The recession - how do you plan to economise?

[JaneLumley]

Just curious to know what others are doing. A few very random things: the dog now gets dog food and not homecooked meals. Economy light bulbs. Have stopped buying wipes and am using manky dishtowels. Am getting 4-5 meals out of all meat purchaes except sausages. Still haven't activated any heating and will try to hold on till end October (brrr).

aLL SORTS BUT IT'S STILL NOT MUCH IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS i DON'T THINK.

(oops, just realised caps & small letters wrong way round, can't be bothered to re-type)

re-useable wipes & throw away ones just for out and about, stretch meat as far as possible, oh is biking to work rather than car r bus, cutting back on so many cleaning products.

Plus loads more probably but can't think of anything off top of my head

We are already doing most things to enconomise in the home, I just need o sort out DP he is crapola with money and refuses to be responsible, leaving me to be the meanie saying no to this and that.

Menu planning
Taking out set amount for housekeeping in cash at beginning of week and not using cards.
Not using credit at all.
Not having heating on (extra vests and slippers order of the day)
No impulse purchases.
Looking at all the stuff we've bought and never used and selling it.

Start hawking my wares on street corners...

Hide my credit cards?

Some ideas:
Tesco dishwasher tablets - very cheap
Turn down heat a little
Don't let DH do the shopping ('look - I got 3 melons for the price of 2!')
Only cook the amount of food we'll actually eat - or over cook and freeze the rest.
Make soup/jam out of veggies/fruit about to turn nasty
Only buy fresh/frozen fruit and veg and other ingredients (ie not ready made food)
Go shopping with a note in my pocket so that I don't go mad and buy on impulse
Sell the kids

LOL at sell the kids. I think the market rate is falling at the mo!

this has been done to death tbh

Follow DH around switching off lights. Not allow DH to put heating on as long as he is lounging about in a t-shirt. Kill DH if he EVER puts the tumble dryer on for one sock and a pair of pants again.

He's good with money, honest, but more the big picture stuff, so I will try to look after the pennies!

The dog got homecooked meals??!!! Blinkinn' Nora!!!!

End of October ... really ?

No heating here either, i am aiming for end of October aswell.......gonna be miserable and cold
I used to be terrible for throwing food away, that we either hadn't got round to using all of it or sometimes it went out of date before i thought about using it not anymore! Everything is used and if i cook too much it goes straight in the freezer. Also, i am giving smaller portions at meal times as dc pointed out tonight, well we all eat too much anyway lol!
Cheap Sainsburys showergel, thanks to a poster on another thread
Cut the dogs food down aswell, i am not being nasty just they ate too much aswell!
Buying less milk, as there was always some here that i had to throw away.
Oh, i have cancelled the nightly evening paper........just bad news anyway!
Oh and i have cancelled christmas aswell...

I've been economising for years!
I actually have more money now due to going back to work.
However, I am sticking with my ecomomising and the extra will buy treats. I won't put the weekly budget up if that makes sense?

I have also been economising for years and still do, even though we are now doing OK financially.

My new big discovery is to do all washing on a quick wash. I am so sad I am looking forward to the electricity bill do I can see if I have made any savings.

I too am aiming for the heating to go on at the end of October, and we are Edinburgh. Brrrr!

I have swapped Waitrose (yay) to Sommerfield (boo).

Tried own brand toothpaste but it takes like soap.

Did a Staycation this year, but it was shite because of the weather and we spend tons on trying to escape the rain.

blossomsmine BTW it does dogs and cats good to be fed less, they live longer on a frugal diet. We fed our last dog only one modest meal every evening and she lived to be 16. The vet said it was because she hadn't been overfed.

nice to hear, columbo i wouldn't want to starve the little dears!

My dog is skinny and fussy. Best friend gave me a dog cookbook, which I then felt obliged to use. That's how sad I am. But no more.

Haven't bought a readymeal or takeaway for past ten years. Ludicrous that I now feel cross I can't save more by giving it up.

Sorry if this has been done to death - didn't find much by searching.

2nd car had a SORN made today, DH has borrowed his brother's bike, then we will sell the car and buy a bike (or use the cycle to work scheme to buy one). The journey is a 9 mile round trip. Will save about £75 per month before servicing/ tyres etc.

Dog getting food from the mill, not Bakers. Saves 50%.

Applied for Warmfront grant - currently have an old storage heater in kitchen only to heat whole house. Pay £120 per month for electricity, and still have £500 outstanding despite this.

Heating staying off at the moment. Not sure when we will put it on.

I am no longer driving to the woods with the dog to give him a long walk every day. Instead we walk though the village down to the canal (hard slog up hill back home which is why I went to the woods instead)
The cat now gets supermarket own brand food instead of Whiskas.
The dog's meals have been reduced (to take into account the shorter less active walks) and he is getting all our non-freezable left overs.
The heating is not going on until Nov. Have swept chimney and are going to friend's large garden to get firewood (he has just had two trees cut down)
Energy savign lightbulbs, candles in stead of lights whereever possible.
Eat less meat, bulk out with lentils.
Make soup / cakes with left over veg / fruit.

The problem is, all of the above are teeny tiny changes, and I don't think they are really going to help once the recession bits...

Use the library rather than buying books.

Swopped from Tesco to Morrisons. Have swopped to as much own brand stuff as I can.

Turned the thermostat down, not put heating on yet though.

Have set up an internal washing line in the utility room so don't have to use the tumble dryer if its raining.

Now sell surplus chicken eggs rather than give them away.

the motability car is going back cos we need the DLA for heating costs.
Thats £44 a weeks saved plus petrol.
DD is also going on a special diet that will be 90& cream and butter and that stuff is expensive!

Only going to get one xmas present for the kids and DH. Only one to share!
Thinking of getting a Nintendo Wii and that will be it.
Suppose xmas this year will be very frugal. Noticed that last year hardly anyone had Xmas lights up.
Don't want to waste energy

shopping at Aldi instead of Sainsbury's (not as bas as I thought tbh)
getting fixed amount of cash out at start of month for everyday spending instead of going to cash point every 5 mins.
camping for hols last year. Loved it! Bought a new tent but it's an investment

Oh no.....i hadn't thought about the cost involved in putting up christmas lights{sad] I love my christmas lights.....will have to give it a miss this year then i suppose.

I just can't think of anything else to do to save money...................I think i am going to write down exactly how much i spend on a day to day basis over the next couple of weeks and then sit down and see where all the money is going!

If you really love xmas lights you could go the other way and put loads up and use them to light and heat your home!

lol!! If that would work i would certainly consider it