In this age of austerity…

What have you done to reduce your own monthly expenditure?

I’m looking for any tips, however ridiculous, to help me get debt free asap. This is mainly so that I can justify bunging a new blinging road bike on finance.

Cheers.

I’ve stopped eating takeaway, I reckon I’m saving ~£100 a month on that, oh and my Thursday night beer session, that has to be an extra £160 a month.

How about becoming a CEO and giving yourself a 46% pay rise? Works for some….

i was thinking of stopping subscribing to a popular MTB website magazine so i can just freeload like you TSY

£2 a month well save there Junky – which reminds me I need to cancel a subscription to WHICH online.

Give yourself a set amount each week to spend on non essentials, say £40-75, depending on wealth?

Keep it in your wallet and when it’s gone it’s gone! You”l just have to wait until the beginning of your next week!

Buy food in Bulk and freeze.
Not eat out that much
Cancel SKY etc…
Sell expensive smart phone
Clearout the garage/bike shed

Don’t drive.
Get rid of your TV licence.
Replace beer with water.
Eat porridge for breakfast.

take in rescue animals, instant free food.

Thats accountants for you know the cost of everything and the value of nothing 😉
You saying you dont get £2 of fun from here each month?

Binned private gym for work multigym
Commute 40miles a day on bike, weather permitting.
No midweek beer/wine.
Takeaway once a month.
Buy food for a week at a time NOT every time we don’t fancy what is in the fridge/freezer (the single biggest saver for us)

I’m planning on using the classifieds to defraud the gullible and unsuspecting over non-existent and frankly weird and freakish 29er parts.

Nobody will ever suspect a….. oh……

eBay surplus stuff
Switch insurer
Switch electricity provider
Drive even more fanny-like
Homebrew cider & wine
Not buy any new clothes until the old ones are completely worn out

I rarely drive to work any more.
Cancelled most of my magazine subs
We have stopped getting take aways (used to have one a week for the family)
Both myself and my son take packed lunches to work/college.
Reviewed all the mobile phone contracts we have and changed them where necessary
As above, I get 80 quid a week to put in my wallet. That has to cover all money I spend in a week. Any fuel, beer, bike parts, coffee, etc etc. If I run out then I force myself to wait till the following week.

I’m still skint though.

I’ve turned the radio down a bit.

Buy food for a week at a time NOT every time we don’t fancy what is in the fridge/freezer

Have just started doing this… weekly shop at Tesco v’s daily shop at Waitrose. Reckon it could be good for £200 a month.

Junky – I’m not sure that I can call my addiction to this place fun anymore.

Had an ebay fest, sold a lot of stuff i no longer use.
Started charging for some articles I write instead of doing it for free..
Don’t eat out as much. Bulk up on Muelsi for breakfast don’t go out for lunch.
Don’t rent or buy dvd’s engage in dodgy download practises.
Don’t buy bike mags, use internet stuff like Imbikemag and places like this for infotainment have even sadly cancelled my sub to MacUser which I’ve had forever.
Drink Halves not pints
Don’t drive fast watch the fuel computer like Hawk
Only do sports where the ride is free..(Bike and windsports)
Cancelled my membership of Bondage weekly..

Life is tough.

Switch bank account to Santander or FirstDirect and net yourself £100

Cancel Sky
Cancel Gym memberships
Make your own lunches
Eat less
Get a set of clippers and do your own haircuts
Get an extendable window cleaning gadget and tell the window cleaner to clear off

Decide how much you spend on groceries a week (including booze). Take that much out of the bank in cash once a week and put it in a jar. Use this and not a card when you buy groceries. Very effective.

Get shitfaced on cheap imported Martini before going to the pub or take hip flask and just buy Coca Cola.
Buy cheap unbranded supemarket fags and put them in a more expensive branded packet when going out.
Start ranting about environmentally friendly stuff so friends don’t think you’re being a tightwad by not using central heating in the depths of winter or by wearing charity shop clothes.
Turn the thermostat down a couple of degrees and use the transfer of body heat to keep warm, you won’t believe the number of chicks that fall for that one. 😀
Money off coupons and bulk buy on stuff you regularly buy.
Aldi and Lidl can be your friends.
Drive as close to the car as possible to the car in front, I believe this will save on fuel.
Take out your car insurance and as soon as the documents arrive cancel the policy.
Around this time of year people will start putting out nuts for the bird, nuts are on the iDiet, aren’t they?
Wear a hat.
Shopping list for the supermarket and don’t impulse buy.

No alot, as pretty frugal any way, using the wood burner more as have been collectioning fallen trees over the last year or two so good stocks

Junky – I’m not sure that I can call my addiction to this place fun anymore.

sharing your ennui..it is like groundhog day here …perhaps we should post less?

Never had Sky or a personal mobile, so I can’t cut these.

I don’t buy new bikes any more, but this really isn’t a hardship, and I now service my bikes myself other than for the most difficult of things (rebuilding shocks & forks, servicing brake calipers).

Don’t drink during the week now; this was almost entirely for health reasons but it’s a useful saving.

Have several tonnes of zero-cost firewood split and stored in the back garden; this cuts the heating costs considerably.

Managed to get a 25% pay rise this year as well, which helps.

…perhaps we should post less?

But then I’d have to find something else to do with my time.. which might cost money 🙁

Why don’t you start an interesting thread?

I only flame and moan I have no actual talent or interest if i had a life would I be here?
Actually I very rarely start threads good point but I am off out riding now as I need to do some training for some ill defined summer event but Shhhh mums the word.

Don’t eat out as much as we used to.
Buy things like toothpaste, soap & loo-roll from Quality Save.
Got the wife to work really hard and get a 35% payrise 😆

Shop at Asda and use their price match promise thingy. We get cheaper weekly shopping and occasionally a few quid in vouchers when they aren’t 10% cheaper.
Cook big batches of stuff and freeze.
Hit markets / veg shops on Saturday afternoons when they want to shift stock, then cook in batches!
Wash clothes at a cooler temperature.
Turn the heating thermostat down.
Shop at charity shops.

Just gone combined Orange Broadband/home phone/mobile and should save £50 pm on previous arrangements, especially with the phone, which I’d never changed from 15 yrs ago BT.
Biggest problem is food bill tho, rather have a nice warm house and eat Aldi beans, but can’t be arsed getting smarter on shopping.

Rather than being thrifty, I’m planning to run up a huge debt.
Interest rates are low, the banks will knock off 50% if I put on a Greek accent. Let the good times roll!!

Bought some wine from Aldi!!!

Surprisingly nice and after decanting for an hour, fooled my guests!!

I just add extras to my clients’ invoices and knock them off if they question it. Most don’t though. I reckon I get around £500 extra a month that way.

Sensible to put all expenditure onto a spreadsheet go through each item and see if you can either do without or switch and save.
My biggest outgoing is food, used to be around 6-800 a month including take outs, now it’s more like 400-500. We also saved around 300 by moving various utilities and insurances.
All of that money can now go on having fun instead.

Start ranting about environmentally friendly stuff so friends don’t think you’re being a tightwad by not using central heating in the depths of winter or by wearing charity shop clothes.
Turn the thermostat down a couple of degrees and use the transfer of body heat to keep warm, you won’t believe the number of chicks that fall for that one.

Hang on, I smell a rat; YOU LIVE IN SPAIN!

Sacked the gamekeeper and now get the butler to multi-task.

WIN.

No I don’t. It also got bloody cold in the part of Spain I lived and I assume you’ve never considered having a skiing holiday out there.
My garden, winter 2009.[/url]

Changed the Range Rover for a Ranger Rover diesel (I feel dirty)

Only have cleaners once a week now which is a pain for ironed shirts

Cut back on just ‘popping’ to New York / Dubai for weekends.

Maybe only go to a decent (at least 1 Michelin star) restaurant once a week now.

Started drinking wine @ sub £20 a bottle on an evening

Stopped seeing the PT

Got rid of 2 mistresses and associated Flats / Cars / Allowances

You’re still having tennis lessons though Tiger, surely?

You’re still having tennis lessons though Tiger, surely?

No I believe if I’ll just buy bigger and better racquets these will compensate for any need to have any instruction.

My latest racquet is all carbon and has dampening and depending on how I hold it can have either a steep or slack head angle. It’s just so versatile.

As I’m getting on a bit I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a wooden single string racquet so people who I’ve never met on a internet tennis forum think I’m really cool as well.

Tiger – you really are a card. Paired with some retro Greenflash trainers and a headband you really could be king of the courts.

Pack lunch at work is a big one! Quite a lot of the guys in the office will got to a deli or whatever everyday. They must be spending at least £5?

My lunch for a week costs about £6.