Living Frugally in Ireland - General Tips?

cbreeze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120539478#Comment_120539478

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2054903782/paid-surveys-irish-opinions

Link above.

List of some below (others mentioned in the posts in the link)

RedC (cheque for €50 or gift card)

Irish Opinions (vouchers, ie Tesco)

Lifepoints (cash to Paypal)

Toluna (gift cards)

Mobrog (cash to Paypal)

Prolific (pays in Sterling to Paypal - you have to apply to be put on their panel, but the surveys are interesting and pay well)

tom1ie

Hi all,

I’m wondering what steps people have taken to reduce their bills. 

The steps I’ve taken so far are:

renegotiated virgin media monthly charge from €60 PM to €35 PM for 12 months.

Cancelled Spotify premium and gone back to the add plagued free version, so from €10.99 PM to €0 

Signed up to a free 30 day trial for a VPN to get Turkish Netflix, so from €20.99 PM to €6.74. 

Changed supermarket from Tesco to Dunnes. IMO better quality food plus the €10 off €50 seems to be a good way of saving if you stick to Dunnes own brand produce. Our weekly shop for 2 adults and 3 kids has gone from €250 to approx €200. 

Has anyone got any other tips?

zell12

UK newspaper, comments interesting

“Heat the human, not the home” and I'm going to try this one I make a bread occasionally in the microwave, usually when I run out rather than cos I’m skint, just self raising, pinch of salt and some milk. Mix it to a thick batter and give it 3 minutes till it firm. Slice and toast. It’s not bad.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jun/04/shower-in-your-bra-and-cook-in-the-kettle-putting-extreme-frugality-to-the-test

Jellybaby_1

That Guardian article is dated 2022 so they're way behind the army of frugallers that patrol the internet daily. I've been watching these frugal-istas on Youtube for years and it turns out I had already been living a frugal life for all of my life, simply because that's the way I was brought up in the 50's and 60's. One particular Youtube channel no longer does the discount shopping because she said she 'no longer needs to do it'. Youtube views seem to have made her richer so she can't be bothered any more. Another channel surprised me by spending £40 on a manual washing machine which they believed would save money on washing clothes. It was basically a gigantic salad spinner for clothes and it didn't hold much more than a few bits of underwear. All they had to do was wash their clothes in the sink by hand and it would have saved them the £40 and could have washed more clothes better.

zell12

You learn new tips though! What food products to substitute, using oats & lentils & rice & breadcrumbs to bulk out meals, full meals in microwave, how to make eggs last longer, when to replace a seal on freezer door, when & how to sew something, using only lemon & baking soda & vinegar for cleaning, which parts of the house to heat, plain colours and styles for clothing, etc.

Noticed it is getting more difficult to get soda crystals these days. Born frugal and abhor waste

Saw that plastic silly washing thing - comedic!

Jellybaby_1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121303043#Comment_121303043

I can't see many new tips, its the same old tips re-hashed by different people, lemon/baking soda/vinegar idea has been around for ions, and to be honest, baking soda on a manky oven just doesn't hack it, I use Brillo and elbow grease! Vinegar is good for mirrors and windows, but my mother (born in 1911) had already told me that! So as I say, nothing new, just forgotten! 🙂

EarWig

Vinegar, but the stink!

Jellybaby_1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121391377#Comment_121391377

Bet you don't say that when you're passing the chipper late on a cold wet night!! 😃

zell12

MESL (minimum income standard) counts the actual weekly cost of all the over 2,000 items (goods and services) needed to enable a socially acceptable minimum standard of living

for a single adult in urban area 2019 https://www.budgeting.ie/download/pdf/single_adult_-_urban.pdf . Outlines how much things cost for a minimum standard of living, how long stuff should last for, what we Irish people eat, females need for 96 ibuprofen tablets/year, male need 48 tablets, etc.

Should cost a minimum of e276pw to live excluding housing in 2023 https://www.budgeting.ie/download/pdf/wa_core_mesl_u_2023.pdf

Cal04

An old post but looking into solar panels. Are expensive but hoping they will pay off.