First, don't, under any circumstances, have kids. Latest estimates indicate the average cost of raising a child to age 18 is £202,660. Much more if you go for private schooling of course. I mean, you could buy and run a Bentley for that sort of money!
Second, if you have more than one kid, probably best to get a mate to report you anonymously to Social Services, turn up drunk and abusive for the interview and have them taken into care. Then get yourself a Lambo!
Third, Check out the tariffs on criminal offences. Get yourself banged up for six months between Oct-March - pay nothing for food or utilities during the winter months.
And, finally, the sensible option. Marry a small woman with small feet. No VAT on kids clothes and shoes. It also helps if she is allergic to make-up.
As a bonus have a niece with 12-year-old female twins who have out-grown their clothes and size3 shoes and the aforementioned small woman gets loads of handy on-trend cast-offs*.
*Not sure about the Derry GAA tops though.
Kids are not cheap but I don’t buy into this £202,660 figure that would mean having two kids would cost you £22k a year. Not possible for the vast majority of families and also I’m sure not remotely true. A total 18 year outlay of £404,000 is quite ridiculous.
I suspect that figure is true if you include sky-high school fees paid by a small minority for private education, but won't be close to that for the majority of people.
1. Spend less/nothing on things you don't actually need. 2. Learn to make meals that require minimal energy consumption to do so. 3. If you do cook for longer periods of time, learn to batch cook. 3. Trade-in/downsize expensive luxuries for cheaper versions (mobile phones, tablets etc). 4. Ditch the car for journeys that can be made by foot (an hours walk is a small trade-off for what would be a 10 minute car journey). 5. Cut back or stop smoking/vaping/drinking/expensive coffees. 6. Make flasks of hot drinks instead of boiling the kettle so many times. 7. Have showers instead of baths and limit your shower time to the absolute minimum. Nobody needs to be in a shower for more than about 3 minutes. 4 if you're washing your hair. 8. Turn off electrical appliances at the wall that aren't being used. 9. Wear items of clothing more than once before putting it in the washing basket. Unless, of course, they are visibly dirty and a bit smelly.
First, don't, under any circumstances, have kids. Latest estimates indicate the average cost of raising a child to age 18 is £202,660. Much more if you go for private schooling of course. I mean, you could buy and run a Bentley for that sort of money!
Second, if you have more than one kid, probably best to get a mate to report you anonymously to Social Services, turn up drunk and abusive for the interview and have them taken into care. Then get yourself a Lambo!
Third, Check out the tariffs on criminal offences. Get yourself banged up for six months between Oct-March - pay nothing for food or utilities during the winter months.
And, finally, the sensible option. Marry a small woman with small feet. No VAT on kids clothes and shoes. It also helps if she is allergic to make-up.
As a bonus have a niece with 12-year-old female twins who have out-grown their clothes and size3 shoes and the aforementioned small woman gets loads of handy on-trend cast-offs*.
*Not sure about the Derry GAA tops though.
Kids are not cheap but I don’t buy into this £202,660 figure that would mean having two kids would cost you £22k a year. Not possible for the vast majority of families and also I’m sure not remotely true. A total 18 year outlay of £404,000 is quite ridiculous.
Don't blame me: the figure came from a number of sources. Not least the Child Poverty Action Group. But, I didn't use their figures in the raw because they are minimum figures and I thought an average would be better. Here's what the CPAG had to say: In 2020, the additional basic cost of a child, from birth to age 18, was £71,611 for a couple family and £97,862 for a lone-parent family. If housing and childcare costs are added these rise to £152,747 and £185,413 respectively.
It is interesting and scary that it costs more to bring up a child as a single parent than it does for a couple. I suppose that a hefty portion of the cost is that having children means you are required to have larger accommodation and probably childcare costs than you would otherwise need.
I don't have kids - I went for the expensive cars option instead.
But the total spend does not surprise me at all. Right from the beginning you have never-ending clothes purchases, water usage for bathing the little darlings, extra power and heat requirements, bespoke furniture, disposable nappies, food, vast quantities of toilet paper (why can kids never use just one or two sheets?) sweets, snacks, new Charlton kit (with a name and number), Xboxes, computer games, mobile phones, fuel costs ferrying them to various extra-curricular activities, tuition costs, extra house space (probably an extension you otherwise wouldn't need), larger cars, scout or guide gear and camps, school trips, horse-riding lessons, pony club membership, swimming lessons, ballet lessons, dogs, cats, rabbits, goldfish or hamsters, ponies, pet insurance, ice cream, fizzy drinks, pizza, Nerf guns and ammo, big macs, trips to the seaside, SPF50+ sun tan cream, football boots, trainers, Grassmen clothing*, candy floss, birthday and christmas presents, presents for friends' birthday parties, cakes, balloons, Lego, Charlton season tickets, replacing things they break, pocket money, piercings and tattoos, haircuts, make-up, nail bar visits, driving lessons when they are 17, a car, car insurance, cigarettes, alcohol, fines for drug use, birth control, legal fees, insurance for you in case you snuff it and someone else has to look after them: the list is endless.
*I concede this might only be in Northern Ireland.
1.Play table tennis in the 12 weeks of winter in your main room. You will soon warm up and lose that two stone of ugly fat around your middle that makes you look like the Buddha. You will turn that thermostat down, take off your onesie and just play on with your cotton vest and throng.
2. Save water and bath with your partner or better still the Scandinavian au pair girl as they are well into saving the planet.
3. Trying washing up instead of using electric dish washer.
4. Use your late Granny's mangle instead of the tumble dryer on wet days.
5. Try Candles, it feels mystic and mysterious and you probably look better in the dark.
6. Don't drive when you are only going a mile or less. Walk for your health and because Walking is Brilliant.
7. Save energy, lay on the sofa and watch sport after the table tennis
I think this can make a reasonable impact with the number of home devices both on cost and environmental usage of power.
Is there a system yet I could control it all from one remote device?? The reality is if I tried to switch off at the wall a) kids would switch many back on and b) many plugs are hidden in cupboards etc and sit at the back behind games / books so reality is I am just not going to constantly switch them on and off... Thanks.
I think this can make a reasonable impact with the number of home devices both on cost and environmental usage of power.
Is there a system yet I could control it all from one remote device?? The reality is if I tried to switch off at the wall a) kids would switch many back on and b) many plugs are hidden in cupboards etc and sit at the back behind games / books so reality is I am just not going to constantly switch them on and off... Thanks.
There are smart switches you can get, and no doubt in the future all homes will have them as standard.
In the meantime, a smart plug, WiFi controlled, which has a multi adapter coming off of it can be a great way to have multiple devices being switched off rather than running (eg TV, TV box, and a couple of other devices.)
I have them all set up as an Alexa routine so when I say "Alexa, bedtime" it will automatically turn all those devices off, turn off my bedroom lights, set my outside lights (LED and on a PIR) up etc.
Definitely the future but not yet a great one for saving money as one of these plugs are around £10-£20.
I think this can make a reasonable impact with the number of home devices both on cost and environmental usage of power.
Is there a system yet I could control it all from one remote device?? The reality is if I tried to switch off at the wall a) kids would switch many back on and b) many plugs are hidden in cupboards etc and sit at the back behind games / books so reality is I am just not going to constantly switch them on and off... Thanks.
You can get remote controlled extension leads from Argos. They're not cheap - there's a 5-gang one for £25 and a surge protected 4-gang one for £30 - but they're really handy for when you've got difficult to get to sockets. Worth putting sticky labels on the side of the remote so you know which thing is plugged into which socket, so you don't accidentally switch off the wrong one.
I think this can make a reasonable impact with the number of home devices both on cost and environmental usage of power.
Is there a system yet I could control it all from one remote device?? The reality is if I tried to switch off at the wall a) kids would switch many back on and b) many plugs are hidden in cupboards etc and sit at the back behind games / books so reality is I am just not going to constantly switch them on and off... Thanks.
There are smart switches you can get, and no doubt in the future all homes will have them as standard.
In the meantime, a smart plug, WiFi controlled, which has a multi adapter coming off of it can be a great way to have multiple devices being switched off rather than running (eg TV, TV box, and a couple of other devices.)
I have them all set up as an Alexa routine so when I say "Alexa, bedtime" it will automatically turn all those devices off, turn off my bedroom lights, set my outside lights (LED and on a PIR) up etc.
Definitely the future but not yet a great one for saving money as one of these plugs are around £10-£20.
I have similar in my house, the smart switch sockets though, one slight issue is obviously as they are smart they themselves are always on so using some electricity.
1. Spend less/nothing on things you don't actually need. 2. Learn to make meals that require minimal energy consumption to do so. 3. If you do cook for longer periods of time, learn to batch cook. 3. Trade-in/downsize expensive luxuries for cheaper versions (mobile phones, tablets etc). 4. Ditch the car for journeys that can be made by foot (an hours walk is a small trade-off for what would be a 10 minute car journey). 5. Cut back or stop smoking/vaping/drinking/expensive coffees. 6. Make flasks of hot drinks instead of boiling the kettle so many times. 7. Have showers instead of baths and limit your shower time to the absolute minimum. Nobody needs to be in a shower for more than about 3 minutes. 4 if you're washing your hair. 8. Turn off electrical appliances at the wall that aren't being used. 9. Wear items of clothing more than once before putting it in the washing basket. Unless, of course, they are visibly dirty and a bit smelly.
I'm sure there are more
I have taken to option 9, I reverse my underwear and wear them two days consecutive.
1. Spend less/nothing on things you don't actually need. 2. Learn to make meals that require minimal energy consumption to do so. 3. If you do cook for longer periods of time, learn to batch cook. 3. Trade-in/downsize expensive luxuries for cheaper versions (mobile phones, tablets etc). 4. Ditch the car for journeys that can be made by foot (an hours walk is a small trade-off for what would be a 10 minute car journey). 5. Cut back or stop smoking/vaping/drinking/expensive coffees. 6. Make flasks of hot drinks instead of boiling the kettle so many times. 7. Have showers instead of baths and limit your shower time to the absolute minimum. Nobody needs to be in a shower for more than about 3 minutes. 4 if you're washing your hair. 8. Turn off electrical appliances at the wall that aren't being used. 9. Wear items of clothing more than once before putting it in the washing basket. Unless, of course, they are visibly dirty and a bit smelly.
I'm sure there are more
Don't wash your hair. There's a bit for about a week after three weeks were it looks like sheep's wool, but after that it's fine. Doesn't work if you put product on it, though. A few case histories: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38812935
First, don't, under any circumstances, have kids. Latest estimates indicate the average cost of raising a child to age 18 is £202,660. Much more if you go for private schooling of course. I mean, you could buy and run a Bentley for that sort of money!
Second, if you have more than one kid, probably best to get a mate to report you anonymously to Social Services, turn up drunk and abusive for the interview and have them taken into care. Then get yourself a Lambo!
Third, Check out the tariffs on criminal offences. Get yourself banged up for six months between Oct-March - pay nothing for food or utilities during the winter months.
And, finally, the sensible option. Marry a small woman with small feet. No VAT on kids clothes and shoes. It also helps if she is allergic to make-up.
As a bonus have a niece with 12-year-old female twins who have out-grown their clothes and size3 shoes and the aforementioned small woman gets loads of handy on-trend cast-offs*.
*Not sure about the Derry GAA tops though.
Kids are not cheap but I don’t buy into this £202,660 figure that would mean having two kids would cost you £22k a year. Not possible for the vast majority of families and also I’m sure not remotely true. A total 18 year outlay of £404,000 is quite ridiculous.
Don't blame me: the figure came from a number of sources. Not least the Child Poverty Action Group. But, I didn't use their figures in the raw because they are minimum figures and I thought an average would be better. Here's what the CPAG had to say: In 2020, the additional basic cost of a child, from birth to age 18, was £71,611 for a couple family and £97,862 for a lone-parent family. If housing and childcare costs are added these rise to £152,747 and £185,413 respectively.
It is interesting and scary that it costs more to bring up a child as a single parent than it does for a couple. I suppose that a hefty portion of the cost is that having children means you are required to have larger accommodation and probably childcare costs than you would otherwise need.
I don't have kids - I went for the expensive cars option instead.
But the total spend does not surprise me at all. Right from the beginning you have never-ending clothes purchases, water usage for bathing the little darlings, extra power and heat requirements, bespoke furniture, disposable nappies, food, vast quantities of toilet paper (why can kids never use just one or two sheets?) sweets, snacks, new Charlton kit (with a name and number), Xboxes, computer games, mobile phones, fuel costs ferrying them to various extra-curricular activities, tuition costs, extra house space (probably an extension you otherwise wouldn't need), larger cars, scout or guide gear and camps, school trips, horse-riding lessons, pony club membership, swimming lessons, ballet lessons, dogs, cats, rabbits, goldfish or hamsters, ponies, pet insurance, ice cream, fizzy drinks, pizza, Nerf guns and ammo, big macs, trips to the seaside, SPF50+ sun tan cream, football boots, trainers, Grassmen clothing*, candy floss, birthday and christmas presents, presents for friends' birthday parties, cakes, balloons, Lego, Charlton season tickets, replacing things they break, pocket money, piercings and tattoos, haircuts, make-up, nail bar visits, driving lessons when they are 17, a car, car insurance, cigarettes, alcohol, fines for drug use, birth control, legal fees, insurance for you in case you snuff it and someone else has to look after them: the list is endless.
*I concede this might only be in Northern Ireland.
So many things on there AAjr had to pay for himself, just like MsAA and I did when we were younger, and if he couldn't afford it, he didn't get it. Of course, I'm talking about things like driving lessons, not food.
1.Play table tennis in the 12 weeks of winter in your main room. You will soon warm up and lose that two stone of ugly fat around your middle that makes you look like the Buddha. You will turn that thermostat down, take off your onesie and just play on with your cotton vest and throng.
2. Save water and bath with your partner or better still the Scandinavian au pair girl as they are well into saving the planet.
3. Trying washing up instead of using electric dish washer.
4. Use your late Granny's mangle instead of the tumble dryer on wet days.
5. Try Candles, it feels mystic and mysterious and you probably look better in the dark.
6. Don't drive when you are only going a mile or less. Walk for your health and because Walking is Brilliant.
7. Save energy, lay on the sofa and watch sport after the table tennis
First, don't, under any circumstances, have kids. Latest estimates indicate the average cost of raising a child to age 18 is £202,660. Much more if you go for private schooling of course. I mean, you could buy and run a Bentley for that sort of money!
Second, if you have more than one kid, probably best to get a mate to report you anonymously to Social Services, turn up drunk and abusive for the interview and have them taken into care. Then get yourself a Lambo!
Third, Check out the tariffs on criminal offences. Get yourself banged up for six months between Oct-March - pay nothing for food or utilities during the winter months.
And, finally, the sensible option. Marry a small woman with small feet. No VAT on kids clothes and shoes. It also helps if she is allergic to make-up.
As a bonus have a niece with 12-year-old female twins who have out-grown their clothes and size3 shoes and the aforementioned small woman gets loads of handy on-trend cast-offs*.
*Not sure about the Derry GAA tops though.
Kids are not cheap but I don’t buy into this £202,660 figure that would mean having two kids would cost you £22k a year. Not possible for the vast majority of families and also I’m sure not remotely true. A total 18 year outlay of £404,000 is quite ridiculous.
I have two children and there is no way in hell they cost me nearly £1900 a month!
I believe having children has possibly increased our outlay by maybe £200-400 a month. If we call it £300, that's about £65k over 18 years for the pair.
First, don't, under any circumstances, have kids. Latest estimates indicate the average cost of raising a child to age 18 is £202,660. Much more if you go for private schooling of course. I mean, you could buy and run a Bentley for that sort of money!
Second, if you have more than one kid, probably best to get a mate to report you anonymously to Social Services, turn up drunk and abusive for the interview and have them taken into care. Then get yourself a Lambo!
Third, Check out the tariffs on criminal offences. Get yourself banged up for six months between Oct-March - pay nothing for food or utilities during the winter months.
And, finally, the sensible option. Marry a small woman with small feet. No VAT on kids clothes and shoes. It also helps if she is allergic to make-up.
As a bonus have a niece with 12-year-old female twins who have out-grown their clothes and size3 shoes and the aforementioned small woman gets loads of handy on-trend cast-offs*.
*Not sure about the Derry GAA tops though.
Kids are not cheap but I don’t buy into this £202,660 figure that would mean having two kids would cost you £22k a year. Not possible for the vast majority of families and also I’m sure not remotely true. A total 18 year outlay of £404,000 is quite ridiculous.
I have two children and there is no way in hell they cost me nearly £1900 a month!
I think in some circumstances you can easily get to over £200k if you add everything up. It's a bit like when people actually work out what their home contents are worth, it's always more than you think. Plus 200 is the average, meaning many higher and many lower. It's also back end loaded.
I didn't send mine to private school (or to a pre-school nursery as my wife stopped work), but am putting them through Uni (one finished last summer one just finished her 1st year) - with that included I'm going to be way way above £200k a child. Just Uni for the two (inc food/living expenses etc) will be north of £150k I'd expect.
Holidays, at a rough guess probably north of £60k by the time they were 18.
Food, god knows but based on weekly shop spend, takeaways etc even allowing for when they weren't eating as adults is probably £60k+.
Clothes, furniture, bedding etc, again difficult to gauge through the years but wouldn't surprise me if way north of £50k, especially once they found brands.....
A few phones/contracts as they hit their teens/secondary school - probably a few k.
When little - prams, nappies, car seats etc etc adds a few k.
CAFC Season Tickets and shirts Pocket money Clubs & subs Driving lessons/car and insurance at 17 Birthday & Christmas presents, parties etc TV's/computers etc
If you took those who send children private or used a nursery as parents worked they'd be way over the £200k (and 200 is the average) especially in the SE. Private school alone can easily add £150k a child or more, in London nursery for under 2's averages around £13k a year, about £7,500 over 2, so that alone could be £35k+ by the time they go to school.
My guesstimate is I'm probably a bit above the average 200k figure. Had I sent them private then it'd be more like double that figure quite easily.
I've been showering in cold water for the past couple of months. Apart from being lovely and refreshing, I'm not paying for hot water to go straight down the drain and I'm not tempted to stay in there too long. I'm not sure how far I'l get into the autumn before the phrase, 'sod this for a lark' is used though.
They included housing in their figure which is a bit of a cheat
Yes, I kind of thought that as well. It seems to make an assumption that you'd only up-size from your original one-bed flat if you were forced to by the arrival of offspring. I suspect in reality as people get older/richer they would tend to migrate to larger properties whether there are children in the family or not.
Don't wear clothes when not needed, my wife works from home and for the first few months was getting fully dressed in the morning to sit at a desk for 8 hours tapping away on a keyboard. As long as you're not in a video call, do it naked/in pyjamas, soon enough you realise you only do washing once a fortnight.
Cut your own hair
Only get a takeaway if you have an offer/have no time for anything else.
Buy reduced food and invest in a chest freezer.
Shop at Lidl/Aldi, use the app they have for offers and be open minded to trying the weird and wonderful stuff they have on the themed weeks
If you are borderline alcoholic and can't give up wine and/or beer, make your own! I've been making my own wine from kits since Christmas and am able to produce it at just over a quid a bottle and in enough quantities to mean that we've hardly had a shop-bought wine in 2011.
Just buy the kit and some equipment and follow the instructions. My one essential piece of advice (and this could be applied to other hobbies) keep your equipment clean!
Comments
2. Learn to make meals that require minimal energy consumption to do so.
3. If you do cook for longer periods of time, learn to batch cook.
3. Trade-in/downsize expensive luxuries for cheaper versions (mobile phones, tablets etc).
4. Ditch the car for journeys that can be made by foot (an hours walk is a small trade-off for what would be a 10 minute car journey).
5. Cut back or stop smoking/vaping/drinking/expensive coffees.
6. Make flasks of hot drinks instead of boiling the kettle so many times.
7. Have showers instead of baths and limit your shower time to the absolute minimum. Nobody needs to be in a shower for more than about 3 minutes. 4 if you're washing your hair.
8. Turn off electrical appliances at the wall that aren't being used.
9. Wear items of clothing more than once before putting it in the washing basket. Unless, of course, they are visibly dirty and a bit smelly.
I'm sure there are more
Don't blame me: the figure came from a number of sources. Not least the Child Poverty Action Group. But, I didn't use their figures in the raw because they are minimum figures and I thought an average would be better. Here's what the CPAG had to say: In 2020, the additional basic cost of a child, from birth to age 18, was £71,611 for a couple family and £97,862 for a lone-parent family. If housing and childcare costs are added these rise to £152,747 and £185,413 respectively.
It is interesting and scary that it costs more to bring up a child as a single parent than it does for a couple. I suppose that a hefty portion of the cost is that having children means you are required to have larger accommodation and probably childcare costs than you would otherwise need.
https://cpag.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/cost-child
I don't have kids - I went for the expensive cars option instead.
But the total spend does not surprise me at all. Right from the beginning you have never-ending clothes purchases, water usage for bathing the little darlings, extra power and heat requirements, bespoke furniture, disposable nappies, food, vast quantities of toilet paper (why can kids never use just one or two sheets?) sweets, snacks, new Charlton kit (with a name and number), Xboxes, computer games, mobile phones, fuel costs ferrying them to various extra-curricular activities, tuition costs, extra house space (probably an extension you otherwise wouldn't need), larger cars, scout or guide gear and camps, school trips, horse-riding lessons, pony club membership, swimming lessons, ballet lessons, dogs, cats, rabbits, goldfish or hamsters, ponies, pet insurance, ice cream, fizzy drinks, pizza, Nerf guns and ammo, big macs, trips to the seaside, SPF50+ sun tan cream, football boots, trainers, Grassmen clothing*, candy floss, birthday and christmas presents, presents for friends' birthday parties, cakes, balloons, Lego, Charlton season tickets, replacing things they break, pocket money, piercings and tattoos, haircuts, make-up, nail bar visits, driving lessons when they are 17, a car, car insurance, cigarettes, alcohol, fines for drug use, birth control, legal fees, insurance for you in case you snuff it and someone else has to look after them: the list is endless.
*I concede this might only be in Northern Ireland.
1.Play table tennis in the 12 weeks of winter in your main room. You will soon warm up and lose that two stone of ugly fat around your middle that makes you look like the Buddha. You will turn that thermostat down, take off your onesie and just play on with your cotton vest and throng.
2. Save water and bath with your partner or better still the Scandinavian au pair girl as they are well into saving the planet.
3. Trying washing up instead of using electric dish washer.
4. Use your late Granny's mangle instead of the tumble dryer on wet days.
5. Try Candles, it feels mystic and mysterious and you probably look better in the dark.
6. Don't drive when you are only going a mile or less. Walk for your health and because Walking is Brilliant.
7. Save energy, lay on the sofa and watch sport after the table tennis
I think this can make a reasonable impact with the number of home devices both on cost and environmental usage of power.
Is there a system yet I could control it all from one remote device?? The reality is if I tried to switch off at the wall a) kids would switch many back on and b) many plugs are hidden in cupboards etc and sit at the back behind games / books so reality is I am just not going to constantly switch them on and off...
Thanks.
In the meantime, a smart plug, WiFi controlled, which has a multi adapter coming off of it can be a great way to have multiple devices being switched off rather than running (eg TV, TV box, and a couple of other devices.)
I have them all set up as an Alexa routine so when I say "Alexa, bedtime" it will automatically turn all those devices off, turn off my bedroom lights, set my outside lights (LED and on a PIR) up etc.
Definitely the future but not yet a great one for saving money as one of these plugs are around £10-£20.
Don't wash your hair. There's a bit for about a week after three weeks were it looks like sheep's wool, but after that it's fine. Doesn't work if you put product on it, though. A few case histories: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38812935
So many things on there AAjr had to pay for himself, just like MsAA and I did when we were younger, and if he couldn't afford it, he didn't get it. Of course, I'm talking about things like driving lessons, not food.
So all the neighbours will come round to watch?
I believe having children has possibly increased our outlay by maybe £200-400 a month. If we call it £300, that's about £65k over 18 years for the pair.
Have they rolled up Uni fees into their numbers?
I didn't send mine to private school (or to a pre-school nursery as my wife stopped work), but am putting them through Uni (one finished last summer one just finished her 1st year) - with that included I'm going to be way way above £200k a child. Just Uni for the two (inc food/living expenses etc) will be north of £150k I'd expect.
Holidays, at a rough guess probably north of £60k by the time they were 18.
Food, god knows but based on weekly shop spend, takeaways etc even allowing for when they weren't eating as adults is probably £60k+.
Clothes, furniture, bedding etc, again difficult to gauge through the years but wouldn't surprise me if way north of £50k, especially once they found brands.....
A few phones/contracts as they hit their teens/secondary school - probably a few k.
When little - prams, nappies, car seats etc etc adds a few k.
CAFC Season Tickets and shirts
Pocket money
Clubs & subs
Driving lessons/car and insurance at 17
Birthday & Christmas presents, parties etc
TV's/computers etc
If you took those who send children private or used a nursery as parents worked they'd be way over the £200k (and 200 is the average) especially in the SE. Private school alone can easily add £150k a child or more, in London nursery for under 2's averages around £13k a year, about £7,500 over 2, so that alone could be £35k+ by the time they go to school.
My guesstimate is I'm probably a bit above the average 200k figure. Had I sent them private then it'd be more like double that figure quite easily.
Don't wear clothes when not needed, my wife works from home and for the first few months was getting fully dressed in the morning to sit at a desk for 8 hours tapping away on a keyboard. As long as you're not in a video call, do it naked/in pyjamas, soon enough you realise you only do washing once a fortnight.
Cut your own hair
Only get a takeaway if you have an offer/have no time for anything else.
Buy reduced food and invest in a chest freezer.
Shop at Lidl/Aldi, use the app they have for offers and be open minded to trying the weird and wonderful stuff they have on the themed weeks