Any "embarrassing" money saving things you do?

PenguinOfDeath

flubberyzing wrote: »

There isn't anything I do that I would count as embarrassingly frugal...
My mum has always done this thing I find weird though, she'll only use half a tissue at a time. She'll rip it in half, use one bit, and but the other half back in the box! Who, apart from her, would want to use half a tissue that someone else has man-handled!

This is something I do, not with tissues but with kitchen roll, and face wipes and kitchen cloths (by cutting them in half). I'll admit I'm a fiend for using kitchen roll loads but it takes twice the time to get through it now!

Tiddlywinks

I cut my scouring pads up into smaller squares as soon as I buy them.

That way, a really dirty job only ruins a small cut off rather than the whole pad.

I've almost entirely cut down my use of kitchen roll too by buying a large batch of commercial grade tea towels and dish cloths - the tougher grade means they can be bleached and washed at 90 degrees.

I store them (folded Kon Marie style) in kitchen drawers, use them and then chuck them in their own laundry bin. When there's enough for a load I stick them in the wash on hot, dry them and return to the drawer again. It's saved me a fortune over the last few months.

Ilona

Feral_Moon wrote: »

In that case why did she buy a whole heap of meat, fish, hot dogs, pork pies and other non-vegetarian products then?

For goodness sake, let me spell it out to you. Suki is right. It was a demonstration of how much you can save on food shopping if you visit supermarkets at the right times. The challenge was to spend £5 at each of four places, something I never do, I only late shop at Tesco, and pop in other places when I am passing, I don't go from one to the other.

The camera man and sound lady came with me, they didn't film inside the supermarkets, the outside shots were done the next morning. They paid for the shopping with their credit card. The challenge was to get as much as I could for the cheapest price and the biggest markdown, and get as close to the £5 as I could.

I was not shopping for me. As it has been mentioned, I do not eat meat and fish, but I had to include it to show how much a family might save on those items. I also do not fill my trolley with junk when I go shopping, again I had to pick it up so there was a good cross section of different foods.

They did say that I would be able to keep the food in the beginning and I was quite looking forward to giving most of it away, but later they changed their minds and said they had to take it back to Manchester with them, so I got none of it.

I hope that has cleared up the confusion.

Ilona

moneyistooshorttomention

That's twice now at least Ilona that you've done some shopping for the media and they've said you could keep the food - and then not let you do so after all:(:(

Well - I guess it's clear by now that they will just use you for some free tv footage to fill their schedules and you get absolutely nothing from it (not even the food).:cool:

I think they are being very cheeky to do that to you personally.:mad:

Must admit my response to their requests would be, say, "Okay - but I'll charge you say £20 per hour and I DO get to keep the food". In your position (ie as minor celeb)....then I'd up the rate to, say, "£50 per hour and I get to keep the food".

Ilona

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

That's twice now at least Ilona that you've done some shopping for the media and they've said you could keep the food - and then not let you do so after all:(:(

Well - I guess it's clear by now that they will just use you for some free tv footage to fill their schedules and you get absolutely nothing from it (not even the food).:cool:

I think they are being very cheeky to do that to you personally.:mad:

They don't normally offer payment for this sort of thing, if I turned it down someone else would do it. Would have been nice to get the food, but hey ho, I do get something for it. I do it because it's fun, it's interesting, and brings a bit of excitement into my retirement. I like to try new things, new experiences, meet new people, and have a laugh. It's my choice to do it.

Ilona

Editing after I have seen your edit. I don't need to do things for money, I gave up work seven years ago. My blog is about making the most of what I already have, not about earning more. I am happy with my pension, I have enough.

suki1964

Ilona wrote: »

For goodness sake, let me spell it out to you. Suki is right. It was a demonstration of how much you can save on food shopping if you visit supermarkets at the right times. The challenge was to spend £5 at each of four places, something I never do, I only late shop at Tesco, and pop in other places when I am passing, I don't go from one to the other.

The camera man and sound lady came with me, they didn't film inside the supermarkets, the outside shots were done the next morning. They paid for the shopping with their credit card. The challenge was to get as much as I could for the cheapest price and the biggest markdown, and get as close to the £5 as I could.

I was not shopping for me. As it has been mentioned, I do not eat meat and fish, but I had to include it to show how much a family might save on those items. I also do not fill my trolley with junk when I go shopping, again I had to pick it up so there was a good cross section of different foods.

They did say that I would be able to keep the food in the beginning and I was quite looking forward to giving most of it away, but later they changed their minds and said they had to take it back to Manchester with them, so I got none of it.

I hope that has cleared up the confusion.

Ilona

Ilona. Don't worry yourself about someone being as obtuse as Feral Moon. She does this a lot then goes and deletes her posts

I would like to think anyone with one iota of sense would understand that the programme was staged

You ( who I don't know personally) think came across really well and the programme was more on us MSE side then some other journalistic efforts

If we can show there is no shame in cutting the food bill and still eating well, what's wrong in that?

I had a 5lb gammon today, reduced to a fiver and it will feed the 3 of us most of the week. I aim for a £1 a day per head for main meals, £2 a day all in


All the power to you and all ys shoppers

Tink_04

I'm so confused as how anyone is struggling to understand how the challenge worked! It was a demonstration...... For TV ..... Not real .... An example of what you can get at reducing time ...



Can we move on now back to the thread?

I take extra sweetener at Mc Donald's (like one or 2 not a handful) and keep them in my hand bag as when I visit people they don't always have them. I frank my mail at work and print off everything there too - I also charge my phone there (only cos the battery is pants and dies really quickly)

My best YS reduction was hovis bread reduced to 1p - filled my freezer and kept us going for ages!

suki1964

Tink_04 wrote: »

I'm so confused as how anyone is struggling to understand how the challenge worked! It was a demonstration...... For TV ..... Not real .... An example of what you can get at reducing time ...



Can we move on now back to the thread?

I take extra sweetener at Mc Donald's (like one or 2 not a handful) and keep them in my hand bag as when I visit people they don't always have them. I frank my mail at work and print off everything there too - I also charge my phone there (only cos the battery is pants and dies really quickly)

My best YS reduction was hovis bread reduced to 1p - filled my freezer and kept us going for ages!

OMG. you admit to franking your mail in work???

Gallows for you girl !!

Tiddlywinks

I knew someone who was sacked for franking their personal mail - it's theft of resources.

It's just not ever worth the risk.

Tink_04

Must be a rebel - we all do it - even the boss - just odd letters not parcels or anything ..... ah wel at least its changed the subject!