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.

I'm trying to stick to 'use up what you've got'

So last night I had a corn tortilla in a frying pan filled with half a red pepper and half a red onion gently sautéed, mozzarella left over from making a pizza and..
four fish fingers 😋
It was surprisingly tasty

I've also been doing YouGov surveys. You get 50/60 points a survey and can get them.most days. 5000 points means £50 which you can either get back into your bank account or as gift cards. I did it last year and got £150 of gift cards towards my Christmas food shop

I recently took early retirement, don't qualify for state pension for two years, only the tiniest bit of (unreliable and very variable amounts) money coming in. I found I'd got just a little bit too used to spending money.

Browsing online and thinking 'oh, that looks nice!' and buying it. I've stopped that dead. Don't go into town 'just for a look' (I live out in the sticks, so stopping that was easy). Batch cooking and meal planning. Wearing my Oodie around the house and my electric throw to keep warm rather than heating the whole house. Boiling a kettle to wash up rather than putting the immersion tank on and heating a whole tank for a sinkful (I've got an electric shower so I'm not sitting around stinking!), I don't have a dishwasher because I live alone and it's unnecessary.

Checking the cupboards before shopping (and writing NO MORE BEANS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD on the top of my shopping list). Using all the smellies that people have given me over the last Christmases. Not using the car if I don't really need to (see above re no 'popping into town for a look', which always turned into coffee, lunch, 'a few bits' etc). Make sure you keep busy too, because boredom-spending is a thing.

What it comes down to is meal planning and an electric throw.

Hair conditioner isn't unnecessary. I'd look like Medusa without it.

Smaller car, or do you even need one? Driving in a sensible manner can reduce fuel use by 10% easily.

It’s totally unnecessary for me- I’ve noticed zero difference. Switch to a non-branded one- you’re paying for the name/advertising.

On-line shopping tips:

💳 When you are bored and want to buy something, browse on line and have fun choosing things for your basket, but then don’t pay, leave it for a week or so, and only actually buy one thing or nothing at all. The excitement will have gone out of it.

💳 restrict yourself to Vinted or go out to a charity shop

💳 restrict browsing to one evening a week or instigate no buy months

💳 treat yourself in a different way instead of browsing online and turn to a free Suduko, crossword or Wordle site and play with a friend to make it more enjoyable

💳 restrict your capsule clothing and accessories to three classic colours so you can wear more combinations of items together and all accessories match and if you buy something new, you know it will go well with your existing stuff

💳 buy Elf cosmetics on Amazon

Do as much as possible yourself. Clean your own house, wash your own clothes and cook your own food.
I try to bring my own lunches and snacks to work. So much healthier, tastier and cheaper!

Know your wardrobe and buy replacements when shopping. So don’t just buy a new pink dress because you want it. Buy a new pink dress because you need to replace your old one.

That way you end up buying clothes you’ll actually wear. And you won’t end up with 5 pink dresses in slightly different shades / lengths etc.

same with makeup and skincare. I’ve spent sooo much on skincare I ended up being allergic to, not using, not liking etc. Nowadays I try (and usually manage…) to stick to the items that I‘ve already tried (and liked).

edit: with clothes I like to either spend more on quality or buy fairly „cheap“ and basic items. It‘s the „midrange“ that’s usually the most disappointing.

I forgot my conditioner when on holiday last spring. My hair ended up curly/wavy, voluminous and with a life of its own.

I quite liked the look and I did receive compliments.

But it took me more than an hour to deranged my hair every evening!! It even managed to get knotted when in braids!🙊

I was going to suggest the same. The day I get paid, I transfer money into the household bill account and into my savings account. What's left is mine to spend.

Think about need versus want, do you actually need the thing today, or can it wait until your next shop/payslip/etc? I've gotten in the habit of scanning online for better prices, and if it's something like a hair dryer that I need but can live without, I'll put it in my online cart and wait to see how long I can go without it. By the end of the month, I'll see how many of those things add up and how much I've saved by not getting a new thing when I could just as well get on with the older one. That saved money goes into a pot for rainy day/holiday/etc.

Absolutely love threads like this so thank you OP. I already do most of these as I have always swung between broke and comfortable. Thankfully now although I am not on a large income, I live well as long as I am careful.

Just came to add my latest tweaks as I did a financial overhaul in January. So I have :

Downloaded the Trolley app which compares the prices of products across retailers. I do mostly shop at Aldi but will occasionally buy a named brand.

Downloaded Everup which gives cashback on gift cards. Work out how much your shopping is likely to be, buy the gift card and use it to pay. For example, you currently get 4% on a Tesco gift card. All adds up as there are loads of retailers and cafes on there.

Changed by bank account to Chase. Got £50 with referral code and now have 4.5% boosted savings rate for one year.

I have two bank accounts. On payday the bill money and food money gets transferred straight into the bills account. With my main account I transfer all but £20 into the linked saver. When I need to buy something, I can't just tap. I have to open the banking app and transfer the funds across. Although it only takes a minute, it's enough to stop spur of the moment purchases. And I have my savings maximised throughout the month. I also feed £200 a month into a 7% regular saver.

I think that by keeping a careful eye on spending and saving you can make the most of every pound coming your way. We still prioritise what makes us happy - we go out and watch a local band every week, go fow walks, go to the pub. But we can afford it because we're frugal in other areas.

@Justthethingsthatyoudointhisgarden what is this 7% saver please.
you are inspiring!

First Direct offer a 7% AER/gross regular saver account. You can contribute up to £300 pcm and the rate is fixed for a year.

You need to be a current account holder to qualify.

Thank you

Principality have the 7.5% regular saver, 6 months. Maximum investment is £200 per month. It's open to anyone, you don't need a linked bank account.

That’s absolutely disgusting of your scabby friends to do that. I wouldn’t want to buy second hand clothes that they’d worn, in the full knowledge that they were going to return them. It’s not ‘genius’, it’s theft. If they can afford a ski holiday, and then to replace secondhand, they can afford to buy new.

FWIW, I don’t believe these were ‘friends’, I think this was you.

Didn't they just try them on for size?

I currently don’t work. I switched my phone to sim only, cancelled subscriptions, checked and moved energy etc. I also shop online. I do have savings and investments but would rather keep these. McDs and Greggs for coffee out.

Compare this to my friend who doesn’t work (got a payoff and small inheritance and money from her mum) she’s always treating me, I let her but she’s running out of her money now.

I find that if I make life too restrictive it doesn't work for me. I need little treats every now and again, so life doesn't feel too repetitive and dull. For me it's things like

a nice mug from the charity shop, or a plant pot

a magazine, I stick to cheaper ones or look for offers

new books from the library (free)

a face mask for 99p from superdrug

a nice foodie treat like olive oil bought with nectar points

right now it's daffodils for a pound

I bought olives from Lidl the other day because the jar was nice and I could resuse it, so it felt like a double treat

mini toiletries/travel sized ones which are cheaper and often 3 for 2, nice way of trying out new things

nice homeware bits like plant pots from poundland

a new notebook for a pound from the pound shop or charity shop

I will go out for a coffee with friends occasionally because it's a chance to properly catch up and nurture friendships. social connections are so important. and it's a day out. and all for the price of a coffee.

They haven't worn them, that's the whole point. They bought everything they needed well in advance, and then rebought the same items knowing the correct size via vinted before the ski trip, returning what they didn't need new and unused within the 365 day returns policy and keeping what they couldn't find second hand. No different to buying a couple of pairs of jeans from next online and returning the pair that doesn't fit the next week.

Keep a notebook for monthly personal spends. It soon adds up. Make up skincare vitamins etc.

Bar soap will not help. We use bar soap and pay for good quality french soap, very much worth it. The best advice, although i appreciate you cannot go back in time, is don't over stretch for a mortgage, do you need a large house. The bigger the house, the more expensive the bills are, you need more furniture, more things can go wrong, more rooms need decorating etc.

Put money in a savings pot each month for things like dentist, glasses, car MOT, clothes and then when it comes youre not trying to squeeze the money out of a normal month's budget

Sign up to the Airtime app for money off your phone bill - I've made £30 this year. You can take it as cash but there is a fee.

Look at Lebara for phone deals, mine is Sim only for an initial £1 per month and now it's gone up to £5, saved me loads with 3 teenagers!