Cut Back Hunt Compiled.

Sarah920

I created a list of all the ways to "cut back" up on the eponymous thread for my own future reference, as a sort of checklist for when I'm older, but I thought others might appreciate it so they don't have to read twenty pages of stuff. Now you can list even more fun things to save on (I'm a sixth form debtless student, but I'm already hooked on MSE)!

Moneysaving

General Tips
1. Keep lights turned off when not in the room.
2. Walk to and from work as much as possible. If you have an MP3 player or a Walkman the time will fly by. As an added bonus, you get exercise too!
3. If you don't intend on spending any money, and you know you can get home safely, don't take your wallet with you.
4. Make sure your washing-machine is full each time you use it.
5. Use 'Vaseline' as an eye make-up remover.
6. Wash windows with white vinegar and newspapers.
7. If you smoke, roll your own. For £9 a week you can buy 2 packs of 25gram rolling tobacco (go to a proper tobacconist if you can, and they usually weigh it heavier!), get tips and papers from pound shop.
8. Look in skips.
9. Use cheap hair conditioner to shave your legs, it leaves them really soft, and is cheaper than shaving foam.
10. Don't buy bottled water - chill some tap water instead.
11. Use a sponge/ buff puff in the shower, to reduce the amount of shower gel required.
12. When making tea or coffee, only fill the kettle with the amount of water required.
13. Have a shower instead of a bath.
14. Turn your central heating thermostat down by one degree ... you're unlikely to notice the difference in the heat, but you'll notice the difference on the bill.
15. Look after your shoes...polish them, replace laces, and take them on a jaunt to the cobblers for new heels every so often. Also, go barefoot indoors.
16. Get a lodger.
17. Put the money that you would have spent on the lottery in a jar (if your numbers come up then get what you would have won out of the jar), by the end of the year the jar is more likely to be full then empty.


Extra Uses
1. Wash your car on your lawn. Cheaper to do it yourself and you water your lawn at the same time.
2. Re-use all envelopes and packaging. Just black pen out anything already on it.
3. If you like weak tea, keep the tea bags and re-use.
4. When you need hot water and have to run the tap, save the water that normally just runs down the sink - use for other things (rinsing/washing things/filling kettle/watering plants/etc).
5. Use old clothing for dusters or pet blankets.
6. Fabric Softener - if you don't like the cheaper options, continue to buy your regular softener but when you get a third of the way down, just top it back up with water and give it a good shake.
7. Cut open tubes when you think they are finished, e.g. foundation, toothpaste, moisturiser, tomato puree etc - you will always get a few more uses.
8. Use olive oil to cleanse. Since it's in the kitchen anyway (buy in when on offer, in bulk!) it's nice and cheap.
9. For cheap liquid hand-wash and shower gels, buy an economy size bottle of cheap bubble bath and then decant it into dispensers. Works out cheaper and just as good.
10. For those using a mooncup and open-minded, blood is good for houseplants…
11. Learn to do a job around the house really well (such as skirting boards or laminate flooring) then make your services available to your friends: you will be amazed how much reciprocal work will be offered for your own home when you need it.
12. Share magazine subscriptions with like minded friends - everyone subscribes to one magazine and passes on the copies (works best with hobby type mags which do not date).
13. Use old tights to tie plants and trees to stakes etc instead of buying the plastic ties which have to be cut off periodically and thrown away.
14. Have a night in - cook a meal (low-cost one of course!), invite your friends around and get them to clear out their aforementioned items and do a clothes exchange - you can guarantee that you will each come away with something 'new' for your wardrobe.
15. Refill ink cartridges by hand with a syringe rather than buying new ones.


House
1. Get the loft insulated. Some councils give a grant for this whether council tenant or private house.
2. After checking that your utility/ phone provider are the cheapest -call them to make sure that you are on the best tariff - Call every 4 months and there is nearly always a better deal that I am entitled to.
3. Use soda crystals to clean off grease in the kitchen - it works a treat and is cheaper than kitchen cleaners - more environmentally friendly too.
4. Mix some soda crystals in with half your normal amount of washing powder next time you wash a load of towels on a hot wash. This will give your washing machine a good cleanout, and you save by using half the powder.
5. Use a capful of white vinegar to clean your dishwasher rather than dishwasher cleaner.
6. Buy 3 oils from pound shops, 3 for £1, and dab a little on light bulbs instead of buying air freshener.
7. Use 15p coke for getting rid of lime scale in toilets.
8. Use distilled water in your iron to prevent lime scale build-up.
9. A halogen or quartz space heater is cheap to buy (about 8-10 pounds) and cheap to run when you just want to take the chill off the air, but don't need the central heating running.
10. Dilute bleach with water and use in a spray bottle, no need for all those fancy overpriced items in the supermarkets, and you can use it in every room and most surfaces.
11. Dry your clothes on a clothes horse overnight instead of the tumble dryer.
12. Add a few drops of essential oil in a spray bottle with water to make clothes smell fresh when ironing or on your sheets while in the airing cupboard.
13. Mix bicarbonate of soda and crushed pot-pourri and sprinkle onto your carpets leave overnight and vacuum the next day.
14. Don't leave any electrical appliances on stand by, you can reduce electric bills upto 10% by ensuring everything is turned off properly (and don't forget to turn your printer off and mobile phone charger too they are often over looked when not in use)
15. To make flowers last longer, put a drop or two of bleach into the water (no more or you might kill them). This apparently stops them decomposing so quickly.
16. Have nights in and invite your friends/family round instead of going down the pub. Encourage them all to do the same. Have quiz nights, watch the football matches... all at each others houses (perhaps make a rota?) Then rather than lining the pubs pockets, you go to the local cash n carry and buy alcohol in volume.
17. If gas meter is in cupboard on outside of house, keep cupboard open, cool air will then cause gas to contract so you get more mass throughput per volume. You are billed on volume.

Food
1. Go to markets and butcher at 3.30-4 when they are finishing for bargains. Make casseroles/stews to freeze with veg and cheap cuts of meat - If fruit is turning make sorbet / smoothies / pies.
2. Buy reduced or BOGOF mince and cook a huge batch of "ragu" which you can split up and freeze. Then use for Lasagna, Spag Bol, Chili (just add chili powder), with jacket potato etc.
3. If you enjoy wine, try the boxes they are great value, and as good quality as a £4-£7 bottle, for £11 - £15 for 3 litres. And you aren’t tempted to "finish the bottle, or it’s a waste".
4. Eating porridge in the morning instead of breakfast cereal - it costs a fraction of the price, and really sets you up for the day.
5. For breakfast cereal and tea, dilute your milk with water (half and half). You probably won’t notice the difference.
6. Don't buy fresh milk for your tea and coffee, change to dry milk, you'll save a fortune and a big box lasts for ages.
7. If batch cooking, wait until food is completely cold before putting in freezer, otherwise freezer temperature is initially raised, using extra power to bring it back to set temperature.
8. When frying, reuse the oil: let it cool then pour it into a glass jar to use next time.
9. If you have a packet of old cereal that has gone a bit soggy pop the cereal (not the box) in the microwave for 45 seconds. The waves will remove all the moisture and you will have crispy cereal again.
10. Use over ripe or black bananas instead of margarine or butter when making a cake or buns.
11. Take a jar of expensive coffee and a jar of cheap coffee and mix the two together ~ for some reason the cheap coffee takes on the full bodied flavour of the more expensive coffee yet you get twice as much.
12. Try to keep your freezer as full as possible, as a half empty freezer uses up more electricity than a full one, but keep your fridge only half full. If you overfill your fridge it will take longer for the food to cool as it slows the flow of the cold air.
13. If you are using the oven to cook a casserole or roast something (not souffles etc), then turn off the oven about 5 minutes or so earlier than the recommended cooking time. There should be sufficient heat left in the oven to cook your dish, so long as you don't open the door and let the heat escape.


Shopping
1. Use own brands – they are usually cheaper but just as good quality.
2. If you use a product regularly (e.g. shampoo, deodorant, shower gel), and you see it on a BOGOF offer, buy LOADS. Unlike food it's not going to go out of date if you don't use it.
3. If you are a size 8 or 10 buy teenagers clothes - there is no tax on kids’ clothes.
4. Always buy stuff that won’t go off, like toilet paper or washing powder, in the largest volumes you can store. If you look at the price-per-unit labels in the supermarkets there is an incredible difference - buying small volumes is really expensive!
5. Also, never buy them when you need them. Buy them when they're on offer, such as BOGOFs, etc. Then store them until you need them. Make sure that you keep the stock going, just as if you were running a shop - the aim is never to run out.
6. In the supermarkets there is usually an "ethnic" section where they sell Asian, kosher, and so on. Sometimes you'll find the same stuff here as in the rest of the supermarket, but much cheaper, particularly spices, rice etc.
7. Don't be embarrassed to nip into 'Poundland' when passing to pick up necessities - e.g. twin pack Colgate toothbrushes £1.
8. If you're pregnant fully use your maternity certificate. Even if you don't need prescriptions during pregnancy, it lasts for a year after so if you need hay fever tablets for example, get a couple of free prescriptions in. Same goes for dental checkups and treatment.
9. Shop car boot sales and charity shops for Xmas presents - no one will ever know if you make a good enough job with the wrapping.
10. Shop at charity shops for your clothes.
11. Find out if you have a local food co-operative (not the shop) or make your own! Find a group of people that will all chip in a certain amount to buy certain things (fruit & veg / dried foods ) then you can buy in bulk and split it all between you.
12. If you have a formal occasion to attend like wedding, christening etc etc and need something nice to wear, hire instead of buy. Most towns now have dress agencies where you can hire really good outfits for a fraction of what they'd cost to buy.
13. Get a cash and carry membership any way you can.

Internet
1. Send free faxes at http://www.tpc.int/tpc_home.html.
2. Subscribe to internet banking - you'll be able to see exactly when and where your money is going, instead of traipsing to the cash machine or waiting for a monthly statement.
3. If you have an expensive stereo, sell it (or if you're thinking of buying one, don't!) - use your PC to listen to streaming radio stations and play CDs. If you have a decent soundcard and speakers, the quality will be the same as your stereo. Also, if you have a DVD player with surround sound - play your CDs through your DVD player, and flog that stereo.
4. Pay all bills online. Most catalogues, credit cards etc, have websites with account access - register for it, and then pay online when your bill comes in, you'll save the cost of a stamp for each.
5. Join your local FREECYCLE scheme; find them on the internet at http://freecycle.org/.
You give things away and ask for what you would like to be given.
6. Wait for 5p listing days when bulk listing on eBay.


Travel
1. When staying at hotels, take home as many of the toiletries as possible and keep for guests/ for the gym/ swimming or when you are running out towards the end of month and your favourite product is not BOGOF.
2. If you visit motorway services, grab as many packets of sauces, salt, pepper etc as you can!
3. If you have to use a bus, try getting on it a stop later and getting off a stop earlier.
4. Fill up with petrol at night when it’s cold as you get more fuel for your money.
This is because the petrol contracts and becomes denser.
5. Use https://www.petrolprices.com to find the lowest petrol rates in your area.
6. Buy concentrated screen wash not the "ready mix" kind where you are paying for added water. It also means you can vary the strength according to the weather conditions.
7. Try house swapping. See http://www.homeexchange.com/ for ideas.
8. If distance/time is a problem that prevents you from cycling to/from work, consider car sharing.
9. Only half fill your car with fuel as it is the same as carrying another passenger if full and uses more fuel (only if you have a plastic fuel tank).
10. Convert your car to run on LPG, (35p litre) or if it’s diesel run convert it to biodiesel or straight cooking oil (52p with duty).
11. If you drive and have fuel expenses to worry about, pumping your tyres will make your car less wasteful. It's estimated that up to 80 per cent of car tyres are underinflated, which means each car wastes approx 5 per cent of its fuel consumption.
12. When you go on holiday, switch things off!


Sneaky
1. Visit Blockbusters quite late on a weekend night when it has been busy. You can get films free next time if they have all been rented out. You just ask at the counter and it goes on your account. Next time you visit you can get the film free!
2. Check out the local supermarket either very early or late and get their old boxes for packaging - they're only going to get rid of them anyway.
3. Get free DVD rentals - write a list of films you want to see. There are loads of DVD rentals sites online now, most with free trial periods - 2 weeks to a month. Simply sign up for the free trial, get your DVD’s and then just before it runs out, cancel and sign up for a new one. Cross off your list as your go, so you don't forget what you've already had.
4. Make sure you have a poo at work. Doing this means that you can save water and toilet paper.
5. When you go to the cinema, make your own microwave popcorn at home and sneak it in inside a carrier bag so it looks like you’ve just been shopping. Buy any drinks coke or bottled water at the supermarket beforehand.
6. Phone smaller companies after office hours and there's often an answer-phone where you can leave your number. If you're lucky someone will call you back the next day and save your phone bill!
7. Accept free stuff from promotions people, and be cheeky and ask for more. Some will give you more.
8. Tescos accept money off vouchers/coupons for products they sell, even if you haven't bought the item. Regularly rummage through magazines and collect the 10p off Muller yoghurts, 20p off brands of butter etc and trade them in when you do your shopping. So long as you buy a number of items, and don't try and use lots of the same type of voucher in one go, the check-out staff wont even bat an eye-lid.
9. Many banks/credit cards list an overseas number - remove the '44' and replace with a '0' – include your area code (e.g. 1245) and the call is totally free!

Triker

That's brilliant thanks for compiling such a comprehensive list.:T :T

Clumsy_Girl

Wow that must have taken you ages but what a great idea- thanks!

Triker

One for the food section, when adding a jar of sauce to your cooking either half fill or fully fill with warm water to rinse out the last of the sauce and it gives you a bit more as well.

Put lid back on shake and pour into pan, continue cooking.

jessicamb

Its good to see the tips in one place rather than hunting: reminded me of a few that i had previously passed by.

I would update the following:

Sarah920 wrote:

4. Make sure your washing-machine is full each time you use it. Obviously without overloading - repair man call out charges are not MSE

6. Fabric Softener - if you don't like the cheaper options, continue to buy your regular softener but when you get a third of the way down, just top it back up with water and give it a good shake. Apparently White Vinegar is as good as fabric conditioner (but not the malt type)

8. Use olive oil to cleanse. Since it's in the kitchen anyway (buy in when on offer, in bulk!) it's nice and cheap. Makes a decent hair mask if heated slightly

7. Use 15p coke for getting rid of lime scale in toilets. Search OS board for this - I think if done regularly it stains the toilet as colouring is present in cola

10. Dilute bleach with water and use in a spray bottle, no need for all those fancy overpriced items in the supermarkets, and you can use it in every room and most surfaces. Stardrops is the future and less nasty than bleach.

1. When staying at hotels, take home as many of the toiletries as possible and keep for guests/ for the gym/ swimming or when you are running out towards the end of month and your favourite product is not BOGOF. & Book into travel inns I think it is through Pigsback and get points every time

6. Buy concentrated screen wash not the "ready mix" kind where you are paying for added water. It also means you can vary the strength according to the weather conditions. I find it hard to believe that we dont have a decent HM remedy for Screen wash on the site somewhere If not someone needs to invent one.

4. Make sure you have a poo at work. Doing this means that you can save water and toilet paper. Wait until theres someone waiting when you come out :rotfl:

Batgirl

Thats a great list thanks for your time and effort.

I am not open minded enough to use a mooncup let alone feed the plats with the produce, so I'll give that one a miss but the rest I must try.

Sarah920

White vinegar seems to be the answer to everything "cut it in half" isn't.

paul.carter

'3. If you enjoy wine, try the boxes they are great value, and as good quality as a £4-£7 bottle, for £11 - £15 for 3 litres. And you aren’t tempted to "finish the bottle, or it’s a waste".'

Didn't work for me, was always tempted to finish the box.

moozie_2

Thank you for sharing your list Sarah920. Not everything is for me but very kind of you to share :beer:

pounds_and_pensive

My sister was telling me yesterday that she's interested in using a Mooncup, and so had researched them online. She found many users that raved about them, including one who not only fed the blood to her houseplants, but used it... in her paintings.

The only thing that stopped me from re-accquainting myself with my breakfast on hearing this was the fact that I hadn't any, but someone out there might want to fly with the idea. I'd sooner stick to poster paints

Jaymz

Great list, thanks for putting it together