When TS Elliot described April as the cruellest month he must have been on drugs because the cruellest month is always January.
It has barely got started and already both the splurginess of Christmas past and the promise of a pay-day future seem a long, long way away for most of us.
But now is not the time to look back in anger at that round of Champagne tequila slammers bought at great expense at the office Christmas party, it is time to think about how to get to the end of the month with a frugal spring in your step. Here are some tips.
1 Every month we get figures from retail analysts Kantar World Panel that highlight the shopping habits of Irish consumers. And every month they are more or less the same. Tesco might leapfrog Dunnes one month and the next Supervalu will steal the top spot from its rivals. And every month the figures show Aldi and Lidl chipping away at the mainstream players. But while the main players on the own-brand stage do well, less than a quarter of people routinely shop in either of the German supermarkets. That means 75 per cent of us rarely or never do. If you are one of the 75 per cent, you should really take a wander in. The quality of the stock in both has improved dramatically in recent years, and you could handily see your grocery bill fall 30 per cent by doing your shopping in one. And if you don't want to leave your existing supermarket, experiment with some of their own-brand options. They are nowhere near as bad as they were in the dark days of yellow-pack.
2 Wherever you shop, make sure you shop with a list for the rest of the month. And make sure you only buy what you need by checking what you have in your cupboards or your fridge before you go shopping.
3 Cut all incidentals out of your life – not for ever, obviously, life is too short for that foolishness – but just for the next couple of weeks. That means no takeaway coffees, no bars of chocolate, no chewing gum, no midweek bottles of wine.
4 And speaking of wine, set yourself the goal of getting through January without touching a drop of the demon drink. The average Irish adult drinks the equivalent of eight pints of beer a week, which works out at about €40 at pub prices. Cut it out between now and the end of the month and you will save yourself as much as €160. You'll feel better for it, too.
5 The next thing you need to give up is your detox diet. We have said it before and we will say it again, but if we are sure of anything in this world we are sure that detox diets and kits that promise to deliver a healthier, happier you are nonsense. There are no magic treatments to help your body detox itself. Your organs do that, so just drink more water and eat more fruit and green stuff and you'll be fine. And while we on the topic of bogus, remember all those diets, plans and books sold by the truckload at this time of year? They never work in the long or even medium term, so don't waste your time or money on any of them.
6 If you have a gym membership, see if you can freeze it for a month – the gym will be mad busy anyway with all the crazy people who join up at the start of the year (don't worry, though, they'll be gone by Valentine's Day). The dropout rate among people who take out gym memberships in the first part of any year is more than 60 per cent. As many as 350,000 Irish adults are gym members, and less than half go regularly – if you are a gym member, make sure you're in the right half.
7 Make January a make-your-own-lunch month. During the dark years of the recession, many people started bringing in their own lunch to offices across Ireland but the habit has waned as the recovery has taken hold. Making your own sandwiches will save you a packet. Bread and a block of cheese will easily knock €25 a week off the cost of keeping yourself fed throughout the working day – that is nearly €100 between now and pay day.
8 Have a spend-nothing day – and then see how long you can keep it going. Often we spend out of habit. See if you can get through tomorrow without spending a bean. Then see if you can do it the following day, too. The key is not going into shops at all.
9 Take your credit cards out of your wallet and leave them at home. If you have them with you, you might be tempted to lean on them in the lean weeks ahead. Leave your debit card at home, too. It's much easier to spend €100 on plastic than in cash: you think about it more when you're handing over notes.
10 Set yourself a weekly spending budget to cover everything. Give yourself a cash allowance at the start of the week. Resolve to stick to it. If you spend less than your allowance, then don't go mad with the leftovers in Penneys – put it into the following week's pot.
11 Now is the time to empty your freezer and the very back of your cupboards. You probably have a whole week's worth of food knocking around. You may end up eating things that don't make your heart sing in combinations that are a bit demented, but it won't kill you and it will save you money.
12 If you have a change jar, now might be the time to empty it. Even an extra tenner can make all the difference as the end of January nears. Regularly the Central Bank issues alerts about all the missing money in Ireland. By its estimate there are hundreds of millions of coppers worth tens of millions of euro, that have simply disappeared in Irish homes. You probably have some of them. Cash them in.
13 Go to bed early. You'll be less hungry and will have less opportunity to go out and spend that money you don't have. In fact, get into those pyjamas the minute you come through the door.
14 Walk and cycle as much as you can. Every time you hop in the car or a bus or – heaven forbid – a taxi it costs you money.
15 Get to know the time your local supermarket marks down its perishable goods every day. Most do it at about 5pm, but it differs. You'll save on perfectly good food – and even some treats. If you can't eat what you buy in such circumstances, make sure you can freeze it.
16 Use your skintness in the days ahead to look for free stuff to do. One thing we should all be doing more is visiting our local libraries. If you've not been for a long time you'll be amazed at how far they have come. They are also a handy – and free – way to keep kids of a certain age amused for a couple of hours.
Twitter’s top tips to get through January
We went online in search of money-saving inspiration. Here is what you came back with. So if the ideas are more practical than others, and while we did love the “relocate to Spain until March” notion, we don’t think we could swing it.
Eat at home or bring with you. Reuse a water bottle (don’t buy one every day). Cook in evening at home (no takeaway). Have food ready (ingredients and idea) during the day to avoid takeaway. @joannie67
Cut down on takeaway coffees @maryc200
Hibernation @ronanfromcork
If you drink black coffee the best investment I can recommend is an Aeropress for making coffee at home to bring with you, or keep it in work to make coffee there – you will not regret it. Looks cumbersome & like Leaving Cert chemistry but check out YouTube to see how to use it. @toshmurray
Batch-cook now and freeze it. So when money is running low in January, you still have meals. @styleyourwayie
Yeah get out of Ireland, rent ur house and get a nice, cheap place in the south of Spain and live on wine and tapas. Come back in March. @Irishmaninrome
Looking at my expenses for January last year, main money aside from mortgage was food. So: eat less! @DarraghRogan
I have no intention of doing it, but giving up my takeaway coffee habit and bringing lunch instead of buying it every day could save me €€. @SeeMack_ie
Beans. Reach to the back of the cupboard & eat the beans. @emserjellyfish
Shop with cash only – it makes you more conscious of exactly what you’re spending. Boring but plan meals in advance and make a shopping list. Plan days out on the beach, woods, hills. The objective of the plan is to keep everyone away from the shops, sales, stuff not needed. @Breekeaneshortt
Try Spanish lentils and chorizo stew with potato. Healthy, full of iron, easy to cook and extremely affordable. Got me through many Januaries in my young adult life. Can be varied and eaten vegan, curried or Italian style as well. Enjoy! @BlackTulip167
