Great Isn’t it Obvious MoneySaving Hunt: Tell us the secrets you didn't know you had

JimmyTheWig

A_fiend_for_life wrote: »

Judith Proctor,

I love your tip but check out your thank yous!

gillette147 (Today), JimmyTheWig (Today)

Oi, bloomin cheek! It's not a real wig...

A_fiend_for_life

:rotfl:I'm tryin' to eat my lunch!:eek:

fathertedsfavenun

I have recently done a hairdressing course and our tutors used to say one of the most common myths in hair care is how much shampoo/conditioner people use. Most people use more than is necessary. Apparently you do not need any more than the size of a 10p of shampoo or conditioner, even if you have long hair, and less than a 10p blob if you don't have much hair.

I have to say since I've reduced how much I use I have:
a) more manageable hair
and
b)I'm spending less money on shampoo/conditioner and less time in the shower rinsing out excessive amounts of product (also saving water ergo money!)

Ferris

gillette147 wrote: »

Last time I'll say this......
Anyone can get a contract phone on cashback deals.
If you abide by their rules and don't slip up (write dates on your calandar) it will cost you LESS than free!!!

I am amazed how many people are posting saying that they are doing better than that because they pay £10 per 2 months.

Errrr..............less than free OR £5 a month.........hmmmmm........which is cheaper?

But I guess it is this stubborn unwillingness of some to believe that what I am saying is true that is what allows me and others to have a 400mins and 500txts a month mobile phone that cost me -£12 (yes minus £12)...... Is free for the full 12 mths of the contract......and I am selling the handset on ebay as we speak.

while cashback deals are a good idea in theory, the reality is that many retailers now try their hardest to bend and twist the rules to avoid paying out. what it means is that you often have to at least threaten, if not actually go through with legal action, to get the money you are owed. and of course, if you make an innocent mistake on the first claim, you often forfeit all future claims.

i'm not saying that cashbacks should be avoided - i've done very well out of them in the past. its just that the rosy picture painted above may have been true a few years ago, but it certainly isn't anything like that easy today, especially if you're new to it. have a good read of the Mobile Phones forum to see the sorts of problems people have!

so for some people, paying £20 a year on a rarely-used PAYG mobile may well be less stress and less financial risk than a less-than-free cashback deal. on the other hand, some people (like me) love writing !!!!!y letters to major retailers, so they're ideal :P

on a different note, my personal tip is drive proactively. there's no point doing thirty up to a red light and braking to zero, only to have to move off again in first gear ten seconds later. if i see a red light ahead, or i know there's a roundabout ahead, i just take my foot off the accelerator well in advance, then change down the gears so that i'm at a good speed when i get there to continue driving on.

its much more relaxing driving smoothly and constantly rather than stopping and starting all the time. i managed a 30 mile journey from one city centre to another without stopping once the other day! and the last mile of my journey home, i manage without pressing the accelerator once

maggsdavies

With liquid soap get a small elastic band, wind it a few times around the plunger neck and the plunger can only go a short way down saving loads of product.

flamingice

in the shower, wash your hair first. rinse, add conditioner, and leave it in while you wash your body. rinse hair and body, and this results in a quicker shower than doing all 3 one after the other and leaves you with softer hair nd means you can get away with using less conditioner as its in there longer so has longer to soften
taught this one to someone while sharing a shower not too long ago... got to pass on the money/time saving tips!

another one is store specific.. if you shop in la senza or lush, use the scented beads they give you and put them in an old (clean!) pop sock or tight, and put in your drawers. same goes for the bags that lush stuff comes in, they smell lovely so put them in your drawers for lovely smelling clothes - i've never bought drawer fresheners in my life!

also if you find yourself with leftover stock when cooking, put it in ice cube trays and freeze - handy sized stock cubes for later occasions!

Glittermonkey

Alikay wrote: »

Have a secret hidey-hole in which to deposit all those B.O.G.O.F. packets of biscuits, Doritos and soft drinks bottles etc rather than just put the extras in the cupboard where 2 packs will disappear at the same speed as a single one! Then I "shop" from it a couple of weeks later. Mine is in the empty cool box in the garage...no-one ever looks there!

My parents done exactly the same for years, the called it their "magic" cupboard.

ladyrow

HannaB wrote: »

Get to work early and make any 0845 or 0870 calls I need to make...;)

(Needless to say, I won't tell you where I work, so you can't report me)

Nowadays at my work I have to check the bill and then would have to explain any numbers that were like 0845 or 0870 - this would mean I would have to challenge my staff which would not be nice for any of us.

Guess you can only do this in a big business where they dial out too many times to care about checking the bills.

The other thing you can do is log on to 'say no to 0870' and get an alternative cheaper or free number

http://www.saynoto0870.com/

Getting some great ideas from the site - thanks everyone

HC_2

Ferris wrote: »

while cashback deals are a good idea in theory, the reality is that many retailers now try their hardest to bend and twist the rules to avoid paying out. what it means is that you often have to at least threaten, if not actually go through with legal action, to get the money you are owed. and of course, if you make an innocent mistake on the first claim, you often forfeit all future claims.

i'm not saying that cashbacks should be avoided - i've done very well out of them in the past. its just that the rosy picture painted above may have been true a few years ago, but it certainly isn't anything like that easy today, especially if you're new to it. have a good read of the Mobile Phones forum to see the sorts of problems people have!

so for some people, paying £20 a year on a rarely-used PAYG mobile may well be less stress and less financial risk than a less-than-free cashback deal. on the other hand, some people (like me) love writing !!!!!y letters to major retailers, so they're ideal :P

I've taken out two of these deals recently, after Gillette's very helpful posts. I shall pay attention to every nuance of the T&Cs and I will get my cashback. You do have to be very organised, but if you can be, it's a very good way of getting a year's free mobile phone usage.

I did one a few years ago and ended up with a few hundred pounds' worth of Boots points, but this is the first time I've gone for one involving cashback.

The only downside of these deals is that porting your number is not guaranteed. I was totally unable to port my number from Orange PAYG to Vodafone Pay Monthly. So I gave that phone and contract to my DD, saving me £10/month on top-ups. I then got another one - an Orange deal - and although there were some problems (including my number being allocated to someone else ) porting my number from Orange PAYG to Orange Pay Monthly, I did eventually sort things out.

Knonie

There are some seriously good ideas coming out on this thread:T

We all do the whole saving water thing with the kettle me thinks, including my mum who for a couple of years now has been barking on at my dad to only boil enough... She's also sick of buying cheap kettles and them going wrong so recently decided to invest in a more expensive model in the hope that there might be some longevity in it. Well what a purchase... she bought one from Marks & Spencers for circa £30 which has two reservoirs in it so you can fill it right up. Then when you go to make your drink, it has a button on the top of the lid which when pressed dispenses the actual amount required. So for instance you want one cup, you press and hold the button until you see the water level rise in the second reservoir. Dad thinks its fantastic as it is now 'fun' to boil the right amount of water as it has 'gadget value' and my mum has won her case!!!

My favourite MS/recycling award has to go to my wonderful grandmother who sadly left this planet some 25yrs ago but not without leaving her mark.. Having lived through the blitz recycling was 2nd nature to her, right down to cutting her old tights up to use to tie back her roses. You might think it sounds daft, but bless her cottons, my parents now live in her house and the garden still has some of those roses in it and though they may be slightly green in colour, those tights are still holding strong 25yrs later!!!:rotfl:

I shop online with Sainsburys and save my rewards religiously - they then get cashed in at Christmas to buy all our booze..:beer: