What small, mundane things have you stopped buying because you just can't afford them anymore?

[LydiaDeets]

I was just reading threadbandbthinking about shower gel and bath soaks.

I used to buy a couple of shower gels a week, £2ish ones and now I just buy bars of soap and will occasionally buy aldis own.

I also used to buy the rigid toothpaste tubes that have the push down button so the DC had a one push portion.
I just get the normal squeeze tubes now.

I used to get midrange shampoos and conditioners. Now it's Alberto Balsalm apple shampoo.

I don't buy bubble bath at all

I just little things but I miss having a nice bubbly soak and using a nice shampoo.

I haven't bought any moisturiser in a while either. I still have some soap and glody ones left but after that I will probably go without.

It's just surprising how in such a short space of time I've gone from buying these things as standard, without a thought, to cutting back on them even though they're quite basic things. Not fancy at all. 😩

Like others definitely cut down on meat, only had it once in the last week. Chickpeas & black beans a goodnplace to start if new to veggie. Swapped yoghurt for cheaper ones and sorbet too. Same as others with shower gel and a sponge makes it go a lot further.

Swapped to packs of frozen chicken and veg
No more berrie just grapes and bananas
More own brands etc

Things like nails and having the hairdresser dye my hair stopped about a year ago

@SundayTeatime same here! I was already doing most of the things people are saying on this thread. I also drive an old car that I won’t be replacing anytime soon.
We had a camping holiday this summer to keep costs down.

Days out with the kids, takeaways and meals out are what’s stopped more recently…. not that we had loads anyway!

Posh squash - I love the Belvoir Ginger Cordial and used to always have a bottle on the go. Not any more.

Milk. £2.95 for two litres!!! Sod that. Herbal teas and black coffee only from now on, and no more late night bowls of cereal either.

Naice ham.

Biscuits and chocolate. This is a good thing though!! And I used to LOVE a coffee & cake in a cafe whenever I got the chance but that's a big treat now. Also no more buying snacks on long journeys. So mainly all those unnecessary little fripperies.

Can't remember when I last bought new clothes.

Soap not shower gel or liquid handwash.

@SundayTeatime yes me too.

I do have some food waste so I am aiming to buy less food & minimise waste. I liked the new habit of only shopping once a week during covid, but I do end up with more food waste.

I'm aiming to keep our food budget the same or a bit less over the next year. And better meal planning & meal prep.

For those using bar soap - great tip from camping we now use at home. Put the bar of soap into leg of old tights & tie with a loop on the end. You can slip the loop over your hand when using it and then hang soap up when not in use. It dries out properly between uses and lasts forever.

Amazon Prime has gone. Toiletries are now from Lidl. Stopped colouring hair and make a haircut last twice as long. Bar soap, less meat, washing powder as many of you say. Charity shops for clothes, homemade jam for work sandwiches….the list goes on. Will attempt to go as long as possible without heating and then use minimally.
Loads of people already cutting back and have nothing else to give.

I'm not buying clothes either, I've cut down a lot over the last few years so stopping completely won't be hard. I'll wear what I have until it falls apart. Kids have only been bought items they really need - and one gets loads of hand me downs - so hopefully won't need anything.

It's so sad thinking how many businesses will go under now.
It'll be a sad day indeed if bookshops shut. Or authors can't make a living.

I've stopped buying junk food, especially crisps. Kids used to get through a lot. They were laughing the other day that there's no food in the house anymore. I replied by saying 'you have meals and you have fruit. You don't really need the extras'

Thanks for the tip @Verbena87
Maybe for next summer as the legs will be going in to hibernation soon!

I would struggle with this as we have shopped at Aldi for the last 2 years and I've gradually switched over to their own brand cleaning products etc and found them excellent.

I get all our basic shop from Aldi now and found it to be excellent. Although I have noticed the costs increasing over past 2 months. But nothing we can really cut back on there.

I now only buy a very limited amount of branded food but I will not give up Hellmans mayo, Heinz beans and HP sauce for anyone or anything.

I've switched all my hygiene / skincare and most makeup to the Aldi ranges - just my foundation is branded. Would definitely recommend the Aldi range they have some great dupes that work really well.

We still get a milk delivery and a veg box and our meat from the local butcher as we prioritise it's quality over the supermarket meat but it does mean we eat less of it.

The last things to go will be pet food - the dog's very expensive dog food as it took us so long to find one that didn't upset his stomach / allergies etc. but it's bloody expensive. And we have an elderly cat who can / will only eat a specific brand / type.

Yes, and we never get takeaways, and nor do we have a car at all. I’ve got nothing to cut back on. I’m looking for inspiration. Some things mentioned on here are such no-brainers, I’m surprised people buy them in the first place. Eg, shower gel -why would anyone buy that in the first place? Why would anyone buy laundry pods?

I have children who like to create potions in the bath and routinely get through 3 bottles showergel a week. I buy the cheap original source knock off from Aldi so at least it’s cheap.

Meat and dairy are off our shopping list, as is the wine. A lot of meals can be bulked out by quinoa, lentils and chickpeas which are much cheaper than meat and really filling. I've also stopped my slimming world membership and do exercise at home rather than the gym.

• Reduced hair cuts maybe every 4months now instead of 8 weeks - been getting a £5 fringe trim instead
• changed how my hair is dyed low maintenance (maybe once every 6months) still want to get it done as I know they rely on people getting hair done
• dye my own eyebrows and shape myself - get a reshape every 4months or so instead of every 4 weeks
• stopped waxing underarms
• reduced make up/beauty buys

to be honest a lot of the cut backs are more environmentally friendly so guess that’s not a bad thing. Will either use soap or refillable shower gel from local no plastic shop for showers. I like to use vegan so it is more expensive than regular shower gel but still cheaper and saving plastic than buying new bottles

Take away coffee. I used to treat myself to the worlds most delicious coffee on a Friday but I cant justify the price anymore. Easy to go without.

There's absolutely no way I would cut fabric conditioner - we couldn't afford it growing up and had it as a treat at Christmas. All our clothes were always so scratchy.

Not so much can't afford (at the moment, winter might be a different matter!) but couldn't justify the expense:

I got rid of my tassimo machine as the pods were so expensive.
I cut my own and DC's hair.
I do my own beauty treatments and hair dye.
Buy own brands and Lidl washing powder. Switched to Aldi for cupboard food like jars and tins.
Buy most clothes secondhand.
Using cheaper make up. I find make up has flown up in price since Covid.
Using less milk and meat. Ditched Lurpak altogether!
Don't order from Avon anymore, their prices have gone up and quality has gone down anyway.
I would switch to soap instead of shower creme but find it all dries my skin out.

lunch from a sandwich shop - I now make my own & saves a small fortune

The biggest expenditure that I've stopped is T section Highlights.

Small things I've stopped buying = Fabric conditioner, kitchen roll and sweet potato fries

Small things that I tried to live without but can't = quilted toilet roll and chocolate

Ages and ages ago I switched from shower gel to bar soap for environmental reasons. Soap is so much nicer, cheaper, better for the planet, and gets me feeling much cleaner.

Around the same time I met a very senior chemical engineer at work who did research on washing powder production. She was evangelical about only using half a scoop of washing powder and mixing that with half a scoop of soda crystals. So I started to do that as well.

We already don’t do most of the things on here. We’ve cut down to one car. I took on a holiday job this summer as I usually work term time only so DS has had a shit summer. The only thing we haven’t done is cut out meat but I’m having to buy cheap processed stuff. It really sucks and we’re not even low earners.

Biab nails, have my own gel nail kit. So just doing my own. Hair highlights every 3months. Changed to a box dye. Much less maintenance

On your last point - try coconut oil to add moisture back in. My friend had the same problem with her skin drying out switching from shower gel to soap. She started using a teeny tiny amount of coconut oil every day and it massively helped. Actually, her leg skin was absolutely beautiful. She gets her oil from
Savers at £1.50 per pot but I'm not sure they do it anymore. Or Superdrug do it for at about £2.50 (usually there's an offer on too like BOGOF). But it lasts absolutely ages - like months and months.

This is a really interesting thread...... I am not cutting out anything really, because apart from meat and fish, which I will continue to buy, because food is my number one priority, I have never spent on many of the things others are listing as having done.

For example I have never had any beauty treatments, nails or facials etc. I don't wear make up. I have my hair cut every three months or so, gave up highlights a while back. I have always used soap, buy simple face stuff, nothing expensive. Only buy clothes when they have holes in. I hate going on holiday.

I have come to the conclusion I live a very simple life!

Milk. £2.95 for two litres!!!

Ehhhhh? I pay £1.50 from Waitrose!

I've cut back a lot over the past two years anyway but I can still do more I'm sure with food, car use and spending on the house and garden.

Only thing I will keep is my feet being done. It makes such a huge difference to how comfortable they are and as I have big boobs means I really can't cut my toe nails properly or at all sometimes as they get in the way.

Well worth the money every six weeks or so, I'll keep that expense going as long as I can.