Super saverSome people are very good with money. Whether they have a lot or a little, they are creative and with results. How do they do that? In this section we let a super saver do the talking. This time Kim Pootjes (48) who has already saved more than 1000 euros since this spring.
Were you always such a super saver?
,,I was never concerned with money, I just spent. Not that we have millions in the bank, but we didn’t want to live to watch all the time. Until the war with Ukraine broke out and inflation worsened. Refueling suddenly became ridiculously expensive and you started to notice it with the groceries.
I spoke to a family with four children who live on $100 a week, while the three of us spent at least $225 on groceries alone. If they can do it, so can I, I thought. Since then I spend 200 euros less per month on groceries, while everything has become much more expensive.”
It’s good that you at least knew how much you spent on groceries per week.
,,I ordered twice a week from Albert Heijn. Now I just go back to the store. At first I thought I would have more temptations, but online I noticed that I was more likely to throw random things into my basket. Just like with online clothing shopping, I didn’t feel that checkout moment like when I’m at the checkout in a store. For others it may be the other way around, but that’s how it works for me.
And I missed the offers online. Now I can see that 35 percent discount sticker more easily. And if the wok vegetables are on sale, we eat them in the evening.”
Candidates wanted
Is austerity a sport for you and do you have money left over every month? Or have you found creative ways to make ends meet despite the more expensive groceries and high energy bills? And do you like to share your tips? Then we would like to hear your story. Mail to [email protected]
Are you still going to Albert Heijn?
“Very occasionally for specific things. I now mainly go to cheaper supermarkets such as Plus and Lidl and look at private labels, I didn’t do that before. I used to buy toilet duck because I’ve been doing it out of habit for years, now I buy toilet cleaner from the house brand, it has about the same smell. Same with laundry detergent.
I now make a list and get groceries for a week in one go. I also went separately to the baker and butcher. I used to be able to easily spend 30 euros on spreads for one weekend, that made no sense. We drove to a winery twice a week and bought a nice bottle for 18 euros. Now we still like to drink well, but then once every three weeks.
In addition, I try to cook for a few days once a week, I call it bulk cooking. Pans of soup and sauces and I freeze them. The big advantage of this is that you don’t have to cook that much because we often ordered and that costs real money. I often make stews; curries, nasi, pasta. Normally you have four burners on, now only one.”
What about the energy bill then?
,,We have a contract for the next three years. We have also significantly reduced our consumption in recent months: 50 euros per month cheaper.”
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The washing machine now only turns on when it is full and I hang out the laundry instead of in the dryer
How?
“Our heating was always at 20.5 degrees. Now we have it as standard at 19 degrees. Normally it would turn on at 06.30 am, we have now shifted that one and a half hours and instead of 1 am it now turns off at 11 pm. We also take shorter showers; instead of at least 20 minutes, about five minutes.”
We have quite a lot of lamps, eight spots in the kitchen alone. I leave it out and I put a table lamp there. The washing machine now only turns on when it is full and I hang the laundry out instead of in the dryer. So we have already saved at least 200 euros and if we continue like this, we will get 600 euros back per year.”
Are there other things you save on?
“Instead of paying 100 euros a month to the gym, we bought a rowing machine. An investment, but it was not that bad, we bought it via Marktplaats for 350 euros. I go by bike more often and we now refuel at an unmanned pump because it is cheaper. But petrol will remain expensive no matter what.”
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We saved 6000 euros by taking care of the garden ourselves. Long live YouTube!
What is something that you really save a lot with?
“We saved 6000 euros by taking care of the garden ourselves. Long live YouTube! We had never placed a fence before, but there are so many videos about how to do it. We are all smarter than we think. It does feel good to save money. The 1400 euros that we have already saved has in no way made us enjoy less. It is a matter of choosing differently.”
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