Great 'ways To Cut Back' Hunt

Ladygrim

If youre in a union, see if they sell discounted high street vouchers. That way youre making an extra saving on your purchases - especially if you use them in the January sales!

acheekymunky

I have just read about something called Swapaskill.com in the Money section of the guardian, not sure if someone has posted about this before..the example given was a marketing manager who wanted to lose weight. He found a lady who runs this type of business and she offered his help for free in exchange for him to help with marketing her business!!

Another example was a 70 year old lady who wanted lapdancing sessions but was a great knitter...so now there is an expert knitter/lapdancer out there! each to their own hey!

Anyway im not sure if its been mentioned on this site but worth a look i think!!

acheekymunky

acheekymunky wrote:

I have just read about something called Swapaskill.com in the Money section of the guardian, not sure if someone has posted about this before..the example given was a marketing manager who wanted to lose weight. He found a lady who runs this type of business and she offered his help for free in exchange for him to help with marketing her business!!

Another example was a 70 year old lady who wanted lapdancing sessions but was a great knitter...so now there is an expert knitter/lapdancer out there! each to their own hey!

Anyway im not sure if its been mentioned on this site but worth a look i think!!

I think the site officially launches on 1st December

Mountain_Goat_2

Apologies if some (or all) of these have been mentioned before.

1. Re-use tea bags - I can get up to 6 mugs of tea from one bag (though admittedly the last 2 will be slightly weaker than I normally like).

2. Try tea/coffee without milk or sugar - you might be pleasantly surprised. I actually prefer my tea that way now, and never need to buy any milk or sugar.

3. Walk to work if you can. I do every day (a mile and a half each way), saves a fortune on petrol and parking, is great exercise (no need to spend money on gym membership then!) and is more pleasant than being stuck in rush hour traffic or standing on a crowded bus.

3. Give up smoking, or at least smoke roll-ups - a lot cheaper anyway, and will probably help you cut back (I've since quit, but there were so many times when I would previously have reached for my packet but couldn't be bothered to roll one).

4. Use cash when food shopping, and carry with you only what you want to spend. Take a calculator and every time you put something in your basket add it to the total. That way you'll know exactly how much you'll be paying before you get to the till, and if they make a mistake you'll notice straight away and be able to challenge it.
If you have a calculator on your mobile phone use that - people will assume you're texting rather than think "what a tight git".

5. When travelling by public transport check all the options - megabus.com, nationalexpress.com, thetrainline.com - and book in advance.

6. When flying, use public transport to get to the airport. National Express go to all the London airports direct from a lot of places, and you can sometimes get cheap rail tickets too. Saves a fortune on airport parking. And if you have to stay overnight, check http://www.sleepinginairports.net before forking out for a hotel.

7. Do you really need a landline? I live on my own and use my mobile for all calls, so don't have one.

8. Do you really need TV? If you can do without, get rid of it! The only downside is those semi-evolved thugs who call themselves TV Licensing :mad: won't believe you, but there's not much they can do if you're in the right.

That's all I've got at the moment, but I'll probably think of some more!

Let me also take the opportunity to say how wonderful I think this website is. Only a couple of months ago I was barely making ends meet, but now I'm looking forward to being totally debt free in a couple of years' time. And now all my friends keep asking me for money advice! Cheers! :beer:

ali-t

mountain goat with reference to your post, I got a reminder through to pay for my tv licence in Jan and there is a warning that will apply to everyone and mean you need a tv licence to watch tv on your phone or computer.

"it will be illegal to watch or record TV programmes at this address using equipment such as: colour or black and white televisions, video/DVD recorders, set-top boxes, computers or mobile phones. (This is set out in The Communications Act 2003)"

Scary reading huh? I had no idea they could fine you for not having a TV!

jennyjelly

We are committed moneysavers and as such don't spend money on dvds, cds, books etc, but we love films and music and I just wanted to pass on a link for a site I have been using successfully for some time now:

https://www.eswapnow.com

You list the stuff you don't want, and when it is requested you send it out at your own expense. Each item you send out gives you 1 credit, which you can then spend on items listed by other people, which they send to you at their expense (dvds and cds usually cost 55p 2nd class so that doesn't break the bank!).

It works brilliantly, it's free to join, there are no ridiculous ebay-style inflated postage costs because he who advertises the item pays the postage, and everybody seems to play the game properly. I've seen loads of films that I'd never have bought or rented, and then re-listed them and used the credits to request others. Obviously the more people who join the better the choice that will be on offer to all of us.

A couple of similar sites we also use are https://www.xiddi.com and https://www.swopex.com, and I know there are loads of others which we haven't yet discovered.

Rereading this post I realise I sound like a bit of a swapping evangelist, so I thought I'd just better clarify that I don't have any connection with any of them, except as a user!

DawnW

Join your local Freecycle group. This way you can get things you want, for nothing, and also get rid of what you no longer want. I got nearly £100 worth of nearly new shelving materials recently, completely free. The rule is, no money must change hands.

angelatgraceland

lizhog10 wrote:

In order to save money:
1. Never go to the supermarket without a shopping list
2. Never buy food simply because it looked nice, and you fancied it
3. Always make a list of meals for the week, and shop for that food
4. Always attempt to justify to yourself why you are buying something
5. Start the month with a slip of paper in your wallet with the amount of money you can spend that month and every time you spend any money, subtract that from the total so you can keep track of your spending.
6. Remember, however depressing this feeling, you have an ultimate goal - to be debt free

I know all these, and they do work, but why do I end up feeling so depressed. I cannot admit to anyone how much I owe, and certainly not my partner as I feel so disgusted with myself.

Excellent tips. however, you realy MUST face your finances, whatever state they are in. You must then discuss it with your partner and your friends so that they can be helpful. It makes life hard if people think you have money when you don't. When you face this and are completely open, you will find the big burden which is weighing you down will lift a lot and you will not feel so depressed. Stay on MSE whatever-it is the right track!

Reformed

Kimberley wrote:

Thats ok if you know how to do a meal with what left overs you have left :rolleyes:

Use http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/ and type in ingredients you have for ideas of what to do with them
:j

Sarahsaver

I have been grating a large bar of soap for washing clothes in, and it's worked a treat.