Trying to save money this year - any clever tips?

Pop in yr bank ( or online) & systematically go through a list of all your standing orders & direct debits. Close down or cancel everything that is not essential e.g subscriptions, indulgences & haphazard stuff.

Shop around for better utility accounts & insurance policies. One useful tip I got from MSE was for online quotes for any insurance policies is to put the proposed start date some three weeks in advance of the day you are searching. Seems the algorithms produce a more favourable rate.

If you impulse shop online, good idea to put into the basket & leave for a few days. Also try putting the item (s) onto the ‘wish list’. This fulfils the compulsion to ‘get it now’ but avoids the near miss of putting it in the basket. It takes one click to pay for stuff in your basket but TWO clicks to go from wish list to basket to payment. A little bit harder to spend the money.

Take out cash once a week for essential food shopping, leave cards at home, & pay cash for ONLY what is on your shopping list.

Food shopping - plan meals a few days ahead; never food shop when hungry; always write up a list to food shop & get that in the basket first; set a time limit to get round the aisles; don’t browse. Don’t bulk buy unless you have room to store it. BOGOF is not your friend unless it is something you buy & use up regularly.

All this in coming months will amount to some savings AND a money savvy mindset - all the better to enjoy a lovely time in Italy.

Oh have a lovely time I was in your position this time last year and I was trying to save money too my daughter got married in Italy and it was lovely, just cut back where you can. Hope you have a wonderful time please read up on Italy there are some tips to be picked up on such as trains and ordering food some restaurants charge for fish by weight!! ????

If you join Checkoutsmart, Shopmium and Topcashback/in store/groceries, all for free, then there are quite often freebie food items; every little counts.

Congratulations @granoffour that's such good news

When I'm having a frugal month I tend to find batch cooking and freezing the food to have later is a good way to save money - and time

I use a Debenhams or M&S card to pay for all my shopping / holiday purchases, use the points I make for any clothes I want to buy and then save the amount of the vouchers.
Make sure you book the flights early as most airlines increase the price the closer to the date you book. I'm sure Moneysaving expert suggests 3 months ahead.Enjoy the wedding.

Doh! ON the item, not ONE the item.

Mysupermarket.co.uk is a very handy site to compare prices of individual items in the major supermarkets. It’s really intended for doing an online shop, then allows you to see how much the total basket costs and you can choose to place the order with the cheapest.
However, if you just want to use it as a comparison site, you can skip registration (select ‘skip’ in the top righthand corner of the registration page) and use search for an item. Then click on the item and you’ll see the prices listed for a nominated supermarket, click one the item again for current prices in all the main supermarkets.

This is invaluable for searching out special offers.

Don’t go shopping!
Except for food.
If I’m near a shop I don’t usually get home without buying something I ‘need’.

Perhaps a side hussle? Dog walking, babysitting.
Competitions- I made £6000 last year. Not actual cash but goods and vouchers. It is harder than it used to be but worth a go.

Since my DH has been very poorly I have barely gone near any shops except to take my dad for his usual shopping and to pick up my own essentials (mainly food) . I am worrying that with DH at home 24/7 with the heating on very high we might be in for a HUGE shock when the next gas bill roles in .

I think if you avoid temptation (ie avoid the shops) then you can probably save a fair bit.

I also used to save £2 coins for the DGC and had an agreement with DH that any coin we got went into a special savings pot. I was amazed how much this added up to, although I admit to having trouble getting rid of them as my own bank wouldn’t take them

Good luck and I hope you make it to Italy and enjoy that special holiday .

Charleygirl5 mentioned Santander - 123 account

We're with them. Have a joint account and one each and the savings account.

current account - 1.5% interest on up to £20,000. £5 month fee though! You have to have at least 2 direct debits to open the account. Some DDs have cash back e.g. council tax, phone and utility, so that can offset the account charge and earn you lots.

Savings - £200 limited each month. 2.5% interest. It dropped last year. Must leave it in for the year.

You'll have a great time in Italy. A place I would love to go to.

Don't live near any shops, shop alone and do not shop unless you need something.

I live in a village, find shopping boring, even online, and go to my local town once a week to go to the supermarket.

Comparison shop every time a utility bill or insurance bill comes in.

Neither Aldi, nor Lidl, have branches in my usual shopping town, but I have disliked almost every item of food I have ever tasted that I discovered (later) came from Aldi that I am disinclined to shop there. I would rather pay more and be confident that every item I buy will not have me screwing upmy mouth with distaste or, as in one case feeding it to the birds (they wouldn't eat it either).

T agree with those talking about Aldi. I have only just started shopping there, just before Xmas, and i can not believe the difference it is making to my shopping budget. I truely am only spending about half the amount of money and i cant believe how that can be, whether its because they dont have lots of different brands to tempt you and dont have special offers glaring you in the face i am not sure. But what ever it is it is now my go to supermarket for everything.

The simplest way - if you don't need something, don't buy it!

Contact your mobile phone provider.
I reduced my phone bill yesterday from £20 per month to £6! Result!

My daughter is a financial advisor she has told me few easy things to stop spending for the sake off it.

Do you need it
Will you use it
Or do you just want it

The other is
If your shopping online your bound to see other things
Put them in your basket
Leave them in it until the next day
9/10 times your delete things or not order at all

It’s surprising how little things add up
Using these 2 motto’s I’ve payed off my overdraft

Has anyone seen or remember that tip of putting away (forgive me if I have this wrong) 1p a day for a week, then 2p, the 3p etc etc.

Probably got this wrong, so suggest googling to check.

(I would do it, but am supposed to be cooking lamb steaks for supper!)

Put an amount away into a savings account when your pay goes in, don't wait to see if there is any left at the end of the month. Then forget you even had it! Have a great time at the wedding.

When you look into your insurance use Compare the Market. You can then get a "meerkat" app for two for one meals and cinema on certain days.

Congratulations. I find that if I put my mind to it I can save a fair bit mainly by not impulse buying anything. Also Aldi prices are really good and I save loads by shopping there.

Look for a bank account such as Santander which pays the most interest. It pays 1.5% up to £20000 for a current account.

You can also open another savings account with them and gain 5% a month but the amount paid in is limited. I think it is £200 per person each month but with two of you, you would soon notice a difference.

Good luck.

Congratulations to your granddaughter! There's been loads of good ideas already, but I'd have to say shopping at Aldi/Lidl has made the biggest difference! Meal planning is also a great way to make sure you only buy what you need too.
We generally have a lot of insurance renewals and bits due in January so we use comparison sites and voucher code sites to get a bit of a discount. My Favourite Voucher Codes is a great one as they donate 20% of their profits to charity every month too so it's a nice way to do your bit at the same time: myfavouritevouchercodes.substack.com/p/cast-your-vote-in-januarys-2020-charity

If you’re prone to impulse buying, pay with cash instead of card. It does make you more aware of your spending.

Some banks have an account that round up every expenditure to the next pound and put that amount into savings. An alternative is to give yourself an amount for each day/week and anything left over at the end of the day/week put it away.

Save a pound a day each. You won't miss it and will have a few hundred pounds holiday spending. Put it away in an account that will give you some interest. It all adds up.