From cutting down on your food bill to entertaining at home, here is how you can cut back on costs without sacrificing your quality of life.
With the cost of living continuing to rise, now is an ideal time to overhaul your lifestyle for a simpler way of life. In fact, more and more people are shunning the consumerist, spendthrift existence that has developed over the last century or so, and embracing a back-to-basics lifestyle to combat rising prices by saving money and reducing waste.
That’s right: it’s cool to be frugal. Staying in is the new going out, charity is the new designer fashion and saving is the new spending.
So, to assist you on your way to thrifty living, fine.org.uk has put together 20 top tips to help you transform your lifestyle and fight the recession.
1. Plan your meals
Draw up a weekly menu to help cut back on the huge amount of waste UK households create every week. It will help identify areas where you can use up leftovers, finish half-eaten sauces, use fruit and vegetables before they turn bad and avoid grabbing expensive ready meals.
Remember to factor packed lunches into your shopping list to save on school-dinner costs and expensive take-out lunches. Try to stick to one big weekly shop to help budget and save on petrol.
Plus, never go shopping when you’re hungry – you’ll only end up buying snacks you don’t really need – and try to shop at the end of the day when many items are reduced.
2. Make your own
Supermarkets and chemists are lined with rows of expensive cleaning products, but a rummage through your kitchen cupboards could unearth a multitude of products that also do the trick for a fraction of the price.
For household cleaning, a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda on a damp cloth works just as well as expensive brand-name cream cleaners, for example, while vinegar is a great smear-free window and mirror cleaner.
Ideas for homemade beauty products include mixing natural yoghurt and honey for a deep moisturizing face mask and mixing a couple of teaspoons of olive oil with granulated sugar to exfoliate rough hands. An egg yolk will revive dry skin, while the white will leave your skin feeling silky soft.
3. Review your services
If you employ a gardener, window cleaner or dog walker, or use a car wash, for example, consider whether you’re paying for a service you don’t need. In many cases, you can probably do it yourself. If you haven’t already done this, it’s a sure-fire way to make some savings. Continue reading “20 steps to a frugal lifestyle”