What money saving hack would you recommend to a fellow UK person?

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PaleConference406@reddit

My hack would be to stop using the word hack.

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cwright017@reddit

Invest your money then inflation becomes less of an issue.

If you keep your money in a bank, inflation likely eats into it and you lose money year on year.

The average return of the S&P index over the last 100 years is around 10% a year ( accounting for the huge drops caused by recessions, pandemics; wars ) which is greater than the rate of inflation over most of that time.

You can penny pinch to save money, but it’s a fools game, you will always hover around the same amount and eventually lose. Investing grows your money so you don’t need to worry so much.

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WearingMarcus@reddit (OP)

I agree, but surely its worth saving to invest.

Saving money and then blowing it on load of holidays leaves you in same place.

if you save money and then invest it, then the money makes money.

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megawoot@reddit

Your biggest expense is the difference between your salary now and what you could be earning.

Push for more money from your current employer. Shop the market for other better paid roles. Figure out how to get that promotion.

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DanielReddit26@reddit

Depends, I've got a bit of a popcorn habit that costs more than any promotion is likely to get me!

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InspectionWild6100@reddit

Don’t buy aesthetic or status items. Live a minimalist life, you don’t need “things”, buy plants instead.

Put most of your savings into the stock market each month. Check in 30 years. Retire a millionaire.

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Bernardozila@reddit

Plants are things. What’s the point of retiring a millionaire if you’re a minimalist? Surely the money is pointless? I completely disagree with the ideology of suffering during your best years so you can have more at an age when you can’t enjoy as many things to the fullest.

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InspectionWild6100@reddit

You clearly don't understand what a minimalist life is - it is living without excess. It has absolutely nothing to do with "suffering"!!

I don't really care if you agree, or not!

I'm in my early fifties, have had a wonderful and enjoyable life so far, retired, with amazing financial assets. It is doable by so many people.

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Bernardozila@reddit

Excess is subjective. Some people get a lot of joy from having lots of books or owning 3 cars. I don’t expect you to care about whether I agree, I’m just highlighting to OP (and any other reader) that this advice is not in the spirit of the thread because, presumably, they want to save money so they have more of it to buy things they really want. Also, you don’t seem like a true minimalist at all, more like a middle aged man who burned out at work and is trying to stretch their assets out to stay retired. Nothing but grandstanding.

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BeardedBaldMan@reddit

A single person produces about 80W of heat and a 4x4m bedroom needs about 750W to maintain temperature

If you had eight of you sleeping in a bedroom you'd be close enough there that you wouldn't need heating.

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zone6isgreener@reddit

A great public information film.

"Have an orgy to save the planet".

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Sszaj@reddit

As long as no one gets pregnant

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zone6isgreener@reddit

"Bum sex saves carbon" - if the Number 10 account wants to message me I am available as a consultant.

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Sszaj@reddit

It's certainly more impactful than "Hands, Face, Space!"

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Dull_Reindeer1223@reddit

Hands, face, embrace

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zone6isgreener@reddit

Although that slogan can with the right supporting image support my campaign.

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BeardedBaldMan@reddit

That's going to more than double the heat output. Depending your stamina you could drop down to five or six people.

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zone6isgreener@reddit

Sounds like you are signing up to be a heat "pump" assessor. It's the ideal time to get into my new department as once word gets out we'll get a lot of applications.

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fgalv@reddit

Dee, think of the smell. You haven’t thought of the smell!

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vbloke@reddit

If, like me, you enjoy soft drinks but the prices are a bit silly now thanks to the sugar tax - make your own. The initial outlay is steep, but you end up with gallons of deliciousness for a fraction of the cost of shop bought.

r/Cordials has a load of recipes.

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Awkward_Ad6154@reddit

Earn more money to save more money!

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missuseme@reddit

Leave the tap on? I don't even turn the tap on until I need to rinse the toothbrush afterwards. Why do people pre-rinse their toothbrush at all?

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Bernardozila@reddit

Idk I wonder the same thing but I think I do it because it lubricates the brush and helps it froth, which makes me feel like I’m cleaning my teeth better. Maybe it’s a myth!

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MunkeeseeMonkeydoo@reddit

Milk stray cats and make cheese with it.

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leninzen@reddit

No shade to you OP but that made me laugh

"Plz sir can I have an affordable home 🥺"

Learn to make egg fried rice like the rest of us!

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Fr0sthetic@reddit

Use cashback/voucher apps as much as possible, for the purchases you need.

It's not just Quidco and Topcashback now, there's a number of them that have 4% off most places you'll get your weekly shop from.

Also you should not be buying mobile contracts or broadband/fibre contracts without getting some form of cash back - they're the most common and lucrative ones. Then energy, insurances, appliances etc also often come with cashback.

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MandiBlitz@reddit

Have a small amount of cash on you to stop you from buying extra crap to fulfill minimum card spends

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MidnightRambler87@reddit

Point 2 is just common sense, not a hack. Do you work for the Daily Fail by any chance?

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No-Body-4446@reddit

Plus only matters if you're on a water meter. And even then will probably save pennies at best.

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Kazinessex@reddit

Regardless of the pennies you’re saving, by turning off the tap while cleaning your teeth you’re using less water. Fresh, clean, potable water that would otherwise just be running straight down the drain.

Stop wasting it, clean water is a precious resource to which much of the world doesn’t have access.

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runningraider13@reddit

The clean water doesn’t disappear when it goes down the drain. It goes to a water processing plant and gets reused. At most you’re “wasting” a bit of wear and tear in the processing plant. Besides, water usage in the UK has absolutely 0 impact on the availability of clean water in regions that don’t have it.

I agree that turning the sink off when you’re not using it is just common sense. But it’s really not a terribly big deal

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No-Body-4446@reddit

Alright mate, but the literal point of the thread is about saving money…

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JustAManOnAJourney@reddit

Pointless now anyway as UU have increased their daily standing charge by 200% since people are cutting back on their usage and they’ve been capped on their unit rate %

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PrimaryOtter@reddit

Point 3 - if you reduce your costa coffee and avocado intake by just 33% you’ll be able to buy a house within 6 months.

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ElectricalActivity@reddit

I don't get that one either. Do some people just stand there and leave the tap running? What's the point?

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ViridianKumquat@reddit

Some of my colleagues use about as much water to wash a cup as I do when taking a shower.

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WatchingTellyNow@reddit

I love how you're so chummy with your eggs...

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Imperator_Helvetica@reddit

These eggs aren't just coddled, they're mollycoddled! Best friend eggs!

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OneNormalBloke@reddit

Simplest hack in the world which will save you a fortune is don't buy anything you don't need.

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FormABruteSquad@reddit

100% OFF SALE

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WearingMarcus@reddit (OP)

You are quite right.

Certain foods I bought, were nice, but they were unhealthy and I did not need them.

There are literal starving people in the world, therefore my decision whether I buy costa coffee or a packet of sweets etc should not be that hard.

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Sszaj@reddit

Where do you draw the line between need/don't need?

I don't need most of the things relating to my hobbies.

I didn't need to replace my PS4 with a PS5.

I don't need to go out for dinner.

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ProfessorYaffle1@reddit

Plan your meals and make a shopping list, so you only buy what you need, and so you use what you buy.

Batch cook and freeze - this lts you take advantage of larger pack sizes / 2 for 1 deals etc and refduce food waste, also meansa you have meals redy to go and easy to re-heat and eat 9freezr and microwave help a lot!) so you can also reduce use of premade ready meals or takeaways as you always have stuff available forthe days you just dont feel like cooking. I think this is especially helpful oif you live alone as it's not awlays easy to scale down and buy quantities for a single portin, making 2-6 portions at a time and freezing them individually solves tht problem.

utting on an extra layer of clothing / blanket on the bed rathr than turning the heating up, and remembering to turn heating down/off in room you don't use all help you save on energy bills.

If you can, line dry your clothes rather than using a tumble dryer.

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running_like_water@reddit

If you have time looking for special offers. Bank switches for example, worthwhile to do. Cashback from sites (for example quidco)

If you use my referral code we both get money (sounding like a salesperson lol) https://quidco.com/raf/11786721/ but I use it for things like house or car insurance, and I've found the easiest way to save money, is to try and save on my biggest outgoings like insurance.

Another one is I got life insurance for a fiver a month, will cancel it after sixth months and then get 120 quid voucher back.

Things like that have helped me during cost of living crisis.

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WearingMarcus@reddit (OP)

Great tips guys.

The freezing food one is a gudden.

I se to often buy bread and waste alot of it. I know buy those half loaf ones, then once I open it, freeze the rest...

Very good tip.

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Cyanopicacooki@reddit

Don't have children

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Bernardozila@reddit

MoneySavingExpert is a goldmine of advice but here are a few favourites: - Compare prices for all utilities (energy, broadband, TV, car insurance etc) and switch to cheaper providers or negotiate discounts. - switch lights off when not in a room (seems obvious). - turn boiler temp down to 60. - shop at discount retailers.

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MissionFig5582@reddit

An LED light costs £0.0005 a month to run.

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Pyrex_Living@reddit

Not sure if this is a hack but certainly helps with more “impulsive” online purchases.

Train yourself to let things sit in the online “basket” and not purchase straight away. I find after some time has passed between the initial “I need X” you come to the realisation that you don’t need it at all.

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Strange-Yam4733@reddit

I know not everyone can, but bulk buying is saving us a lot of money. Work paid for us to have a Costco membership I didn't think I'd ever use, I'm now the toilet roll, chicken breast & sausage supplier for half my family

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quenishi@reddit

For 1, maybe invest in some kitchen scales? 😆 Or use a glass to measure out your rice so you know how much you're cooking. Can't say I overdo the rice, but I measure it out and do less if I'm not so hungry lol.

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DullCycle92@reddit

I started making my own oat milk and I’ve weirdly stuck with it.

One 75p bag of oats lasts me a week and it takes less than 5 mins.

Not only saved money, but I actually prefer the taste now. Just oats, water, and a sieve. Done.

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No-Accident6125@reddit

Define your savings goal, calculate how much per month you need to contribute towards that goal, set a budget on that basis and stick to it.

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