Five little things that have saved us money this week {4th September2026}….

Every week I share five small things we’ve done to save a bit of money, make life easier or help us spend more intentionally.

None of them are usually huge on their own, but that’s kind of the point. Those small choices add up over time and give us more room for the things that really matter — whether that’s days out, holidays, home projects, treats we’ll actually enjoy or just a bit more breathing space in the budget.

It’s been a pretty good week for little money-saving wins this week, although looking at my list, quite a few of them seem to revolve around food. 😂

There’s nothing huge here, but I’ve saved a bit, made the most of what we already had and even managed to put a little bit extra towards the mortgage along the way.

Here’s what I’ve been up to…

1) I made rhubarb and ginger vodka with rhubarb from the garden

After making my blackberry vodka last week, I decided to have a go at a little batch of rhubarb and ginger vodka using some rhubarb from the garden.

I only made a small experimental batch with three big stalks of rhubarb, a couple of spoons of sugar, some ginger and enough vodka to cover everything because there’s absolutely no point using half a bottle of vodka only to discover that I don’t actually like it. 😂

The rhubarb was free from the garden and I already had everything else in, so it seemed like a good little experiment. It’s currently sitting in a jar doing its thing and I’ll start tasting it after about a week to make sure the ginger doesn’t take over.

2) We got cashback on our meal out

We went out for tea this week and used Sprive to pay for our meal, which meant we got cashback that will go towards our mortgage.

We paid exactly what we would have paid anyway and had a lovely meal, but paying through Sprive meant that some of that spending will come back to us and go straight towards the mortgage.

For me, saving money isn’t about not going out or not doing the things we enjoy. It’s more about getting the most out of the money that we do spend, so getting cashback on a meal we were going to have anyway is a win for me.

3) I saved on our car insurance

Our car insurance was due for renewal and I managed to find a cheaper deal by switching to a different insurer rather than just accepting the renewal price.

Before I bought the new policy, I had a quick check on TopCashback and found that I could get cashback on it too, so I went through there to buy it.

I’d already saved money by switching, so getting some cashback on top of that was a nice little bonus for doing nothing more than taking an extra couple of minutes before paying.

4) I made packed lunch cake again

I’ve started making my packed lunch cake again for my partner to take to work, which is something I used to make all the time when the kids were younger.

It’s a really simple homemade cake that I cut into nine decent-sized pieces and, when I costed this latest batch using Tesco prices, it worked out much cheaper than buying individual cakes or snack bars for his packed lunches.

I’d forgotten how easy it was to make too, so I can see this becoming a regular thing again. I’ve updated my old packed lunch cake post with the latest costs if you want to see exactly how much a batch costs to make these days.

5) I made my own giant Yorkshire puddings

We had corned beef hash for Sunday tea this week rather than making a full Sunday dinner, and I really fancied some giant Yorkshire puddings to go with it.

Does anyone else remember when you could buy the ready-made giant ones for something like three for £1? I always used to have a few in the freezer for times like this, but the ones I found this week were around £1 each. For one Yorkshire pudding! 😂

There was no chance I was paying that when they’re so cheap to make, so I made my own instead for pennies.

The corned beef hash did us pretty well too because there was enough left after Sunday tea for my partner to take some for his packed lunch on Monday and for me to have some for my lunch too.

So that’s my five for this week. I’ve actually got a couple of other money-saving wins that I could have included, but I’m saving those for another week.

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