Sneaky ways to save the pennies

Confuzzled

EagerLearner wrote: »

Fantastic idea :beer:

- Buy longlife milk - we get 4 litres (4 packs, 1 litre each) from ASDA for £2. Last ages and we don't notice any difference, plus it stops those lethal 'oh, I will just go grab some milk, oh whooops just spent £23' trips)



- Do online orders - we do them every 8 weeks or so for the bulky stuff - makes the weekly shop lighter and less time spent in the evil supermarket.... being tempted!

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i discovered the joys of uht milk during a period of really bad finances. first i started just using it in tea then i got brave and tasted it one night on it's own and was surprised at how creamy it is.

i found that if i bought the whole uht milk i could use it as a cream substitute in soups, it's not as nice as real cream but when you're eating cheap any creamy soup seems a luxury and it's really quite nice really

i also found that my normal semi skim in uht form was too creamy for me to drink on it's own so now i can buy the skim variety and it's the cheapest! and as mentioned it helps keep me out of the supermarket as often which is a definite saver

i too use online shopping for bulk purchases, again it keeps me out of the store and enables me to avoid temptations. also i don't have a car so obviously bulk shopping isn't easy for me otherwise. i tend to wait until i get a free delivery code before i order again.

this coupled with using approved foods has really cut down on my trips to the shops. in fact on approved foods i do my best to buy any fruit products they have like the fruitabu as these dried variations can substitute for fresh fruit in a pinch.

Meenu

you can get the lynx sprays from the pound shop i ve seen them in there (i mean 99p stores)

Confuzzled

PasturesNew wrote: »

I always turn off the oven and rings in the last 10 minutes of cooking time.

I never wear good clothes round the house, always the same old leggings and T shirts. This makes good things last longer + produces much less washing to be done.

I cut washing sponges in half. Then when I've finished with one for washing up it moves to the bathroom.

(if you see a lot of my posts in a row forgive me, i'm slowly going through this massive thread)

i do quite a few similar things to those above

i turn off my forman grill when the meat is nearing done, the residual heat finishes, turn off the oven/hobs before the items are done too, again residual heat

i also open the oven door and pull one of the shelves out a bit to keep it propped open and let the heat into the room

i also have my 'at home' clothes that i change into almost as soon as i get home from anywhere. this saves wear and tear on my good clothes and my at home clothes are comfier. i also don't wash clothes unless they are visibly dirty, smell or have been worn more than 2-3 times. this saves money on energy, detergent AND keeps my clothes from getting worn out from excessive washing. towels only get washed after they've been used a number of times, after all you're clean when you use them to dry yourself off (hand towels and dish towels get washed more frequently)

i also wash my scrubby sponges and jcloths, you can get quite a few washes out of them and when they are on their last legs you can use them one last time on something grotty like cleaning the toilet or something goopy on the floor etc then i don't feel guilty when i bin it after!

Meenu

try coconut oil u only need a smidge and u can buy huge jars from places like afro hair shops very modestly priced

Confuzzled

malteaser1988 wrote: »

Also I tend to cook lots of pasta and use only a small portion of the bolognaise mix because pasta fills you up and is much cheaper than mince!

a tip i use for leftover spaghetti noodles is to sprinkle some water over them, add in butter and garlic granules and if you have some some parmesan cheese (i like the kind from the canister for this) they are scrummy!

also another use for butter wrappers that still have butter on them, save them up in the fridge then use them to butter your corn on the cob, each wrapper will perfectly butter a few ears usually!

Confuzzled

unixgirluk wrote: »

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. Sounds strange but trust me it works.

on a similar note, a woman at a salon, taking pity on my then severely damaged hair (and my low wage at the time) told me to stop wasting my money on salon products and instead use mayonnaise as an intensive conditioner

she told me to apply mayo to my dry hair, work in it well, put either a shower cap or some plastic wrap around my now greasy sticky hair and leave it on as long as i could stand the smell (tends to itch a wee bit too but it's not bad) she suggested doing this once a month and never within a week of perming or dying my hair

i have to say it works wonders. when i was swimming regularly i started doing it again as the pool had really damaged my hair and it really helped

also another stylist told me how to make a leave in conditioner. basically you use 10 parts water to 1 part good quality conditioner, shake it well in a spray bottle before each use and spray on damp clean hair, allow it to dry naturally and it helps a lot with damaged hair without leaving it limp (and i have thin hair so if it didn't leave mine limp it should work on most people)

Patchwork_Quilt

I don't know if this will help anyone but I saved our blind today - was washing up and somehow splattered myself and the blind with gloopy tomato/oil from a pan. The t-shirt is ruined (might dye it black?) but I got the goo off the blind with surgical spirits, much to my surprise

ampersand

Confuzzled wrote: »

on a similar note, a woman at a salon, taking pity on my then severely damaged hair (and my low wage at the time) told me to stop wasting my money on salon products and instead use mayonnaise as an intensive conditioner

she told me to apply mayo to my dry hair, work in it well, put either a shower cap or some plastic wrap around my now greasy sticky hair and leave it on as long as i could stand the smell (tends to itch a wee bit too but it's not bad) she suggested doing this once a month and never within a week of perming or dying my hair

i have to say it works wonders. when i was swimming regularly i started doing it again as the pool had really damaged my hair and it really helped

also another stylist told me how to make a leave in conditioner. basically you use 10 parts water to 1 part good quality conditioner, shake it well in a spray bottle before each use and spray on damp clean hair, allow it to dry naturally and it helps a lot with damaged hair without leaving it limp (and i have thin hair so if it didn't leave mine limp it should work on most people)

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Those are super-duper tips confuzzled and hit exactly on things I have been asking about.
Many thanks indeed.

Confuzzled

ampersand wrote: »

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Those are super-duper tips confuzzled and hit exactly on things I have been asking about.
Many thanks indeed.

you're quite welcome!

one thing to note though, you may want to put a well marked label on the remainder of the mayo and put it in the back of the fridge so it doesn't get used by accident, inevitably i wind up getting a hair or two in the jar no matter how hard i try to avoid it

i don't like mayo so i don't have to worry about it but we nearly had a guest use it once.. had another one ask me why i had an unopened jar of mayo in the bathroom too :rotfl:

ampersand

Hair hasn't been damaged, but I am swimming so had asked about possible effects of chlorine and what steps to counter this might be best.