Thrifty-Tips – Wisdom Trust

1.

Use “shower playlists” — save water and time without thinking.

A 4-minute curated playlist means you automatically cut shower time (and heating bills).
This saves:

thousands of litres of water

£50–£120 a year

Read once.

Read again.

2.

Start a “Second Use” Habit.

Before you bin anything, ask:

“Can this have one more life?”

Examples:

Citrus peels → cleaners

Stale bread → croutons

Toothpaste tube ends → squeeze with a spoon

Old socks → dusting mitts

Read once.

Read again.

3.

Use airplane mode to avoid roaming charges when traveling

Using airplane mode is a simple way to avoid unexpected roaming charges when you’re abroad.

How it helps

When you turn on airplane mode, your phone disconnects from:

Cellular networks (calls, texts, mobile data)
This prevents your phone from automatically using a foreign network, which is what triggers roaming charges.

How to use it smartly

Turn on airplane mode before or as soon as you land.
Then manually switch Wi-Fi back on to use:
- Internet browsing
- Apps like WhatsApp, FaceTime, email
You can also enable Bluetooth if needed — it won’t incur roaming fees.

Extra tips

Disable “data roaming” in your phone settings as a backup.
Be cautious: even brief connections to a foreign network can incur charges.
Consider alternatives like:
- Local SIM cards
- eSIM travel plans
- Free Wi-Fi hotspots

Bottom line

Airplane mode cuts off the main source of roaming charges while still letting you use your phone on Wi-Fi — giving you control over when (or if) you connect.

Read once.

Read again.

4.

Clear-out Your Car To Save Fuel.

Clean out your car to remove excess weight and cut down on fuel usage.

Remove heavy items such as tools and other unnecessary clutter to carry around less weight when you’re driving. This will save fuel and cut your motoring costs.

Read again.

Read once.

5. Make A Meal Plan.

If you plan your meals on a weekly or fortnightly basis, you’ll save money by only buying the food you need for the next few days’ meals or by buying some ingredients in bulk (those that have a long shelf life) – firstly because you won’t be buying unnecessary food and secondly because you’ll throw less stuff away because you haven’t used it before it went bad.

And if you plan well, your meals will hopefully end up being more nutritious and even contain less calories. So you’ll not only save money, you’ll be more healthy and lose weight too.

Read again.

Read once.