Little ways to save

needmoney

MATH wrote:

needmoney wrote:

Use the online/offline coupons board. I download them into a word doc and print it off each week. HTH

thanks a lot:beer:

gentlepurr

i have a fax machine with a roll of carbon paper in it. when i get to the end of the roll, i roll it back to the beginning & reuse. you can do this at least twice.

i'm mad about gardening, and i've made some wicked stone gardens, and a 10 metre artificial stream with lovely round stones i've collected. just take an extra carrier bag out with you when you walk the dog, and pick them up as you go. wash them & pile em up as you go in the garden. hey persto, lovely gerden feature! much better than £5 a bag from gdn centre, and environmentally friendly!

when you're driving, drive at a steady constant speed.

Oh and heres a sick one(!) that i once saw my mum do! when the dog was sick, he hadn't digested his food, so she washed it & put it back down for him. (no, the dog didn't die!)

rubytuesday

elvis_bloggs wrote:

I visit people at mealtimes whenever possible.

Ha HA yeah my friend Julia used to do that!

BargainHunterCat

Cheap way to help lose weight and save money:

Turn down the heating thermostat by a couple of degrees.

You'll save money on electric/gas/logs and your body will burn more calories trying to stay warm

calleyw

rubytuesday wrote:

Ha HA yeah my friend Julia used to do that!

I had a friend who I bought a house with and when money was short both her and her bf would go down his mums for meals. I never had the luxury as my family lived abput 20 miles away.

Anyway she used to moan like hell about going down there but hey it was a free meal and saved her cooking and shopping moany moo.


Yours

Calley

toozie_2

When we first got married....along time ago.....we were very short of cash, and I learnt how to joint a chicken, I didn't actually enjoy the task, and I must admit I haven't done it for about 20 years!

Anyway the small chicken jointed then lasted the two of us at least 4 or 5 meals, I had the old samll Tower Slow Cooker then (a free gift when I applied for a catalogue), and would put the two thighs on a bed of home made stuffing, and cook all day. Ah those were the days...........

Purdy_1

When possible I walk the 3 miles to the gym. It leaves me too tired to go round the shops while I am there thus saving me money on bus fare and shopping sprees.

I pay by card whenever possible, it means I dont have to take £10 out of the bank to pay for something thats only £3, leaving £7 cash on me that will get spent on unnesseccary things like sweets for the kids, papers, magazines etc.

I have a shopping budget of £70 per week for ALL the weeks groceries. I use as many coupons as possible and buy as many BOGOGF's as possible to bring the cost down. I pay for my shopping on my 0% credit card yet ALWAYS pay off £70. Even if my shopping comes to £50, that leaves £20 to come off the balance of the card. It means that I never have to worry about minimum payments or finding the cash to pay off my card. Doing this has enabled me to buy fitted wardrobes for my bedroom, new bed in January, kids xmas pressies etc on my card yet pay it off from my shopping budget.

I bought all my nieces and nephews xmas presents in the 75% off sale in Wilkinsons last January saving me a small fortune. I got my wrapping paper for 30p a roll in September this yr. 30m for £1.50

Poundland isnt always as cheap as people think. Batteries in £land £1 for 2c batteries. In wilkinsons 2c batteries are 75p and sometimes on offer 3 for the price of 2.

Not really saving old style I agree but every penny counts eh.

colin_tomlinson

Aril wrote:

-if you have to make a peak rate call make sure you've got your main points written down before you ring to save waffle time

Great for saving time, Aril, but to save money on calls, use www.1899.com, who charge 3p per call - 0p/minute - no registration or monthly fees.

Regarding other posts for cutting up toothpaste tubes, is it really worth the mess? To get the most from the tube without cutting it, hold the tube by its base on the edge of your basin. Press down on it with your toothbrush handle and then pull the tube through it (squeezing all the paste up the tube, mangle style) - make sure the lid is ON!

Also, is it not better than using a flask, to just boil enough water in the kettle? If you're making a drink just for one, consider putting a cup of cold water in the microwave for a (very short) time. Much quicker and cheaper than a kettle and as you start with a cup of boiling water (not cold coffee, for example), it doesn't taste any different. Avoids the need to descale the kettle, if you're in a hard water area. Speaking of which ...

Rather than using 17p lemonade to descale the iron, why not buy 17p (still, not sparking!) mineral water to fill the iron? I've been doing this for years and am rather proud of this tip, because it works and I thought of it myself!

It has been suggested to wash-up straight after the washing machine has taken in hot water, as the water doesn't need to run. Unfortunately, all of the cold water you usually run down the drain is in your machine being heated by the large filament. Instead, run the hot tap until it runs hot before switching on your machine. Naturally, save this cold water for cooking/watering plants/etc.

Years ago, it used to cost me £8/week to travel to work on the bus. I bought a bike for £150 (interest free, 50 weeks). This meant it cost me £3/week to travel to work for the first year, free after that. Saved me £5/week from the start - it was about £10/week the following year because the fares went up!

When printing, particularly websites, make use of preview - in fact, add the icon to your toolbar to make sure you do. How many times have you found the final page has only banner advertising and the like? Then (from the preview screen) you can tell it to print and specify 1-4 (instead of 5).

Tell your printer to print on both sides of the paper (even if you need to print just the even pages first - even pages, so that if there is an odd number of pages, 1 still goes on the back of 2 etc and the final odd page draws the next blank piece of paper from the tray). Print two images to a side if the font is big enough: now you've reduced your paper useage by up to 75% and your ink by 50% (print is half the size, so half the ink).

Regarding catridges, I strongly recommend buying a Canon printer because their printer heads stay in the printer (the metal bits that spray the ink). Each time you buy a cartridge, you're just buying a small (often see-through, so you know you've used all the ink you've paid for - unlike Epson!) plastic box - like a larger version of the cartridge for a fountain pen - as cheap as 59p each at www.ukdvdr.com - OK, so I straying off-topic!

If you've forgotten to put the hot water bottle in the bed - or just if the night turns suddenly cold - you can heat it up in an instant using a hairdryer. I discovered this when I lived in a rented flat with only convector heaters. I was thinking about plugging in a fan heater to stop the shivering and thought what I needed was a tube like Mum's hairdryer used to have in the 70s. (For those too young, think of a shower cap with a vacuum hose on it.) Then it dawned on me: hairdryer!

Hope these help - ymmv.

colin_tomlinson

The following for me are just cheap, not necessarily economical, but may be of use to some.

- Turn off the grill when turning over bacon/fish fingers/etc
- Energy-efficient bulbs don't give off excess heat; so use normal ones in the winter
- When on a pub crawl, always hold open the door so you're not first to the bar
- If you're getting noticed at avoiding your round, go to the toilet (old tip) but then ring the bar from your mobile and ASK FOR YOURSELF. Then wander back into the bar and chat on the phone (to no-one!) until someone else picks up the round!
- Children love expensive birthday cakes, so buy one. ONE. Also buy cheap block cake. After birthday child has blown out the candles, take it off to the kitchen and whack it in the freezer until the next birthday. Cut up the cheap block cake for the kids to take home.

I told you they were cheap - but I know people who do each of these things!

toshvaldo

If you are creative you can buy the cheap block cake and decorate it to your own style. Have made great cakes for daughter, friends etc doing this(fairy castle, blues clues, wallace & gromit etc. would cost about £40.00 to buy from professional cake maker and the only limits are your imagination. i usually copy designs from books from library or boot sales. Also, people are usually quite touched that you have taken the time to make them a cake. Saves buying a pressie and can usually knock one out for around £10-£15 if not less.

Before this thread came on this site, i used to look through other sites and made notes in a book of ways to save money. Have tried to read through, so if i repeat any sorry!

before you discard plastic gloves, make large rubber bands by cutting the top at 1/2 inch intervals. save old xmas paper and shred to use in gift bages. make a car seat cover - easy to wash (great if have kids);use old sheets to make cot sheets & pillowcases -just remove worn parts.

can't think of anymore that haven't been mentioned. Love this site.