Less obvious money-saving tips and frugal ideas that actually help

[Difissimo]

Can you give me your best money saving tips? Not the most obvious ones but ones that people might not think of. Ingenious ways to be frugal and save money

A colleague said that they went through 2 kitchen rolls a week - that's 2 adults and 2 primary school age children, no pets.

I use a bar of soap in the shower on the 'smelly bits' and the shower gel goes on a puff and I use that on my arms, back, belly and legs. A bottle of shower gel last ages.

The most useful thing I did was to take a close look at what we spend on - it took a while to plot it out but if you can plug a year’s expenditure in a spreadsheet it can be quite an eye opener. It’s so useful to know when big bills come up, where the pinch points are, and move some of those around to spread the load.

That helped me identify overspending vs high expenditure. I was fuzzy on this - I’d feel vaguely guilty about things I actually didn’t have a lot of choice over, and then slip into a hopeless “ah fuck it anyway” mentality for other things.

When I got granular about what I was actually overspending on, I was able to identify my specific triggers and put some steps in place to tackle the triggers. Don’t get caught into shame with this because that’s just a waste of energy. We all have some pitfalls and it’s just useful to know what they are and put strategies in place to avoid them. How useful budgeting tips are will vary depending on these - something that’s brilliant for one person can be the High Road to Ruin for another.

It’s also incredibly useful to know what really matters to you, what things make life worth living. When you know what they are, you can prioritise those things. In fact it’s really important. It’s also much easier to do without things when you realise that they don’t actually matter as much to you.

Vast amount of money, time, research and effort goes into convincing us to spend money. It’s actually quite fascinating to research and so, so, helpful to recognise the effects at work in your own life. It’s quite a weird thing to realise that you’ve been conditioned to think you want something, but when you pause to think about it, don’t actually care about it very much.

We also habituate very quickly, so if you buy a fancy coffee everyday it’s just a meh experience. But if you make your own, and buy a coffee once a month, it’s a luxury experience. It’s not actually possible to experience luxury as routine - and we’re denying ourselves exquisite pleasures when we try.

A game changing rule for me is that I have to save up for any big or unusual purchases. There are no impulse purchases anymore. It gives me time to think, to consider other options, to find better deals, or better quality. I find I often change my mind about things that felt so compelling initially. I’m shit at prioritising in the moment so I don’t - I give myself time to clear my head. It’s funny how you can really, really want something enough to go into credit, but not want something enough to do without for a little while!

I love this thread :) Few things from the top of my head...

This will probably sound rank to people but I got the idea from a friend and just carried it on. She kept hold of the cloth wipes she used on her babies, and then used these as cloth toilet roll (just for her/her kids and for wees): make a cloth slightly damp with water, wipe yourself after a wee, dump the cloth in a lidded bucket to soak (she uses water with a bit of Napisan in), chuck in washer machine once a week. I've taken on this idea and it's brilliant for saving use of so much normal toilet paper (I have 2 DC and they used to get through loads). My DC had cloth nappies and wipes, so I kept hold of the wipes and did this instead. Goes without saying that normal toilet rolls are always there for visitors etc!

Not really applying to me anymore (thanks to menopause), but cloth sanitary pads and a Mooncup. I bought these when I was in my late 20's - they had nearly a decade of good use before menopause hit. Yes, a larger outlay initially, but saved a fortune in the long run.

I'll second/third/fourth the PPs who mentioned getting a coffee machine. I have an Aeropress for work (and one for when we go camping), but bought an amazing secondhand Delonghi bean to cup machine last year for £20. DS and I both love coffee (espresso or black Americano) and this has saved us a lot of money. Older model of the Primadonna range, so would have cost bloody hundreds!

Decent travel mug (to carry the coffee in!). I bought a lovely Thermos one and it will keep my coffee hot for hours. Likewise, a good insulated water bottle for water/cold drinks and Thermos food flasks (DC would heat leftover meals and these would still be hot for them to eat for school lunches).

Soap bar in a hessian type net soap bag - great for showering and takes ages to get through. Aleppo soap instead of liquid hair shampoo (menopause did a number on me and my scalp is so sensitive now - the Aleppo soap helps to soothe my scalp and make it not itchy). Nothing dodgy in there either (SLS, parabens etc).

Vinegar - multiple uses. I chuck some in the rinse compartment of my washer for laundry - gets rid of any smells etc (useful when you have teens/tweens).

Tax relief.
If you have to wear branded uniform you can get tax relief for washing it !
It has to have the company logo on it so generally not trousers and skirts but t-shirt, jumpers , hoodies, fleece and suchlike.
Or if you have to use small tools , scissors, Stanley knife, tape measure, ( I haven't used this part so check what works for you )
The relief is applied before the government tax so it means you pay fractionly less ni , and gov tax.
It takes a few mins to fill in the form but you only have to do it once , not each tax year.
It's only a few pounds a year but it all makes a difference.

https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/uniforms-work-clothing-and-tools

Following on from @WormHoleInSpace lots of jobs have negotiated allowances for essentials. Nurses and many other NHSstaff get a 'stocking and tights' allowance.

Never thought I'd say this but recently I have been looking at clothes online and then finding them second hand on Vinted. I had my eye on some Zara jeans which were £40. Found the exact same pair in my size on Vinted for £7 including postage. They arrived this weekend and they're like brand new (just no labels).

I don't always use the free coupons - if I have a free coffee voucher for somewhere I am likely to buy something else to go with it. I pass them on.

When I'm on my own I cycle locally when weather permits - for around 9 months of the year anyway (I get a bit wimpy mid-winter).

This halves my fuel usage most months. When I'mnot regul;arly cycling I usually go through a tank of gas a month - £80-£90, so savings of around £40 pcm.

Plus its free exercise, dopamine & fresh air loveliness

I do this too!

I'm thinking of joining a cheap gym and using it as much as I can. Will go with friends so socialising, can use the shower, somewhere to go to in the winter months so I'm not stuck at home getting fed up and comfort eating and shopping online for things I don't need.

Always do the price comparison websites when car household and holiday insurance ie money saving expert, compare the market and confused.com to name but a few. Check Quidco too for many discoubts - i shop around year for breakdown cover too.
Make a simple salad at home take in a jacket pot with tin of tuna - cheese - beans - no lunch costs - we have tea and coffee at work.
Some useful tips on here - thanks

When I have the oven on to cook a casserole, chilli, curry etc I cook any other accompaniments in the same oven in a metal crock pot.
I have three of these and can get two on the same oven rack.
So with a chilli I will put the rice in a small pot with boiling water and place in the oven.
Takes a bit longer than if cooked on the hob and it’s taken a few attempts to get it right!

Also now energy costs so much I try to batch cook, making a triple up meal in my extra large stainless steel pot and freeze two of them.
I can get 12 servings of bolognese/ curry/chilli etc and its really useful for a busy day when I’m going to be late back.
Another tip is to take out of freezer the night before and put in fridge ready to use the following evening.
Bonus is that when I get in I know exactly what we’re having!

Another oven related tip would be to significantly reduce the amount of pre-heat time as ovens heat up a lot faster than they used to and apart from cakes, preheating is probably unnecessary, just put the food in until it's cooked.

Yet recipes persist in having turn the oven on as step one, meaning it will often be hot and empty for some time while you prep the recipe.

An air fryer can almost entirely replace an oven for many and they cost a lot less to buy and run so pay for themselves in no time.

I agree about the oven, I only turn it on about 15 minutes beforehand if it's a baking recipe, otherwise just 5 minutes beforehand is enough for general cooking.