Old-style "spend To Save"

rubberbiscuit

Sometimes with abit of an initial investment its possible to save yourself even more! What sort of things do folk feel are worth the money??
A small example from me would be a well stocked store cupboard (after all once you have all the baking supplies/herbs/spices they last you ages!!).

oldtractor

yes buying in bulk so long as you do use it all up. ALso growing veg you can buy netting etc to protect from insects ,its does cost but in a couple of years you tend to be getting cheap or even "free" food. ditto hens except their repayment is about 4 years if you have to buy decent quality housing for them.

Stephen_Leak

If you have the spare cash, of course, this is a good idea. I get a great sense of security from my cupboards, fridge and freezer.

I suppose the classic example is BOGOF washing up liquid. And the Co-op were doing big 16 roll packs of Cushelle toilet rolls for £5.00 (ie. 31.25p per roll) a while back. That undercut even my usual supermarket's own brand ones. You always need this sort of thing and it doesn't go off. Food-wise, tins are always useful. But, it must be something you use. That tin of palm hearts may be a bargain, but ...

PS. Growing your own veg' and keeping chickens are great ideas, but a bit tricky for me in a first floor flat.

kittycat204

for me, as well as all the things mentioned, i need a good set of knives, pans, and kitchen utensils and gadgets. if i had to cook with bad equipment, i wouldn't. non stick, SC, microwave, etc.

Stephen_Leak

kittycat204 wrote: »

for me, as well as all the things mentioned, i need a good set of knives, pans, and kitchen utensils and gadgets. if i had to cook with bad equipment, i wouldn't. non stick, SC, microwave, etc.

More good advice. My mantra is to get the best, but pay the least. Shop around. For example, my cooks' knife. It's a Victorinox one - OK, it's not Sabatier or Wurst, but they are just too expensive. For an enthusiastic amateur like me, Victorinox are, IMHO, the best combination of quality and price, value for money. The best price I could find for mine was £15.99 from KitchenKnivesDirect - including P&P and a free Victorinox paring knife. The best price I could find for this at the time was £2.90.

Pink.

Hi Rubberbiscuit,

This thread has lots of ideas on things worth buying and doing where the initial investment will save money in the long run:

Old-style "spend To Save"

I'll add your thread to that one later to keep the suggestions together.

Pink

scrabbles_2

I spend money to save money all the time. It does rely on you being realistic when you estimate your savings, not just using 'it'll save money' as an excuse to buy. Also it relies on you being disciplined enough to actually 'save' your savings; not necessarily physically saving it, but knowing what it has cost and saved before it just gets absorbed into other household spending.

When I started to bulk-buy I was on a very tight budget. I learned to 'pay' myself each time I used the item, in order to build up a kitty to buy more bulk items, and so on. Now I have a bit to play around with so if I see a good deal I can go for it without eating into funds I need for something else.

But if I do get a good deal on branded stuff, I don't count the saving off RRP, just what I have saved from the stuff I usually buy. For example, I got 45 rolls of Andrex off Amazon recently for £10. It's a big saving off the RRP for Andrex, but recently I've been buying Nicky brand at £1 for 4 rolls. So I only actually 'saved' £1.25 - the cost of 5 rolls of Nicky.

Small appliances - I bought a cheap slow-cooker to enable me to cut fuel costs, use cheaper cuts of meats, make frugal meals such as bean stew more cheaply, and encourage me to cook ahead in circumstances when I knew I might be weak and end up buying takeaway. The last advantage did not really 'save me money' as such, and I did not factor it into my decision to buy one, but I do class it as an intangible saving. In the same way breadmaker took longer to pay for itself, (though its payback time got a lot shorter once I found I could do without strong bread flour) but there was another intangible saving from not popping out to buy bread every other day, then buying other stuff I didn't need. Incidentally I bought my breadmaker using money I'd saved bulk-buying!

Big appliances: I bought a bigger freezer to allow more batch-cooking, freezing of seasonal gluts, and whoopsies. It paid for itself quite quickly as a big freezer did not cost much more than a smaller one (and doesn't cost much more to run, either). I spent more on a better washing machine that was more energy efficient, had a quick, cold-water cycle, and a high RPM so clothes came out drier. But I wouldn't have bought either if I didn't need it, and I still wonder whether I made the wrong decision not buying second hand.

Gardening stuff - I had to buy some items when I started growing my own. But not as much 'stuff' as some would say you'd need. And I still shopped around and bought cheap when I could. I'm currently looking out for a second hand greenhouse.

scrabbles_2

kittycat204 wrote: »

for me, as well as all the things mentioned, i need a good set of knives, pans, and kitchen utensils and gadgets. if i had to cook with bad equipment, i wouldn't. non stick, SC, microwave, etc.

This reinforces to me just how much it is a matter for the individual. A good many people I know would say the same, but it's never really been a factor for me. Most of what I use is still the 'cheapest of everything' we got when we set up house 13 years ago. Yet I know that many people I know would agree with you. I guess it goes to show - if you need it, it's worth the investment. If you're happy without it, it isn't! I think I remember reading somewhere you should only invest in something when it costs you money not to own it.

Just like most people have enough willpower just to go and buy the loaf of bread and not spend a fiver on other stuff - which I couldn't :rotfl:

rubberbiscuit

I have to agree that more freezer space always pays for itself!!:D
I currently have 1 for me and 1 for my dogs food. However I worked out that if I buy them another freezer it will pay for itself within a couple of years coz I can really bulk buy raw food for the pooches much more cheaply(they might even let me have a drawer!)...
I bought a slow cooker and am getting to grips with that which should save money by producing some nice batch cooked meals.
Also am going to buy a blender for HM soups/smoothies which has already payed for itself!!(Its a reward for losing lots of weight in January so I have saved at least 100 pounds on take aways!!).


Also it can be worth spending money on something you really like even if the value isnt obvious. When I was a student I spent alot of money I could barely afford in junk shops on late Art Deco furniture coz I thought it was lovely. A couple of years later and the junk shops were antique boutiques and the furniture I have owned and loved for years would of been right out of my budget!:)

maman

I must admit I'm not as disciplined as scrabble but I'm full of admiration.

I know my storecupboard saves me money just take the 25p a tin Branston beans that I stockpile every time there's an offer.

I'd definitely say buying a slow cooker is a saver. While I don't need it for meals cooked when I'm out I use it for batch cooking. It saves me the fuel costs but it also saves me time spent watching a pot on the hob.