Great 'ways To Cut Back' Hunt

savingqueen

wisewoman wrote:

Look after your shoes...polish them, replace laces, and take them on a jaunt to the cobblers for new heels every so often.

and check out small independent cobblers rather than the chains - I pay about half the cost of repairs this way

same goes for watch batteries and straps and similar

savingqueen

Buy baby and children's clothes, toys, books, equipment etc from NCT Nearly New Sales - advertised in local papers and on website nctpregnancyandbabycare.com. save a fortune, proceeds go to charity and they usually have homemade cakes and teas for cheap prices!

If you're pregnant use your maternity certificate you get from midwife (can't remember proper name) to full use. Even if you don't need prescriptions during pregnancy, it lasts for a year after so if you need hayfever tablets for example, get a couple of free prescriptions in. Same goes for dental checkups and treatment.

savingqueen

Habit I'm trying to break - don't leave PC on to go and do bits and pieces and then come back later. You can forget about it and have it on for hours wasting leccy. Same for TV.

Cheap liquid handwash and shower gels- buy an economy size bottle of cheap bubble bath and then decant it into dispensers. Works out cheaper and just as good.

Before Xmas, your birthday, partner/kids' birthdays etc think about what you'd really like for pressies from other people. Then if someone asks you have ideas ready rather than having to think of something that you might not really want at the last minute. If they don't ask....hint!

Recycle unwanted gifts or see if you can swap it/get a credit note from the shop.

savingqueen

phone smaller companies after office hours and there's often an answerphone where you can leave your number and if you're lucky someone will call you back the next day and save your phone bill!

lazy&indebt

Don't know if anyone else knew this but there are certain comapnies (e.g. a well known biscuit brand I used to work for) who sell their products to supermarkets in cheap packaging, i.e. 'smart price' chocolate biscuits are exactly the same biscuit as the more expensive brand!
To follow on from this, always try supermarkets own brands when it comes to food, Smart price have some really tasty stuff: garlic bread, fruit juice, biscuits, angel delight, super noodles (just 8p!), yoghurts, bacon etc etc

bluedog

Buy stardrops and some microfibre cloths for virtually all your household cleaning. It is roughly between 55-80p a bottle, is very economical and microfibre cloths can be washed and re-used easily.

Sorry if this is already posted but the search said not found.

newleaf

savingqueen wrote:

1) recycle old potatoes in a pot, they come out just like new
probably being a bit dim...but don't understand this one!

If you have potatoes that are sprouting you can plant them (in a nice deep, roomy plantpot of compost) and grow yourself a whole new sackload,- and there's nothing as good as a really fresh home grown spud. We have stopped buying seed potatoes now because we discovered we got better results from planting ordinary spuds that had started sprouting at the back of the cupboard!

Batgirl

You may all already know this but I have only just realised...... Huge bottles of bleach are obviously cheaper than the little turned up neck ones you use to go around the loo edge, and I have only just realised that you can refil the turned up little bottles. So now I just keep the upturned one and refil it wiht a cheaper huge bottle.

JollyNolly

Is anyone here checking how many miles they can get out of a tank of petrol? I tend to be a fairly impatient driver, so I don't think I necessarily get the best mileage. However, I'm trying to reform! I've been using https://www.petrolprices.com for a while to find the cheapest petrol in my area. I now intend to reform my driving - especially on motorways - to see how many miles I can get out of £25 worth of petrol. I reckon that if I get out of the habit of driving at 85 on motorways, and try to stick to 60-ish, I should be able to save quite a bit. I am currently spending something like £160 a month on fuel, so there's plenty of scope for saving. Anyone else want to share their best mileage figures?

Batgirl

JollyNolly wrote:

Is anyone here checking how many miles they can get out of a tank of petrol? I tend to be a fairly impatient driver, so I don't think I necessarily get the best mileage. However, I'm trying to reform! I've been using https://www.petrolprices.com for a while to find the cheapest petrol in my area. I now intend to reform my driving - especially on motorways - to see how many miles I can get out of £25 worth of petrol. I reckon that if I get out of the habit of driving at 85 on motorways, and try to stick to 60-ish, I should be able to save quite a bit. I am currently spending something like £160 a month on fuel, so there's plenty of scope for saving. Anyone else want to share their best mileage figures?

Sounds good to me, I just must remember to start the milometer thing again so it can record the miles, problem is I am so forgetful!!!!!!!!