Your top money saving tip

Teacher2

Someone mentioned trading down a brand and that Sainsbury's value tomatoes are as good as the top brand tins but a fraction of the price. It's true for other things too. In my experience the really cheap value beans are not so good as you get more sauce than beans but the own brand beans are good. Tesco's value butter is fine as is its flour, tinned tomatoes and tinned sweetcorn and they are all much cheaper than brand label goods.

JimmyTheWig

My one tip would be to know how much things cost.
Take toilet roll, for example. 25p per roll is a good deal for reasonably quality stuff. So if the supermarket have got a "special offer" on that week where a 4-pack is half price down from £3 to £1.50 you still know that's not very good value. It might be the best they've got that day and if you need some you'll have to buy it. But if you can get 24 rolls for £6 the next time you go shopping buy that whether you need it that week or not.

My point is that you can only know to make those decisions if you know what price you want to pay. You can't trust the supermarket's "offers".

MallyGirl

This one resonated with me. My husband was made redundant from a highest rate tax paying job at Christmas. Before that I would get grief if we shopped anywhere but Waitrose (or Ocado) and he went there every day to buy his lunch and buy fresh for dinner if needed. He had no idea how much all this cost - it just went on the card and earned him vouchers. He genuinely didn't realise the difference between retailers for every day items.
Since then he has had to cut his cloth differently as he is still job hunting. He now goes to Morrisons - we also tried out the local Lidl and market this week. He can tell what a good price for things is and realises how much money he was wasting. He was also a demon for visits to coffee shops - now he makes nice coffee at home and takes a flask of it with him. Hopefully this knowledge will stay with him once he gets a new job.

Granny28

Always check your supermarket receipt before you leave the shop.As many as four out of ten of mine are wrong, with offers not included, wrong prices etc. Customer services then repay the difference and also give a £2 gift card each time! Also, in the supermarket which guarantees to be 10 % cheaper than the other leading ones, check the receipt online. I have received £2.99 refund on a £24 shop (and many smaller amounts).

Diane_Ward

I lost my job a year ago and money has been very tight with 2 kids on tax credits.
I do my main shop in Aldi-I get a 'big' freezer shop from Farmfoods and I use their money off vouchers (which are on their thru the door leaflets)£2.50 off £25,£5 off £50 etc.
Branded soap powder is cheaper there and multi buys are well worth a look.
Pound shops can have some good deals too but u need to check.
I only ever go to asdas etc for specific brands/items that I can't get in the above listed shops.
I always make cakes and biscuits and birthday cakes for a fraction of the store bought ones.
Shop in charity shops for clothes or sports direct especially when they are sales.I recently bought my DS joggers for the next 2 age sizes as they were only £3 a pair.
Buy (and sell)goods on Gumtree and local facebay sites.
Ebay is good if you are guaranteed a sale but do your research first.
One good tip I have learnt when selling on ebay is to sell on a Buy It Now listing.See how much your item has sold for(click sold listings) then work out an average price that you are willing to accept. That way you are cutting your losses.
Use local Freecycle sites for things you are looking for.(and for gifting things too)
Also-look out for local 2nd hand furniture stores-independent ones are good but Furniture plus etc can have the occasional bargain too.
Make presents if you are good at sewing/crafting etc.Join swap craft sites-a good way to get good quality gifts for only the postal cost.Ideal at Christmas etc.
Cash generator shops prices sometimes vary and I have found dvds for 49p each in our local ones-and multi buys too.
Whenever I'm after books/dvds/craft stuff-I always search between ebay and amazon.(awesome books too) there can be quite a big price difference so it pays to do your homework.
Hope you find something to help in my list of tips. :-)

fatpiggy

My mum always comes to stay for up to 10 days each year. She is 81 now but pretty fit and mobile provided we don't go hillwalking! We always have a great time, out and about every day and it costs us pennies. I'm lucky to live at the centre of a very good transport infrastructure really and driving from my house, in 25 minutes I'm in the Peak District, 40 minutes in the heart of Cheshire or Lancashire, 90 minutes to York, and its only just over 2 hours to London by train. I pack us a tasty picnic every day and we plan what we want to do each morning and join places of interest together so petrol and time is saved. Our only real expense is cups of tea and the odd icecream. Mum has a NT card and borrows my sister's for me to use so that gives us options if the whether is not so good and of course we hunt in the charity shops in the local posh areas. Many of our days out are almost on the doorstep and there is so much variety. Look around and you would be surprised how you can entertain yourself and kids cheaply and even for free. I don't think we've ever visited the same place twice. Mum goes home and tells everyone what a lovely holiday, both interesting and restful, she had and I lie down to recover because she has walked me off my feet yet again!

marmiterulesok

Do a meal plan for the week,and,according to what you already have in,make a shopping list and stick to it.It's ok to eat the same thing for breakfast/lunch/dinner every day for a few days.
Do a meal plan to include packed lunches and snacks from home.
You'll save loads of money.

good_advice

Declutter the whole house every spring.
Pass on the unloved items to someone who will use them instead of just using space in your home.

Group items together. All the things scattered around your home.
Then you will see how much you have and STOP BUYING MORE.

Use containers to stand things upright instead of lying flat.
Use what you have, no cash spending needed.
Use small boxes. The lids as trays. Save margarine tubs.

Spend time in the garden. Wile outdoors you are using less plug in stuff and saving on electric. Watch the washing dry wile tending the plants.

Have the dab radio on for background noise. Less electric than the TV.

p00

Look at what you already have. There is no need to spend money to organise your home.

I never used the local coop. Until I realised I could go there for just milk, or bread or whatever and not go the supermarket and spend £10 when all I really wanted was a loaf of bread.

Do not windows shop.

Appreciate what you have already. Do you really need more 'things'.

p00

marmiterulesok

p00 wrote: »

Do not windows shop.

Appreciate what you have already. Do you really need more 'things'.

I so agree,though I'm having a minor setback.It's a work in progress.