Bite-Sized Insights: Find Out Which Essential Household Costs Parents are Most Concerned About

Have you done anything to help reduce essential household costs? Comments from our panel members included:

“Yes not using as much electricity and not putting on the heating just a very little at night also using up everything from my freezer.”

“I am not buying any new clothes/footwear.  Going to bed earlier in the evening to save on electrical/gas costs.  I do my washing at night when ESB is cheaper.  I use my clothes dryer at night for a few minutes just to soften the laundry clothes.  Researching online in all major supermarkets to find the essential items on my shopping list which are the best value for money. If items are on special I buy in bulk where possible. I walk everywhere now so I save money on bus fares, taxis etc.”

“Unplugging everything out when not in use, put extra blankets on beds to keep warm, batch cooking.”

“Yes. We shop for bargains and go to stores with flyers to price match. My parents both call us when they see items in stores we enjoy, to inform us when they’re marked down. We will do the same for them as well, especially things the kids in our family enjoy when they come to visit. We will also stock up on deals and use coupons. Buying fresh foods in season and buying them frozen when they’re not helps. Buying locally can also help financially, going to the Farmer’s Market. Our local cheese farm is amazing! They have bags of excess they don’t have a use for that they sell and it’s a mix of different flavours. Jalapeno, dill, mild, etc… It’s great as a snack for the kids or recipes. We buy fish and boar from there as well. It’s incredible what you find when you search locally.”

“Yes, we switched suppliers of gas and electricity. We negotiated our TV subscription which was successful and I shop in Aldi because it’s cheaper but it’s still increasing week by week.”

“I’m buying cheaper cuts of meat and using the slow cooker as the meat is more tender when cooked in the slow cooker.  Also – I’m constantly checking the “must go” sections in the shops as they have food that’s about to go out of date greatly reduced.  We have 3 teenagers who are constantly hungry so the rising price of food is a concern.”

“I only ever dried clothes using a tumble dryer, I recently bought a clothes drying horse. We bought an electric car for the long term save, I plan meals which has cut down the waste in our grocery shop, bake treats instead of buying, everything is switched off when not in use (not standby),  picnics and hikes instead of play centres and take aways.”

“We meal plan already but have started to shop around more, cut out treats and use coupons. We try to walk more to avoid using the car, and we have already implemented every energy-saving tip imaginable so we won’t save any more money there.”