First Time Saver

HeadAboveWater

Hello!! I'm saving too (see sig!) Will be interesting to see how you get on!

To begin with I was saving for a house deposit, but not sure if that's the case any more. Maybe a round-the-world travel ticket. Fancy car. Holiday of a lifetime. Plastic surgery (:eek:) Who knows?!

I would recommend adding a signature for your posts coz it is nice to see the total increasing every so often!!

I'd also recommend joining the No Spend Day challenges each month. See here for February's challenge.

Good luck and keep us posted!!

Ieuan_2

Hey thanks for the comments headabovewater and katherina. With regards to saving money, I always look for 2 for 1 deals especially on saturday nights when my gf is around and we need some munch

The most important secret to my money saving is I dont drink ( I will go out maybe 3 times a year if i am lucky with about 35 quid a time) and I do not smoke.

Woow there before you think i am boring :L I use to drink socially after a game of rugby every saturday when playing amateur, but i have recently been offered a development contract with cardiff blues and pontypridd, so drink has completely gone out the window for me and the thing is i do not crave it atall :S

So thanks to my hobby it has helped me cut down on weekly costs

Keep posting guys let me know your secrets :P

samehat

Congrats on the development contract Ieuan!

Lol there's no need to excuse a lack of drinking; in my opinion along with cigarettes, alcohol is up there as the biggest waste of money there is (here I may be attacked). I gave up drinking at Easter in 2009 and haven't looked back. Thankfully I've never smoked. Yes that probably is the biggest money saver compared to many people in their 20s and 30s.

I also rarely buy clothes or other 'luxury' items. When I travel I do my best to get the best deal eg shop around for flights/trains/buses early and if I need accommodation I'll find a way to get it cheaper (rented an apartment in Paris last summer for £17 a night - slept 2 of us comfortably and my mum when she joined us for a weekend!)

ps welcome headabovewater!

TheSuperScrimperFamily

Hello everyone,

thanks a lot for all of your tips! And congratulations! You're doing great!
We are a family of 4 (2 young kids) and as I said before we are planning to buy our own house, as it is not so nice to live in a rental flat. We need our own love nest. So, as we want it to happen as soon as possible, we are very strict. And do not find it difficult or boring.
First of all, we do not drink alcohol, fizzy drinks (the naughty coke use to bust our budget big time but not anymore-we drink water now), we do not smoke and we do not eat out. We love home cooking (both heathy and cheap).
Second of all, we coupon a lot, we always look for offers. We have a chest freezer which we stuff with offers. We always try and buy things from the best shop we can (for example we bought "taken 2" dvd in Tesco and not Asda - same price, but in Tesco we get loyalty points too). We keep an eye out for cheap entertainment. And I am not saying we go to the park every weekend and play ball, but for instance we go to the cinema (cineworld) and buy junior tickets (the whole family goes to the cinema for less than £4).
Third of all, very sensible (switch off the lights in the room we leave, use power saving bulbs and so on).
As I am writing I realize it sounds soooo strict, but it doesn't feel like that at all, because we do not miss on anything. Apart from switching off the lights, my husband keeps complaining about
So all in all, we try to live a balanced life (always have healthy foods and snacks and keep fit - my husband goes to the gym and I train at home on an exercise bike), we go out every weekend but not spend all the budget on it.
P.S: In regards to clothing, we always buy it on offer!! For us and for the kids! Asda has some amazing offers!
I think if you keep an open mind when you go shopping and always bring your coupons you will save LOADS!
Cheers!

HeadAboveWater

Great to read everyone's wee tips and tricks! Maybe pick up a few extra ideas myself!!

Me and OH shop the reduced sections. When feeding a family of 5 it can be quite costly, but the range of foods we've got on offer is unreal! Trying fancy foods that we'd never otherwise get to try. Stuffing ourselves for pittance! Great

Spent over 10 years in debt and finally my money is my own. Much as I'm all for saving as much as I can, I also refuse to 'do without' or deprive myself, just for the sake of saving. Couple of examples: me and OH love our coffee shops. We'll go once at the weekend (with the occasional stretch to twice! . Much as we love cooking, we'll go out for dinner once every 6 weeks or so. And I treated myself to a new Xperia phone on Saturday. I had the money so why not?!

I don't live for work. I work to have a life

TheSuperScrimperFamily

I AGREE, HeadAboveWater! There a fantastic variety of food which is great to try when reduced, but honestly we would never buy full price! And of course you have to treat yourself to something nice, otherwise you give up! I know we do! And after we move into our own home we can relax! But until then, Super Scrimper Family cheers!

TheSuperScrimperFamily

Hello everyone,

how are you all going? Are the savings growing? We're still on track.
We had a very long and exciting weekend, we had a lot of family fun. We went out with the kids, we had a couple of cosy evenings where we went "late shopping", you know the usual, a few new DVDs for us (and of course 2 DVDs for the kids), ice cream and diet coke! Relaxation! So all in all, we had a fantastic time celebrating my husbands 4 off days and we have no regrets in regards to what we've spent.
And unfortunately we also had another unplanned bill, as the double buggy broke and we had to buy a new one. So, in the spirit of a relaxed and happy long weekend we decided to upgrade and buy a really nice double pram for the kids! Spring is in the air and we are getting ready for those looong walks in town! Great fun!
Have a great evening you all!

Ieuan_2

Hey guys sorry I have not replied in a while been working too hard LOL. I am glad to see people are using their nogging when it comes to reduced food, its a great way of saving quite a bit of money. Also I am glad to hear you had a good weekend @superscrimperfamily it is brilliant just to treat yourself once in a while, not only does it feel great but you can look forward to it again. I myself have had to dip into my savings so far my parents needed a lend of £80 and I took out £30 for petrol which only leaves me with £290 but I will be sure to put it back wen I get payed at the end of the month. Keep up the good work guys

[Deleted User]

Good luck everyone on your savings goals - just wondered if you have seen the "we're saving for a deposit" thread.

You might enjoy a read and/or to join the thread.

Here it is: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/789675

D9

Ieuan_2

Hey guys I hope everyone is still saving Sorry I have not been on in a while Its payday today though so I will update all of you later on when I know how much I can save