Sneaky ways to save the pennies

Hi, i have been reading this thread for a while, and feel i really need to post.

My situation is that i am married to a wonderful man and have 3 equally wonderful children - we live and run a diary farm - so people naturally assume we are well off!! In land value maybe, but not in the bank.

We are currently working at a loss, and looking for another producer to fetch our milk at a higher price per litre!

I am determined to keep my high standard of life that my family are used to, and this wonderful site and this thread have helped me do just this by making adjustments!!

So thank you and i really think the old saying is very true - "if you've got nothing to say - SHUT UP!"

Can anybody enlighten me on the issue of cooking "extra" things on the floor of your oven to use the fuel as economically as possible because I've often done this in the past but we recently had to replace our oven, and the instructions for our new model (a Neff) are specifically not to put any trays or cook anything on the base of the oven.
I'm completely mystified by why this should be and my instincts are to ignore it but before I ruin the oven, can anybody explain whether there's a genuine reason for this? Perhaps I should post my query on the Home thread but thought somebody on here might be able to clarify for me because I find it an irksome restraint.

Perhaps the heating element is at the bottom? Or if it's gas, it might be like my mums cooker where the flames are in the middle section of the floor.

I really like this thread. One reason I got into debt in the first place is not really realising that every little bit adds up. For example, I'm a teacher and I take a packed lunch to work each day, but if I bought a sandwich from the canteen instead (about £2 each) taking holidays into account that works out around £400 a year - just on sandwiches! Whereas if I take in leftovers, or sandwiches made with homemade bread, that figure will be reduced considerably.

One thing that really helped me was to do a yearly budget instead of a monthly one, using the budget planner from this site. Expenses that don't seem a lot month by month are put into perspective when you look at it over the year. The biggest shocker was the money I was spending on beauty treatments (£480 a year) and haircuts (£270 a year) - I like to look nice but not at the cost of over £700! I've gone back to my natural nails and am growing my hair, and I've found a cheaper hairdresser for when I need a trim. I also realised the savings I could make by using cheaper products, eating/wasting less food, and generally being a bit more careful.

So yes, every little bit makes a difference, and for people who have a very tight budget, threads like this are really helpful. As for the value/branded debate, there are some value products I would prefer not to eat (such as bread), some that are a false economy (loo roll, washing up liquid) and others that are just fine (fruit and veg, biscuits, honey for example). I do think people are seduced by packaging - my partner always buys the expensive brands, even though he eats value stuff at my house and doesn't notice the difference