Any ideas for more moneysaving?

brummiebabe

sportbeth wrote:

Have you tried e-baying? My OH and I are doing this at the mo and we've been regularly selling at about £150 a month on junk.

Also you could try buying from supermarkets with petrol deals. If you get through enough food and petrol (and it looks like you do) you could get money off the petrol and put the pennies towards something else.

Also maybe consider going somewhere to help you economise on food. OH and I currently drive to a farm shop where the meat is in bulk and frozen and the veg is much cheaper.

I've just opened a seller's account on e-bay, but as have no digital camera (as yet) think I might have to wait until I do before I can start properly. I think most seller's would want a picture of what they're buying!

As for supermarkets with petrol deals, I shop on-line (as it allows me to stick to budget - I am an impulse buyer!!) so don't think (?) I'd get petrol vouchers.

Might look at farm shop - I know we have one quite locally, but (I'm ashamed to say) I've never been there. May try that this weekend. Thanks for the advice!!

FrankieM

Hi Brummiebabe...
I like you have debt on a 0% card. Mine finishes at the end of december and I'd like to get as much paid off as possible.
So I've cut out any expenditure that I don't 'need' for these few months. ( will reassess in Jan)

Some of these things might go against what you think and I may even get slated by other mse'ers ....but here goes.

I've got rid off all insurance I don't need. So I actually cancelled our contents insurance for the time being and got a cheaper quote for buildings. I've looked at cheaper mortgage repayment as well but think my excess weight would be an issue :rolleyes:

Have cut down on tv package as well.

Have stopped 'saving' and I'm putting all the money towards my credit card instead.

All my living expenses bar food come from £40 per week that our lodger gives me in cash.

I too shop on line, do menu plans and I'm quite happy to 'eat cheap' for this period of time.

I have found personally that for a certain length of time you can actually scrimp and go without a lot if you can see that it has a purpose.

so I would advise looking at all insurance type policies, savings plans, entertainment etc. you may feel you can get rid of them in the short term to pay off you debt and then start them back up later.
As regards you phone, I would change it from PAYG if it means being able to claim and regards petrol and any other expenses...try to keep on top of claiming those and use the money purely for debt repayment.

I hope that some of that has made sense and can be of some help.....its turned into a bit of a novella...sorry

sportbeth

brummiebabe wrote:

I've just opened a seller's account on e-bay, but as have no digital camera (as yet) think I might have to wait until I do before I can start properly. I think most seller's would want a picture of what they're buying!
QUOTE]

If you've got any CD's you can sell those without a camera. Just use the VIN number and the image and all the tracks are done for you.

I sold most of mine after I got my I-pod, half the CD's I had only had one track I liked, so I downloaded that onto the I-pod and flogged the CD. I was pretty ruthless with it though, trimmed the collection from 50 to 25 and I haven't missed anything.

rprinter

if all your debt is at 0% till June 06, then put what you would have paid off into a savings account instead each month, earn some interest on it, then withdraw it and pay off your cc next May.

If you haven't quite saved enough to pay it all off by May, apply for another O% card for the balance.


Ebays ok for higher value, easy to post items, but to get rid of lower value stuff do a carboot. We did one on Sunday earned £100 nice and less clutter now!

skintchick

sportbeth wrote:

brummiebabe wrote:

I've just opened a seller's account on e-bay, but as have no digital camera (as yet) think I might have to wait until I do before I can start properly. I think most seller's would want a picture of what they're buying!
QUOTE]

If you've got any CD's you can sell those without a camera. Just use the VIN number and the image and all the tracks are done for you.

I sold most of mine after I got my I-pod, half the CD's I had only had one track I liked, so I downloaded that onto the I-pod and flogged the CD. I was pretty ruthless with it though, trimmed the collection from 50 to 25 and I haven't missed anything.

What's a VIN number? Where do you find it?

sportbeth

it's the number under the barcode. Or you can search for albums on ebay. it tells you how to do it when you go to put them on for sale. I was so relieved when I found it because I thought I was going to have to put everything in by hand!

System

Hi to fellow Brummies!

Couple of quick ones:-

What's the British Gas Service for? Boiler or Central Heating cover? Do you really need it? Would your home insurance cover you for the same thing? Also you're with Powergen as your energy provider, so do they do a cheaper service deal?

If you're sticking with Powergen for the time being (tell me about it :rolleyes:) are you on the best tariff at the moment?

Instead of donating to the Air Ambulance, could you not make an effort at work to collect on their behalf? (If you're allowed to do that?) You might even raise more than the £4 you donate each month.

black-saturn

I cant stress how much ebay did for me. Due to them I was able to pay off my debt in about one and a half years. I sorted out every cupboard in the house and sold ANYTHING that wasnt wanted or needed anymore. I'm a loan parent on £120 a week and I still managed to pay off my debt in one and a half years. I didnt have a digital camera until 6 months ago. It was another expense I couldnt afford. I used a normal camera and asked to have the pictures put onto CD Rom.

You say you cant go on a water meter with 2 children. I have 2 children and I'm currently on a meter and paying out £9 per month for incoming and outgoing water. Also the childcare costs were a bit high :eek:

brummiebabe

black-saturn wrote:

I cant stress how much ebay did for me. Due to them I was able to pay off my debt in about one and a half years. I sorted out every cupboard in the house and sold ANYTHING that wasnt wanted or needed anymore. I'm a loan parent on £120 a week and I still managed to pay off my debt in one and a half years. I didnt have a digital camera until 6 months ago. It was another expense I couldnt afford. I used a normal camera and asked to have the pictures put onto CD Rom.

You say you cant go on a water meter with 2 children. I have 2 children and I'm currently on a meter and paying out £9 per month for incoming and outgoing water. Also the childcare costs were a bit high :eek:

I'm still trying to get my head round the whole ebay thing, but will give it a go (prob start with some CDs)

As for the water meter, I cannot imagine it will work out cheaper! I do 1-2 loads of washing per day, have a dishwasher, kids have a bath, we have showers daily etc..

The childcare expenses are actually v. reasonable compared to others in Brum. My son is in nursery 3 days per week (£22 per day) & they collect my other son from school twice a week (£10 per week.) Most importantly, my kids are SO HAPPY at the nursery & that is all that matters. My mom has my youngest son 1 day per week aswell, otherwise, for his care we'd be paying £88 per week! Our old nursery charged £32 per day! That is not uncommon in the area I live!!

apprentice_tycoon

It's a great idea to get a digital camera for ebay selling, you'll get use out of it with the family too but did you know that you can sell on amazon without photos? it's absolutely free till your item sells (ebay isn't) and you can off-load CDs DVDs computer games and books.

Have you considered mystery shopping? there are a number of threads on here to get you started....I go and see if I can pick a few out

edit...this fantastic list by becles is really comprehensive. You don't need much time and you can pick and choose what you do