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101 Ways I Personally Save Money - From a Mans Perspective
Legacy_user
Posts: 0 Newbie
Now bare with me everyone. I'm sure you will of heard of many of these money saving tips already but I'm also hoping there's many here you haven't. I'm going to apply ones that I personally use or have in the past. Although I say it's from a mans perspective this is totally for the girls too! It's all team effort here always 
I just mean that it's come from a guys point of view. Hope that makes sense. So here we go then....
1. Stop shampooing your hair. The first few weeks where a bit...hmm but it has been 3 months since I stopped doing it and my hair has never been better. (works for women too from what I have seen).
2. If you shop online at ASDA then search "smartprice" and arrange by price. You will find many of the things you buy branded are available smart price. Many of these taste perfectly fine to us. Just try them and see what you think.
3. Another shopping online trick. IF you arrange by cheapest first don't use this as a guide alone. Underneath you will also see the cost per 100g or per 1kg etc. This is a better measure of value!
4. If you drink juice buy store brand or no frills and then use 50% water and 50% juice. Even better if you have your own fruit trees like we do in autumn store up on fresh juice.
5. Herbs are easy enough to grow. When you buy groceries do yourself a favor... spend a little extra and buy the growing pot and plant it as soon as you get home! or even better buy seeds and throw them on top of some soil. Our herbery makes the world of difference to our simple paleolithic style meals.
6. Fruit trees and berries need next to no help. Get some seeds and throw them all over your back garden and in a few years you will have LBS and LBS of fresh fruits! and the kids can gather them for fun.
7. ASDA smart price bacon.. real cheap and I don't' think it has all the nitrates and crap in it as it does not shrink at all when cooking!
8. Have water with porridge instead of milk.
9. If you usually have semi skimmed or skimmed milk... whole milk costs the same. When you buy it water it down by a third to get semi skimmed or half for skimmed. Huge savings if you drink a lot of milk in your family every week. Took my husband months to find out I was doing this
10. I use 1 tablespoon of washing up powder to wash clothes. NEVER EVER just pour it in!
11. One tablespoon of softener is sufficient as well.
12. One teaspoon of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) in the washing machine.
13. In the morning I only brush my teeth with water. After this I eat a few mint leaves from my herbery to freshen my breath. Flossing is most important to anything else!
13. Clean your floss and use it to tie up plants in the garden.
14. Put hanging baskets above other plants. When you water them and fertilize them it will drip down onto the plants below.
15. We cycle everything under 10 miles. We don't use a car and very rarely use busses or trains.
16. We use Megabus to travel. Prices are cheap though service can be a bit crap.
17. We book trains AGES in advance.
18. We walk anywhere (or cycle) if it's under 5 miles.
19. Get rid of your gym membership. It's so expensive. Try doing squats, lunges, push ups, pull ups, sit ups and planks at home. Of course the best exercise EVER is to walk a lot! Everywhere as much as you can!
20. Run for a sport. It's the best thing ever and you get to see so much scenery.
21. Sports drinks... make your own healthy electrolyte drink. Half a lime juiced, an orange juiced, 1 teaspoon honey, pinch of salt in a normal sports water bottle... top up with water and shake it well.
22. Scrap sports bars etc if I needed added energy I usually grab a banana.
23.Buy all matching socks! Never buy different ones as you end up with odd socks and what happens then? the other goes in the bin and 2 months later the initial one missing turns up! Keep all socks the same and you wont have that problem ever again!
24. When underwear runs out (especially mens not womens silk stuff lol). Cut it into a cloth and use it for your dishes. When it becomes dirty then pop it in the washing machine and reuse it!
25. SCOURS! how many times do we have to replace these things to scrub the crap out the oven tray?! It gets saturated in fat and you can't do anything with it but throw and use another... WHAT A WASTE. We switched to coconut husk scraper. Look on Ebay or Amazon or make your own. Ours has been scrubbing our oven tray 4-7 times a week for the last year! All for £3.50 and it's only half worn down!
26. We have a spray bottle which has quarter distilled vinegar and the rest water with a few drops of lemon essential oil in it. We use this to clean everything in the house and it costs us pennies compared with other cleaners... also uses much less space!
27. Take your footwear off at your front door! This gives your carpets a much longer life but also gives your trainers or shoes much longer life. The padding in shoes wears right down at about 500 miles and makes you more prone to injury with continued use. We walk around our houses more than we think. Also walking barefoot around the home as much as possible will make our feet stronger!
28. Dry clothes on a maiden and if it's ever over 12oC get your clothes outside they will dry a little. If it's windy even better! They will dry faster!
29. Go foraging with your kids! Any time of year there's so many things you can easily and safely forage to use in your salads. We do this a lot. Check out a value pocket book called FOOD FOR FREE on Amazon. I assure you the kids will enjoy this as much as you will. Autumn coming up :P lots of berries and fruits!
30. Make your own alcohol. IT's a bit pricey to get your initial apparatus but if you keep using it you will soon make your money back. I was worried this would be a flop but have made wines and beer and they have been great! Even better forage your own dandelions or elderflowers to make wine then all you need is sugar!
31. Stop switching lights on as instinct. Chance are if you have windows in your bathroom and it's daylight and you're only using the loo you wont need the light for that visit! It takes up a lot to switch it on to then switch it off again when you are only in there for a minute.
32. Don't' use rolls and rolls of toilet paper. Use one then take another if you need another after using the first piece.
33. Bring 6 pieces of toilet paper back from work each day :P ( we didn't do this long lol)
34. Use SMART PRICE! Toilet roll is toilet roll. You poo on it and flush it down the loo! If you want something soft after a poo go and cuddle a blanket infront of the TV or something!
35. Get rid of your TV license! Do not watch TV anymore. Subscribe to Netflix or Amazon Prime. I can't imagine how much this has saved me! I haven't had TV now for 8 years! That's £1160 so far (at current rate of £145.50 per year). On top I don't watch all those stupid commercials that brainwash us into want want want wanting everything! No thank you.
36. Try to charge your phone in the evening BEFORE going bed then you are more likely to switch it off at the wall when you do go bed and you will save on electric keeping it on standby.
37. If you use your mobile for an alarm check if it works switched off. If so then turn it off at night when asleep! Save loads of battery!
38. Charge your phone everyday at work lol.
39. Charge your phone at public places if your at any that supply plug sockets.
40. When shopping if the person in front hasn't got a store loyalty card offer to use yours. This is a great way of getting LOADS of points on your card from people who have probably spent a fortune on branded items! We shock the hell out of them sometimes we forget our card and we ask the person behind if they would like our points! A nice bit of charity
41. If you cycle make sure your bike is in a shed, garage or under a bike cover. You have to oil your chain many more times when you leave it out in the rain.
42. We time ourselves when in the shower. Also we turn the shower off while soaping up.
43. Keep the spare bits from candles and make new ones with them. Melt some wax then stick some string in while it's wet and pull it out. Then as the wick sets put it back in the melted wax upright til it starts to set in place. There you go your own free candle.
44. Get rid of your normal kettle they use so much energy! We use a travel kettle. It only does 2 cups at a time but costs a fraction of the price!
45. When you use the kettle refill it right after. When you next come to it the water will be at room temperature and will heat up quicker.
46. When you 'think' you have finished the toothpaste run some warm water over the tube and more will come!
47. Cut open the toothpaste tube with scissors and you will be able to scrape out 2-4 more lots of paste.
48. I use my PC for music and if I'm doing other things I now switch my screen off to save on electricity use.
49. If you are not in debt never leave excess cash in your standard account. Once you have been paid again anything that was in the account transfer to an ISA or something that will bring in a little interest. Otherwise you are throwing away free money. Even if it's not a lot!
50.Try to do your food shopping a day later than the previous week. So if you go shopping Monday then next week go Tuesday and the week after go Wednesday.
51. Buy a planner for your wall. Buy some golden and silver stickers. See how long you can go before spending on stuff that aren't bills. I use a sticker every day I don't spend and I'm always trying to beat my personal best. The longest I have gone without spending a penny so far is 34 days and that was cus I was so stubborn and wanted to see lots of stickers on that planner! Another way to do this is to put a star on a date you have to reach. You must then be able to put a star on every day until that future date. If you get to it then you get a small treat. This treat MUST cost much less than you would of spent if not doing this idea or it's pointless! lol. My treat is sometimes a 15p tin of rice pudding!
52. Never buy envelopes. We get enough crap mail through our doors. Reuse their return envelopes. Just marker pen through the address and write your own on it. This is better for our environment too!
53. We check bulk meats price per kg not price alone. Then we will cook a beef skillet and 2 pork shoulders and a meat loaf. We let it cool and slice into pieces and cover in the fridge. This will be used for salads and snacks for the next 4 days. This also saves on using the oven all the time.
54. We have a 3 tier pan set for cooking veges on one hob.
55. Always use the correct size hob for the pan otherwise you waste energy.
56. Stop going to expensive bars. If you want a drink many Weatherspoons these days are a terrific place to chill and have a drink. You can actually hear each other talk too as they do not play music.
57. Following 56... it's also pretty good value for meals out.
58. Cook all your own meals from scratch. Keep things really basic as it's healthy for you too. A piece of meat and some vegetables and rice (depending on your diet). Round up with a piece of fruit rather than cake.
59. Get cuttings of plants and flowers from friends. Cover your garden in beautiful plants. When they are flowering go and make a lovely arrangement there and then based on how you feel and pop in a vase for your home. Stop buying fresh flowers! This is so much more fun.
60. Stop relying (all the time) on Amazon. I have bought many things lately and found the EXACT same thing cheaper in store a few days later.
61. Start using cash again. We have a 'living pot' we put in X amount of money into this pot every single month on pay day. This is for odds and sods that aren't really bills and for fun things we want to do. Only we write everything down we buy and ledger what goes in and out. By doing this we can see if we buy too much crap of one thing to reduce it the next month if we need to.
62. If you spend a fortune on rent when you don't need such a big place then move. If you're not a big family and you need a lot of space then get rid of all your junk! When looking at rent look for apartments that include bills in their prices.
63. When starting out on the property market go cheap... REALLY cheap. OK so a single couple may love the idea of the 3 bed house at £250,000 but you do much better starting off with a small apartment at £80,000. You can pay small amounts each month knowing if you have a bad month your house is safe. Banks don't like it but you can always call if you have excess money to get the mortgage paid off quicker! Just think... then you will have an £80,000 apartment owned and can save loads for second deposit. Rent out the apartment and then take on your bigger mortgage
64. Do not buy newspapers. Firstly they are so depressing. If you need to check out news look online. Even better look on your phone during break at work and then charge your phone at work for the battery lost.
65. Markets may be cheaper sometimes but be careful. Get to know the better ones as I have spent less on food there and it's rotten the next day.
66. Use a pea size amount of toothpaste. You really don't need a strip the length of the brush it will not make them any cleaner and you will use your paste up 4 times quicker than you need to.
67. When getting hot water put a big pan under the tap while it's heating up. Keep this and then use it for watering plants or cleaning with.
68. If you see books you want to get check on Amazon before buying. Never be worried about buying the 1p copy with £2.80 P&P I have done this with over 100 books and they have all been fantastic!
69. We struggle to let go of books as we use for reference and read again. If you have books you really don't need anymore check Amazon out as you get coupons for handing them in many books. It's free delivery to them as well. I did this about 6 months ago. I had spent more on the books themselves but I really didn't need the ones I got rid of anymore and got back over £100
70. Holidays. You don't need to go the other end of the world to have a good holiday. https://www.holidaydiscountcentre.co.uk best thing I found! We got 3 weeks in Turkey, flights, in meals, luggage, reserved seating, hotel 4star, transfers all for £550 May 2015! That's not each by the way that's full price for 2 They also let you pay monthly with no interest. This makes it feel much more manageable. Spread over 10-12 months it's not a lot.
71. If you want to do your GCSEs for the first time or again... don't go with home learning providers. Many are not very good and cost a small fortune at about £300-£400 each. Excluding exams. Buy the AQA student books, teachers books and revision guides on amazon all for under £20-£30 and then look online for testing centres.
72. When haggling just simply say "is that the best you can do?". Then say NOTHING. Be absolutely silent. See what they say then. Works 90% of the time for us. Even worked yesterday in Debenhams. ( I know Debenhams isn't cheap but we had a voucher from our wedding a few months ago).
73. Buy people second hand gifts for Christmas and Birthdays. I'm sorry but a PS3 is a PS3 if it works! Spend £50 on it rather than £200 and stop from going into debt.
74. We grow plants from seed for people through the year and give to those we know appreciate them as gifts.
75. going on from making own wine and beer. These make great gifts too. Home make wine and beer and cost pennies really!
76. at Christmas buy a rooted smallish real tree. After Xmas put it outside in the garden still in it's pot. Treat it well. Fro a while it may lose all green and look like it's dying but give it chance. Ours is now on the way to full recovery and looks like we will be reusing it this year for Xmas
77. Most you girls will know of this but guys might not. https://www.wahanda.com we all have so much stress in our lives these days and massage and therapies can be expensive. This place is home to thousands of heavily discounted therapies! [ATTENTION MEN] Just because the pictures are of girls doesn't mean men can't buy them too! we always buy the girls ones and have never had an issue with redeeming and enjoying ourselves to the max! The men's ones are the same and usually cost more for nothing! Get over yourself and enjoy it!
78. GUYS - again... those of you who dye your hair don't buy mens hair dye. It costs loads more and you get less stuff! Stop being so vain! Buy the womens at cheaper price, halve the ingredients in each and mix in separate bottle. Use it and store the other half for your next treatments. It's all the same ingredients. It's just a marketing technique to exploit men who don't want to be seen wandering about with a box of dye with a womans face on it!
79. Swap parties. We have all heard of these but they can be so much more fun than you think. Call your friends and tell them you are having a swap party. Tell them to go through their things and bring any of these;
• Toiletries they have but will never use.. even if they have used some of it already.
• Clothes that have sat there too long used or not.
• Books no longer wanted
• Cans of food they didn't like
• Childrens toys (bring the kids too as they are the ones swapping these)
• Console games
• DVDs
Then have a massive swap party. This is so much fun. Get each person to bring some alcohol too
80. When it's cold wear a bloody jumper! Lol I'm sorry but it's funny. Remember being a kid and this is what your gran used to say to you? It's true though! but now people turn the heat up even more. Not good for environment or our wallet/purses.
81. Wall cavity and loft insulation is free from some places now. Just look on Google. We had ours done free it saved us a fair bit on energy and for once actually kept the heat in!
82. Get some foil and put a strip behind your radiator. This reflects from it back into the room instead of heating up the bricks and plaster board behind it! This works better than you would expect and its VERY cheap to sort it!
83.Put draught excluders behind the doors and make an effort to put it back when you have left and returned to the room.
84. Close your curtains as soon as you come home in winter to keep the cold out as much as possible.
85. a. When you boil eggs keep the water and use it to water plants (once it's cooled). b. heat egg pan until it's properly boiling and then turn off the heat so they cook themselves in the hot water. You will have to leave them slightly longer though.
86. If your having a spontaneous hiking adventure at a park or country park etc make sure you make your own packed lunches and a flask of hot drink to take with you. Gone are the days when you can get a cuppa for 50p even though that's still all they are worth! The last time we went to a country park unprepared a sandwich and drink set us back £15 for just 2 people! I'd rather have done a flask for about 5p and made a sandwich each for about £1.
87. Never go to a convenience store. The prices are always ridiculously high this makes me think that it's not convenient. Walk a bit longer and get the item you needed from an Aldi, supermarket or market etc. If you need it that badly you will make the effort to go get it. If not then it can wait till the next shop.
89. Don't make the mistake of thinking that convenience is worth it as it's only 16p more or it's only 5p more. If milk is 16p more at a corner shop and you go every few days that's an average of £20 a year or £900 a working lifetime using the good ole demotivator! WOW that's just milk alone. We do this on so many items! Just walk or cycle a bit further and get the cheaper stuff from the cheaper place!
90. If your freezer is getting a bit empty fill it with some scrunched up newspaper. This will reduce the amount of energy required to keep it cold.
91. Medicine balls... you can make your own if you fill a ball with sand. Works just as well but doesn't cost £20-£30
92. Foot moisturizer I use KTC coconut oil it's about £2.20 in supermarkets for 500ml spreads A LOT and feels terrific.
93. Stop defrosting stuff in the microwave. Just take it out the day before. We even defrost some things in cool water in the sink.
94. contact your internet provider at the end of contract to tell them you are leaving. Let them beg you back with a good offer. We got £72 off the next year with Virgin Media and all we have is fibre optic basic broadband! We have no phone, line rental, tv, mobiles etc.
95. Read terms and conditions carefully. We have lost so much money not reading things properly thinking we could come out of things with 1 months notice etc. Also read them carefully when your are unhappy with a service. There may be a clause in there that they are in breach of. If this is the case then quote them the terms and ask for refunds, termination of service or reductions if possible.
96. Give all your odd socks in a the local homeless shelter. They might be odd but with many donations some will be similar and at least then they will have nice clean socks to wear. Trust me Athletes foot is no fun! Just please wash them first!
97. Eat the bananas and pears first before the apples and such. Otherwise you will have lots of gone off wasted fruit. If you buy bananas separate then buy half dark green and the rest yellow with a little green on the tip and the bottom. This means it's ALMOST ripe.
98. Never buy avocado unless you intend on checking it daily! otherwise it's a complete waste of money.... Not ready, not ready, not ready, EAT ME NOW!, ..... too late. grrr Though they are yummly
99. Act like a child. Go on your own or with the kids and go and roll about in dirt! Kids like trawling through rivers and woods and things. Go be childish with them. Don't just watch them do it. Get into it yourself too. Make a den with them in the woods. You can use hazel for this. Hazel is very easy to find and grows like crazy so it's environmentally ok to do. Make a tinkers tent with the sticks you break off. They are very bendy and versatile.
100. Write the longest gratitude list you could ever do. Even silly things like I'm thankful for the air I breath. I'm thankful for the fruit in my bowl. The longer the list the better. Leave space to add to it too. Keep it safe and when you are feeling upset or anything read through the list. This works for saving money as it reminds me of all the things I already have. Whether they cost money or not. More importantly it reminds me of the things that cost absolutely nothing that make me happy. Reminding me money isn't that important overall!
101. OK this is the most important one. Let's get frank guys... the sound of saving money is AWFUL! No one likes the sound of it at all. It is fun though as long as you don't overload yourself. Implement new ideas and small ones each day or each week. Keep doing them and let them become habit. Some of you will think some of these are over the top. But seriously the only difference I feel in my life is that I have a little extra money now. The quality of my life has gotten better not worse because I appreciate the simple things in life. I can use the extra money towards a deposit on an apartment or towards life experiences and self investment like continuing learning throughout my life. Just go with it and enjoy every moment,. There's money to be saved in absolutely everything and still having the chance to live life to the absolute max! Think experience, knowledge, and love rather than Xbox, gold necklace, gucci tops. These are the things that will really make you happy with your life as you get older and don't have much time left. All the experiences, love, joy and things you have learnt that will stick with you until you close your eyes for the final time.
So there we have it. I have tried to include some that people haven't heard before. I am ALWAYS on the look out for new ideas online or thinking of them myself! It's harder online as the same ones keep coming up. They are good ones though. If you have any unique ways not commonly heard before let us know. I'll post anymore as I remember them or think of them. Phew... right time for a cuppa with my travel kettle and reused teabag
I just mean that it's come from a guys point of view. Hope that makes sense. So here we go then....1. Stop shampooing your hair. The first few weeks where a bit...hmm but it has been 3 months since I stopped doing it and my hair has never been better. (works for women too from what I have seen).
2. If you shop online at ASDA then search "smartprice" and arrange by price. You will find many of the things you buy branded are available smart price. Many of these taste perfectly fine to us. Just try them and see what you think.
3. Another shopping online trick. IF you arrange by cheapest first don't use this as a guide alone. Underneath you will also see the cost per 100g or per 1kg etc. This is a better measure of value!
4. If you drink juice buy store brand or no frills and then use 50% water and 50% juice. Even better if you have your own fruit trees like we do in autumn store up on fresh juice.
5. Herbs are easy enough to grow. When you buy groceries do yourself a favor... spend a little extra and buy the growing pot and plant it as soon as you get home! or even better buy seeds and throw them on top of some soil. Our herbery makes the world of difference to our simple paleolithic style meals.
6. Fruit trees and berries need next to no help. Get some seeds and throw them all over your back garden and in a few years you will have LBS and LBS of fresh fruits! and the kids can gather them for fun.
7. ASDA smart price bacon.. real cheap and I don't' think it has all the nitrates and crap in it as it does not shrink at all when cooking!
8. Have water with porridge instead of milk.
9. If you usually have semi skimmed or skimmed milk... whole milk costs the same. When you buy it water it down by a third to get semi skimmed or half for skimmed. Huge savings if you drink a lot of milk in your family every week. Took my husband months to find out I was doing this
10. I use 1 tablespoon of washing up powder to wash clothes. NEVER EVER just pour it in!
11. One tablespoon of softener is sufficient as well.
12. One teaspoon of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) in the washing machine.
13. In the morning I only brush my teeth with water. After this I eat a few mint leaves from my herbery to freshen my breath. Flossing is most important to anything else!
13. Clean your floss and use it to tie up plants in the garden.
14. Put hanging baskets above other plants. When you water them and fertilize them it will drip down onto the plants below.
15. We cycle everything under 10 miles. We don't use a car and very rarely use busses or trains.
16. We use Megabus to travel. Prices are cheap though service can be a bit crap.
17. We book trains AGES in advance.
18. We walk anywhere (or cycle) if it's under 5 miles.
19. Get rid of your gym membership. It's so expensive. Try doing squats, lunges, push ups, pull ups, sit ups and planks at home. Of course the best exercise EVER is to walk a lot! Everywhere as much as you can!
20. Run for a sport. It's the best thing ever and you get to see so much scenery.
21. Sports drinks... make your own healthy electrolyte drink. Half a lime juiced, an orange juiced, 1 teaspoon honey, pinch of salt in a normal sports water bottle... top up with water and shake it well.
22. Scrap sports bars etc if I needed added energy I usually grab a banana.
23.Buy all matching socks! Never buy different ones as you end up with odd socks and what happens then? the other goes in the bin and 2 months later the initial one missing turns up! Keep all socks the same and you wont have that problem ever again!
24. When underwear runs out (especially mens not womens silk stuff lol). Cut it into a cloth and use it for your dishes. When it becomes dirty then pop it in the washing machine and reuse it!
25. SCOURS! how many times do we have to replace these things to scrub the crap out the oven tray?! It gets saturated in fat and you can't do anything with it but throw and use another... WHAT A WASTE. We switched to coconut husk scraper. Look on Ebay or Amazon or make your own. Ours has been scrubbing our oven tray 4-7 times a week for the last year! All for £3.50 and it's only half worn down!
26. We have a spray bottle which has quarter distilled vinegar and the rest water with a few drops of lemon essential oil in it. We use this to clean everything in the house and it costs us pennies compared with other cleaners... also uses much less space!
27. Take your footwear off at your front door! This gives your carpets a much longer life but also gives your trainers or shoes much longer life. The padding in shoes wears right down at about 500 miles and makes you more prone to injury with continued use. We walk around our houses more than we think. Also walking barefoot around the home as much as possible will make our feet stronger!
28. Dry clothes on a maiden and if it's ever over 12oC get your clothes outside they will dry a little. If it's windy even better! They will dry faster!
29. Go foraging with your kids! Any time of year there's so many things you can easily and safely forage to use in your salads. We do this a lot. Check out a value pocket book called FOOD FOR FREE on Amazon. I assure you the kids will enjoy this as much as you will. Autumn coming up :P lots of berries and fruits!
30. Make your own alcohol. IT's a bit pricey to get your initial apparatus but if you keep using it you will soon make your money back. I was worried this would be a flop but have made wines and beer and they have been great! Even better forage your own dandelions or elderflowers to make wine then all you need is sugar!
31. Stop switching lights on as instinct. Chance are if you have windows in your bathroom and it's daylight and you're only using the loo you wont need the light for that visit! It takes up a lot to switch it on to then switch it off again when you are only in there for a minute.
32. Don't' use rolls and rolls of toilet paper. Use one then take another if you need another after using the first piece.
33. Bring 6 pieces of toilet paper back from work each day :P ( we didn't do this long lol)
34. Use SMART PRICE! Toilet roll is toilet roll. You poo on it and flush it down the loo! If you want something soft after a poo go and cuddle a blanket infront of the TV or something!
35. Get rid of your TV license! Do not watch TV anymore. Subscribe to Netflix or Amazon Prime. I can't imagine how much this has saved me! I haven't had TV now for 8 years! That's £1160 so far (at current rate of £145.50 per year). On top I don't watch all those stupid commercials that brainwash us into want want want wanting everything! No thank you.
36. Try to charge your phone in the evening BEFORE going bed then you are more likely to switch it off at the wall when you do go bed and you will save on electric keeping it on standby.
37. If you use your mobile for an alarm check if it works switched off. If so then turn it off at night when asleep! Save loads of battery!
38. Charge your phone everyday at work lol.
39. Charge your phone at public places if your at any that supply plug sockets.
40. When shopping if the person in front hasn't got a store loyalty card offer to use yours. This is a great way of getting LOADS of points on your card from people who have probably spent a fortune on branded items! We shock the hell out of them sometimes we forget our card and we ask the person behind if they would like our points! A nice bit of charity
41. If you cycle make sure your bike is in a shed, garage or under a bike cover. You have to oil your chain many more times when you leave it out in the rain.
42. We time ourselves when in the shower. Also we turn the shower off while soaping up.
43. Keep the spare bits from candles and make new ones with them. Melt some wax then stick some string in while it's wet and pull it out. Then as the wick sets put it back in the melted wax upright til it starts to set in place. There you go your own free candle.
44. Get rid of your normal kettle they use so much energy! We use a travel kettle. It only does 2 cups at a time but costs a fraction of the price!
45. When you use the kettle refill it right after. When you next come to it the water will be at room temperature and will heat up quicker.
46. When you 'think' you have finished the toothpaste run some warm water over the tube and more will come!
47. Cut open the toothpaste tube with scissors and you will be able to scrape out 2-4 more lots of paste.
48. I use my PC for music and if I'm doing other things I now switch my screen off to save on electricity use.
49. If you are not in debt never leave excess cash in your standard account. Once you have been paid again anything that was in the account transfer to an ISA or something that will bring in a little interest. Otherwise you are throwing away free money. Even if it's not a lot!
50.Try to do your food shopping a day later than the previous week. So if you go shopping Monday then next week go Tuesday and the week after go Wednesday.
51. Buy a planner for your wall. Buy some golden and silver stickers. See how long you can go before spending on stuff that aren't bills. I use a sticker every day I don't spend and I'm always trying to beat my personal best. The longest I have gone without spending a penny so far is 34 days and that was cus I was so stubborn and wanted to see lots of stickers on that planner! Another way to do this is to put a star on a date you have to reach. You must then be able to put a star on every day until that future date. If you get to it then you get a small treat. This treat MUST cost much less than you would of spent if not doing this idea or it's pointless! lol. My treat is sometimes a 15p tin of rice pudding!
52. Never buy envelopes. We get enough crap mail through our doors. Reuse their return envelopes. Just marker pen through the address and write your own on it. This is better for our environment too!
53. We check bulk meats price per kg not price alone. Then we will cook a beef skillet and 2 pork shoulders and a meat loaf. We let it cool and slice into pieces and cover in the fridge. This will be used for salads and snacks for the next 4 days. This also saves on using the oven all the time.
54. We have a 3 tier pan set for cooking veges on one hob.
55. Always use the correct size hob for the pan otherwise you waste energy.
56. Stop going to expensive bars. If you want a drink many Weatherspoons these days are a terrific place to chill and have a drink. You can actually hear each other talk too as they do not play music.
57. Following 56... it's also pretty good value for meals out.
58. Cook all your own meals from scratch. Keep things really basic as it's healthy for you too. A piece of meat and some vegetables and rice (depending on your diet). Round up with a piece of fruit rather than cake.
59. Get cuttings of plants and flowers from friends. Cover your garden in beautiful plants. When they are flowering go and make a lovely arrangement there and then based on how you feel and pop in a vase for your home. Stop buying fresh flowers! This is so much more fun.
60. Stop relying (all the time) on Amazon. I have bought many things lately and found the EXACT same thing cheaper in store a few days later.
61. Start using cash again. We have a 'living pot' we put in X amount of money into this pot every single month on pay day. This is for odds and sods that aren't really bills and for fun things we want to do. Only we write everything down we buy and ledger what goes in and out. By doing this we can see if we buy too much crap of one thing to reduce it the next month if we need to.
62. If you spend a fortune on rent when you don't need such a big place then move. If you're not a big family and you need a lot of space then get rid of all your junk! When looking at rent look for apartments that include bills in their prices.
63. When starting out on the property market go cheap... REALLY cheap. OK so a single couple may love the idea of the 3 bed house at £250,000 but you do much better starting off with a small apartment at £80,000. You can pay small amounts each month knowing if you have a bad month your house is safe. Banks don't like it but you can always call if you have excess money to get the mortgage paid off quicker! Just think... then you will have an £80,000 apartment owned and can save loads for second deposit. Rent out the apartment and then take on your bigger mortgage
64. Do not buy newspapers. Firstly they are so depressing. If you need to check out news look online. Even better look on your phone during break at work and then charge your phone at work for the battery lost.
65. Markets may be cheaper sometimes but be careful. Get to know the better ones as I have spent less on food there and it's rotten the next day.
66. Use a pea size amount of toothpaste. You really don't need a strip the length of the brush it will not make them any cleaner and you will use your paste up 4 times quicker than you need to.
67. When getting hot water put a big pan under the tap while it's heating up. Keep this and then use it for watering plants or cleaning with.
68. If you see books you want to get check on Amazon before buying. Never be worried about buying the 1p copy with £2.80 P&P I have done this with over 100 books and they have all been fantastic!
69. We struggle to let go of books as we use for reference and read again. If you have books you really don't need anymore check Amazon out as you get coupons for handing them in many books. It's free delivery to them as well. I did this about 6 months ago. I had spent more on the books themselves but I really didn't need the ones I got rid of anymore and got back over £100
70. Holidays. You don't need to go the other end of the world to have a good holiday. https://www.holidaydiscountcentre.co.uk best thing I found! We got 3 weeks in Turkey, flights, in meals, luggage, reserved seating, hotel 4star, transfers all for £550 May 2015! That's not each by the way that's full price for 2
They also let you pay monthly with no interest. This makes it feel much more manageable. Spread over 10-12 months it's not a lot.71. If you want to do your GCSEs for the first time or again... don't go with home learning providers. Many are not very good and cost a small fortune at about £300-£400 each. Excluding exams. Buy the AQA student books, teachers books and revision guides on amazon all for under £20-£30 and then look online for testing centres.
72. When haggling just simply say "is that the best you can do?". Then say NOTHING. Be absolutely silent. See what they say then.
Works 90% of the time for us. Even worked yesterday in Debenhams. ( I know Debenhams isn't cheap but we had a voucher from our wedding a few months ago).73. Buy people second hand gifts for Christmas and Birthdays. I'm sorry but a PS3 is a PS3 if it works! Spend £50 on it rather than £200 and stop from going into debt.
74. We grow plants from seed for people through the year and give to those we know appreciate them as gifts.
75. going on from making own wine and beer. These make great gifts too. Home make wine and beer and cost pennies really!
76. at Christmas buy a rooted smallish real tree. After Xmas put it outside in the garden still in it's pot. Treat it well. Fro a while it may lose all green and look like it's dying but give it chance. Ours is now on the way to full recovery and looks like we will be reusing it this year for Xmas
77. Most you girls will know of this but guys might not. https://www.wahanda.com we all have so much stress in our lives these days and massage and therapies can be expensive. This place is home to thousands of heavily discounted therapies! [ATTENTION MEN] Just because the pictures are of girls doesn't mean men can't buy them too! we always buy the girls ones and have never had an issue with redeeming and enjoying ourselves to the max! The men's ones are the same and usually cost more for nothing! Get over yourself and enjoy it!
78. GUYS - again... those of you who dye your hair don't buy mens hair dye. It costs loads more and you get less stuff! Stop being so vain! Buy the womens at cheaper price, halve the ingredients in each and mix in separate bottle. Use it and store the other half for your next treatments. It's all the same ingredients. It's just a marketing technique to exploit men who don't want to be seen wandering about with a box of dye with a womans face on it!
79. Swap parties. We have all heard of these but they can be so much more fun than you think. Call your friends and tell them you are having a swap party. Tell them to go through their things and bring any of these;
• Toiletries they have but will never use.. even if they have used some of it already.
• Clothes that have sat there too long used or not.
• Books no longer wanted
• Cans of food they didn't like
• Childrens toys (bring the kids too as they are the ones swapping these)
• Console games
• DVDs
Then have a massive swap party. This is so much fun. Get each person to bring some alcohol too
80. When it's cold wear a bloody jumper! Lol I'm sorry but it's funny. Remember being a kid and this is what your gran used to say to you? It's true though! but now people turn the heat up even more. Not good for environment or our wallet/purses.
81. Wall cavity and loft insulation is free from some places now. Just look on Google. We had ours done free it saved us a fair bit on energy and for once actually kept the heat in!
82. Get some foil and put a strip behind your radiator. This reflects from it back into the room instead of heating up the bricks and plaster board behind it! This works better than you would expect and its VERY cheap to sort it!
83.Put draught excluders behind the doors and make an effort to put it back when you have left and returned to the room.
84. Close your curtains as soon as you come home in winter to keep the cold out as much as possible.
85. a. When you boil eggs keep the water and use it to water plants (once it's cooled). b. heat egg pan until it's properly boiling and then turn off the heat so they cook themselves in the hot water. You will have to leave them slightly longer though.
86. If your having a spontaneous hiking adventure at a park or country park etc make sure you make your own packed lunches and a flask of hot drink to take with you. Gone are the days when you can get a cuppa for 50p even though that's still all they are worth! The last time we went to a country park unprepared a sandwich and drink set us back £15 for just 2 people! I'd rather have done a flask for about 5p and made a sandwich each for about £1.
87. Never go to a convenience store. The prices are always ridiculously high this makes me think that it's not convenient. Walk a bit longer and get the item you needed from an Aldi, supermarket or market etc. If you need it that badly you will make the effort to go get it. If not then it can wait till the next shop.
89. Don't make the mistake of thinking that convenience is worth it as it's only 16p more or it's only 5p more. If milk is 16p more at a corner shop and you go every few days that's an average of £20 a year or £900 a working lifetime using the good ole demotivator! WOW that's just milk alone. We do this on so many items! Just walk or cycle a bit further and get the cheaper stuff from the cheaper place!
90. If your freezer is getting a bit empty fill it with some scrunched up newspaper. This will reduce the amount of energy required to keep it cold.
91. Medicine balls... you can make your own if you fill a ball with sand. Works just as well but doesn't cost £20-£30
92. Foot moisturizer I use KTC coconut oil it's about £2.20 in supermarkets for 500ml spreads A LOT and feels terrific.
93. Stop defrosting stuff in the microwave. Just take it out the day before. We even defrost some things in cool water in the sink.
94. contact your internet provider at the end of contract to tell them you are leaving. Let them beg you back with a good offer. We got £72 off the next year with Virgin Media and all we have is fibre optic basic broadband! We have no phone, line rental, tv, mobiles etc.
95. Read terms and conditions carefully. We have lost so much money not reading things properly thinking we could come out of things with 1 months notice etc. Also read them carefully when your are unhappy with a service. There may be a clause in there that they are in breach of. If this is the case then quote them the terms and ask for refunds, termination of service or reductions if possible.
96. Give all your odd socks in a the local homeless shelter. They might be odd but with many donations some will be similar and at least then they will have nice clean socks to wear. Trust me Athletes foot is no fun! Just please wash them first!
97. Eat the bananas and pears first before the apples and such. Otherwise you will have lots of gone off wasted fruit. If you buy bananas separate then buy half dark green and the rest yellow with a little green on the tip and the bottom. This means it's ALMOST ripe.
98. Never buy avocado unless you intend on checking it daily! otherwise it's a complete waste of money.... Not ready, not ready, not ready, EAT ME NOW!, ..... too late. grrr Though they are yummly
99. Act like a child. Go on your own or with the kids and go and roll about in dirt! Kids like trawling through rivers and woods and things. Go be childish with them. Don't just watch them do it. Get into it yourself too. Make a den with them in the woods. You can use hazel for this. Hazel is very easy to find and grows like crazy so it's environmentally ok to do. Make a tinkers tent with the sticks you break off. They are very bendy and versatile.
100. Write the longest gratitude list you could ever do. Even silly things like I'm thankful for the air I breath. I'm thankful for the fruit in my bowl. The longer the list the better. Leave space to add to it too. Keep it safe and when you are feeling upset or anything read through the list. This works for saving money as it reminds me of all the things I already have. Whether they cost money or not. More importantly it reminds me of the things that cost absolutely nothing that make me happy. Reminding me money isn't that important overall!
101. OK this is the most important one. Let's get frank guys... the sound of saving money is AWFUL! No one likes the sound of it at all. It is fun though as long as you don't overload yourself. Implement new ideas and small ones each day or each week. Keep doing them and let them become habit. Some of you will think some of these are over the top. But seriously the only difference I feel in my life is that I have a little extra money now. The quality of my life has gotten better not worse because I appreciate the simple things in life. I can use the extra money towards a deposit on an apartment or towards life experiences and self investment like continuing learning throughout my life. Just go with it and enjoy every moment,. There's money to be saved in absolutely everything and still having the chance to live life to the absolute max! Think experience, knowledge, and love rather than Xbox, gold necklace, gucci tops. These are the things that will really make you happy with your life as you get older and don't have much time left. All the experiences, love, joy and things you have learnt that will stick with you until you close your eyes for the final time.
So there we have it. I have tried to include some that people haven't heard before. I am ALWAYS on the look out for new ideas online or thinking of them myself! It's harder online as the same ones keep coming up. They are good ones though. If you have any unique ways not commonly heard before let us know. I'll post anymore as I remember them or think of them.
Phew... right time for a cuppa with my travel kettle and reused teabag 0
Comments
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Wow, some excellent advice there OP, I think you would need to be deliciously dedicated to implement all of those that you list, the shampoo one, err no lol,, but the rest hold water with me, I think it boils down to if you can be arsed or not lol !!! I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free wannabe, Credit file and ratings, and Bankruptcy and living with it boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.For free non-judgemental debt advice, contact either Stepchange, National Debtline, or CitizensAdviceBureaux.Link to SOA Calculator- https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php The "provit letter" is here-https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247/letter-when-you-know-nothing-about-about-the-debt-aka-prove-it-letter0
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sourcrates wrote: »Wow, some excellent advice there OP, I think you would need to be deliciously dedicated to implement all of those that you list, the shampoo one, err no lol,, but the rest hold water with me, I think it boils down to if you can be arsed or not lol !!!
The trick is to do them all over time. These are all things that have been implemented over the last 10 years. There are many more I should imagine and I'll list as I remember. Though I thought 101 was a nice number to start with
The no shampooing thing really does work and the great thing is it only takes a few weeks to find out if it will work for you or not. But each to their own. If shampooing makes you happy then you should keep doing it. The most important thing in life is not having nothing but enjoying life.This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0 -
Great tips - not sure why your gender would dictate your approaches to money saving though!0
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How long did it take you to type all that Op ?
Some excellent points.Liverpool is one of the wonders of Britain,
What it may grow to in time, I know not what.
Daniel Defoe: 1725.
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Great tips - not sure why your gender would dictate your approaches to money saving though!
because men CAN BE difficult when it comes to some purchases lol. As I said non if it is meant in a sexist manner at all.This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0 -
How long did it take you to type all that Op ?
Some excellent points.
Thank you. It took about 2 hours but that included thinking of things I do and checking messages in between This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0 -
Newfoundscotty wrote: »because men CAN BE difficult when it comes to some purchases lol. As I said non if it is meant in a sexist manner at all.
I think you suggested sensible things that both men and women could take on board for the most part! I understand what you're saying but don't be fooled, women are quite as difficult as men 0 -
your fabulous!
I don't think I will be giving up shampoo any time soon though...0 -
Probably my favourite post today
Some things I already do, got to be honest there are some I will definitely not do (like not shampooing my hair), but a lot of them I have made notes on & going to try to implement.
Small steps at a time
Thanks0 -
Wow, what a great... extensive... list
Some great ideas, sadly I have to wash my hair because it's really fine and just cakes down (Urgh, I did try before) but everything else sounds good especially;
51. Buy a planner for your wall. Buy some golden and silver stickers. See how long you can go before spending on stuff that aren't bills. I use a sticker every day I don't spend and I'm always trying to beat my personal best. The longest I have gone without spending a penny so far is 34 days and that was cus I was so stubborn and wanted to see lots of stickers on that planner! Another way to do this is to put a star on a date you have to reach. You must then be able to put a star on every day until that future date. If you get to it then you get a small treat. This treat MUST cost much less than you would of spent if not doing this idea or it's pointless! lol. My treat is sometimes a 15p tin of rice pudding!
Another target to hit... Can't get enough of 'em LOL
I also make my own soup out of all the old veggies which are starting to go a bit manky too it doesn't matter if your veg are a little limp since it's going to be chopped, boiled and potentially (if you have one) blended!
Cheers!
MB x0
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