Which thrifty thing do you do that you're surprised that no one else does?

[Sizeofalentil]

Basically, that

I'm always surprised when people don't bulk buy things (toilet paper, store cupboard staples etc) or only buy name brands. How much tastier can a posh tinned tomato really be?

Dh is mortified when I reuse bath water to water the plants or make my own cleaning cloths from old pants. But he does love a charity shop bargain (most of his coats are from there).

What are your favourite thrifty tips or what thrifty things are you surprised that other people don't do?

[LaurieFairyCake]

I don't throw away food, EVER

Apparently British people throw away £600 a year each

[Amibeingdaft81]

I don’t get bulk buying. Unless you have a larder or similar
You save pennies really
And then you have to find somewhere to store it all
And I go grocery shopping at least weekly, so really no big deal not to just pop it on.

[BobbyBrewstersMagicTorch]

I buy proper dishcloths and put them in the hot wash at the weekend. Always suprises me that people use disposable J cloths, or wet wipes instead.

Make my own rhubarb gin

[BarbaraofSevillle]

I'm surprised when people pay full price for the things that are always on offer like cleaning products, toilet paper, toiletries, petfood, canned goods, crisps and chocolate, canned drinks, the list is endless.

The savings isn't pennies, it's probably about 20-30% of a grocery bill, and you don't need that much room to store things, you just need to keep one or two extra in to use, so you don't have to buy at full price.

[StillMedusa]

Old T shirts = dusters
Egg boxes... never thrown but given to a friend with chickens or taken to school for junk modelling.
Coppers saved.. 2 ps and 1 ps go in an unopenable tin and a tin full is usually nearly £70 which is a nice bonus every so often.
Reuse water.. we have channelled extra drain pipes into water butts for the garden so never use a hose pipe.
I almost never throw food away... just cobble together some rather random meals which I will take to work!

[Reasonstobeearful]

Where do you cash coppers now?

Many people don't have spare space for bog roll mountains. Many people don't even have space for their kids to have separate bedrooms.

Admittedly, not often on Mumsnet.

[BooksAreMyOnlyFriends]

We run our cars until they aren't financially viable anymore. We've just got a 'new' (5 year old) car after our 17 year old Fiesta kicked the bucket. Most of our friends seem to get new or almost new cars every couple of years. I really can't see the point when an older car still does the job of getting you from A-B. Plus I'm not that bothered if it gets trolled or if the kids spill crap in it.

[BooksAreMyOnlyFriends]

*trollied

[BarbaraofSevillle]

I don't collect coppers any more. I just chuck them in the do it yourself till at the supermarket and pay the rest on card.

Much easier than having to count them up, bag them, wait until several bags are full and trek to the bank to queue up to pay them in.

The 'bog roll mountain' as you put it lives under the bed, so takes up no room at all and we live in a smaller than average house.

[PerfectionistProcrastinator]

I used to have a big bottle full of coppers. I found it a chore trying to cash them in or emptying them at home when my purse filled up. Now I just use them up at the self service tills.

[KarenTheCashRegister]

Learnt to thread my eyebrows from YouTube videos.
Do my own gel nails.
Buy most of my books from charity shops and visit my local library once a month.

[OneRingToRuleThemAll]

I don't buy things on credit or lease, except for my mortgage. Car, phone, gadgets are all bought outright and used until they die. If I can't afford something we simply don't have it.

[Jsmith99]

I always buy cleaning products, loo roll, tissues, basic groceries etc etc at Lidl. I have no idea why anyone would pay more for this stuff at Waitrose.

[Petitprince]

I bulk buy and am very thrifty but there is a massive difference in the quality of tinned tomatoes. Just as some fresh tomatoes taste better, so do some tinned ones, so I pay a lot more for better flavour. I scrimp on most things but not food quality.

[SoftBlocks]

Cut tubes of skin and hair care products in half, there’s loads left even when you think they are finished.

[Heratnumber7]

I darn my socks and tights.

[Jamhandprints]

Shop at Aldi or Lidl. This saves us hundreds. When I shop at Asda, the same items, it's always double the price.
Reusable baby wipes and nappies (although lapsed on the nappies since being back at work).
Only one car.
Small 2nd hand tv, 2nd hand furniture...

[Dontgiveamonkeys1350]

Brand names. I never understand why. They don’t taste any difference. And if they did within a week you wouldn’t be able to tell.

[pastaparadise]

Topcashback - it really is money for nothing if you buy much online

[BarbaraofSevillle]

I do that soft and I also use a sundae spoon to scrape out the rest of the peanut butter after DP has declared the jar empty.

I conservatively estimate that at least 10% of all peanut butter sold is wasted due to the ridiculous design of the sunpat jar.

[Landfilly]

Yes to keeping cars until they drop
Yes to no credit
Use Parmesan rinds in soups and stews
Reusable baking parchment
Yes to washing micro fibre cloths, no wipes
Buy used books from Amazon

[starpatch]

I buy the bright coloured school polos for my DC to wear in the holidays. He likes them and they are very cheap so it's a win win.

[VerbenaGirl]

Drink tap water, make our own bread, grow herbs and veg, never use credit - unless interest free, offers over brand loyalty, buy decent shoes that last, cook things like pasta sauce from scratch, never buy pre prepared veg. Sure lots of others do this though, although I know some who don’t.

[DryHeave]

Less money saving and more to the bulk buying point. The only thing
I really bulk buy is toothpaste. You can get proper sized 125ml aqua fresh tubes for £1 in Wilko. In local supermarkets they only ever seem to be the 75ml size and for £1.50+. I buy 24 tubes at a time. It doesn’t go off, hardly takes up any room and who wants to bother to remember to keep buying toothpaste?

[Readytogogogo]

I buy second hand ( but often new) clothes on eBay,often for about 10% of the original price.