I love lists. Lets build the ultimate money saving list.

Hermia

My tip is make sure you really know the area you live in. I have lived in so many areas that have had wonderful, cheap fruit and veg stalls or ethnic food shops etc and yet most people I talked to had no idea they were there simply because it was on a street they never walk down! Also make sure you sign up for local newsletters (entertainment venues, restaurants, libraries, local paper, touristy places etc etc). It can be amazing how many free things go on that people are often unaware of.

marmiterulesok

grunnie wrote: »

I would have found a jotter or paper or even a notebook I already had. That would have been my first saving.

My first thought too.

Otherwise;budget,budget,budget.It really pays off.

Packed lunches plus your own snacks/drinks.I don't buy fancy coffees in big cardboard cups either or snacks like cupcakes,crisps,chocolate etc.

Go out with only the amount of money you can afford to spend.Leave cards at home.Challenge yourself to have non spend days.

Batch cook.I make my own bread and cakes.

Avoid the shops unless you HAVE to.What you don't see won't tempt you.

Shopping lists - essential.

Good luck!

Pollycat

Callie22 wrote: »

I record every spend in a notebook. It sounds a bit obsessive but it really does help me keep track of where my money actually goes, and it helps me to keep an eye on how much I'm spending on various things. It is a bit of a discipline to do it but I really do feel less 'in control' when I don't. Also, the effort of having to write something down does mean that I'm less keen to buy those little frittery things that really do waste your money.

This is something that is recommended on the DFW board.

I suggested it to my sister who knew what her car related, house related & food related spends were but couldn't understand where all her money went to.

She was gob-smacked when, at the end of the month, she realised she'd paid the windowcleaner £7.50, spent £15 on magazines/comics/newspapers, spent a fair amount of money at the local shop on bits she could have bought more cheaply during her big shop if she'd been organised enough to make a proper shopping list.
Added to that a twice-weekly coffee & cake with the girls, Avon etc etc and she realised that she needed to get a grip on what money went out of her purse.
I think the old adage 'look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves' is true.

samsamesggsandham

Hermia wrote: »

My tip is make sure you really know the area you live in. I have lived in so many areas that have had wonderful, cheap fruit and veg stalls or ethnic food shops etc and yet most people I talked to had no idea they were there simply because it was on a street they never walk down! Also make sure you sign up for local newsletters (entertainment venues, restaurants, libraries, local paper, touristy places etc etc). It can be amazing how many free things go on that people are often unaware of.

Great idea - this makes great sense and sounds obvious now you have said it but it was missing off my list. Thanks.

grunnie

I keep an envelope in my handbag and I put all my receipts in it and write on the front the shop and how much I spent. I check this with my bank statement and put a tick beside the price when it shows up on line. I use a new envelope every month. Makes it easy to see how much you are spending and also if you have to return something which is still under guarantee it is easy to find the receipt.

JustThisOnce

Pollycat wrote: »

I think the old adage 'look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves' is true.

I see your 'look after the pennies' adage, and raise you 'penny wise, pound foolish'

I agree that knowing where your money goes is a really important first step to saving it, but I've known way too many people who'll skimp on the small stuff and feel they're being frugal, while ignoring the big stuff -- expensive cars, hobby equipment that doesn't get used, or even just big direct debits, like insurance or broadband deals. I'm even one myself from time to time

Callie22

JustThisOnce wrote: »

I see your 'look after the pennies' adage, and raise you 'penny wise, pound foolish'

I agree that knowing where your money goes is a really important first step to saving it, but I've known way too many people who'll skimp on the small stuff and feel they're being frugal, while ignoring the big stuff -- expensive cars, hobby equipment that doesn't get used, or even just big direct debits, like insurance or broadband deals. I'm even one myself from time to time

For me, I note pretty much everything in my notebook - direct debits, payments to my credit card etc etc - otherwise it's too easy to cheat by thinking 'Oh well, I'll stick this on my credit card and then pay it off bit by bit, and that doesn't really count towards my weekly spend so I don't really need to write it down ...' For this to work for me, it has to be all or nothing and pretty much every spend has to be recorded. I say pretty much as I have a separate savings account for 'big spends' - new furniture, white goods etc - and I wouldn't record that in my notebook, as the standing order to the account has already been noted.

JustThisOnce

Callie22 wrote: »

For me, I note pretty much everything in my notebook - direct debits, payments to my credit card etc etc - otherwise it's too easy to cheat by thinking 'Oh well, I'll stick this on my credit card and then pay it off bit by bit, and that doesn't really count towards my weekly spend so I don't really need to write it down ...' For this to work for me, it has to be all or nothing and pretty much every spend has to be recorded. I say pretty much as I have a separate savings account for 'big spends' - new furniture, white goods etc - and I wouldn't record that in my notebook, as the standing order to the account has already been noted.

I collect receipts, and make a note of anything I can't get a receipt for - it just works better for me that way. I don't keep separate savings accounts, cos all our cash is in our current account, earning its 3%, so I keep spreadsheets for monthly spends, big ticket pots, etc.

Thing is, I'm pretty good at controlling the small-ish stuff, less so with stuff I buy very infrequently. We don't buy things we don't need (though I'm currently weighing up the pros and cons of a chest freezer) but when we do need them we're often caught out by not being quite organised enough. Sample: we've been looking at kids' booster seats for a while and did our research, picking what we thought would be the right one for us. But we realised yesterday that although we weren't desperate, it would be best to buy this before a long journey next week, meaning we didn't have quite enough time to go to a shop, try one out, then buy cheaper online and wait for delivery (while worrying about whether it'll arrive on time, etc). It's not a huge difference, but we pay this kind of 'tax' quite often and it adds up. I think that's what I mean by 'penny wise, pound foolish'. It's too easy to convince yourself that a Lidl shop and bringing your lunch to work make you the perfect MSE. I do pretty well, but everyone has their weak spot

JustThisOnce

Pollycat wrote: »

Added to that a twice-weekly coffee & cake with the girls.

I know it's not very OS, but can I speak up in defence of coffee & cake with the girls? I've got two young kids and sometimes meeting a friend for a coffee is a lifeline -- I imagine that's the case for a lot of people. Yes, I could invite people to my house and it would cost pennies and I often do that, but I don't live right next to all of my friends, and often people want to meet in the middle somewhere. Plus, I have to say (ref: two young kids) that the house isn't always, shall we say, visitor-ready? Sometimes I just need to get out.

I couldn't do it twice-weekly, but being able to do this occasionally is something I think is worth cutting back in other areas for.

Hope I don't sound too defensive. Have been up for a really long time, cursing daylight savings all the way :mad:

[Deleted User]

JustThisOnce wrote: »

I know it's not very OS, but can I speak up in defence of coffee & cake with the girls? I've got two young kids and sometimes meeting a friend for a coffee is a lifeline -- I imagine that's the case for a lot of people. Yes, I could invite people to my house and it would cost pennies and I often do that, but I don't live right next to all of my friends, and often people want to meet in the middle somewhere. Plus, I have to say (ref: two young kids) that the house isn't always, shall we say, visitor-ready? Sometimes I just need to get out.

I couldn't do it twice-weekly, but being able to do this occasionally is something I think is worth cutting back in other areas for.

Hope I don't sound too defensive. Have been up for a really long time, cursing daylight savings all the way :mad:

Going for a coffee is now the new going for a pint. Nowt wrong in that.