Sneaky ways to save the pennies

Confuzzled

mazinmouse wrote: »

have not had chance to read all pages.. so this may be duplicating and idea.

We changed to a king size duvet for our standard double bed. The difference for the same tog rating has made quite a difference. I reckon the fact that it covers us both and hangs over all sides creating a 'seal' means that we don't lose the warmth each time one of us shifts.

I've done this too as well as turning it the wrong way around (ie the long part is over the sides of the bed, the shorter from head to foot) my daughter likes to snuggle up with me a fair bit and she also has a nasty habit of cocooning herself in the duvet! since i don't heat the bedroom this is a bit of a problem!

since using the king size duvet turned the opposite way around there are never any quarrels over who's being the coverhog when she does comes sneak into my bed

Confuzzled

rosemary54 wrote: »

I send things 2nd class with the P.O and use manilla envelopes rather than padded ones as they add to the cost.What you make depends on the book and I tend to check prices of other sellers on Amazon to see if worth selling with them(never understood those who sell for 1p as the amount you get does not cover costs!)

a little tip here when posting books and other things that might poke through paper envelopes. try writing the address and return addresses on first then stategically wrap the parcel in the wide clear parcel tape. make certain you leave enough envelope untaped for them to put the stamps or sticker on because these often come off tape.

this will cost you a bit extra however this gives you a nice streamline package (which may or may not make the difference between it being sent as a letter vs a parcel if it's a thinner book or a dvd) and its cheaper than new jiffy bags. it also keeps your handwriting from smudging or coming off it it gets wet and does offer some weather protection if it's a very rainy day when the posty delivers it...

i don't do amazon or ebay etc anymore but i used to do that a lot and it worked well...oh it has one more added bonus... no one every complained again of a package with missing items... guess the few nosey/greedy posties or postal workers in the sorting office couldn't easily snoop into what i was sending anymore

Becky_2

I have started to keep the envelopes you get in the post i.e envelopes you are supposed to use when paying credit card bills etc. with when paying through the post. Then just put a new white label on top or in my case a freebie label I got from Ecover and then use those envelopes for competitions etc when it doesn't matter how the envelope looks like.

The other tip probably doesn't save money but saves time if the black bin bag leaks when I am carrying it through the house to the bin. I put a couple of sheets of old newspapers at the bottom of the bag and for the last few months I have had no more dripping bin bags.

Shortie

Confuzzled wrote: »

I've done this too as well as turning it the wrong way around (ie the long part is over the sides of the bed, the shorter from head to foot)

That sounds like a good idea, and at 5'2" to would work fine for me!

I can't see taller Mr Shortie being so keen though when his feet poke out of the bottom of he duvet all of a sudden :rotfl:

Confuzzled

Shortie wrote: »

That sounds like a good idea, and at 5'2" to would work fine for me!

I can't see taller Mr Shortie being so keen though when his feet poke out of the bottom of he duvet all of a sudden :rotfl:

well i got rid of my mr, though he was only 1/2inch taller than me (i'm 5'6") so we don't have to worry about it...though saying that, i tend to stick at least one foot out anyway at night as a temperature regulator.. i'm not sure i'd even notice!

it does work nicely for those under about 5'9ish i should think and thankfully the wee one isn't quite there yet at only 8... though sometimes after a big growth spurt i do wonder how much longer that will hold true! :eek::rotfl:

rosemary54

Confuzzled wrote: »

a little tip here when posting books and other things that might poke through paper envelopes. try writing the address and return addresses on first then stategically wrap the parcel in the wide clear parcel tape. make certain you leave enough envelope untaped for them to put the stamps or sticker on because these often come off tape.

this will cost you a bit extra however this gives you a nice streamline package (which may or may not make the difference between it being sent as a letter vs a parcel if it's a thinner book or a dvd) and its cheaper than new jiffy bags. it also keeps your handwriting from smudging or coming off it it gets wet and does offer some weather protection if it's a very rainy day when the posty delivers it...

i don't do amazon or ebay etc anymore but i used to do that a lot and it worked well...oh it has one more added bonus... no one every complained again of a package with missing items... guess the few nosey/greedy posties or postal workers in the sorting office couldn't easily snoop into what i was sending anymore

when you sell books through amazon and green met you can print off the address labels and stick them on.As you say be careful where you stick tape as I also had a postal worker try and stick stamps on tape!

mirry

I care for a really thrifty old lady and have got some good tips from her ..


When you get post , check the stamp to see if its been franked , if not ,
soak it in some hot water and peel off , then leave it to dry. You can then reuse it on a envelope by sticking it on with a prit stick .
(check your xmas post ).

When you get charity plastic bags through the door , instead of throwing them in the bin - use them as a bin bag .

Sian_the_Green

mirry wrote: »

I care for a really thrifty old lady and have got some good tips from her ..


When you get post , check the stamp to see if its been franked , if not ,
soak it in some hot water and peel off , then leave it to dry. You can then reuse it on a envelope by sticking it on with a prit stick .
(check your xmas post ).

When you get charity plastic bags through the door , instead of throwing them in the bin - use them as a bin bag .

I love thriftiness but am not sure on the ethics of either of these ones...

The charity bags are normally to be left outside on the collection day so they can be reused if they are empty, if they are then not collected then I think using them for a bin bag would be okay but otherwise they may be able to reuse them meaning they are not out of pocket

With the stamps, I have thought long and hard about this one and much as I love getting something for free the service paid for by the stamp has been given to you (or the person who sent the post). It is, to me, like getting given too much change back or getting a free ride on the bus as there was no conductor.

I don't mean to be grumpy, I am sure the lady you work with has many other tips so do keep them coming!

mirry

I havent used these tips myself but will be considering it , I throw all the charity bags away in the bin cos they never collect them - seems they are only interested in getting goods ,( what a waste), I get on average about 3 a week in my area .

I have also just re read this whole thread and see others have mentioned the stamp thing , so it seems to be common knowledge and people are doing this . The old lady told me she read the tip in a magazine years back .
Would I feel guilty doing this ? probally not .

Money_saving_Diva_2

HariboJunkie wrote: »

Please don't worry honey. You have done nothing wrong. :A I agree entirely with your sentiments but I'm afraid that the same cannot be said for Ceridwen. She may want to take her own advice about "speaking harshly" to people.
About two months ago Ceridwen, I made a post in your defense on your "Gleaning food" thread.
The next morning you sent me a pm stating how much I had upset you and requesting that I no longer post on the same threads as you. You also posted on the Daily Thread;

This was clearly a reference to me and you have made lots of these references, both to my perceived "nastiness" and to my childhood. You have done it again tonight and I decided to find the post you are alluding to. This is what I said a few days before that on the thread you say you rarely read. We both know you are talking about me and as such I would go so far as to say that you are deliberately trying to wind me up with your posts. I happen to think that bullying is too strong a word but maybe others would disagree. The odd thing is that I cannot find a post where I have been nasty to you ( although I have disagreed with your point of view on occasion) and yet can put my hand on several where the tables are turned and you have had a real go at me.

All I really want to do with this post is clear up your perception of my childhood. You may indeed be a very talented amateur psychologist but everyone gets it wrong some time.
When I posted the above comment to Pink it was in jest. She is my big sister whom I adore and would not hurt her feelings for the world. We (and my brother) where brought up by a wonderful woman with a fabulous sense of humour. She did a brilliant job of ensuring we grew up to be happy, well adjusted people who were empathetic to others and loved to give. The "stop whining willard" was a quote from a programme we enjoyed and it was our code to cheer eachother up. My siblings and I remain very close as indeed we are to my Father. Perhaps you find this difficult to understand. My sister and I laugh together on the phone at least twice a day. We are a happy bunch who rib eachother but never hurt eachother. It is a truly lovely family to be part of.
Unfortunately my mother died while I was still a child, leaving a gaping wound in our lives which brought us even closer together. I miss her more than you will ever know so forgive me for not continuing to ignore your snide comments and thinly veiled jibes. I'm afraid that your inference that I was brought up badly has upset me deeply on behalf of all my family, especially my late mother.

Sorry for the off topic post folks but I have tried to ignore this for nearly 2 months and just couldn't manage it tonight.

Haribo - I wanted to just echo what Churchmouse said - It is perfectly obvious to ANYONE who sees you and Pink post back and forth that you love each other deeply and are always there for each other. I have even said before in my posts what a great sister you are. And you obviously both have fabulous sense of humour, which over on the Daily we all enjoy being part of!

I guess I wanted to post also because my name was quoted in a post that Ceridwen had made I didn't want there to be any misconceptions about how I feel on this subject.

Originally Posted by Edinburghlass
Quite frankly it doesn't matter who you are talking about. Take your own advice when you say there is no excuse for talking harshly about other users of MSE.

I can only reiterate what Edinburgh said so accurately and succinctly.

Ok, sorry to have been off topic but I just read the update email and felt very strongly that I needed to post.

As for the tips about stamps - my mother has always done this since I was young and even now I automatically check for franking. It's amazing how many you can save over a year. When I was a student a friend of mine used to rub his stamps with a bar of soap as he said that when it was franked, it could be washed off at the other end and re-used but to me that was a step too far and still is. I don't mind gaining the benefit from a Post Office mistake but...

My mother also always used the charity bags as bin bags but she also regularly gave to charity shops and church collections - she just didn't use plastic bags for it.

We also reuse all envelopes that come into the house including the ones that come with bills or c/c etc. We just stick a piece of paper over the address part. One big padded envelope has been sent between my friend and I about six times so far...:rotfl:

Thanks everyone for such an interesting thread.

Diva.x