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.

Living below your means is as simple as living beyond your means.
Simply pretend your income is lower....
As pp I distribute savings at the beginning of month and basicaly pretend that these and that part of salary don't exist. Except when saving for something specific.

Btw people talking about freeview and iplayer.
Tv licence is about 15 a month now isn't it. I get 2 different paid services, not just tv, for that and have@ about 2 quid still left over.

Check your phone contract. I went SIM only a couple of years ago and I spend £5 a month for unlimited calls and texts and more data than I can use.

I have a 'round up' setting on my bank account so if I pay £9.50 for something my bank saves 50p to my savings account.

Agree with PP. One thing to add:

If I need/really want to buy something, I’ll always double check if I can get the exact same brand new with tags off Vinted.

DD recently wanted some trainers for Christmas that were £140 in the shop. She tried them on so I knew they were comfortable and fit. I got exact same ones for £54 plus postage from Vinted. Same goes for cosmetics and household items.

Always look for discounts/cashback.
No manicures/pedicures.
Vinted.

I make my own granola, bread and cakes - little cupcakes for the DC as it saves a huge amount.
i also make my dog food. Our dog used to have dried with a small amount of wet each day (Lilys kitchen). I now buy frozen pet food from the butchers ( it’s about a kilo, low fat, no offal as in liver and off cuts including venison). It is £4. I boil it up with butternut squash, brown rice, frozen fish (basic range) and add in green beans or peas at the end. I then mash it and freeze in little plastic washable pots and stack in the freezer. Costs about £8 max and lasts her two month’s. She is a small lab. .

Use credit wisely. When buying white goods etc you can often sign up to a catalogue and spread the payments over 9 months for extra cost, with the bonus og a welcome discount.

I use the Monzo penny challenge and round up facility to pay for Christmas.

Cashback credit card.

What are your values and ethics around money and lifestyle, and do they fit with what you're doing? For example, I value a simple lifestyle, and one of my life goals has been to retire early, so 45%of my monthly wage goes towards this. If instead I valued leading a more "lux" lifestyle then I would spend that 45% on that. Either way of living is OK, what matters is that I live in accordance with my values. So what are yours?

This is true though. I was going to b n m for cheaper coffee it was £6; instead of £8 at supermarket. One night I took DGC and it cost me an extra £18 saving nothing. Yes there's the pleasure but it's not helping the budget so I agree this is a funny tip but very true.

Make a list / folder of cheap or free day out places in your area, possibly price up anual passes for some and ask for them at birthdas/Christmas, and look out for discounts. Then on weekends or school holidays you can pick something off the list instead of heading to soft play etc.

If you live near an attraction that accepts them, help you DC to apply for a bluepeter badge. You still need to pay for the adult (unless DC is disabled, I get in free with mine as a carer), but it's still cheaper, and I enjoyed the nostalgia of them getting one (I never did but wanted on).

Get in the habit of alway packing water bottles, snacks and packed lunches when you go out. Keep some shelf-stable snacks in the car incase your out longer then expected.

Use cash and every time you’re tempted to buy something, think about how long you worked for to get it. Ie if your on £15/hr and you want to buy something frivolous, would you do 2 hours work inorder to have it?

I know you said not setting a budget but putting your money into separate pots and budgets works for me. On my bank I have set up different pots and have virtual Apple Pay cards for each. For example I have a “fun stuff” pot which I put £300 into, it’s for things like lunch days out, days out either the kids, essentially anything that I don’t deem “necessary”. When it’s out it’s out and I guess we’re eating out the freezer and not getting that take away or it’s the park and a walk instead of soft play and lunch. I could afford more but £300 is how much I feel comfortable spending on things like this. It’s so easy to just keep tap tap taping your phone but having individual pots is really keeping me accountable.

Some really good advice from @suki1964 on p2, especially about knowing the price of everything and expanding where you shop. So many people pay way over the odds out of habit, misplaced faith, or sheer thoughtlessness. And, if you know prices, when you spot a bargain you stock up.

I'd also channel my inner Warren Buffet and add trying to distinguish between the price of something, which is what you pay, from the value of something, which is what you get. This is not as simplistic as 'you get what you pay for'.

A couple of years ago we were in the market for a new car. We had no particular budget, just some fairly fixed requirements, and the final shortlist came down to two: a Dacia Jogger at £24k and a Skoda Kodiaq at £40k. The Skoda was clearly the nicer car, and if we had thought that the extra £16k gave us that much value we would have happily bought it, but we just couldn't see it.

Similarly, if you travel around Europe enough and realise that you can get a really good cup of coffee served at a café table for €1.20, then you become quite reluctant to queue up in a chain and pay £4.50 for something rather less tasty which you have to carry to a (filthy) table yourself - if you can find one.

10000% agree on this! It's funny but true :) I will only ever go into BnM etc solo.

I went into Home Bargains with my toddler (no choice as we needed essentials and I had no childcare that day) I saved a few pounds on the basics but we ended up with a peppa sticker book (Yes I could have said no, but I just put something back that I needed)

have a look at the Tightwad’s Gazette - it’s quite old but still relevant…

https://due.com/exploring-the-wisdom-of-the-tightwad-gazette/

You can buy Maggi powdered coconut milk from Morrisons in the World Foods section (and probably Asian stores) which works out really cheaply as you just make up as much as you need.

The cost of my food and bills are reasonable to me. I am thinking of deleting my various online shopping accounts even if that limits my options, but maybe that's extreme

Stop wasting stuff.
use up everything of something before you buy the next. You’ll be surprised at how much you can eek things out.
longer intervals between things like haircuts.
bulk buy and share out
cut the tops off product eg face wash there is so much left over.

The problem with buying Halloween ahead is that what kids like / trends etc change so fast when they're young.

Christmas is Christmas so I agree with this. And get things like Christmas jumpers on Vinted, for the kids at least. I stick DDs on in November if they don't fit anymore for a pound or two and they sell fast. Much cheaper than a tenner or more every year cos they've sprouted again.

What are you buying on them? Is it stuff you actually need or just stuff you want?

Honestly it's a bit of both but mainly stuff I don't need.

Then that's where you start.

If you don't NEED it you don't get it. If you can't stop thinking about it a week or so later, reconsider (because you're allowed joy). But stick to what you need and anything outside of that is only if it's within your "fun" or "joy" budget, which you'll have to set.

My credit card is frozen in a bag of water.... If I really need it I can defrost it but it forces me sleep on any purchases.

That's really funny

I actually prefer the coconut powder to the tinned ones. I find it much tastier. 😄

I prefer the one in a block that I grate but I don't add water to it. Coconut flakes are nice too. It's not a money saving tip though.