What did you do to save more money in ‘25

[keepingupappearancesdear]

What changes to you make? We spent all of ‘25 scratching around trying to make ends meet.

I’ve gotten rid of the couple of subscriptions we had.
I’m compiling batch cooking recipes.
We rarely eat out.
Takeaway every 6 weeks or so.

Looking for all and any other tips please!

Ebay.
Stoozing on C/Cs.
Wombling.
Reduced-priced foods, Freezing, Meal Planning, Batch Cooking.
Supermarket Apps & Deals.
Using Employee Discount Schemes.

When we get a takeaway we try to get or make the best value from it eg: chippie - get the mini cod & chips or oap / similar deals or share large chips, have mushy peas from a tin, freeze leftover curry sauce for another time (ditto peas). If an Indian we save sauce from meat main to make another, my side dish lasts twice (freeze both), we buy a naan & bhajis but make rice at home - when we defrost & use the currys again we have supermarket naan & bhajis (all in the the freezer that I get reduced price).

When I make a saving or use a coupon etc I immediately transfer that amount to a separate savings account or overpay mortgage, so I can see & realise the benefit of what I am doing. You'd be amazed at how it adds up!

At the start of each year I estimate how much I might need for car repairs/MOT, house maintenance, next Christmas and other expected large expenses, then I divide the cost by 12 months, and put that amount aside in a separate savings pot for each. I find that really helpful.

Sorting out the plastic food boxes so it was easy to grab a box and a matching lid to store leftovers.

Then actually using the leftovers as part of a main meal!

Planning toilet visits better and drinking less caffeine so that I wasn’t caught short when out and about so often/needing to buy things to use a toilet.

Loose meal planning - made a list of meals I had the ingredients for and put it on the fridge, then picked from that list when the time came to cook. I found that easier than specific planning for each day.

Gave up on ever going to the gym and actually cancelled membership. I didn’t like that gym and once they stopped doing most classes and closed their pool it was pointless for me even though it was theoretically cheap.

Raised £1k from selling old stuff on ebay (clothes, books, DVDs, toys etc).

Raised a similar amount from bigger items at a car boot sale (bikes, tent, etc_ and local advertising such as Facebook marketplace. (car top box, car cycle carrier, old skis, staircase ladders we used once for decorating and won't need again, old garden shed, etc)

Started using supermarket websites to compare prices and buying things when whichever supermarket had offers on. (Rotation of 4 different supermarkets for click n collect or delivery each month). Mostly for packets, tins, and other non perishables which I could buy when on offer rather than when needed and build up a small stock.

Never buy anything when I first see it, whether in the shops or online. Sleep on it and go back the next day if I still want/need it. 90% of the time I forget it so clearly didn't need it!

Use comparison websites for everything, car insurance, house insurance, utilities, phone, broadband, etc,

Review direct debits and standing orders every 3 months to check I'm not paying for something i don't need/use anymore.

Look at petrol station prices as I drive past various filling stations and fill up when one is far cheaper than the others.

Cancelling home MS office subscription and using free Google Workspace apps instead (although I had to pay for more outlook storage, but still cheaper overall).
Cancelling newspaper subscriptions and reading free online versions via library press reader app.
Stockpiling supermarket yellow label items and freezing them.
Switching main bank account to take advantage of switching offer. Really easy to do.
Summer holiday in Riga... cheap flights and accommodation, and very beautiful and walkable city.
Using buses rather than trains to visit my son in his university town.
Volunteering for two charities (and raising £5000) rather than donations.
Using oxfam's online shop for clothes shopping... some terrific bargains while supporting a good cause = win/win.
Using local library for books rather than buying.
Choosing a home near good public transport links, so don't need a car.

Used a bank with different pots for different expenditure types. Ie a monthly bills pot that we weren’t allowed to touch, a groceries and fuel pot which always needed to be appropriately funded and a non monthly bills (ie car expenses, insurance etc) to avoid us needing to use debt. Also used the snoop app (free) which shows your net position and alerts you to instances where your bills may be wrong or you have unnessessary subscriptions

Are you looking at improving your incomings too? Maximising income is less painful than minimising outgoings.

Kept track of everything I spent in a month, plugged it into a spreadsheet to see where I was spaffing money on things I really didn't need and where the unexpected subscriptions, direct debits were.

Based on that: cut down radically on coffees out and takeaways. Got rid of a ton of subscriptions and debits; switched service providers.

Sold lots on Vinted.

Batch cooked, made lunches.

Switched gym / weightlifting membership to one I'd actually use.

• Bought clothes second hand on Vinted
• Cancelled gym membership
• Cancelled subscriptions e.g. Apple Music
• Stopped getting takeout coffee
• Preparing food at home

Some great ideas here, thank you. Particularly like the one about setting up different pots for our expenditures.

I’ve deleted all shopping apps from my phone and am unsubscribing for all retail mailing lists!

Cancelled subscriptions £29 per month
Stopped gym class £40 per month
Reduced time in office so less travel costs

Signed up to a medical trial
Use discount booking sites for theatre etc
Changed my broadband provider
Changed my mobile contract
Shopped around and changed my MOT and service garage
Ditto breakdown cover
Froze many many portions of pasta sauce from 4 tomato plants
Started using my breadmaker again and freeze extra slices to use individually
Plan in advance and shop around for cheap train tickets where needed
Sold some books etc on one of the apps

I now need to get to grips with Vinted for clothes.