How can I save money on household bills and expenses please

[2015mom]

I wanted to cut back on household expenses and bills because I am going on maternity leave.

Gaa & Electricity:
We have changed our gas and electricy to a cheaper tariff and gone through Topcashback to get more money back.

Suppose we can make sure we switch lights off to save cost of electricity further. Any other ideas?

Water:
We cannot change and we don't want a water meter because as the family grows water bills will be a lot more. Only think we can do is remember to take taps off when washing dishes or brushing teeth. Any other money saving tips for water?

Home Insurance:
We searched for a cheap deal via a comparison website and then went through Topcashback and got £40 off the best deal. We cannot do anytbing for a year now on this deal but any ideas welcome.

Grocery bills:
Shopping is prob a big expense. We shop at Aldi because we are not fussed about brands and we are happy with the taste and quality. The odd thing we will get which is branded ie Nescafé tea, listerine mouthwash, coca cola and we shop around for the cheapest using www.mysupermarket.co.uk website and I will always buy the cheapest based on the price per 100g which is underneath the price of the product.

We do meal plans and shopping lists to avoid wasting food.

Toiletries we will only buy the essentials from Aldi and we don't buy unless we are nearly running out.

Cleaning products I get from poundland or 99p because I prefer the branded products and will only buy when we are nearly running out.

Phone & broadband:
We have got a competitive quote and cashback via Topcashback don't think we can do anything else

Are there any other savings which can be made around the house please?

Thank you in advance

Council tax:
I cannot challenge or anything about because it is correct.

TV Licence:
I cannot do anything about the TV licence instalments - they are a necessity.

No netflix or monthly subscriptions to anything else TV/film related.

I cannot think of any other household expenses at present

Sometimes the pound shops are not the cheapest option.

i remember seeing a programme ages ago where in the pound shop, you got two Walnut Whips (or whatever) plus 50% free. Ie. Three. The supermarkets sold three for a pound in their normal range, so,the same price.

Therefore, Check what you cleaning product per 100ml would be in the supermarket.

Online, some supermarkets do super-sized/bulk packs,of stuff. Maybe worth considering these.

Petrol is expensive. Therefore, didn't drive anywhere which is less than a mile (or 20 minute)walk away (though not always practical when you are heavily pregnant!)

Bulk cook and freeze.

Go,to,the supermarket in the evening. Food is often reduced. Our local Morrison had bread for 9p this evening.

Thanks 228 I will definitely check mysupermarket.co.uk for cleaning products

Thanks for that tip

I tried the aldi cleaning products but I never liked them... I thought it would be great using them because they are all less than a pound even less than 60/70p

But I do prefer my Dettol and disinfectants

Have a look on the budgeting section of moneysavingexpert. They have a start from scratch budget planner, so you can go through it systematically to check each thing, although you seem to have gone through most of the basics.

Can you change your bank account to get an introductory bonus? A lot of people do this just to get the bonuses and then move on.

Home Bargains/savers is often cheaper than supermarket for non perishables and cleaning stuff.

Agree you are already doing lots of the right things.

Have you gone through your bank statements, to check there's no unnecessary DD's.

About electricity: work out which are your most expensive machines to run, so anything that heats eg. oven, dishwasher, tumble dryer, electric heaters, immersion heater, etc. and only use them on economy mode and at full capacity. At the cheaper rate if you have it.
If you're going to be a SAHM you'll have more time but less money, but you'll be able to rationalise your time. Economy often takes longer (2hrs for a load of washing, anybody?) but costs less in the long run.
MN swears by slow cookers, electric clothes airers and Instant Pots, all of which I'm "mehhh" about. I do recommend a toaster oven, simple pressure cooker, spin dryer and microfibre turbans, though.
About water, my best tip is to keep a jug of cold water in the fridge instead of running the tap until it's cold enough!

Try not to leave electrical goods like the TV on permanent standby,
Switch to low energy light bulbs,
Don't buy a daily newspaper,
Your DP could take sandwiches to work,
Avoid coffee shops,
Don't go food shopping when you're hungry
Dry washing outdoors if at all possible rather than using the tumble dryer,
Adapt meal plans when you are actually in the supermarket and replace ingredients on your shopping list with what's on offer

Personally, I try to do the grocery shop when they do all the reductions. It's cheaper getting perishables from Tesco reduced, than from Aldi, in my experience. Then I just freeze them, and do batch baking. Things last much longer than the date, as well. (I had some double cream left that was a month past its date yesterday, and it was fine. Used it for cooking.)

Thank you everybody
Very useful tips

In the new year I will be aiming to recording our income and expenses.. It's great to start it but then I usually stop in March/April Hahahah

Maybe I should have it up on the fridge so easier to put stuff down in writing before I transfer to computer

I have a spreadsheet for finances, it's really useful as it makes us accountable for our spending and you can see what you should have left at different points in the month.

If you're not on a water meter then turning taps off etc makes no difference at all... You pay the same regardless of what you use!

I think Aldi is expensive for cleaning products as the ar comparable to big brands. Have you gone through your bank accounts to check your direct debits and standing order to see if there is anything you should cancel?

The other main thing to look at as well as bills is spending on other things like food and drink out of the house, and petrol. Depending on what your expenditure is, there might be more scope to save in this area, than there is on bills, which are often more or less fixed.

If you normally buy lunch/coffee at work you might save while on mat leave but then if you normally take a packed lunch and find yourself going out for coffee and cake to get out of the house you might spend more. You might save on petrol if you are driving less.

Perhaps have a closer look at what a water meter would cost.
When I bought my house 15 years ago there was just me and my water rates were high - £50 a month so I had a meter put in and it dropped to £12 a month.
Fast forward to now and I have 3 dcs and my husband, dishwasher run every day, all of us bath and shower daily and a large load washer used once or twice daily and I still pay less than I did all those years ago!

Cleaning products are not necessarily cheapest in aldi - and you dont need many anyway. Same shape bottle, same stuff - the difference pays for the ads on branded items.

Coca-cola has zero nutrition, rots teeth and adds empty calories as well as being expensive. An easy dont-buy!

Water meter - given that no one should have a tap running when washing things or brushing teeth, remember that a power shower uses loads and should be four mins max.

Do washing on days when you can dry outdoors . run dishwasher only when full.

Was that broadband quote with cashback actually cheaper? Cashback is not free. Try the post office, or sky sometimes do broadband for a year for under £70 depending on area.

Thanks for this thread! Timely reminder that I need to do a bit of a review of my outgoings, including getting a water meter fitted and reviewing my broadband/phone/TV package. I'm currently paying £17.99 for a landline I never use!

Anyway, you seem to be all over it. The only other thing I can recommed is approvedfood.com. They sell food that's close to or past it's best before date. They have some amazing bargains on there! But you do need to be a bit careful as lots of it is junk/snacky type food. I've found myself filling up my basket with tons of crisps, biscuits etc that I would never normally buy, just because they are super cheap. I have to be careful only to do an order when I am getting a good deal on things that I can actually make a meal out of.

There'll be a ton of threads on here about how to save money with a new baby but do check out 2nd hand sales for baby equipment (like Mum2Mum market) and also consider reusable nappies, especially if you plan on having more than one baby...loads to be saved there!

Thank you everybody very useful tips from you all.

There is another great website for cheap baby stuff from:

www.nurserysavings.com

Electricity/gas.
Read and write down once a week the numbers from the meters. After a few weeks you will be surprised how competitive you become with yourself to reduce your consumption.
Cleaning/washing up/washing machine/dishwasher products.
Check your consumption. Assume the recommended dosage on the packaging is there to make you use the product up and buy more. I recomend you use HALF the recommended doses. I know others who say you should use only a QUARTER of the recommended amount.

Thank you that's very helpful. I can see myself doing that