Sneaky ways to save the pennies

JayJay14

geordie_joe wrote: »

My council won't allow me to recycle anything, so I'm no expert. But as i walk around other parts of town I have noticed everyone leaves the tops on the milk bottle when the put them out for recycling.

I'm planning on pinching some next time it's recycling day.

I work for my local council recycling dept. Our recomendation is to leave the tops on the bottles (if you flatten the bottles first they keep the air out - take up less space in the bin wagon). The contamination is negligable, after all labels ect are still on the bottles.

Different councils recycle differently depending on which company takesthe waste off them but small amounts of contamination are inevitable.

MarzipanFish

Some really useful things in this thread. I'm glad i don't have to bother doing the packaging switching thing though!

Here's some things I do
- chickpeas in chicken curry to make a few more meals out of it
- Cooking my own rice when i have a craving for a takeaway curry. I know it'd be much cheaper to make my own, but the takeaway near me do such an awesome tandoori butter chicken that i can't resist!
- Walking everywhere that's less than an hours walk away. Saves buying a gym membership too
- Fultons (don't know how much of the country they cover) do very cheap (2lbs for 99p) misshapen bacon, which is often just rashers about 4 times as thick as normal, and the scraps are good for casseroles anyway.
- Going to a jewellery making class and making presents. It works out cheaper than buying the materials myself as i don't need whole bags of stuff, and it's fun
- I just sewed a pair of trousers i haven't worn for ages into a skirt, and i've got enough left for a short summery dress (they were really baggy trousers!)
- Stopped getting value loo roll... it worked out more expensive than the normal supermarket brand.


and for university students (or people willing to pretend to be one!)
- free pens, notepads & lots of samples at freshers' fayres. I even got a free hair cut and have about a dozen miniature original source packets in my drawer which i'll use when i go camping
- free lunches for helping on open days/school visits (excellent way to earn a few quid too!)
- Surplus food from the buffets they usually have at aforementioned school visits


I'm a complete amateur compared to some of you lot though, you're so sneaky

Shapeshifter

angchris wrote: »

i keep my heating turned off completely, it only gets turned on once in a blue moon when mr angchris is home and is moaning :rolleyes: , even when he`s turned it on about 1/2 hour later i wander around after him turning things off :rotfl: he should learn to put jumpers on and not wander around in winter in tshirts and wonder why he`s cold!

when my ex moved in with me , i'd walk in from work & a wall of heat used to hit me, there he'd be lounging around with no top on & heating cranked up.
Needless to say i saved lots of pennies when i sent him packing!:D

marybishop

Frugalista wrote: »

Can I ask where you recycle them as I've always been under the impression that they shouldn't be put in the plastics recycling? (Hence the urban legend about collecting them for some hospice or something - and my quest to actually find something useful to do with them :cool:)

At our local hospital we're collecting them to raise money for an electric wheelchair. Dont ask me how they turn into cash - we just save them every time we open another bottle of milk!! Could be a charity in your area that might find them useful.

Trinny

MarzipanFish wrote: »

Some really useful things in this thread. I'm glad i don't have to bother doing the packaging switching thing though!

Here's some things I do
- chickpeas in chicken curry to make a few more meals out of it
- Cooking my own rice when i have a craving for a takeaway curry. I know it'd be much cheaper to make my own, but the takeaway near me do such an awesome tandoori butter chicken that i can't resist!
- Walking everywhere that's less than an hours walk away. Saves buying a gym membership too
- Fultons (don't know how much of the country they cover) do very cheap (2lbs for 99p) misshapen bacon, which is often just rashers about 4 times as thick as normal, and the scraps are good for casseroles anyway.
- Going to a jewellery making class and making presents. It works out cheaper than buying the materials myself as i don't need whole bags of stuff, and it's fun
- I just sewed a pair of trousers i haven't worn for ages into a skirt, and i've got enough left for a short summery dress (they were really baggy trousers!)
- Stopped getting value loo roll... it worked out more expensive than the normal supermarket brand.


and for university students (or people willing to pretend to be one!)
- free pens, notepads & lots of samples at freshers' fayres. I even got a free hair cut and have about a dozen miniature original source packets in my drawer which i'll use when i go camping
- free lunches for helping on open days/school visits (excellent way to earn a few quid too!)
- Surplus food from the buffets they usually have at aforementioned school visits


I'm a complete amateur compared to some of you lot though, you're so sneaky

Hi Marzipan Fish

We dont have Fultons for mis-shape bacon but MrS does packs in the basics range for little over a quid. I discovered them recently. Its a bit of a lucky dip - but the first bag i bought had 5 large rindless bacon chops in it - result. last nights pack had around 40 slices of rindless streaky bacon in it. OH cut a quarter of it up into lardons and we had bacon and mushroom pasta.

That works out as about 30p for the two of us per meal. I also made bacon misshapes into bacon sarnies - if i am lucky enough to get thin cut slices.

MrS can be expensive - but these packs are a steal.

Also good for pizza toppingand making OS quiche/ pies etc.

Take care

Trin

jollymummy

I make soup out of all left over veg at the end of the week, always seems to be carrot and something

rosemary54

sign up with "posh" toiletry sites for great deals I have just had an offer of a free gift worth £30 for spending £20 and they do lovely free gift wrapping instore(L'Occitane) even if you don't want the items they make lovely impressive pressies
also sign up for sites like cafe rouge and la tasca for great members benefits like free drinks and half price meals
always buy in the sales the "posh" shops give the best discounts and I'd rather pay £30 for a pair of trousers originally priced at £100 made of good quality fabric than a pair of £30 trousers down to £20!

zippychick

Not sure if this has been mentioned already, but i always keep butter and marg wrappers for greasing trays etc when baking. I have a nice little collection in the fridge - saves waste and is perfect amount for greasing.

Primrose

If you don't grow your own lettuces, never buy salad in a bag as it deteriorates too quickly. Any whole lettuces which start to look a little sad can be revived by scraping a fraction off the bottom root stump and soaking in cold water for an hour. Wilting cabbages & calabrese heads can be treated in the same way.

Patchwork_Quilt

In the same way, I find that broccoli keeps better if it's left stalk upwards in a bowl in the fridge