renew

Our local college has a hair and beauty salon, you can get treatments at a fraction of salon prices.

Vinted for buying and selling.

Go through all your subscriptions and see what you can get rid of.

I made saving automatic. Pay comes in, savings go out the next day. That way I don’t spend it.

Pay yourself first. Savings are a bill and they go out first. Priority one.

Not just what’s left at the end.

Buy a metal safety razor instead of plastic ones. The blades last so much longer and are 100% recyclable too.

Flippant - don’t take your dc to b and m (similar stores are available!!)
I’m £50 lighter, which is why I only take her 3 or 4 times a year. We will use everything we bought, but I wouldn’t have missed it if we hadn’t bought it (iyswim).
But she had a great time and we laughed a lot!

Understand what you spend on - everything for a year if possible - go through every statement

you have the greatest chance to save most in the categories you spend most in. Which is why I find bar soap surprising.

that’s often food - vegetarian most days and healthy eating because you seem to eat less that way. Frozen and tins.

it’s often heating - a half degree cooler can save loads

andif it’s stuff - just don’t. One in one out - don’t buy anything that isn’t desperately needed and leave it a week before you actually spend

Souper cubes and proper batch cooking. I have all the main dishes I cook stored in portioned blocks.

Library
free local nights out
walk anything with 2 miles

Stop buying any big brands- ALDI’s are just as good. Get rid of unnecessary products, eg fabric and hair conditioners. Take a picnic and flask everywhere. Look out for free local events. But ahead in sales, eg Halloween and Christmas outfits for the kids for the next year.

But she could have an electric shaver

I second the library. I also get free sanitary products in my library.

cashback apps for all spending, sell unwanted stuff on vinted. All this money goes straight into savings as it’s ‘extra’

Stop buying lots of different cleaning products, bottle of bleach, anti bacterial spray and washing up liquid do most jobs.

leftovers for lunch.

my next thing is to tackle snacks as I’ve realised I spend too much money on crisps, biscuits etc

I save a huge amount of money buying school uniform from the PTA. To kit out my DCs with new uniform, PE kit etc would be approx £500. each. The PTA sell it second hand at around 90% off.

We are currently in a no spend month. No coffees put, no dinners with friends, no trips to B&M. If it’s not a need it has to wait. It helps us really consider what we need and put a little into a savings account. We do this a few times a year

I was ill health retired sometime ago and suddenly went from a professional wage to a tiny pension. As a single parent with 3 dc at home at the time I've learnt lots of tricks.
I found a home hairdresser (charges £10 for adults) granted they dont wash my hair and I have to sweep the mess up afterwards but for that price I'm prepared to do so.
I online food shop and stretch it out to 10 days, I've found you can only do so long by meal planning every meal. By ordering from home I can also check whats in the cupboards.
I dont have any excess subscriptions. But do look out for offers such as I switched to lloyds bank got a switching bonus plus a year of Disney plus so that was dc television for the year. I do a bank switch every November which pays for some of the Christmas presents.
Obviously dont auto renew anything. Have calender reminders to alert you to check for better deals.
When i order something in large quantities than I need eg meat I seperate and freeze.
Buy the range of food below what you normally do, drop down again if you can. For example my dc prefer tesco cheapest chocolate spread to Nutella. But the cheap baked beans aren't as good as the standard beans however you can use the cheap ones in chilli or sausage casserole to make it go further.
You really dont need all the expensive hair and beauty products. I use Alberto balsam shampoo and conditioner and my hairdresser always coments on its good condition.
I have all my direct debits listed and keep a close check on them. When payments come in I split my money one for DD, one for savings, one for spending. At the end of the month any excess money goes into savings (the night before payday as a reset).

Ask yourself if you really, really need the item.
Add it to a list somewhere and sleep on it.
If you’re shopping online, add it to your basket and then leave it. Very often you will then get a discount code or offer through by email.
Check for discount codes before buying anything.
If you get something that’s no good, make sure you return it in time/in correct condition etc. Don’t faff about with it!
Mainly though, have a gap between thinking you need something, and actually buying it. That thinking time is priceless.

Cut your own hair, do you own beauty treatments ( i dyed my eyebrows and lashes this evening).

Clothes off vinted. A family I'm friends with are going on a ski holiday, they bought everything they needed from decathlon (with a 365 day friend policy) then went on vinted and eBay and rebought as much of it as they could again second hand knowing their exact sizings, and returned everything they didn't need to decathlon - genius.
I'm losing weight at the moment and just by the exact same next jeans a size down on vinted when i need them.

Frozen fruit, so much cheaper.

Tesco clubcard points for Disney+

Check your eligibility for a bluelight discount card, they cover a huge range of professions now and have some really good discounts.

Make a list of all the things you love doing that happen to be free or very low cost. then plan your weekends around them, instead of expensive outings and dinners.

Get a haircut that grows out well, into a new shape that works. I only get my hair cut twice a year.

Always cook your own food. Takeaways are the biggest waste of money. They are usually disgusting. If you really crave a no-cook day, get supermarket ready meals for a fraction of the price of takeaways.

Cancel gym membership. There are free workouts online for almost every form of execise. And running and walking are free. Exercise doesn't need to cost you any more than a decent pair of trainers. (And they can be very cheap if you buy last year's style.

Never buy clothes unless you can think of three occasions in the next month when you would prefer to wear this new item than anything you currently own.

I cut and dye my own hair and eyebrows. Never eat out / take aways or ready meals. Aldi for shopping / meal planning. Vinted - sell and buy all mine and my kids clothes on here. Free activities at weekends. Always make packed lunches for work / school. Don’t buy anything I don’t need. I don’t drink alcohol.

Probably too specific but I bought Pitrock deodorant 4 years ago and still using the same one. I only use it directly after showering (so sometimes I use a different product) but when I think about how many roll ons I’ve not bought in that time it blows my mind. Also effective - including marathon training in the summer of 2022 which was beyond hot.

Do a financial audit, if you’re living beyond your means work out exactly what you’re spending your money on. If it’s essential spending you need to cut costs, if it’s discretionary spending, use more discretion. All the tips in the world won’t help if you don’t know where your money is going each month.

have your employer split your pay so that a small portion goes directly into savings.
check your main account daily and before bed (after all purchases for the day) transfer into the savings what ever small amount so that each day you start on a multiple of 5 (bring a balance of 122.25 to 120 tucking the 2.25 into savings).

I carry cereal bars in my changing bag (small dc) so if any of us (me too!) have an emergency tummy rumble then I am ready, no expensive random top-up snacks (and I know I could say no to them, and cereal bars aren't the best but it is just in case)

I try to use flannels more than baby wipes at home for sticky hands and faces and dish cloths over anti bac wipes at home.

I cut open toothpaste tubes and tomato puree tubes to get it all out. I know it's not going to get me millions but it helps the environment a bit too