Great 'Embarrassing MoneySaving tips' Hunt

popxcore

this one is quite embarrassing..

to save on toilet roll i used to wipe my bum on a face flannel and then rinse it clean in the sink *hides from the shame* :money:

Valli

dawnteabag wrote: »

I save all the pre-paid envelopes that come with bills - I pay online - and use them to send my son's school dinner money in to school.

:T:T:T
I'm a teacher. Sometimes I get handed money/notes in unused (bill/credit card) envelopes and always say to the class what a good idea this is - and use it as a teaching point.

ceridwen

Carlakoala wrote: »

Walking down an alley between some shops in our somerset town I could not help but look into the 3 hugh blue rubbish bins outside one of our charity shops. Yep, u guessed it. Things that they cant sell, except clothes, get put in there. Luckily this shop is happy for you to take what they dont want, unlike others that announce it is theft... ummm.

sample - working juicer, roberts radio in need a ariel - fixed. I960's plates., 1950's books (they dont get vintage) christmas cards, decorations, 1950's mirror, hand made garage for a little boy (ahhh so sweet) brand new modern photo album and books, books,.... cd's (they even bring them out to you have a sort), candle sticks - really it is getting silly. one fellow skip rat said his wife found a gold chain.

Crikey - I hope it wasnt a REAL gold chain - but just cheap gold-plated.:eek:. I've taken some real gold jewellery into a charity shop and given it to them before now - and did take pains to point out that it was REAL gold - so that they knew the charity was supposed to get a good price for it (ie hundreds of £s).

I guess if this charity shop really did throw out a REAL gold chain then it would have been because charity shops would find it difficult to believe that someone would have actually given them jewellery that was worth a noticeable amount (so automatically assumed it was cheapie gold-plated costume stuff) - hence why I made a point of telling the shop I gave jewellery to that it WAS "real".

I think they got the message - judging by the astonished looks on their faces and how carefully it got put away.:rotfl:

NualaBuala

popxcore wrote: »

this one is quite embarrassing..

to save on toilet roll i used to wipe my bum on a face flannel and then rinse it clean in the sink *hides from the shame* :money:

Very eco-friendly! One of my American online friends told me they are called "family cloths" and they are becoming quite popular in the same way as the Mooncup and washable nappies.

1sue23

ceridwen wrote: »

The old woman is probably not saving any money on getting her flask filled in a coffeeshop. I've done so before now - when I wanted a take-out coffee - in order to save them using an environmentally-UNfriendly disposable mug to put it in. They still charged me the same price - as I expected. Cost-saving wasnt my reason for doing this. She WILL be saving money on her reading by taking magazines from the recycling to read and then putting them back in recycling - I don't go looking specially - but if I spot some of a type I want to read put separately (so nice and clean!) then I do this too.

Re embarrassing savings - well freezer bags and those green "keep 'em fresh" food storage bags seem to last forever. I just keep washing and re-using them. I found the ideal thing to hang them on to dry out recently - one of those little "smalls" clothesdryer racks (available at discount shops for £1 or similar).

Another one - hanging sheets over the bannisters to finish drying. I dry all my washing naturally (don't even have a tumbledryer any more) - so sheets do sometimes have to go over the bannisters, because I've used up all my clothes rack drying space. With having a good-quality washing machine - I find that my washing is very nearly dry anyway when its finished its spin cycle - so its only a matter of hours to let it hang finishing itself off.

She does not go into coffee shops ,she goes into charity shops where she is well known and because they feel sorry for her they fill up for free ,she goes on day trips with her free bus pass and visits charity shops in other areas ,and never has to visit tearooms .

ceridwen

1sue23 wrote: »

She does not go into coffee shops ,she goes into charity shops where she is well known and because they feel sorry for her they fill up for free ,she goes on day trips with her free bus pass and visits charity shops in other areas ,and never has to visit tearooms .

Ah..right...thanks for that.

I think the thing is that some of us just like to be sure (whatever level of money we have or havent....:cool:) that we are getting "value for money". So we dont want to pay for something that we know is pretty valueless on the one hand - BUT are quite prepared to give away something worth a sizeable amount of money/work for nothing on the other hand IF it's something we agree with and we can be quite sure our "goodwill" isnt being exploited on the other hand.

Moneysaving is - after all - about getting good value for money:D

EDIT: make me in the "HAVENT got money" category - darn it! - in this case...

WarriorPrincess

As a moneysaver I'm put to shame by my mother, who hates to spend anything at all. Over Christmas she gave us all jars of homemade damson jam, then explained she'd polished the fruit before making the jam::

'I collect the damsons from the ground - they fall from the tree into a lane where a lot of people walk their dogs. You have to polish them, really, don't you'.

Lovely!

siobhan.hobson

crazyolday wrote: »

Shock, horror I hear you screech! :eek:

However stop right there with your mouth open and read on!

I dropped by our local recycling centre who have their own resale shop area inc a clothes section.

I got my whole christmas party outfit from there for £3! :xmassmile Brand new pair of smart trousers (with price label attached marked at £12) for £1, :snow_laug a lovely blouse £1 :santa2: and a great brand new glittery scarf £1.

Lots of people commented on my new outfit and asked where they could get the same! :think: Took alot of thinking to come up with a good answer to that one!

I washed it well as I would items from the charity shop in a bio powder with a splash of disinfectant, then gave a final rinse in some lovely smelling fabric conditioner! The most expensive finish to the outfit I was wearing was the tinsel round my wrist at £1.15 a strip!

Now that was the best bit of savvy shopping I've done all year!:T

If anyone asks where charity/thrift shop (or similar) outfits come from.....the answer is "It's vintage darling"

siobhan.hobson

I have found that if you have tea or coffee on you (I drink Lyon's coffee bags as I don't like instant, so I always have a stash on me for when I visit friend's houses) many restaurants will gladly provide you with a cup of hot water for free!! I haven't been underhanded; have simply said "I have special coffee because I'm fussy, how much would you charge me for hot water?" The answer is nearly always "nothing"; the most I have been charged is 20p, which considering the average cup of coffee is £1.50 - £2.50, I really don't mind paying!! Lol

maggiann

What a great lot you all are, what's wrong with re-using things that we have lying around, just think of al the waste we aren't creating. Happy New Year to everyone