Help me be more frugal

[MsNemo]

I'm looking for resources (books, sites, podcasts) and also seasoned advice on how to be frugal. I'm currently a SAHM. I'd like to be good at family finances, but I don't know where to start! I'm very ignorant on money matters but I'm eager to change that. I come from a very chaotic family of origin regarding money (not at all wealthy, but not very financially intelligent) and I haven't recieved any kind of good financial example.
Where should I start? Thank you in advance!

Also, think of your home as your kids future asset. You are saving for this so you have something to leave them. A JISA is great, but a home is much more valuable.

Save with a smile of satisfaction, not a frown.

I drove an old banger for years, I bloody loved that car as it was ‘free’ motoring. I could drive a bloody great 4x4, but my 21 year old car was far more valuable than my outward ‘riches’. My work colleague was always bemused and seemed to think it was a poor reflection of me - I couldn’t care less. She rents, I have a house.

Do not auto renew any insurance, always shop around for a better deal eg home insurance, car insurance, travel insurance etc

Switch bank accounts & receive free money !

Make use of cash back deals

Keep an eye on savings rates & move your savings to higher paying accounts

Buy petrol at cheapest place locally

Just one other thing OP, I use a 'council tax' saving.

When I get my CT bill I pay it monthly but I overpay it so say the Bill is £1000 that would be £100 a month over 10 months, but instead of paying that I would pay £200 per month, and it is payed over 5 months, I thin set up a SO for £200 a month for the next 7 months which takes me to the next bill.

Why don't you just set up a separate regular savings account or save into a standard savings account instead of giving up interest for the council's benefit?

We pay our council tax 12 monthly on the last day of the month so it is paid at the last possible time it is due. This actually adds over £100 pm to our cashflow because the payment has moved from the 10th to the 28th at least, so after pay day, which is by the 25th at the latest.

I don’t get this. Can you explain again please.

I would look at Money Saving Expert website and sign up for the weekly emails as they have great deals or explain new changes ie. when utility bills go up and down and best savings rates.

If your 39 and under - consider a LISA to save for your first home. We did this after reading about it on MSE and that really helped us to get our first home last year after many years of renting.

MSE also gives tips on how to make extra pennies like selling stuff on ebay/ vinted. Also how to complete survives for research in return for vouchers/ money.

Meal planning is great and helps with weekly shops. We bought a reusable/ wipeable planner off ebay to use and it works well.

😊

I use an app called Spending. I put all income and outgoings in them estimate the months of expenses food, petrol , outings etc. Then I put an amount in savings leaving the budgeted amount in current account.

I recently shared this blog about living frugally. There are some links in there which will hopefully be useful for you. Once you get into the way of it, it does be one habit. Good luck!

Yes! The main motivation for me is that if I own my home, my kids will always have a safe net (and a roof).

This is something we're going to do, definitely, because in the past we've been too lazy (busy sounds better 😅 ) and we really need to sort it out.

Thank you very much for sharing! I've read it and it resonates a lot: looking forward to browse your blog for more of your experience with frugality 😊

You've had some great advice here. But what I will say is saving can become as addictive as spending. Watching the account get bigger and closer to your goal.

Takeaways we have on payday, it becomes a real treat then. The kids love knowing it is payday takeaway time.

Work out how much you need for bills and spending a month then as others said, put the rest into savings on payday, SO. That way you won't spend it frivolously. We already have a mortgage but it runs past DHs retirement age, so my focus is to try and overpay to bring the term down.

I would also add, now that I'm in my 50s, although I've been semi money savvy since my 30s, I would like to step down a bit from my long-commute high-pressure job but I can't afford to quite yet. I wish that I'd drip fed a bit more money into long-term savings & pensions so that I would now be in a position to do that.

Having money / savings gives you more options and choices - I wish I'd bought less 'stuff', takeaways etc over the years.

What I do now if I do buy is 2nd hand, or free/deals for meals out & treats etc.

Have Quidco still got the free £25 deal on?
Use topcashback.
Petrol price site tells you where the cheapest petrol near you is situated.
Brand swops, see which ones work!
On some benefits you may be entitled to cheaper water bills.
If you do not want to go back to work yet, there are little side hustles.
Remember to factor in some small inexpensive family treats.
Are you taking full advantage of any tax breaks? If companies pay less than the government rate for mileage, for instance, you can claim the 'missing'. Clothing especially for work? Laundering a uniform?

@LadyDanburysHat I know people close to me that have the "addicted to being frugal" thing going on. Actually, that's part of why I had this idea of frugality = deprivation.
I'm really enjoying reading all your tips and the key for me is that I'm slowly changing my mindset 🙏
Yes to making takeaways a special treat.
@herbetta I think a lot about retirement plans, mainly because 1) I'm not working right now, but also had a couple of "failed" starts before landing "late" in my current field (education), 2) I don't know what the pensions landscape will look like when I arrive at the age of retirement... So it's a great tip to be looking at it since right now (mid 30s), thank you! (Re buying second hand, I really enjoy it so I'm excited to take advantage of it).
@gardenmusic I like your tips: I'm considering my options re side hustling, actually. I have some insecurities about it, but it's on our family plan, yes. Thank you!

Nice easy side hustle to start - Norstapanel - surveys pays out over £10.
£10 a month should be easy. Not much, but if you equate it to what it will buy, it's worth it. Can be a charity donation if you choose.

The library is cheaper than charity shops! Books, DVDs, music, magazines and so much more. Also no "stuff" in house to keep and manage (library trips though I suppose)

I used to waste so much money on magazines (I love reading) until I realised I could borrow them for free from the library.

I must save £40 a month on mags (have been borrowing for almost 15 years)

Also one of the cut backs we've identified is music and TV (if we have to) we can borrow from the library instead.

I really wish I had saved a portion of my children’s child benefit every month (but we could’nt afford it at the time). It would have built a nice little nest egg for them when they were 18.

Hi op I'm a bit late to this thread but I stopped work a few years ago ( I've gone back now) and enjoyed a "embraced frugality" and learnt some important lessons managing.

I also learnt that managing money is better than tips and hacks as they sort of fall into place.

1. Have salary and direct debit and a separate spending current accounts on pay day you move out everything except money to cover the DD which is the same each month.

1. Move the money into various account

Mine is 1 spending 2- "life saving" eg for house / pension /uni

1. Annual spends Christmas / hols / gifts / birthday parties/ vet/ car service/ car insurance and so on

The reality of it is accounting for everything- from shower get and medicine to haircuts and new coats!!

Also allow some fun money for each person for whatever you love!

On being frugal: I did free stuff and made things cheaper (cakes and buns etc) than I could have bought them. I shopped around and budgeted every single penny.
I still now never impulse buy and agonise over big spends.

Good luck!

There's an older American book called the Tightwad Gazette that seems to be still available here on Amazon.

I have a copy and it's amazing. The woman ran a newsletter about frugality and the book is a compilation.

Due to its datedness (1990s) and being American, many of the actual tips aren't applicable, but many are, and it really shows what a frugal mindset is, and that advice is timeless. She and her husband achieved a lot on modest income.

I dip into from time to time for inspiration.

What I like is that she is unapologetic. She put together a pirate theme kids party out of basically scraps from around the house and garage, and could give a toss what the school mums think of the recycled decor, or that her family wears nothing but charity shop clothes.

It's well worth the cost of the book to help you achieve a different mindset. And I find it really fun to read, all short bits with her own clever illustration. Basically a masterclass in frugal living.

Hello everyone! I just wanted to come back briefly to say hello, thank you all and let you know I've followed many of your tips and I'm feeling very well with our new situation!

• We've signed up with ynab and, although we're still learning, I think it's a great tool and look forward to master it!
• We've started to change utilities (thank you all who advised it!!) and will be saving a nice amount!
• We've cut drastically our take away spending and been cooking at home all our meals (still need to find our rythym, but it's going great!)
• We did some changes with our bank accounts: we still need some time to figure out the perfect "layout", though, but we did what some of you said (transfering money to savings account first thing) and it's been very encouraging
• Stopped buying so many books (only bought one this month... 🙄 but it was 2nd hand so... 😅)
• We're puting a lot of effort on planning our expenses

Anyway, nothing revolutionary, I know! But you've all helped me very much with this (huge) change of mindset and I'm very grateul for that 😊🙏
Best wishes to all of you!