2007 Savings Record

busatsymes

wow u saved loads
i wish i could do that.
but i don relly buy dat much anywayz so.....

jo_b_2

busatsymes wrote: »

wow u saved loads
i wish i could do that.
but i don relly buy dat much anywayz so.....

Saving by not spending money is the best way to do it!;) I have been trying to reduce my general spending and have been keeping a spending diary some days on Debt Free Wannabe board to try and avoid spending money unnecessarily!

I am pregnant at the minute, though, so I do need to spend more money on stuff like maternity wear, underwear and baby items as well, which I wouldn't normally buy. The added stress is that my income will be going down shortly too! :eek:

jo_b_2

Savings so far (up to Mon 28th May)

Used £15 online discount code at www.tesco.com (so saved £10.50 after delivery charges.) I'm switching to online shopping as it's easier to meal-plan and budget and will also be a life-saver when baby arrives!
I've also had problems getting coupons/vouchers accepted at my local Tesco and am finding it a bit irritating! :rolleyes:

Saved £10.73 on BOGOFs - again easier to spot online.

Went hunting for Boots Grabbit bargains - I saved £3.75 on their 3for2 Huggies promotion and also used £1.50 worth of coupons from the Huggies baby club.

Saved £5.24 on various other BOGOF/3for2 offers and picked up 3 tubes of their Expert Whitening Toothpaste for just £1.98 because of a pricing glitch (saving £9.99 off full-price!). Also picked up two Sanctuary products (worth £9) for free with the skincare vouchers - another to go towards my toiletries giftpacks for xmas etc.
Even better was getting over 400 bonus Advantage points :j , thanks to various offers in the Ad machine and vouchers from Boots Parenting Club and Boots Health club.

Received a free Olay face mask this week - another item for toiletry giftsets.

Also had a cheap subscription copy of Prima Baby saving £2.07 off the cover price.

Picked up some free stuff from my local Freecycle as well this week - baby toys and maternity clothes. Also gave away some of my old stuff so good Karma there.

Probably shouldn't count this as a 'saving' as I ended up spending over £50 at Nursery & Toys but did send off for some bargains including some cheap bedding (saving about £10) and some under-cotbed drawers for just £1.99. Also saved about £20 on birthday party presents for throughout the year as well as some baby essentials. (I will count the saving of £5.50 on P&P by spending over £50!)

Am desperately trying to avoid buying any new household items unless I have to. My little boy managed to break the rotary washing line, though, by swinging from it so had to get a new one. Managed to save £5 at Argos by using up Nectar points (mostly earned from TNS online surveys). Wish you could still use Nectar at Adams though.

jo_b_2

Saved £2 off the cover price of She magazine with a cheap subscription

Had £4 vouchers through the post for completing online surveys

Swapped lots of my old books for new reading material at www.readitswapit.com

Saved £8.58 by getting a free ink cartridge from Ink Club (Also have £9 cashback tracking from Quidco so that will be added to the total once that gets paid!)

Saved £99 on the cost of Sky Plus - getting a brand new Sky Plus box, free installation and no monthly charges. We just continue paying our basic subscription of £15 per month. Details HERE

jo_b_2

Savings so far:

Received a free Wilksinson Sword Quattro razor worth £4.99

£12.83 cashback from www.quidco.com

Saved £3.17 off Junior Magazine through a 3 issues for £1 offer

Picked up a free goody bag from Bounty/Morrisons with some freebies including two free loo rolls (always handy!) and some choc bars, baby toothpaste and drinks. Also some useful coupons (specific to Morrisons).

Also picked up an Emma's Diary pack from Lloyds. Not much in there apart from a pack of Blackcurrant fruit flakes, a giant sized sun cap. There was a good discount offer for Vertbaudet so will probably place an order there shortly.

EagerLearner

Ho jo_b - re broadband - when we moved 2 months ago we ditched BT - we were paying £12.99 a month just for phone line which we barely used as we use our mobiles alot (free minutes). We also ditched Broadband with Madasafish - £16.99 a month as our contract had run out.
We then moved to Virgin - £20 a month for phone, broadband and freeview channels. Old phone was £12.99, old broadband was £16.99 - now just £20 - saving almost £10 a month - £120 a year!
I am now actually making myself put away that £10 each month!
So far we have saved £599.22 and of that, £508.97 real cash has gone into savings. The rest is vouchers from Pigsback and little bits.
Takes discipline but works! Soon will have more cashback to add - £102 so far from cashback sites with more pending.
When are you expecting your baby? Great that you are planning already and usign Freecycle etc.

jo_b_2

EagerLearner wrote: »

Ho jo_b - re broadband - when we moved 2 months ago we ditched BT - we were paying £12.99 a month just for phone line which we barely used as we use our mobiles alot (free minutes). We also ditched Broadband with Madasafish - £16.99 a month as our contract had run out.
We then moved to Virgin - £20 a month for phone, broadband and freeview channels. Old phone was £12.99, old broadband was £16.99 - now just £20 - saving almost £10 a month - £120 a year!

Hi EagerLearner :wave:
I've just signed up to a new 12 month contract with Sky to get the Sky Plus free so will be staying with them for tv for the time being. My phone line is with the Post Office rather than BT and to switch broadband providers (to Sky at least) I'd have to transfer back to BT. It's something that I probably will do at some point but, I hate to admit it, I've always been happy with my BT broadband and am a bit wary about switching and ending up with a poor quality service.

Imagine if I couldn't get onto this site! :eek:

EagerLearner wrote: »

I am now actually making myself put away that £10 each month!
So far we have saved £599.22 and of that, £508.97 real cash has gone into savings. The rest is vouchers from Pigsback and little bits.
Takes discipline but works! Soon will have more cashback to add - £102 so far from cashback sites with more pending.

Well done! :T That's really impressive. I'm a big fan of Quidco, Pigsback and survey sites too! I have a regular direct debit that transfers a set amount over to a savings account every month. I also keep meaning to top up my ISA (not used last year!) with any 'extra' money left over. Procrastination.....

EagerLearner wrote: »

When are you expecting your baby? Great that you are planning already and usign Freecycle etc.

Baby's due on 14th July so not too long to go now! I've got a four year old already so we've got most of the major baby essentials saved from last time around, luckily. I've been able to pick up a few extras from Freecycle and eBay which is handy and stocking up on baby toiletry/nappy bargains at Boots and Tesco while I've got the time to go bargain-hunting!

EagerLearner

Ah, a cancerian like me - he/she will also prob be good at moneysaving, although a bit loony and head in the clouds too! I'm a stickler for details but also creative - go figure! Still, you will have a young 'un ready to train in the MSE ways ;o) True take advantage whilst you still can!

dreams_R_free

Hi jo

Great news about the baby:beer: . I hope you are feeling really well and not tired out coping with your other little one.

This is a brilliant thread:T . I've just seen it for the first time and your savings total is an inspiration. I can't do mine for the whole of 2007 (can't remember much further back than last week:o ) so will make an effort to jot down all savings as I make them from now on. All the little victories soon add up but it's hard to remember them all after a while unless written down. I'd be lost without notebooks all over the house:rotfl:

Take care
Imp

jo_b_2

Saved £10.20 on BOGOFs
£8.60 using vouchers and gained 991 bonus clubcard points! :T

Received £10 Boots vouchers from www.valuedopinions.co.uk

Cashed in £5 of Nectar points towards my Dad's birthday present

£4.68 using a discount code at Waterstones plus pending Quidco cashback

£1 using a Play discount code. Managed to get a funny t-shirt from Play for £4 as a birthday present for my brother. Never know what to buy for him.