How much can you save?

EagerLearner

Here are my top tips:

- If you don't save alot right now because you have no idea what your bills are, you need a budget. Download Martin's one, then once you have done that, download my one below as it's your 'monthly buddy' to keep you inspired.

- Do the 'slim skim' on your current account - whenever you have an odd amount/balance, 'skim' the odd part into savings and leave the remainder. For example, if you have £152.34 in your bank account, 'slim skim' £2.34, leaving you with a round £150. You will never notice this tiny amount going into savings, and it builds up incredibly.

-Join cashback sites and any money you make can be out into savings. Quidco.com, Pigsback, Freefivers are just some of the good earners.

- Save every £2 coin you get - make it a game and get your partner involved so you can get competitive - get a jar/tin/piggy bank and treat the £2 coins as if they were not real money. It's not hard to do once you get used to it as £2 are still 'new' to many of us and you don't often get one in change. Save it all up, then once in a while pay it into a savings account. Join the £2 Club here on MSE for inspiration.

- Join the MSE Grocery Challenge - eah month there is a new one, where MSER's mutually support eachother. Join in at the beginning of each month, and any savings you make against your target amount, can go into savings...

- Use Shopping comparison engines to get the best price on any new item you are planning to buy. Then to squeeze the most out on top of that, call some high street shops and even internet shops, to see if they will match or beat your best price to get your business.

save-a-lot

Hi

This year we are determined to grow a decent range of our own veg, this will save alot of money over the year and also will make us a little more green as a family. No packaging to dispose of, some green waste for composting etc etc the benefits are more than just monetry.

I save regularly and also "skim" the current account on pay day to shift the unspent money into savings accounts.

Over the last 5 years we have remortgaged 3 times and never paid more than 5% interest. We have had two, two year deals and now we are on a ten year fixed deal. Always keep ahead of introductory offers on your mortgage, when selecting to remortgage ensure an attractive looking deal has no sting in the tale, such as extended tie ins.

Buy your car sensibly, a 12 month old car gives better value for example. Think about economy, servicing costs/intervals. Shop around for car servicing as you can use any garage now that will stamp the service book - it will not invalidate the warrenty on a new car (someone back me up on that).

I save a fortune, easily £100/month by taking sandwiches to work with me, instead of using facilities at work.

I shop around for everything. I always use the internet, I check prices on Froogle, I research buys of any sort on Internet and always try and find comments from actual purchasers.

save-a-lot

Hi

One other thing we do, in preparation for Christmas every year we buy saver stamps from Morrison's and we do this weekly. I know that a true fully fledged moneysaver would be putting that small change into a savings account for the interest, but the £2 or £3 spent each week on stamps means it does not get spent on other things. We do not miss this small change over the year, but at Christmas it helps alot to spread the costs.

On the same subject as Christmas, I buy gifts throughout the year as I see them.

Finally, all of my silver and copper change at the end of the week goes into my daughters piggy bank, my wife does the same and all that loose change really mounts up, probably around £40 every 4 to 6 weeks. This money then gets paid into a Halifax Save4it childrens account where it is earning good interest.

zag2me

save-a-lot wrote:

I save a fortune, easily £100/month by taking sandwiches to work with me, instead of using facilities at work.

I'm really interested in this one, I have seen it written many times on the board but have never actually managed to do it myself! Maybe I'm just crap at preparing things but what kind of ingredients do you buy from the supermarket, and what type of sandwiches do you make? I must spend around £80 a month on lunches from the shop at work.

steady__eddie

"and what type of sandwiches do you make?"

This is one of those times that I wish I knew how to post that little SPAM icon thingy.

EagerLearner

:spam:

I found it for you!

HmmmMMMmmm - yummy - not!

Sandwich fillings could be:

- Cheese and ham
- Cheese and pickle
- Hummus and salad (buy hummus in store if you don't want to make it)
- Sundried tomato and mozarella, olives if liked
- Cream cheese and smoked salmon
- Salami

To keep things interesting, sometimes you might treat yourself to the special fresh bread buns in store - our local Sommerfield has cheese and onion buns, sundried tomato buns, brown buns etc.

The above will all be cheaper than buying sandwiches at work and may of these ingredients will last you a few days at least, plus be doubly useful as you may be able to use them in normal cooking if you like too.

save-a-lot

zag2me wrote:

I'm really interested in this one, I have seen it written many times on the board but have never actually managed to do it myself! Maybe I'm just crap at preparing things but what kind of ingredients do you buy from the supermarket, and what type of sandwiches do you make? I must spend around £80 a month on lunches from the shop at work.

Recently I have had...

beef and mustard sandwich, carton of peaches, apple and a pear
cheese and pickle sandwich, carton of peaches, apple and a pear
tuna and sweetcorn, carton of peaches, apple and a pear
ham and mustard, carton of peaches, apple and a pear
... different sandwiches, same fruit, but the possibilities are endless!

I think I need to get a little more creative :rolleyes:

jamtart6

I just cant bear to buy sarnies etc at work. my oh used to spend £30 a week on lunctime food BEFORE HE MET ME! now he gets a yummy carry out every day ! i also like making sarnies myself as they can be made better for my health (no butter etc!)

i really like wraps at the moment, today i had beef, mayo(light!) and mustard, was scrummy! i am gettin bored with sarnies now, so have started making home made veg soup (just veg nothing else v good for you! ) for some days, and make my own couscous!and take my own fruit!

i walk with a friend to the shop each day and he spends £5-6 a day on food and drink. i just COULDNT do it! i begrudge the 50p at break time for a tea, but have to allow SOME pleasures in life! :rofl

little_miss_thrifty

save-a-lot wrote:

Shop around for car servicing as you can use any garage now that will stamp the service book - it will not invalidate the warrenty on a new car (someone back me up on that).

I think you can get your car serviced at any garage that is VAT registered, to still validate the warranty.

My savings this month are over £800, but i did take that out of a savings account that wasn't doing very well - we are going to use it to chip off the mortgage again! :j :j Then i'll be back to zero....

save-a-lot

little_miss_thrifty wrote:

I think you can get your car serviced at any garage that is VAT registered, to still validate the warranty.

The understanding I have is that in the past there was a tie in, whereby servicing had to be done by the dealership in order to keep the warranty valid. I have done a search and it is detailed in this

***_quoting_from_the_dti_website wrote:

Source: http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page29050_print.html

Key Facts:

• The new exemption will increase competition in the domestic and continental car market, including car servicing and repairs, which will give consumers more choice and better value for money.

• The new EC Cars Block Exemption should help reduce UK prices by increasing competition and providing greater freedom to import cars from other member states. Giving consumers more choice and better value for money.

• Old Regime expired on 30 September 2002 (but see Q2 below)

• The Competition Commission found the operation of the selective and exclusive distribution system permitted by the European Union's Car Block Exemption rules to be the root cause of the increased cost of new cars in the UK, and made a number of recommendations for fundamental changes to this system.