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

duck_egg_3

kmanpilkers wrote: »

Haha - I also used to do this, but can now avoid it with the use of www.saynoto0870.com. If you are on a tariff that gives you free national calls you won't have to pay a penny as the site lists alternate numbers to most major companies premium rate lines etc.

wow, thanks for this, i had no idea...just found an alternative number for sky that normally costs me 6p a minute!! :T

Mary_Hartnell

Taffybiker wrote: »

While I think of it, I saved a fortune (and am still saving loads) by getting rid of our electric shower and replacing it with a mixer shower plumbed directly to the combi boiler. There are 5 in our household each showering at least once a day. The elecricity supplier owes me money now (three figures). This more than compensates for the small increase in gas bills.

The thing to remember about any application using day time electricity is this.
In the UK there are almost no examples of combined heat and power so when electricity is produced from fossil fuels 2/3rds of the heat is chucked in the local river or up a cooling tower. Even the gas turbines waste half the energy in the gas when turning it into electricity.

The inefficiency with a shower linked to a gas water heater can be the amount of water left in the pipes to go cold during the non heating season. If the bathroom is next to or above the boiler this should not be significant.

So anything using electricity and producing heat has expensive inefficiency built in; especially if you compare it with burning gas at 90% efficiency in a modern "condensing" gas boiler.

A_fiend_for_life

trickypockets wrote: »

The latest one is they're trying to tell you that you should wash clothes to get rid of dirt that you can't see !

Thats a shocking one, one for advertising standards I would say. If it doesn't look dirty and it doesn't smell dirty...wash it?!

meno_2

Save the cost of an "address book", use an old phonebook and cross out the people you don't know

sparrer

meno wrote: »

Save the cost of an "address book", use an old phonebook and cross out the people you don't know

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Taffybiker

Mary_Hartnell wrote: »

The thing to remember about any application using day time electricity is this.
In the UK there are almost no examples of combined heat and power so when electricity is produced from fossil fuels 2/3rds of the heat is chucked in the local river or up a cooling tower. Even the gas turbines waste half the energy in the gas when turning it into electricity.

The inefficiency with a shower linked to a gas water heater can be the amount of water left in the pipes to go cold during the non heating season. If the bathroom is next to or above the boiler this should not be significant.

So anything using electricity and producing heat has expensive inefficiency built in; especially if you compare it with burning gas at 90% efficiency in a modern "condensing" gas boiler.

I guess I am lucky since the boiler is in the airing cupboard which in turn is right next to the bathroom, and there is less than 2 metres of connecting pipe between the two. Even if it were quite a long run of pipes I would still recommend it as opposed to an electric shower. Whilst it is true there would be inefficiency as the unused hot water in the pipes cool, I feel it would still significantly outweigh the cost of using electricity. I have noticed this effect with the washing machine, which now needs to heat its water a lot less than it used to since most of it is provided by the boiler.

thifty

Although i agree with the post re contraception being the best way to save money, i am still trying to save money despite having 2 kids. I do the following:
use cloth nappies and use flannels instead of wipes
make my own baby food
get clothes from car boot sales and gratefully accept hand me downs from friends
i have just bought a new shower curtain as the bottom of the old one was a bit mouldy so i will be cutting off the manky bit and using it as a messy mat to put under the high chair.
i save wine corks, bits of ribbon, fancy bits of present packaging to use for craft sessions and unlike some people who think its ok to nick from work i use the scrap paper from the repro room for my ds pictures!:rotfl:

thifty

i also meant to say that these posts have given me fond memories of the things my mum used to do when i was a child. :AWe were so broke that she often wore 2 pairs of tights but with 1 leg cut off each pair! I just wear trousers!

fuzzyfelt_2

Slinky wrote: »

We always use a bath puff type body scrubber with shower gel to make the shower gel go further. When I first met my OH he used to just tip shower gel into his hand and rub it on - used to be very wasteful. Now by using a bath puff he uses much less shower gel and has lovely soft skin. Ahhh.

And don't throw away your body puff thingy when it falls apart. They're deliberately tied together loosely, so they fall apart after a few weeks use. The idea is that you then put your hands in your pocket to buy another one. Determined that our last one wasn't going to go on landfill, I tied it back together. Just fold up the long piece of netting (after you have unravelled it) into a concertina shape (as if you were making a fan) and then tie it up tightly with the cord. It is a bit tricky and you need to make sure you double knot it. Fluff it out a bit and you'll have a body puff as good as new!

Great thread by the way! :cool:

bebebelle

tireeandcoll wrote: »

Just water it down a bit. Once you've created a bit of space in the bottle, add water to top it up. I find it works just as well for most products.

This made me smile .My granny always did this when I was a kid .She also could make a 1 litre bottle of Avon Bubble bath last months, with dialy use, and the add water method.Bless her.:D