Spill the beans ... what's the most embarrassing MoneySaving thing you do?

Dilly

horleyflyer wrote: »

I water down bubble bath,shampoo,handwash and washing up liquid. ( just enough that no one notices !)
I check the freebie site every morning , use carrier bags to line bins, and spend my life going round turning off lights and appliances after the kids !

Glad to see I'm not the only one :beer:

jdp1970

conlan wrote: »

I always use supermarket comparison site for cheapest place to get household essentials and one christmas did all the major supermarkets and got a £320.00 shop for just over £150.00 took a few hours to do list then buy products but well worth the saving. I also check out the reduced sections in store and off subject of groceries i never have a bath at home and use the gym showers instead why use ny hot water when i can use theres.

But how much does your gym membership cost?

[Deleted User]

Either I'm fortunate enough not to be as skint as some of the people on here or maybe I'm just not thrifty enough but some of the things on here seem just downright pointless?

More trouble than they're worth to save a few pennies. Do most of you do these things just to save the money because you want to or because you're so skint you have to?

I must admit its a whole new world to me. My idea of saving is spending £700 instead of £900 a month on the shopping for the 3 of us (now I'll admit £900 is a bit out of hand!)

jdp1970

1. I re-use sandwich bags- if they're clean.
2. I make my own compost.
3. I remove buttons from clothing and use the material to make things (ideal for patchwork etc). My sewing machine has earnt itself ten-fold.
4. Boil a whole kettle to make your cuppa and put rest of the water in a flask to use for the rest of the day.
5. I re-use my hoover bags (bit messy emptying the darn things, but saves me a fortune)
6. I dont flush the loo every time - as some people on here have mentioned!
7. I unwrap pressies carefully and save the paper.
8. I pick up petals from the garden and use them for homemade pot pourri
9. I use old cooking oil to paint my fences.
10. I scour skips to see what I can take home!
11. I tear cotton wool in half and use sparingly.
12. I save all the sachets (sugar, salt, pepper etc) and keep them in a tin, i take them away when i go camping.
13. (this one sounds awful) but I only change my bedding once a month! Saves time and money!
14. I scrape out the leftover lipstick at the bottom of the stick, that you cant get to and mix all the leftover lipsticks together,to make a new lipstick!! Gives me another 6 months supply of lipstick!
15. I buy full cream milk and water it down - its like having semi-skimmed milk!

jdp1970

[quote=[Deleted User];47812819]Either I'm fortunate enough not to be as skint as some of the people on here or maybe I'm just not thrifty enough but some of the things on here seem just downright pointless?

More trouble than they're worth to save a few pennies. Do most of you do these things just to save the money because you want to or because you're so skint you have to?

I must admit its a whole new world to me. My idea of saving is spending £700 instead of £900 a month on the shopping for the 3 of us (now I'll admit £900 is a bit out of hand!)[/QUOTE]

What?! your shopping bill is higher than all my outgoings put together (incl fuel, food, insurances, bills. phone, broadband!!)

Justamum

[quote=[Deleted User];47812819]My idea of saving is spending £700 instead of £900 a month on the shopping for the 3 of us (now I'll admit £900 is a bit out of hand!)[/QUOTE]

You're obviously not as strapped for cash as most of us then if you can afford £900 on food for three of you.

It might seem pointless to you, but for some saving a few pennies can be very important - those saved pennies might be put towards some food that might not otherwise be affordable.

comping_cat

[quote=[Deleted User];47812819]Either I'm fortunate enough not to be as skint as some of the people on here or maybe I'm just not thrifty enough but some of the things on here seem just downright pointless?

More trouble than they're worth to save a few pennies. Do most of you do these things just to save the money because you want to or because you're so skint you have to?

I must admit its a whole new world to me. My idea of saving is spending £700 instead of £900 a month on the shopping for the 3 of us (now I'll admit £900 is a bit out of hand!)[/QUOTE]

You spend £700 A MONTH on food for 3 people :eek: Are you eating caviar and truffles everyday?

I spend about £180 for 3 of us, and we eat really well, including lots of fresh fruit (which is the most expensive part of my shopping) and although i try and buy as many yellowed stickered items as i can, sometimes they just arnt there. If this happens, i see what meat is on special offer and work our meals around that.

jdp1970

comping_cat wrote: »

You spend £700 A MONTH on food for 3 people :eek: Are you eating caviar and truffles everyday?

I spend about £180 for 3 of us, and we eat really well, including lots of fresh fruit (which is the most expensive part of my shopping) and although i try and buy as many yellowed stickered items as i can, sometimes they just arnt there. If this happens, i see what meat is on special offer and work our meals around that.

My shopping bill comes to £170-£180 a month too, for 3 of us.
I do the same as you.
Plus I use half the amount of meat in a dish (ie mince beef) and add oats to bulk it up. Healthy, less fattening and cheaper too!

jdp1970

[quote=[Deleted User];47812819]Either I'm fortunate enough not to be as skint as some of the people on here or maybe I'm just not thrifty enough but some of the things on here seem just downright pointless?

More trouble than they're worth to save a few pennies. Do most of you do these things just to save the money because you want to or because you're so skint you have to?

I must admit its a whole new world to me. My idea of saving is spending £700 instead of £900 a month on the shopping for the 3 of us (now I'll admit £900 is a bit out of hand!)[/QUOTE]

My total outgoings only come to £850 month and that includes absolutely everything!! I own a 3 bed house, run a car and own a trailer tent! Thats the point!

oldtractor

jdp1970 wrote: »

1. I re-use sandwich bags- if they're clean.
2. I make my own compost.
3. I remove buttons from clothing and use the material to make things (ideal for patchwork etc). My sewing machine has earnt itself ten-fold.
4. Boil a whole kettle to make your cuppa and put rest of the water in a flask to use for the rest of the day.
5. I re-use my hoover bags (bit messy emptying the darn things, but saves me a fortune)
6. I dont flush the loo every time - as some people on here have mentioned!
7. I unwrap pressies carefully and save the paper.
8. I pick up petals from the garden and use them for homemade pot pourri
9. I use old cooking oil to paint my fences.
10. I scour skips to see what I can take home!
11. I tear cotton wool in half and use sparingly.
12. I save all the sachets (sugar, salt, pepper etc) and keep them in a tin, i take them away when i go camping.
13. (this one sounds awful) but I only change my bedding once a month! Saves time and money!
14. I scrape out the leftover lipstick at the bottom of the stick, that you cant get to and mix all the leftover lipsticks together,to make a new lipstick!! Gives me another 6 months supply of lipstick!
15. I buy full cream milk and water it down - its like having semi-skimmed milk!

I think this is excellent. re the bedding I have gone from weekly to fortnightly. THB am going to leave it longer. We are not ill and it doesnt smell so why wash a the bedding so frequently? I will try washing it once a month from now on.