The Money Diet

ArklePig said:
Everytime a new post is made on this thread I end up wanting to browse Vinted 😂
Click to expand...

I channeled this energy into listing some stuff I was meaning to list for a while and have made £20 today. Which is good because I am SKINT this Jan.

Does anyone else get emotional when they sell clothes? It's my last remaining slightly gothy dress so not only am I selling the dress but it's like selling a piece of the previous me who was cool 😢😂
 
paddy555 said:
I found a hot water bottle to be extremely expensive. The cost of fuel traveling to either the hospital or health centre on an almost daily basis for nearly 2 months to get the dressings changed on the burns on the inside of my thighs. It burst and I couldn't get away quickly so got very burned. I got a lecture from every nurse I dealt with on the injuries they had seen and how they wouldn't let their own kids have one.

Wheat bags were safer but the best thing I found was an electric heat pad.
Click to expand...
Wheat bags are good until your OH sets fire to the thing in the MW!!
 
Last edited:
HollyWoozle said:
Turtle Doves recycled cashmere gloves (fingerless) are fabulous and they have lots in their 50% sale right now at £19.50. They are machine washable and I use them a lot.
Click to expand...
Sounds good value, Cashmere Centre sale brochure arrived today, their fingerless wrist warmers from £29.
Niece says that TKMaxx’s end of, end of, absolutely final reduction, knitwear rails can have unbelievable cashmere bargains: jumpers, cardis, scarves etc under £20....
 
Exasperated said:
Sounds good value, Cashmere Centre sale brochure arrived today, their fingerless wrist warmers from £29.
Niece says that TKMaxx’s end of, end of, absolutely final reduction, knitwear rails can have unbelievable cashmere bargains: jumpers, cardis, scarves etc under £20....
Click to expand...
I buy second hand cashmere from eBay to wear at the yard. Nearly new jumpers from m&s, bodes etc for usually about £20.
 
Highmileagecob said:
Have collected my first order from Too Good To Go. Bread, gold top milk, fresh veg., pizza and some other bits and bobs. All on their last sell by date, but that's the point - too good to go in the bin. £4 for a carrier bag full.
Click to expand...
I freeze a lot. Bread can be frozen as can milk and fruit and veg dates are generous. The out of date pears in my last bag are only just ripe now over a week later

I currently have loaves of bread, croissants and muffins in my freezer after a Morrisons Toogoodtogo bakery bag.
 
I'm resurrecting this thread, if you would like to share any money saving tips.

Moving my thermostat to the warmest room in the house stops the heating from running away with itself. I have a complicated thermostat that I inherited with the house that sets in multiple time zones throughout the day.
The Round Up saving thing from the bank netted over £100 in around a year by sending change from spending, rounded up to the nearest £, to my saving account.
Too Good to Go got cancelled by me after local shops started to reduce their offers down to two or three items.
Roll back the duvet and spread a fleece blanket over the bottom sheet. Tuck the edge under the pillows. No more icy bed sheets, and no more cold feet.
The yard has started using a local supplier for shavings delivery. The more you order, the cheaper it gets per bale.
Speedy Beet has been ditched in favour of sugar beet pellets, half the price.
 
I was thinking about this thread as I have finally got into batch cooking (okay batch planning, Mr AP does most of the actual cooking). Freezer was getting a little over stocked so we've exclusively eaten healthy and delicious dinners and lunches from the freezer this week and had to do a minimal shop. Don't know why I was so resistant to it before, probably because it requires some organisation but this whiteboard keeps me right. It's definitely cutting down on our grocery spends.

That's all I've got I'm afraid, I seem to be haemorrhaging money lately. The trips up and down to my parents add up and I temporarily altered my working pattern so even though in theory I was supposed to get a 7k pay rise from October, it's just mitigating my lesser hours.
 

Attachments

  • IMG-20251020-WA0004.jpg
    IMG-20251020-WA0004.jpg
    261.8 KB · Views: 36
Had a trawl through the supermarket yesterday, and picked up a rolled shoulder of pork for under £6. It will be cut in half, and half will go in the freezer (not feeding a family, only for me). Each half should do a couple of roast dinners, then left overs in a sweet and sour, or simmered in the gravy with bubble & squeak or something.
 
ArklePig said:
I was thinking about this thread as I have finally got into batch cooking (okay batch planning, Mr AP does most of the actual cooking). Freezer was getting a little over stocked so we've exclusively eaten healthy and delicious dinners and lunches from the freezer this week and had to do a minimal shop. Don't know why I was so resistant to it before, probably because it requires some organisation but this whiteboard keeps me right. It's definitely cutting down on our grocery spends.
Click to expand...
I'm a batch cooking convert, got really into it the last couple months. I find I get better value for money in a number of ways (making double portions) - using up ingredients before they get forgotten about and go off, having a home made 'ready meal' on hand stops the temptation to get takeaway, running the dishwasher less often (by using pans, bowls, roasting dishes etc, once for 2 meals rather than twice), less electricity on the hob, as it's one full cooking time, then a quick reheat (hob or microwave) rather than 2 full cooking times, and a full freezer is more energy efficient.
 
Sounds counter productive but stop buying in sales and go more upmarket with clothes. Buy only good quality garments and few of them. Don't buy because they are on sale or cheap. Save up and buy what is expensive for you and timeless classic items. Saves money in the long run and looks great.
 
I know it sounds the opposite of what this thread is for, but I had a 53% off voucher code for Prep Kitchen meals and bought 10 of them for £30 and I have one every day for my lunch at work. I WFH 2 days per week so they usually last me the month almost and means I get high protein, calorie controlled lunches with no mental or physical effort needed. I now keep being sent 50% off codes by them as I cancel my subscription after one order, and it's really working for me.
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
I know it sounds the opposite of what this thread is for, but I had a 53% off voucher code for Prep Kitchen meals and bought 10 of them for £30 and I have one every day for my lunch at work. I WFH 2 days per week so they usually last me the month almost and means I get high protein, calorie controlled lunches with no mental or physical effort needed. I now keep being sent 50% off codes by them as I cancel my subscription after one order, and it's really working for me.
Click to expand...

3 pounds per lunch without having to expend a brain cell sounds great to me!
 
dorsetladette said:
I moved my car insurance to an agricultural insurance policy last year, then added the lorry and the quad to the same policy - I've saved about £80 a month doing it this way. All they required of me was a CPH number and the broker sorted the rest.
Click to expand...
@dorsetladette I know this was a while back now but would you mind sharing which broker/insurer this was? £80 a month is an awful lot. We have a holding number for our sheep but it had never occurred to me that it might help us get cheaper car and trailer insurance.
 
Sanversera said:
Sounds counter productive but stop buying in sales and go more upmarket with clothes. Buy only good quality garments and few of them. Don't buy because they are on sale or cheap. Save up and buy what is expensive for you and timeless classic items. Saves money in the long run and looks great.
Click to expand...

Actually I find buying expensive/quality items in the sales the best approach. So many of my clothes (and shoes) I've had for years and still look really good.
 
criso said:
Actually I find buying expensive/quality items in the sales the best approach. So many of my clothes (and shoes) I've had for years and still look really good.
Click to expand...
Same here. I have expensive waterproof jackets that I bought massively reduced and they usually last me at least 10 years.
 
We holiday mostly in the uk and can often find a week in a cottage for under £400. I try not to over buy at the supermarket and we regularly use local market for veg. Get enough for a week for £20. Pony is now on cheap Allen and Paige mash. He loves it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top