Tips on getting through every day without spending a penny !

Little_Mama

dfitps wrote: »

. Mind you I'm personally stuck in the 'have had the same numbers forever and daren't stop buying a ticket in case they win and I see that they have' situation myself so I sympathise with the OP if she is too!

:rotfl:


Oh that's me too!

Every week I think that money could be going into the mortgage pig.....but could you imagine seeing those numbers you've had from the beginning..... _pale_

LM

sunshine_shell

[/quote]
4. A friend of mine gave me a great tip. When making spaghetti bolognaise/lasagne and cooking the mince.... Buy the value mince that you can find in the freezer at the supermarket. Usually a big bag is just over £1. Cook it from frozen. Place in a saucepan, fill saucepan with cold water to just covering the mince, add two crushed beef (eg oxo) stock cubes, add chopped onions. Bring to the boil. Then simmer for around 20-30 minutes until cooked. Drain, saving some of the 'gravy' liquid in a small jug/bowl. Return the cooked mince to the pan and then carry on cooking as you normally would for spaghetti/lasagne adding veg, tinned chopped tomatoes etc. I find adding gravy powder really makes spaghetti lovely. I never tried boiling before but after I did, I never went back to frying it. It makes it come up lovely and fluffy and beautifully tasty. Try it! p.s. this doesnt work with fresh beef (boiling!)[/quote]



My mum used to fill out our spag bol with a tin of baked beans.... yummy!!

DrGUID

My tips:

* Canned soup for lunch (preferably bought in supermarket on special offer - there is always some type of soup on offer!)

* Learn to cook. I buy good quality food, but I know enough recipies for any type of leftover. My food wastage in the year to date: half an onion!!!

* Don't bother with the lottery. Don't buy magazines. Rent DVDs instead of buying them.

* Aim for 2 - 3 spend free days a week.

* Don't smoke or drink (too much).

* Move your current account to one that pays interest.

In general, the difference between well off people and poor people is that rich people know how to manage their money.

fluffybunny_2

I'm quite a thrifty moneysaver but I too think not sending the children to parties is going a bit too far.

They will coming home with invitations and then not going to parties. They may even tell the chidren who are throwing the party that they can't go because mummy won't buy a present.

I usually buy in the sales and keep a little stock going so that there's usually something here that I can give. (eg, there was a Barbie Fairytopia doll on amazon at christmas...reduced from £9.99 to £2.72!... bought a few for birthday presents...they're back up to £9.99 now!)

The thing is, parents don't like taking their child to a party if that particular child didnt go to their party.

What if you had a party for your children and not many came...you'd be peeved but the children wouldn't like it either.

Elliesmum

groatie_queen wrote: »

The whole class were never invited, and that was ok - max was set at 8.

Oh I wish . My daughter has just had her 5th birthday party, she had 19 kids and the cost was £150.00 in total. I had it in one of the local play gyms attached to a pub - you'll know the sort. The reason I'm 8 months pregnant and I really didn't have the energy to cope doing one by myself this year.

However next year - it's the room in the local conservative club (£30), a disco and the food done by me. It might cost me nearly the same - but the difference is she can invite all her class, plus extras, nobody is left out and they can all have a good time :j

EM xx

Elliesmum

P.S. Children's parties are expensive occasions to attend and I really do understand where the OP is coming from. At one point I was averaging £10 a party, once you had taken into consideration the present, card and wrapping etc. I have been looking out for bargains for these occasions to help reduce the cost but heck it does add up!

amazamum

Hi lauren565 and everybody else.
What I say is each to their own,My OH has not had his bank card for nearly 2 years(bank have actually cancelled it themselves as it was not being used),this was his choice as he was spending way beyond what we were earning.
Since he hasn't had the card I have managed all the finances in our house and we now only have the normal bills and mortgage,I have rearrange our finances to include.
1:saving 300 pounds on our home insurance by shopping around.
2:switching our mortgage to an offset(we only have small savings),so we now save on average 35 pounds a month in interest compared to the previous one.
3:buying in bulk on special offers(only things we need),so now I have loads of washing powder for the tesco offer last year.
4:doing a monthly shop and clearing the freezer before I do another one.
5:collecting saving stamps for our christmas shop(50 pounds for tesco already) + buying some christmas/birthday presents for later in the year in the sales.
6:all electric appliences now get turned off at the wall when not being used,my family laugh at me for doing this,but we will see how it effects the bills lol.
7:I have a friend who has children who are each a year older than my 2 so my kids have clothes bursting out of their wardrobes,she gives me a bin bags full every 6 months or so for 10 pounds and there are loads in them,in fact I once worked out that each item was costing me 20p + they are all good name and in immaculate condition.
8:collecting tesco club points towards a holiday(first in 5 years).

I have to say though that the kids and my OH are right behind my in trying to keep us debt free and to clear the mortgage as soon as possible,so that makes everything easier
Good luck lauren565,you sound as though you are determined.

Jorgan_2

I always make I'm sure I'm the last to go to lunch, that way I have a choice of newspapers to read. May not sound much but probably saves me close to £100 per year. Not sure if its classed as money saving or just tight.

setmefree2

Hi Amazamum,

I hear where you are coming from but it's not good to have a partner stop managing money no matter how well it works. My mum always managed the family budget and my Dad had no input and no interest. The down side was that after she died (too young) he was completely clueless and lost alot of money (and I mean alot). This money was years of hard work not only by my Mum but also her Mum and possibly her Dad. It's hard for someone to suddenly learn about money and particulary hard for them when they are wrackedwith grief. I'm sure I've heard this sentiment echoed by many financial gurus, it's just not good for a person to become divorced from their finances:o

elantan

i can totally agree with set me free there i just wish i could get hubby to take even a slight interest in the money i get left to deal with everything and it does cross my mind what would happen if i die what would he do...but he just wont listen and it get's so frustrating