Living Frugally in Ireland - General Tips?

condra

Hi all.

As the title suggests, I'm looking for any tips on frugal living in Ireland.

Do you tend to shop in the same supermarket, or do you find some deals on some items elsewhere?

Are ALDI and LIDL still considered generally the cheapest places to shop for groceries?

Are there any good places to get non perishable items, perhaps in bulk?

Meat has gotten quite expensive. How can someone navigate this, even if compromises need to be made?

Do you switch service providers regularly?

Thanks for any pointers!

zell12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2057563382/shamed-for-being-frugal/p1

condra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120017915#Comment_120017915

Thanks for your response but respectfully Zell, that is a broad discussion thread around the social aspects of frugal living.

getoutadodge

TV/INTERNET/PHONE

Install saorview sat. Once initial start up costs are borne no more cost. Tesco mobile 15 euro per month will run your laptop for all internet needs (if not addicted to streaming) via hotspotting the phone and suffices for phone calls.

COMMUTE

Get an e bike. Use GOCAR for the odd occasion u need a car (assuming you live in a city)

FOOD

Learn to cook and begin to enjoy the process. Youtube is great. I use far less meat these days as I prefer Asian style recipes which use far less meat. The price of what were once exotic condiments and spices such saffron or tumeric is a joke. Practically giving the stuff away. Cook in bulk avoiding the need to cook every single day. More efficient and saves a ton of time. Fresh fruit is still really cheap. Less than a euro for a bag of tangerines or apples. Wonder how the unfortunate growers make money?

condra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120036525#Comment_120036525

Some great tips there. Thanks!

djdunny

TooGoodToGo app can be beneficial sometimes (also depends on where you live) - I think there's another app called Olio.

Baybay

I bought a soup maker which is great for using up any vegetables that I’ve bulk bought because they’re on offer / cheap / in season & which may have passed their best. It makes enough for 4 / 6 servings depending on hunger levels & is great for freezing.

Anything that I can cook that will last for a couple of days or can be frozen, which means I’m not using the cooker every day, tends to be a big favourite! Bolognese, casseroles, cottage pie etc. For portion control, I tend to use the plastic boxes that a Chinese takeaway might come in, another plus is that they store easily in the freezer. I use a permanent marker to write the contents on the lids.

If I’m using the oven for something, I try to put in something extra also to use the heat. Sometimes scones or bread or a tray of sausages & white pudding slices. I use my freezer a lot!

After boiling, I always put at least enough water in the kettle for another cup, maybe two. At worst, the water will have reached room temperature before I’ll boil it again. I tried filling a flask but I just don’t like the taste so not using totally cold water is my compromise.

I don’t know but I think it’s got to make some difference is knowing how long it takes for the oven to get up to temperature so rather than just keeping an eye on when the light goes off, I know what time I have to get things ready for the oven once it’s switched on. Following some recipes, it’s the first thing you’re told to do & some of the prep takes an age in comparison to the heating time for the required temperature.

Loveinapril

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120056124#Comment_120056124

I have recently joined Olio and it seems great already. Lots of supermarkets give away food that has reached their best before/ use by dates and Olio volunteers collect them and offer them for collection that day for free. It is definitely worth downloading to see whats in your area. The TooGoodToGo app is fine but when I used it I ended up with things I wouldn't buy but obviously paid for, albeit at a discounted price. I will definitely be using Olio in the future. They have a non food section too that I have advertised some kids clothes on.

SCOOP 64

Is there a monthly subscription with Olio?

Loveinapril

No, just skip that page!

Bicyclette

Get a Dunnes Stores Oodie (oversized, fleece hoodie). Dunnes Stores are the best of the "own brand" ones. They will keep you very warm without the need for heating.

Give up meat. Its bad for the environment and its expensive.

Grow your own herbs either in pots or in the garden. You can also regrow shallots, lettuce and other veg by growing the root you chop off.

getoutadodge

"Grow your own herbs either in pots or in the garden. You can also regrow shallots, lettuce and other veg by growing the root you chop off."

This is my next project. Easy since I'm a keen indoor and outdoor gardener albeit with very limited space. In contrast to dried spices and herbs, fresh herbs are a ripoff..e.g. chillies, coriander, rosemary etc. Rosemary grows like a weed in Ireland as does parsley and even thyme..so don't know what the issue is. Someone is making a lotta money?

Idbatterim

Bulk buy non perishable or long shelf life items when they are on offer... turn off the immersion if you have an electric shower....

Yellow_Fern

Always defrost in your fridge, make sure your fridge has enough space behind it, ideally have it against a cooler external wall.

Always claim your taxes back yourself on Revenue.ie, have a few shares and exploit your CGT free allowance.

Go absolute perfectionist insulating your hot water pipes. I have never seen a house without major gaps in the hot water piping insulation. Ideally find insulate the inside of your toilet cisterns, difficult job but it really helps in houses with heavily used toilets by reducing the cold radiator effect.

condra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120058175#Comment_120058175

This is something I've found to make a very noticeable difference. Things like toiletries, jarred sauces etc.

Bernie138

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120056215#Comment_120056215

My granny's soupmaker: chopping board, knife and pot....

Is it cheaper to do the cooking in the soup maker rather than on a stove, though??

Bernie138

Batch cook and freeze excess in portions.

The freezer is more efficient if full of food rather than air anyway.

Use microwave, slow cooker, air fryer if you can afford them as often as possible. Get family to buy them as presents.

Pistachios & cream

A huge amount of adopting more frugal practices is subject to your circumstances. If you are on your own you can make decisions and changes fairly easily but it can be way more difficult if you have to make changes for a whole family. For example one of the best ways to save money is to bring your own lunch but that’s not always easy as some workplaces don’t offer suitable spaces for heating, preparing and eating. Doesn’t mean it can’t be done but it can be harder.

however what does work for everyone is knowing where your money is going. For a month track every expense, even the smallest ones and the end of the month add them up under categories. You would be surprised how much the €3 here and €2 there add up.

next look at your monthly bills. See if they can be reduced. Do you need the monthly bill phone or could a pay as you go work fine. Check bonkers.Ie and switcher to see if there are better deals on any of these.

add up your annual bills, car insurance etc and divide the amount by 12 and put that in a revolut vault or similar. Do similar for other irregular but recurring expenses, think gifts for family, Christmas etc. decide on a budget for these and stick to it. I’ve a load of birthdays in may/June and used to be broke buying presents until I did this

do a stocktake of your food and toiletries. From this make a menu plan. From this make a shopping list. Only buy what you need and if you are only missing one or 2 ingredients google for substitutions as maybe you don’t need those items. Check to see if the supermarket offers will compliment the menu plan. Make good use of your freezer if you have one.

budget bytes is a great website for cheap recipes and she naturally uses a smaller amount of meat than many would.

OrangeLavender

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120082044#Comment_120082044

I have to say, I feel so much more in control of my personal finances since I also started to divide up large recurring yearly expenses like insurance, birthdays, car tax etc. by twelve and put that away monthly separate to savings.

Baybay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120081222#Comment_120081222

For me, I think it probably is. 20-25 minutes cooking & blending time. Switches off then so if I’m busy doing something, it won’t burn, boil over or use more power than necessary plus it stays hot for an as yet undetermined length of time. Always been hot enough to eat so far!

But yeah, I take your point. It’s not a necessity, just handy & makes it more likely that I will use up the veg.

Jellybaby_1

I usually make 2-3pts of soup at a time but lately I'm upping my game with an even bigger pot, on the cooker, which will make me at least 6pts at a time. I don't have a soup maker and really I don't have any more space for gadgets. I build up a big stock of soup in the freezer. However, recently rummaging through my oldest cookery books I found the one that came with my elderly microwave and it has soup recipes in it. My large cooker ring is 1850w and my microwave is 850w so I thought, I'll give a microwave soup a whirl. It made the soup in 25 mins flat, I whizzed it up and it tasted....ok, not great, just ok, and that's the difference. The veg wasn't sweated first, just cooked by the microwave. In the pot I sweat the veg for 25 mins then add stock and simmer for 20 mins then whizz up and it always tastes great! I'm interested to know if the soup maker sweats first or just cooks it like my experiment in the microwave, what is the wattage, and how much soup would it produce?

cbreeze

1. Get a Revolut account and save on daily transaction fees, and cross border handling fees if buying goods over the border or direct from the UK
2. Freeze sliced bread in small quantities if you don't use a lot of it

Irish_rat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120082594#Comment_120082594

What I do is I will delay a payment for example my bins and gas were due last month but I paid them off this month.

Attempting 50% save rate at the min

zell12

Where can I get these cheaper?

Flour - cheapest I see is 65c/kg in Lidl/Tesco

White Vinegar - cheapest is Tesco at €1.14/l

Sugar - cheapest iis 1kg €1 in Dealz

Eggs - cheapest is 6 for 85c at my local greengrocers

cute geoge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120313586#Comment_120313586

Do you expect to get them cheaper ,i can not see how they can make profit if below cost selling because both the floor and eggs are both well below cost of ptoduction.Can only guess who is losing money but not substainable at these prices

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120313586#Comment_120313586

youre lucky to have a local greengrocers seliing eggs as cheap as 85 cents for 6, best I can find locally is Aldi 1.39 for 6. Polish shops sell vineager but I think its now 70 cents for 500ml so not any cheaper than Tesco.

Im finding it harder and harder to save on food. But there are good savings to be had by being like a dog with a bone in driving down your recurring annual costs. In the last 12 months Ive managed the following-

Car insurance down from 480 to 350

House insurance 340 down to 260

Health insurance down from 920 to 810 by dropping a 0 excess in favour of a 150 excess if I need to claim for an in patient appointment. Will absorb the 150 excess if I have to but meanwhile its saving 110 a year by not having the 0 excess

Mobile bill is 48 at 7.99 a month so as cheap as it gets. Mobile broadband with the same provider is 12.99 a month using my own router which cost me 110 euro and has more than paid for itself.

I dropped the 30 euro a month Sky basic package bill and bought a Zgemma satelite box which now gives me Irish and UK channels for free (as it should be). Box cost 180 and it had paid for itself within 6 months compared to continuing to pay Sky monthly bills

Ulster Bank was costing me 8-10 euros a month in fees, now I am with EBS with 0 in fees and transfer money to Revlout and use that day to day

Biggest saving all year was that Energia EV fixed rate 12 month plan that was available back in August. Only paying 30 cents a day unit and 9 cents a night one whereas current plans are running at 45 cents for day and 21 cents for night units. I reckon the EV plan will have saved me around 400-500 euro compared to if I was on current rates.

Across all annual bills Ive saved around about 1,500 and my internet and broadband contnues to be as cheap as possible while the tv and banking is now free. There is not a hope I could save 1,500 a year by shopping around for food when all the supermarkets are so similar in price these days with only some minor exceptions. So for me tackling all your bills and driving them down upon renewal is the single best way to save money right now.

TinyFella

Cut ya gym membership and exercise at home using equipment from Lidl and Aldi (they sell weights, mats et cetera in their special buys quite regularly). Also take up walking and jogging.

After about six p.m., Tesco put near-sell-by date food items such as bread et cetera in their discounted rack. They also have a big fridge thing for that purpose also.

Sell anythin' ya don't need on Adverts.ie.

Buy from Sports Direct instead of Lifestyle Sports or Elverys.

Get an oven liner from Woodies or The Range to save time and money of pricey oven cleaning products.

Cut open nearly used tubes of toothpaste to get the last bit with a scissors.

Get a mop with a machine-washable mop head (reusable, like the ones from Vileda).

Warm your bedding by putting a hot water bottle in the bed 1 hour before you go to get into the bed.

Have a look at the Web sites of Lidl, Aldi, Centra, Mace et cetera to see their budget recipes for cooking cheap eats.

TinyFella

Also, take your laptop to the library and use their free electric charging power and their free wi-fi.

Don't buy sweets, chocolate or crisps. You would be nicely surprised by how much you can save in terms of your money and bodyweight by cutting out confectionery. Not to mention that confectionery often contains beef gelatin or pork gelatine, as in Coconut Creams and Mikado.

Carpool with your neighbours if you can.

On the supermarket aisles, the cotton wool balls and the wet wipes from the baby aisle are much cheaper to buy than the same products in the cosmetics aisle.Hope

Hope that this post and my previous one helps!

TinyFella

Old cotton (but not acrylic/wool/polyester) clothes such as t-shirts can be used as cleaning cloths for drying kitchen tiles or as polishing cloths. The same applies to bath towels and face towels.

In the cold weather, close all internal doors for all rooms to keep the heat in. Over your duvet, place multiple layers of duvet covers instead of just one duvet cover to increase the amount of insulating material in your bedding. Also, drawing the curtains keeps in heat. It is all about implementing numerous small actions which sum up to bigger savings.

Also, the small transparent bags you get for putting fresh fruit and veg in at the supermarket can be re-used as mini bin bags for either your recyclables or your garbage. The same thing applies to the brown paper bags you get from Centra and Penny's.

TinyFella

Also, after each time you put garbage or recyclables in a big plastic bag, crush the discarded items as much as you can and then shake the big bag to compact down the rubbish to make the big bag last for a longer time of use.

To save on fuel efficiency, check your tyre pressure regularly as per the manufacturer/dealership recommendations.

cbreeze

Sign up for surveys. In the consumer issues section there is plenty of information. Since discovering this thread a few years ago I make on average €500 a year payable in the form of cheques, gift cards or money transfer via PayPal. Thank you Boards!