Sneaky ways to save the pennies

Marcie

I just saved myself the cost of a new shower curtain thanks to a tip I read on here (at least I think it was!!)

I gave my 'old' one a really good scrub in a bath of hot soapy water and then 'lined' it with a cheap Smart Price one - 89p - so the patterned one will sit outside the bath and the cheapy one inside. It saved me spending at least £6 on a new one

Patchwork_Quilt

Old shower curtains also make very good dust sheets and picnic 'blankets'

I used to wash mine by putting a good squirt of bleach in the powder drawer of the machine and washing at 40.

mum2one

these tips are brilliant.

Mine -I'm a "mature student" so pd £10 for NUS card, but every shop I go in I ask if they do student discount, a lot do not always advertised.

When upwrapping bday presents open carefully, and you can reuse ur paper

mummyfrugal

My old shower curtains I keep in the shed, they are great for when you clip hedges/conifers - put on the floor with a few heavy stones to hold them down, clip the hedges/conifers and afterwards you roll them up and shake the cuttings into your green wheelie bin - saves loads of effort sweeping up the cuttings and theres usually no bits left!

Also old clothes that are no good to resell in charity shop get cut up and used as cloths - have a stack under the sink. I save up all the cloths when used in a bucket of water with cheap washing powder in and then wash them all in one go on a sunny day.

I also put facial cleaning wipes in the washing machine - when clean and dry are great for disposable cloths for jobs like when you check the oil in your car etc. Also talking of cars, a dash of stardrops works loads better and is more economical than washing up liquid.

For weedkilling dandelions (on a dry day) I pull up what I can and put a pinch of salt where the root has snapped - this kills the dandelion without polluting the rest of the garden with weedkiller (its cheaper) and is much safer if you have kids and pets playing on the lawn etc. Have tried this on other weeds but is not really as effective. But inbetween flags and cracks if you pour loads of salt in it does the trick but best to pull weeds out first.

Keep putting your tips on too, im subscribed to this thread so i dont miss any, wish someone would condense them all into a book - id definately buy a copy!!

Keep smiling, keep saving :-)

EagerLearner

mummyfrugal - when de-weeding, why not eat the dandelions? I am prepared to try it sometime!
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/eatforfree/tp/Dandelion_Recipes.01.htm
Could be a frugal stiry fry or steamed veg... the French and Italian eat all leaves, but apparently the new leaves are better for those of us who ahve never tried...

wantabetterlife

Really love this thread. Things that i have tried and worked are

1. By own brand supermarket sparkling water at 12p a bottle and add a dash of cordial to make a lovely fzzy drink- Kids and oh love it!!
2. Nearly every dinner i make i do enough for two days and freeze one.
3. Use half a dishwasher tablet per load-works brilliant
4. Buy own brand coco pops and rice krispies for kids- saves a fortune. Dont do cornflakes though!! Also buy own brand biscuits.
5. Now use shin of beef when making casseroles- much cheaper than braising steak and just as nice!
6. Use my supermarket.com to compare prices in tesco/asda
7. Now use a lot less washing powder as i just put in one scoop and clothes come out fine.
8. If going out shopping with the kids i always take a small bottle of juice and a couple of snacks with me so i dont have to pay extortionate prices in the shop

Thats all i can think of at the minute. This website has totally changed the way i think about money. Since joining a few months ago i have cleared over £3000 in debt and have savings for the first time in my life!!!:j:j
WABL

Sian_the_Green

wantabetterlife wrote: »

This website has totally changed the way i think about money. Since joining a few months ago i have cleared over £3000 in debt and have savings for the first time in my life!!!:j:j
WABL

Wow WABL, that is phenomenal, you must have worked really hard to get there, I hope you are enjoying it now. It's funny how much fun the money saving is too, I love reusing things, I love shopping in 'cheapie' shops, I love handmaking gifts...

rosemary54

after watching 10 years younger when the resident dentist said electric toothbrushes clean your teeth much better I bought 1 from tesco for about £14(they vary from about £10 to £35).not only do my teeth look much whiter but i find I only use about a third the amount of toothpaste :)bad mark to tesco tho(and the biggest chain of chemists) as they don't sell the refil heads BUT you can get them by post from the manufacturers post free .. and they cost no more than a manual toothbrush.not a massive saving but one that saves money with time and is better for your teeth

chevalier

Aril wrote: »

I very sadly sat down and went through my stash of old clothes which were in the rag bag. Some of these I cut into different sizes and they are now stored in a bag under my sink where I can get to them easily. Since doing it [ooh took me all of 10 mins and had only been talking about doing it for 6 months] I've used less than a roll of kitchen paper this year so far. As they are easily accessible I'm now in the habit of using them.
Great thread by the way....keep the tips coming please
Aril

I did a similar thing and got some cheap material napkins. This means i am still onthe same roll of kitchen roll as i had at xmas....
chev

angela110660

If you are with Scottish Power (we have their electric) - read your meter and submit it. I did this online a few days ago - got a message immediately that my DD was being reduced from £44 to £36.50 with immediate effect. Couple of days later - letter in post to say we were £200 in credit and they would send us a cheque. It arrived today!! Elated is not the word.