Great 'ways To Cut Back' Hunt

Squidgy

I always use washing POWDER. You only need half of what you probably think you do (it takes a while to re-educate yourself though). I buy tecos own brand washing powder, cheaper than the "proper" stuff, but smells the same and does the same job.

I also don't bother with conditioner (or vinegar) on me towels. Conditioner stops them absorbing as much water when you are drying yourself on them.

I very very very rarely iron (mostly cos I'm lazy. . .) but if you hang out your washing nicely (or put it on the airer well) and then fold it and put it away in the airing cupboard then you just don't need to. That's also my excuse for not emptying the airing cupboard regularly - the clothes are all getting a good press!!!

Lastly, always remember to shout at your hubby to shut the fridge door when he's standing there just drinking milk from the carton (saves on the washing up!), he won't do it again and it saves on the electricity!!!

Miroslav

1. Never vote in programs like Big Brother or Pop Idol etc...your vote won't count for much and it's a waste of money

2. Never phone premium lines unless a neccessity (Some Internet providers have expensive helplines) Try and find the answer online first

3. Block Premium numbers by calling your phone provider. That way (especially if you have kids) no-one can accidentally call Sexy Sue or Randy Rita 'accidentally'

4 . Put all your silver in a pot. I added my June amount up today. It totalled £31.40! That's not including all the 5ps, 2ps and 1ps!

nearlyrich

thebarefootchef wrote:

Stop wearing shoes!
It's not as daft as it sounds,
Feet are really comfortable and guaranteed not to leak.

Great tip, really moneysaving...but I can't see it catching on up here as it's too cold even to walk on the tiles in the kitchen for most of the year! I'm not sure about the guarantee either, what if you stand on something sharp?;)

purplestar1uk

Miroslav wrote:

3. Block Premium numbers by calling your phone provider. That way (especially if you have kids) no-one can accidentally call Sexy Sue or Randy Rita 'accidentally'

Another good thing about blocking premium rate numbers is that if your computer attempts to dial a premium rate dialler without you realising, it won't connect.

Hasn't happened to me, touch wood, but I've had 0906etc. numbers blocked on my landline for years. Better than willpower, particularly with regard to stupid and expensive calls that are still occasionally somewhat appealing momentarily!

Miroslav

purplestar1uk wrote:

Another good thing about blocking premium rate numbers is that if your computer attempts to dial a premium rate dialler without you realising, it won't connect.

Hasn't happened to me, touch wood, but I've had 0906etc. numbers blocked on my landline for years. Better than willpower, particularly with regard to stupid and expensive calls that are still occasionally somewhat appealing momentarily!

And of course, if you have to vote for Big Brother, text messaging works, but at the same time, no risk of those dialup numbers on the net you mention

Miroslav

Miroslav wrote:

1. Never vote in programs like Big Brother or Pop Idol etc...your vote won't count for much and it's a waste of money

2. Never phone premium lines unless a neccessity (Some Internet providers have expensive helplines) Try and find the answer online first

3. Block Premium numbers by calling your phone provider. That way (especially if you have kids) no-one can accidentally call Sexy Sue or Randy Rita 'accidentally'

4 . Put all your silver in a pot. I added my June amount up today. It totalled £31.40! That's not including all the 5ps, 2ps and 1ps!

Just to add, My July amount on top of my June amount is an extra £12.70 so far.

Started saving £1 coins too (those I haven't used when out) and I have £17 this month.

Christmas is coming :rotfl:

angelavdavis

My effort....

Use online shopping for regular supermarket shopping - you can bulk buy and save your back by not pushing heavy trolleys, do your housework while your shopping is being done by someone else (my spare time is precious), avoid the weekend rush, avoid paying the petrol, AND most importantly, it stops you making impulse buys because you only buy what you really need!!!

Review your existing internet service provider rate - I saved £10 a month by asking them if they could provide a cheaper rate for me.

Review the mainline telephone package you are on - new deals are coming out all the time. I reduced my phone outgoings by £15 a month by switching deals.

Use an online telephone over broadband provider if you phone abroad a lot.

Be smart about your current accounts and credit cards - I have three current accounts - one that my salary is paid into (which provides me with a 5.85% loan if I require it at the drop of a hat), one that I transfer £1000 a month into to attract a 0% £1000 overdraft, and the other that I move the same £1000 into to pay my mortgage (and also attract a further 0% overdraft - this time for £2000).

I then transfer my credit card balances to these overdrafts when the 0% deals finish, and move the money back again into my Egg card when my anniversary 0% deal comes up!

I spread the payments out over the year and so far, I have managed to finance two years of Further Education this way, paying 0% interest!!! No student loans!!!

Lisa_H

Fantastic thread! :T I've read all the way through it and someone suggested selling their unwanted CD's, videos etc on Amazon. I've got LOADS of CD's that have been a mistake, as I'm sure a lot of people have, so hoping to make some money on those! I'd be interested to hear of other similar sites too if anyone knows of any?

benedictadams

Buy a clothes line - far cheaper than using a tumble dryer and the clothes normally smell so much better.

Cancel getting bank statements through the post. You are more likely to check on internet banking on a regular basis (and its better for the environment)

Get rid of the contract mobile and switch to pay as you go (i'm sure lots of people will already know about o2 online tariff where you get 300 free texts a month as long as you top up by 10 a month)

why write letters to companies when you can email (added bonus is that you always have proof in your sent iems of the correspondance)

if you move into a new place and it don't have a smoke alarm see if your local fire service will give them out for free.

shops now seem to be selling last years christmas stock reallly cheap (seen at least three places doing it).

put the money that you would have spent on the lottey in a jar (if your numbers come up then get what you would have won out of the jar), by the end of the year the jar is more likely to be full then empty and could be used for getting drunk on new years eve, without it 'costing' you a penny

crana999

benedictadams wrote:

Cancel getting bank statements through the post. You are more likely to check on internet banking on a regular basis (and its better for the environment)

Not necessarily a good idea. You can usually only check your online statements going back a limited period, and you often need paper copies (not printouts) for verifying ID, for example.