Sneaky ways to save the pennies

rosemary54

rachbc wrote: »

My neighbours gave away their aga - they barely get anything secondhand these days and specialist companies charge a fortune to move them.

so much for the credit crunch!We stopped our church jumble sales(where I used to find top notch clothes) due to lack of custom....seems people expect so much more from life these days,when i tell my sons that as a child we had no car,tv,phone,central heating,holidays etc etc (computors were not invented then of course!)they fall about laughing and talk about 3rd world!

larmy16

rosemary54 wrote: »

so much for the credit crunch!We stopped our church jumble sales(where I used to find top notch clothes) due to lack of custom....seems people expect so much more from life these days,when i tell my sons that as a child we had no car,tv,phone,central heating,holidays etc etc (computors were not invented then of course!)they fall about laughing and talk about 3rd world!

We used to tease my mum about the "olden days" - living in rural Ireland they had a hole in the ground for a toilet. There were eleven of them and my Grandma had to bring them up entirely alone as their father was killed falling off a roof.

I can remember the excitement of going to a jumble sale with my mother who grew up very poor. The kids in my road used to laugh at us, saying we only had old jumble clothes etc.

The only reason I stay away from them now is that my house seemed to be heaving with othere people's "stuff" and I just had to slough off some of the clutter.

Nowadays we have so many "things" too that it becomes stifling. I am gradually moving through our house clearing out junk and the sense of calm is more than compensation for going out buying things I dont need.

Sami_Bee

larmy16 wrote: »

... Nowadays we have so many "things" too that it becomes stifling. I am gradually moving through our house clearing out junk and the sense of calm is more than compensation for going out buying things I dont need.

The only problem is it seems to be like the painting of the forth, once you get to the end you need to start again *sigh*

larmy16

Sami_Bee wrote: »

The only problem is it seems to be like the painting of the forth, once you get to the end you need to start again *sigh*

Yeah I know what you mean. Funny you never hear people of going into re-hab to cure their addiction to charity shops, boot fairs and jumble sales do you?:)

BrandNewDay

OK, I guess this is sneaky:

You know those little cars outside of grocery stores that kids can ride in? There's a bus at our Morrisons and my 2yo goes ape every time we pass it. It costs 50p to ride it, but I realized that it's already blinking and making noises (to entice children) so all I really need to do is stand next to it and shake it with my hand. He honestly can't tell the difference!

So, now I can bribe my child into good behavior for free.

russetred

BrandNewDay wrote: »

OK, I guess this is sneaky:

You know those little cars outside of grocery stores that kids can ride in? There's a bus at our Morrisons and my 2yo goes ape every time we pass it. It costs 50p to ride it, but I realized that it's already blinking and making noises (to entice children) so all I really need to do is stand next to it and shake it with my hand. He honestly can't tell the difference!

So, now I can bribe my child into good behavior for free.

:rotfl: excellent,they're overpriced blackmail machines anyway.

Chops_2

I think this thread is absolutely wonderful and I've picked up many good ideas to save money, so thank you very much !!!:T

Thought I would add a contribution to those of you who have cats. If you go to the Go-Cat website, you will see an icon "free sample click here". You can then register to receive a free sample of their indoor dry cat food (perfectly good for indoor and outdoor cats) as well as a 50p coupon for next purchase.

katycocoa

I bet everyone does this already. It saves a fortune if you buy your greetings cards in bulk. In home bargains for example they have really good quality ones on offer sometimes, 4 for £1. I get loads and store them under my bed. I can't understand why people go to card shops and pay £3 a card!

Steph112

I am so addicted to this site and have made lists of all the great tips I've found in the first 40 pages of this article, so I thought I'd re-post them for easy use if you want them.
None of the below are my ideas and full credit goes to those that thought of them!!:

Money Saving Tips

Bathroom

• Squash toilet roll in half
• Turn off water when lathering up hair etc.
• When waiting for tap to warm up, catch water for watering plants/cleaning
• Collect the last bits of soap in a jar. When jar is full melt it in the oven after it's been on hot for cooking (carefully) and make a new 'free' bar.
• Water down bubble bath & Shampoo, shake well, and use half as much as normal.
• Put shampoo/conditioner into pump
• Use Pitrock instead of deodorant on not hot days (£5 Asda)
• Add water to soap dispenser and shake
• Buy big bottles of bath crème to use as soap in dispensers
• Save shower cleaning spray bottle and refill half with new stuff and half with water

Beauty

• Cut facial wipes in half and use to clean around sink
• Cut moisturiser in half and scrape out into pot
• Use Aqueous cream for moisturiser
• Cut toothpaste tube in half and use up
• Scrape ends of lipstick into bowl and mix to make new shade/gloss
• Lynx is called Axe elsewhere and in Poundland
• Use expensive shampoo/conditioner every other hair wash
• Add water to the last dregs or shampoo/conditioner/shower gel etc.
• Intensive conditioner: Warm a desert spoonful of olive oil (I do it in the microwave) and massage through dry hair. Keep it away from the roots though. Wrap your hair in a plastic bag then a towel. Leave for at least 15 minutes. Then wash it out but apply the shampoo to your hair BEFORE you wet it.
• Olive oil/veggie oil/ with salt or sugar use as a invigorating body scrub
• Cover feet when just moisturised them
• Big Hair IIRC – buy conditioner (Savers and maybe Bodyshop) (£1.89)
• Warm, used t-bags make excellent eye-pads to rejuvinate tired/ swollen/ infected eyes---sit quietly & allow to coo

Car

• Use a dash of washing up liquid and a splash of white vinegar in the water as screen wash

Food

• Portion control
• Pick up salt, sugar, pepper, etc. from restaurants (take amount you would use if you wanted salt on your food, etc.) and save in boxes
• Put fresh veg in water so it stays fresh
• Make two cups of tea with one tea bag
• Add water to full-fat/skimmed milk
• Ask for take-out boxes if you have left-over food in a restaurant
• Wash out jars to get the last dregs
• Put baked beans into mince – only need half the mince
• Buy valued powdered milk packets to use in cooking
• Do meal plans
• Freeze nearing going off veg to use in stews
• Add grated carrots to sauces
• Look through the freezer/fridge at the end of each week to see what needs using up
• If bread’s gone stale, make into breadcrumbs and use to cover chicken/mushrooms/fish/pasta breaks etc. Can be used to bulk out food, i.e. mince/stuffing. Can freeze too.
• Only use half an OXO cube
• See if you can cook some food in the same boiling water (i.e. pasta and vegetables)
• Use crumbles at bottom of cereal to mix into toppings

Gifts

• Use the silky hanging things from clothes as gift tag attachers
• Save freebies and put in baskets (Poundland) for pressies

Health

• Dissolve good heaped teaspoon of salt in a cup of boiled water. Allow to cool slightly & use as an antiseptic for cleaning eyes, cuts, grazes; gargle for a sore throat; mouth wash

Household

• Only turn on lights when needed
• Close doors to keep heat in if heaters etc. are on
• Cut up old clothes for cloths
• Use damp cloth for dusting, instead of expensive polish.
• Use coke for household cleaning
• Use a microfiber cloth for wiping down shower (attach clothes tags so u can hang it up)
• Cut off long-sleeves from old clothes and sew up end. Use as plastic bag holder
• Use boiling water for weed-killer
• Left over tea bags are good for the soil - rip 'em up, add water and sprinkle over plants.
• Cut up sponges etc. in half
• Reuse hoover bags
• tttt

Kitchen

• When waiting for tap to warm up, catch water for watering plants/cleaning
• When cooking, turn cooker/oven off five/ten minutes before stuff is done
• Cover boiling water and turn off heat once stuff is boiled (under 15 mins)
• Only boil the amount of water you need
• Always put the lid on any cooking
• Only use the right size ring for the pot on it
• Cut some kitchen towel into quarter and put in a box for small spillages/wiping hands etc.
• Buy a tube squeezer from Morrison’s

Shopping

• Always check your receipt for double charging and go to the customer service desk for a refund – you may get lucky and get more back than you bargained for
• If you’re just ‘popping’ to the shop, only pick up a basket – if you can’t carry it, don’t get it. If you’re only going for one thing, don’t get a basket – you’ll have to carry everything to the till, which will make you think. If you still think something you saw was a good offer, go back and get it the next day on your way home from work
• Check price per kg – buying a large amount of smaller stuff may be cheaper
• When in Boots check the clubcard machine
• Look in Poundland for bargains
• Start a savings jar for any obvious money saved
• Buy Christmas presents/Birthday presents over the year. Try and buy Christmas presents in the January sale

Washing

• Water-down fabric conditioner
• Use white vinegar (regular cap full from conditioner) instead of fabric conditioner/or a spoonful (??)
• Put washing-up liquid in a pumper
• Use half as much washing powder
• Turn off iron before doing last thing
• Watch the weather forecast to work out which days will be the best drying days and do the washing accordingly. Really windy days also blow away more creases saving on the old ironing!
• Hang clothes on washing line and bang back in tumble drier for five minutes at end to soften up
• When waiting for tap to warm up, catch water for watering plants/cleaning
• Hang things to dry on the shower rail
• Hair spray used on stained clothes usually does the trick to remove them before being washed- especially on hair dye!!
• Every couple of weeks, run an empty washing machine on the hottest setting with nothing but a capful of anti-septic disinfectant in the drawer----sssoooo much better than a commercially advertised product to prevent lime-scale

Things I do:

• It sounds silly, but I only tend to buy Sainsbury's Basics chocolate. It only costs like 27p a bar (100g) and does me just fine for my chocolate cravings!
• I switch between whitening toothpaste (which tends to be a bit more expensive) in the morning and regular toothpaste in the evening to make it last longer
• I won't buy clothes unless I actually want something specific (e.g. a dress or a top for going out in)
• I only have fruit juice once a day, for breakfast, and put it in a slim glass, so I don't use too much and it becomes like a treat
• I try not to buy brands but a shop's own stuff (if it works out cheaper of course!)

That's all I can think of at the moment for stuff I do.

Things I now do/will be doing in the future:

• A hell of a lot of the tips posted at the start (my handwash is now full to the brim again!!)
• I have set myself a budget for the week and section it out, so I know where money should go
• I am going to start saving up to pay back my student loan (I'm only in first year, but I figure if I put a little aside, over time I will be able to pay a nice amount of it off)
• Save seperately for birthday/christmas pressies and set a limit per person
• Buy no more kitchen towel and use old clothes etc. to mop up instead - if I make a mess when eating, the sink and soap are only a few steps away!
• Keep a note of how much I spend a day to keep on top of things

Thanks so much for all the tips and I hope to become a very savvy saver!

[Deleted User]

I didn`t have any wrapping paper but I did have some small pieces of very cheap, nice, cotton fabric. I wrapped the presents in cloth and tied the cloth with postie -discarded rubber bands. Looks very nice too