Sneaky ways to save the pennies

smileyt_2

Thank you Maz. I'm going to try and put some serious time in on my allotment over the next couple of months (unless I'm lucky enough to land a new job really quickly) so hopefully won't have to spend much on veg. I'm just waiting for my courgette plants to get going and then it will be courgette with everything!:D

happytails

Confuzzled wrote: »

i used cloth nappies for my daughter, normally i made homemade wipes in advance using baby oil, baby shampoo and water with cut up bits of flannel (made from old sheets) however when we would go out and about and to other peoples homes for visits i'd use store bought wipes.

i knew that the wipes were quite strong so since i was already washing wet nappies anyway if i used a wipe just for a wee then i'd toss it in the nappy pail (or special bag when travelling) and wash it along with the nappies. then i'd use the same solution to make up what looked like 'store bought wipes' for next time i was out and about

(i NEVER washed ones with poo, the nappies were strong enough to withstand that i didn't want to chance it if the wipes were!)

this saved me a fair bit in buying store bought wipes and i got less strange looks all around

We use reusable nappies and liners on our daughter, we have the reusable swim nappies too! I am in the middle of making my own cotton terry/fleece backed wipes but will still use store bought ones when out for convenience!

I also use Cloth sanitary protection and a moon cup. Cost a bit to get what you need but saves you buying the horrible disposable ones, and you re-coup your pennies after a year and they are so comfy and last ages, they wash well too!

We buy alot of our daughters toys etc from second hand shops, carboots, private sales in the classifieds in our local paper, saves us having to pay a fortune for something she wont use for very long!

xx

Confuzzled

i agree happytails, 2nd hand toys can be a great bargain and you don't feel so bad if they don't play with them for long

most of my daughters clothing has come from charity shops and boot sales (about 95%) and she dresses far better than i ever did in brand name fashions including some designer stuff! she also has a LOT more clothes than i have (i'm overweight and finding clothing in my size at a charity shop is a very rare occassion so i have a VERY limited wardrobe)

i must have raised her properly though, whenever she is taken into a regular store she checks prices of clothing and gives a look of disgust at the prices usually saying something along the lines of 'i could get 2 full outfits for the price of these jeans! awwww, she's only 7, i'm so proud :T

rosemary54

Confuzzled wrote: »

i agree happytails, 2nd hand toys can be a great bargain and you don't feel so bad if they don't play with them for long

most of my daughters clothing has come from charity shops and boot sales (about 95%) and she dresses far better than i ever did in brand name fashions including some designer stuff! she also has a LOT more clothes than i have (i'm overweight and finding clothing in my size at a charity shop is a very rare occassion so i have a VERY limited wardrobe)

i must have raised her properly though, whenever she is taken into a regular store she checks prices of clothing and gives a look of disgust at the prices usually saying something along the lines of 'i could get 2 full outfits for the price of these jeans! awwww, she's only 7, i'm so proud :T

as kids my mother always took us to jumble sales and I still shudder when i think of it and would never buy at one now.I always felt poor (we never had holidays,car etc either)and it was only when dad retired that he found out that actually we weren't that badly off(both parents in work was unusual then)and that she had squirreled away lots of money to leave to us.He and the rest of the family would much rather have had the money to enjoy when they had good health.

Sorry if this sounds like preaching and i know lots of people rely on 2nd hand clothes etc but to me just brings back bad memories and I do think you should enjoy your moneyu when you can as we never know what is around the corner

p.s I do buy from ebay etc but NOT clothes:rolleyes:

Confuzzled

rosemary, sorry to hear it brings up bad memories for you. my mother raised me to think we were poor if we used resources like that so instead i got bullied and beaten up because my clothes were too tight/too short etc as we didn't have the money to buy clothing new. i only got new clothes at christmas and my birthdays from my grandparents

i have to say i would have preferred presents, toys, i got teased and bullied about my lack of those too but at least i would have enjoyed playing with what i'd have been given vs clothes that i still eventually got teased and bullied about since i grew so fast between new gifts of them

my daughter has her own style and finds shopping at charity shops better to suit it. like me she doesn't find most trendy items particularly appealing so charity shops afford her more choices. she's also been raised to see that we're helping the environment by shopping there and she gets plenty of name brand clothes other kids wear and no one is the wiser. i won't buy tat no matter how cheap it is so she always gets good quality clothes.

if you've not looked at clothes in a charity shop for some time perhaps you should go to a few and look again! she knows we have a limited budget and would rather have more clothes for less price and know i'm not going to freak out on her if she tears it or stains it beyond repair (my mother would actually whip me if i stained my clothes!) all in all she feels lucky to have such choice and to not have to worry about mishaps, she's told me so herself.

i feel glad that i used my common sense to provide her with what she wants to wear vs only what we could afford. she'd actually be MORE likely to be teased if i bought what i could afford new, i think for us charity shops are a far better choice but to each their own

Savvy_sewing

Despite the fact that I had a reasonably normal childhood, I have always enjoyed rumaging in Charity shops, and all of my children have been dressed from them, as well as some budget chain stores. All my clothes are the same. I have always had plenty of clothes.
Shopping in charity shop even led to me working in one. I loved it.
They are not the same as jumble sales by miles!. It is a serious business and all of the clothes are in best condition. It is rare to find anything stained or damaged for sale in a charity shop. Unlike some new shops that have damaged items on sale.

As a single mum of 4 for the last 16 years, I could not have taken my children on holidays, had a car, if I had not been frugal. But none of them feel deprived. I worked hard to makesure that they got as much as possible, it was just not always designer!
At the moment I have found a lot of charity shops have a "managers Rail" and some items are reduced to £1. I have purchased a wonderful shift dress this last week for said £1, and its going on my holiday with me, when BF takes me away next month.

rosemary54

Confuzzled wrote: »

rosemary, sorry to hear it brings up bad memories for you. my mother raised me to think we were poor if we used resources like that so instead i got bullied and beaten up because my clothes were too tight/too short etc as we didn't have the money to buy clothing new. i only got new clothes at christmas and my birthdays from my grandparents

i have to say i would have preferred presents, toys, i got teased and bullied about my lack of those too but at least i would have enjoyed playing with what i'd have been given vs clothes that i still eventually got teased and bullied about since i grew so fast between new gifts of them

my daughter has her own style and finds shopping at charity shops better to suit it. like me she doesn't find most trendy items particularly appealing so charity shops afford her more choices. she's also been raised to see that we're helping the environment by shopping there and she gets plenty of name brand clothes other kids wear and no one is the wiser. i won't buy tat no matter how cheap it is so she always gets good quality clothes.

if you've not looked at clothes in a charity shop for some time perhaps you should go to a few and look again! she knows we have a limited budget and would rather have more clothes for less price and know i'm not going to freak out on her if she tears it or stains it beyond repair (my mother would actually whip me if i stained my clothes!) all in all she feels lucky to have such choice and to not have to worry about mishaps, she's told me so herself.

i feel glad that i used my common sense to provide her with what she wants to wear vs only what we could afford. she'd actually be MORE likely to be teased if i bought what i could afford new, i think for us charity shops are a far better choice but to each their own

my mum actually used to sing "second hand rose "to me!!!!!! used to cringe when she did and even begged her to stop to no avail

did actually have a quick look in 1 of the many charity shops in our local town today and think it definately depands where you live as to what you find(anyone watch Mary queen of charity shops?)I dont think they existed when I was a child by the way.
I then went to the department store where I got a pair of £89 Planet trousers marked down to £29 :j:j:j:j...don't feel bad buying from shops,you are keeping people in work :T

KiWi13

It's good to hear other peoples perspectives on here. At the moment we are trying hard to get ourselves into a routine with not spending too much and be able to put some oney away for saving/ emergencies as well as paying the bills.
Although I will admit sometimes I find it very difficult when I need (well want i suppose) someting for the house not to go overboard and think oh that would look nice oh wouldnt that be pretty etc

Trying to not go into town on my lunch hour anymore and I take very little cash out with me and leave my cards at home. Have decided that if i walk in opposite direction i can walk round the local park which costs me nothing and get s me exercise at the same time. So triple bonus with spending no money! :j

I would like to cut down on the washing powder but over the years my Mum tried and tried to change it and I can only use Ariel as I come out in a rash with all the others :mad: so can't do much and although i am using the liquitabs I buy them when they are on offer and store them in a cupboard. Used to do this for Mum too when i lived at home.

Recently bought a load of stripy stuff in Mr Ts to try out and so far everything has been very nice so I will be buying more of that from now on. We both don't mind if things aren't branded as long as we like them that's all that matters in the end.

As for the charity shop debate - we have quite a few in town and every now and again I go for a wonder round them (well the ones that are open when I'm on lunch). To be honest because of my size i don't often find many clothes in them but some things are lovely and I don't see the harm at all in getting some use out of something someone would have thrown out otherwise plus a charity gets some money out of it.

I help out at an animal sanctuary and now give all my unwanted items to their charity shop to help raise the money for the upkeep of the animals. Again getting rid of stuff i wouldn't use, probably would make buttons on ebay and to be honest don't have the time to faf around with the post office etc and its all goes to something good.

just remember your helping somebody somehwere not just your pocket!
K

pinkprincess39

i buy cheap pan scourers/sponges from the 99p shop, cut them into 4 and use 1 piece every time i need to scrub burnt on dishes, then the piece can be thrown but i dont waste a whole one.

mardatha

I was an only one and we had plenty money for holidays and clothes. But when I was 15 I went to my very first jumble sale and LOVED it, I still love them