Sneaky ways to save the pennies

Uniscots97

Gigervamp wrote: »

Oh cool! It does worry me when I see what some people do in the interests of saving money, not realising they're putting their health at risk by doing so.

No you were right in mentioning it, I should have mentioned they are sealed. I'm one of those people that cringe when people put manky hands into makeup pots and then wonder why they get spots


....I suppose there's another tip (albeit tongue in cheek) make sure your hands/brushes etc are clean before applying make up, you'll use a bit less and you won't get spots etc from nasties lurking in the container. easy way to clean brushes/spatulas etc warm soapy water.

bellybabe_2

ditsy wrote: »

instead of buying those 'proper' plastic food clips that are normally 8 for £1, use the small bulldog clips u can get from wilkos, 20 for 79p... they do a much better job, cheaper, and dont ping off across the room!!!

For most food bags, we just use wooden clothes pegs - roll the bag, stick a peg on - even cheaper!
And like sweet peanut we use nappy sacks for the dog - 300 for less than a pound is much better than the dog-specific ones, and we just used to use carrier bags until our loal shops started rationing/charging.
On another note, our bus fares go up next week so I decided to buy a year's pass, taking the money out of savings - it cost a fortune but it cost £96 less last week than it will next week :eek:. The sneaky aspect was making sure I bought it the week before the fares rise...and it'll save the pennies every week when i scrabble around for change for the bus every day. But such a huge expense feels like it doesn't belong on this thread!
BB

purplevamp

My Mum gave me her old electric bag sealer about 12 years ago and it's one of the best things in the kitchen. It means we can buy things like meat in bulk and then split it up into smaller portions and seal the bags. We use it also for large packs of crisps, rice, cereal, etc. There are newer ones with a vacuum suction but ours works fine.

bellybabe - our bus fares have gone up as well (not b&h by any chance? ) I've started to buy my tickets online as they save 60p per day. I know it's cheaper to buy a yearly one but once a week I do buy ticket from the bus driver as my DH uses it to go out and the online ones have male/female on them (iyswim?)

exlibris

bellybabe wrote: »

On another note, our bus fares go up next week so I decided to buy a year's pass, taking the money out of savings - it cost a fortune but it cost £96 less last week than it will next week :eek:. The sneaky aspect was making sure I bought it the week before the fares rise...and it'll save the pennies every week when i scrabble around for change for the bus every day. But such a huge expense feels like it doesn't belong on this thread!
BB

Having now bought the ticket from savings, could you charge yourself the updated price - say once a month - and put that away. When the ticket is due for renewal, you will have catered for the increase in price of next year's ticket and should have a nice little bit extra.

HTH

irish_eyes

Hi great thread. I bought a pair of hair clippers 5 years ago in the local chemist for £15. Saves my OH a fortune on haircuts at the barbers.

Raksha

When paying by cash, try and avoid breaking into a note - use your change..... It sounds daft, but I seem to spend less if I do this.

sunset_gold

I am saving all the little bits of left over candles to re use. I have ordered wicks on-line (very confusing, will see what I get when it arrives) and hope to melt down the wax and pour into holders with the new wicks in them. Any one got any advice on doing this, dos and don'ts would be helpful. Don't really want to burn the house down for the sake of a few pounds!

purplevamp

sunset_gold wrote: »

I am saving all the little bits of left over candles to re use. I have ordered wicks on-line (very confusing, will see what I get when it arrives) and hope to melt down the wax and pour into holders with the new wicks in them. Any one got any advice on doing this, dos and don'ts would be helpful. Don't really want to burn the house down for the sake of a few pounds!

There was a programme on last week called In Search of Britains Meanest Person (if I remember correctly) and a man on that put old candles in a dish/jar and popped it on the radiator to melt down, he then put the wick in the middle and let it go hard - not that anyone here is mean, we're called frugal

longtimelurker_2

I j ust want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed. It's taken a long time but I really enjoyed reading the thread.

I had a particular success last night...
I was reluctant about using oats to pad out mince and stews but last night I made a really delicious lamb stew (boneless shoulder of lamb reduced to 2 pounds) and added oats alongside everything else. You see, I tend to come out with enough stew/curry/etc for one dinner and a bit extra. With the addition of oats, I got two full evening meals (one last night, other in freezer) and a lunch. The oats bulked it out wonderfully.

OH commented on how lovely the stew was, and it was all I could do not to confess the oats :rotfl: he'd flat out refuse to eat it if he knew!

Will be sneakily adding oats to the next mince dish as well - it's a FAB tip! Budget and belt reduction!

andyslinz

Raksha wrote: »

When paying by cash, try and avoid breaking into a note - use your change..... It sounds daft, but I seem to spend less if I do this.

I know exactly what you mean there! If you have to hand over actual cash, you feel a bit more protective over it, and you will analyse what's in your basket, and say to yourself " Do I really need this lot?" Saves me buying uneccessary items in the supermarket. I'm trying not to use my bank card at all! If I just have cash on me, I tend to try and keep it in my purse for as long as possible, and only spend it when I really need to!