Living Frugally in Ireland - General Tips?

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

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?

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

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.

No, just skip that page!

"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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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)

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.

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!

Vinegar, but the stink!

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

Anywhere to get cheaper eggs than at a shop? Are rural folk selling at gate? My local fruit&veg charges €1.19 for 6, cheaper than the €1.39 chains charge