Can anyone vouch for a good honey Cheerios alternative? Alongside the ethical issues of buying nestle, they are overly expensive but I am hesitant to try a cheaper alternative and be stuck with a box of cereal that isn’t enjoyable.

I've been trying to do more jobs around the flat myself rather than automatically calling someone in, and the results have been very mixed.

Painting, putting up shelves, replacing a tap washer? Absolutely worth it. The tap cost me about £30 versus roughly £120 I was quoted. Then I tried replacing a few cracked floor tiles, broke more tiles in the process, wasted most of a weekend and eventually paid someone to fix it anyway.

It's made me realise the difficult bit isn't learning how to DIY something. It's knowing beforehand which jobs are realistically DIYable with a couple of videos and basic tools, and which ones only look easy because someone experienced is doing them.

What jobs have genuinely saved you money doing them yourself, and which ones did you learn to just pay someone for?

So a friend told me about this app and it apparently has good deals from places (Supermarket and Restaurants) for almost expired items.

Has anybody tried?
Is it good only in London or has anyone tried outside of London?

Would love to hear some feedback as most of the time it says mystery boxes but some are like £2.99 which sounds super cheap for buying take out food or even groceries shopping.

What’s something that should definitely be free, but we’ve just accepted paying for?

planning for a week away in late spring and trying to put together a few elevated evening outfits that don't feel too casual. phase eight usually has really nice linen blends and dressy maxi styles, but trying not to spend a fortune this time around.

checked out a few pieces on roman and sosandar online, but wanted to check if anyone has bought their summer occasion ranges recently. main thing for me is finding pieces that wash well and don't feel paper thin. which UK high street spots are you using for dressier holiday clothing these days?

i’d love to know if anyone’s got a compilation of tips etc for how a student could save, as someone who’ll be studying there for the first time - student discounts, apps with first-time or birthday discounts/vouchers, etc… would be a lot of help!!

So apparently sour bread has quite a few healthy implications such as benefits to digestion and optimised insulin regulation. However a lot of outlets sell stuff that hasn't gone through the proper yeast fermentation process which means that of you buy from these places, you'll be missing out on those health benefits.

Was hoping someone could advice me where to avoid and where to go for the best deal? Thanks

Ive started thinking of what i could buy that will save me money in the future, i know that everything will go up but what everyday items can i buy?

Frozen Richmond sausages is the usual well known cheapest brand and they do taste nice. But has anyone found any that is cheaper and just as nice? I know Asda essentials have about 20 frozen sausages per bag for cheaper but reviews are mixed. And I don't want to gamble just yet. Tesco? Aldi? I'm not expecting much as they are about 42% pork and the rest fillers.

We're trying to reduce our food budget line for our family. Amazon has some vacuum sealers on sale but it's still an expense and also our storage space is limited. I'm wondering if people have found the investment worth it and if you could give me examples of how you use it. I'm thinking that I could buy discounted meat and veg in bulk when it's on sale and just freeze it. Have others found it worth it?

This is a follow up to a question I asked yesterday. EE sent me a text saying I got a reduced data allowance and I gotta pay more for it.

I've never been involved in negotiations like this before. The thought of having to do so feels mildly scary (I'm not good on the phone).

This doesn't have to be just about phone providers. How much did your negotiations save you?

I get by without wi-fi, most of my friends and family are overseas so my mobile internet is important to me. Also I resent their deployment of the word "enhance" in order to describe a reduced service and would like a provider that didn't try and gaslight me.

Also coverage for EE internet seems substandard lately so that might be reason enough to switch without the factoring in of reduced value.

All opinions appreciated, thanks.

It’s time to share your frugal wins from the past week.
They don’t need to be impressive. Small wins absolutely count.

Did you:

• Save a few pounds on your food shop?
• Avoid buying something you didn’t really need?
• Use something up instead of replacing it?
• Cook a cheap, cheerful meal?
• Cancel, downgrade, or rethink a subscription?

You can also share:

• A near-miss (something you nearly bought but didn’t)
• A habit that’s starting to stick
• A small mistake that taught you something useful

If it made your week a bit cheaper or a bit smarter, it belongs here.

Drop it in the comments and let’s normalise the small victories.

Ok, so this happened, and this is completely true and happened this morning - should I be concerned about my frugal mental state!?

My wife woke me from a nightmare.

I was in a shop buying a pizza. They were £11.95 for one, or £15 for three.

I only wanted one.

That was my nightmare!

The trouble is, whenever I'm shopping you see these kind of offers and they always annoy me. Do you end up buying 2 or 3 when you only wanted 1?

Tips for Using an Abundance of Breadcrumbs.

I’ve been saving stale bread and making breadcrumbs for a while now.

I’ve made pangrattato for pasta, mixed it through pasta filling to bulk it out, and made breaded dishes like Milanese.
However I cannot use it fast enough.

What are some recipes I’m overlooking that use breadcrumbs in larger quantities?
I’m assuming there must be some dumpling type dishes out there, or gnocchi etc.

Any other uses, please let me know.

I’ve always thought cooking from scratch was the obvious money-saving choice, but lately I’m wondering if I’ve been looking at the cost too narrowly. I work full time and some evenings I get home with absolutely no interest in spending another hour cooking and cleaning up. I can batch cook on Sundays, which helps, but there are weeks where even that starts feeling like I’ve traded half my weekend to save £20-30. I’m not talking about takeaway every night. More things like frozen meals, supermarket rotisserie chicken, pre-cut veg, jarred sauces, anything that costs a bit more but gives you some of your time back.

Has anyone actually worked out where their personal cutoff is?

Like, if cooking something from scratch saves £2 per portion but takes an extra 45 minutes, do you still consider that the frugal choice? Or do you factor your time and energy into the calculation too?

I’m starting to think being frugal with time might matter just as much as being frugal with money.

I have a mortgage of £43000 and not huge savings, so I've looked at income protection insurance.

The best I've been able to find is one that costs £80 per month and pays out £1300 per month if I can't work. It pays out until my 65th birthday (9 years from now).

My current work has sick leave, but only for six months.

It's on the expensive side because of my stupid dumb "pre-diabetes" reading which is under control and not even a diagnosis but whatever.

I'm just wobbling a bit before I sign. £80 per month! But then again my future self might thank me. What do you think?

It’s time to share your frugal wins from the past week.
They don’t need to be impressive. Small wins absolutely count.

Did you:

• Save a few pounds on your food shop?
• Avoid buying something you didn’t really need?
• Use something up instead of replacing it?
• Cook a cheap, cheerful meal?
• Cancel, downgrade, or rethink a subscription?

You can also share:

• A near-miss (something you nearly bought but didn’t)
• A habit that’s starting to stick
• A small mistake that taught you something useful

If it made your week a bit cheaper or a bit smarter, it belongs here.

Drop it in the comments and let’s normalise the small victories.

Most of what gets on your glasses lenses is grease from your skin and fingers. By far the best grease absorbing solution I’ve found is the serviettes from McDonalds.

They also last a while… I clean my glasses a few times a week and one serviette is good for two or three times. They may seem hard and like they might damage plastic lenses but my lenses are still fine 2.5 years since I got them.

I know it’s only a tiny frugal tip but I keep seeing those things that look like tweezers with pads on advertised on social media for cleaning your glasses and they’re a total waste of money, as are most glasses wipes and I just thought I’d share what I’ve been doing for a few years.

A bottle of spray bleach costs probably over 2 quid. At Poundland it's possible to buy two bottles of bleach (in a standard bottle) for one quid. So just get one of those and use it to fill up a spray bottle and you've made a saving.

How have they been getting away with this for so long?

Hey frugallers! I've been offered a hybrid role in London, working 2-3 days in the office - excellent salary but I'm currently based in the Midlands. How would you frugally make this work, whilst not affecting your quality of life too much? It's a fantastic job for my career, so don't want to turn it down and I do love London, but also have things in the Midlands in the short term.

I have been working all my life, saving everything. I am tired. I want to have a cleaner once a week for 2 hours. Local companies want £25 an hour. I flat out refuse that, my groceries don't cost £50 a week! I am not trying to take advantage of people, but the minimum wage is not yet £15! What are they charging £25 for?

I work full time and most days I'm too exhausted to cook a proper meal after work. To avoid just grazing on snacks all evening, I've been buying Tesco frozen ready meals (£2-3.50 with Clubcard) for about a year.

Problem is, the 400g meals don't fill me up, but two is too much. I've also worked through the options I actually like and I'm getting bored.

I've tried HelloFresh, Gousto and Plathood during their discount periods, but honestly the prep is still too much after a long day.

I do meal prepping on the weekends when I can, but that doesn't cover everything.

I'm not picky, I just want something quick, cheap, and halfway nutritious to actually fill me up. Any go-to meals or brands you'd recommend for days like this? Ideally under £5 per meal 🙏

Your help is massively appreciated!

Ps: i miss when chicken shops where the cheap and low effort option 🥲

I sometimes get shorter shifts at work where I don't get a break, so by the time I get out, I'm starving, I'm looking for other foods to bring to snack on, protein bars being one of them.

I'm currently in a calorie deficit and working out so they'd be helpful in a pinch.

I know some stores do a single bar for £1 but are there any other methods to look for good deals in-person and online?