What do you save the most money on OS?

donnajt

Ditto above but i would add start thinking about basic store ingredients now - dried herbs, olive oil, worcester sauce, flour, vinegar etc, tom puree, these are invaluable in tarting up plain old mince - I am sure there is a thread somewhere with a list of "storecupboard" ingredients, I am sure I printed it a long time ago?

definitely write a shopping list...and stick to it!

cyclura

For me (if you have very young children) its reusable nappies, I have cloth nappies for both my kids and I have saved a fortune. I could no tafford to buy sposies every week and all it was for me was a bulk buy of the nappies I wanted to use (and I was mega MS and purchased preloved ones) and a wash every other day.

I add to my nappy stash every now and again as my daughter grows but the good thing is my son will be using them as he grows and they lose very little value so I will sell them onto another mum when they are finished with them or turn them into rags/cloths depending on how well used they end up.

Aother for me is my sewing machine, I make alot of my childrens clothes and it saves me a fortune, kids clothes are so expensive. Oh and car boot sales for second hand/bargain goodies

frosty

natlie wrote: »

Hi

I find bulk buying things on offer helps me like yesterday the washing gel stuff I buy was reduced from £8 to £3.50 so I bought about 6 of them, I buy my tea, coffee and hot chocolate in catering size tins/bags, I buy flour in bulk. I find some value things are great like Tesco value dishwasher tablets £1.63

Nat

Hi,I tried Tesco value dish washer tablets for the first time yesterday and I was very impressed.They were 25p for 30 tablets.Are they normally £1.63? or is that a typo.thanks

quintwins

there normally £1.63-£1.89, they didn't go down to 25p in my store

for me the best way to save money is to be prepared to try new things, like foods on offer or reduced or even just a 'lesser' brand (lesser doesn't always mean worse), or sewing, or reusable nappies and so on, i know so many people who buy the same things over and over again and won't even considering the cheaper alternatives

viv0147

I shop around the different stores and when I find a bargain that I normally use especially the reduced items I buy as much as I can and freeze or store I also bought a breadmaker about 18 months ago and that has been fantastic and saves so much and the smell of fresh bread is better than any air freshener and keep using the forums on here the idea's again can save a fortune. Good Luck

[Deleted User]

I wouldn't be without my Slow cooker and a freezer is invaluble to me as I often batch cook as living alone its more economical to make extra and freeze. But the best thing I think is something I have had for over 50 years and thats a little red lined notebook (not the same one obviuosly) and in it I write down exactly what I want to buy when I go shopping and how much everything has cost me .At the back of it working towards the front is my menu plan for the week.So what I buy at the front usually has a strong connection with what I am going to cook from the back IYSWIM.Write everything down and you can soon see where the money is vanishing to,as vanish it will if you aren't careful.My eldest DD has the same system as I have and it works for her as well.I found an old book in a drawer a little while ago ,god knows how its survived all this time but the cost of food in 1968 seems so cheap by todays standards .A leg of lamb which done me OH and two children almost four days cost me 16/6d (80p odd)But then my housekeeping was £8.10.00 (£8.50)and we ate really well on that as well.OH wages were only £21.00 per week then and our rent was £4.4.00. (£4.20p)per week.I sometimes revert back to the old money system just to remind myself how much food has gone up and even from a year ago its quite terrifying.So get yourself a little red note book and start writing all your expences down

knittingcathy

This will save you money but more importantly it will save your relationship before you move into together thrash out your budget, work out whether you are going to have a joint account or whether one is going to for different things. There is nothing in this world causes more arguments amongst couples than money so if you have sorted that all out in advance it will make your life easier. Write it all down then stick to it just tweeking bits when required but both of you must agree.

VJsmum

Memory girl - where did you get the risotto rice from? We love risotto but the rice is expensive compared to other sorts, but a risotto is so much better for it.

oldtractor

Growing fruit and veg and home made meals,soups,sandwiches for work and baking. Also having the time to look in charity shops and source things from freecycle.

Cinny91

Hey Sky!

Me and my Boyfriend moved out together last December. It's our first move away from the parents too! The thing I found best for saving money, and the easiest, is to do a meal plan. This website (run by some amazing people on here) helped me a lot with cheap meal ideas. Actually tonight I'm making curry in a hurry from there, with the onion rings.

I second what Cathy said to. When we decided to move out of our parents we sat down and made a basic budget. Then split it for who'd pay for what, rather than splitting every bill 50/50 as it's just easier. And we roughly pay the same give or take a couple £££.

Hope the move goes well for you! I was really stressed up to the night when we finally moved in, then felt at home straight away. Good luck