while you may not be able to change the big item you may be able to make many small changes that will give you extra money
I think this is a very important point that often gets overlooked when starting or looking to make changes in "spending habits"
and some of these changes can act as a multiplier over time and have positive effects in other areas of spending
There's another thread on here about the "Cost of living crisis" and one of the main topics of related to the news article referenced is the rising cost of grocery shopping and people complaining that they can't afford to do the normal shopping they used to do
So I had a look at my own shopping and compared the first six months of this year to the first six months of last year and I know this is a very individual thing and I can only compare my spending to my own spending but I was a little surprised to notice that my weekly shopping was in and around the same as last year, in fact it was sightly cheaper, even though like everybody else and I even written about here many times,
That the prices of things have and are going up and sometimes on a weekly basis.
So what gives and without comparing each weekly shopping receipt for what or what I didn't buy I can only assume that the small changes that we've made to our shopping habits over the years have really helped in keeping the weekly shopping bill under control
For us these are probably the four things that we've changed/adjusted to that reap the most benefits
1. Only buy what you actually need or are going to use for the week
In our house there is little or no food waste, we plan our meals and buy accordingly
2. Shop to a budget
90% of our shopping is done in Dunnes stores so we shop to the voucher amount, €25, €50 or a multiple €75, €100 etc etc
After we get the essentials out of the way the balance is for the non essentials
and if we're at €48 and I feel like a 12 pack of Tayto for €4 it doesn't get bought
3. Where possible buy the items you use only when on discount
When we see items like toiletries and long dated products on discount we will stock up but also keeping in mind point 2
4. Own brand products
This is probably the one biggest change for me as an ex food producer who was very brand loyal in my previous life
Over the last 15 years we've moved from branded products to own brand products not just because they are cheaper
but the quality is just as good if not better then the branded products
and when I do the odd time go back and try a branded product I find that I generally don't enjoy it as much the own brand equivalent
(Maybe that's just because my taste buds have changed after making the switch
)
So yes, sometimes it the small changes that can make a big difference
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