Talk

So you need to meet some other mums Its! Are the local boards on here any good?

Also have you tried your local library? They have free sessions during the week

Always check your till receipts in the big supermarkets (Morrisons, Tesco etc). There are often mistakes between the till receipts and the offers advertised on the shelf. Never had an issue at Aldi as they don't do offers as such.

bigkids This is the best granola recipe I've ever used, don't worry about the rice syrup (I used agave) and instead of apple sauce I simply heated a sliced cooking apple in a little water until it was mushy.

www.nigella.com/recipes/view/andys-fairfield-granola-138

Sainsburys basic tea bags, good every day tea. Dh never noticed the switch from pg tips, that was 2 years ago.

A handful of porridge oats in mince dishes makes it more filling, it doesn't bulk it out but dh doesn't snack later on in the night when I do this.

Never tell your OH if you change something and its cheaper. They swear blind they can tell the difference. Second World War propaganda on cheaper cooking told housewives not to let on.

Thanks Ariadne

With your name I should have guessed you'd add apple

LOL @ bigkids

You can look on your water boards web page for free tap inserts and shower inserts so you use less water.

Can anyone recommend which survey sites are the best to join/most reliable at receiving your money/vouchers?

Clothes for cash website, postage is free, payment within 24 hours
www.clothesforcash.com/home.html

Must try to go to sleep now, goodnight!

ItsInning - couple of ideas for those long damp childlead days !

Libary - many have websites, some have classes / activities for the little ones, reading groups from 8years for older ones.

Discovery centres - some bigger town libaries have bloomed into discovery centres, child activities here can cost but even without these an hour or two can be passed warmly, browsing, reading aloud in a corner with children, looking at gallery etc.

Nature reserves - look on local council website for activites at local green spaces, walks and talks and other bits and bobs throughout the year, often free and always looking for volunteers for a bit of pond clearance, tree planting etc, take own drinks and snacks, can get warm whilst working and fill a morning.

Bus travel in holidays - often bus companies run £1 offers for children, plot a short route and times and bung kiddies on a bus tour, stretch activity by giving older children use of cameras and video phones they can make a nice little project out of this, for younger ones its great to get them reading road signs etc.

If you find the draw of coffee shop still pressing try eating a ceral bar (£1 for 6 at Lidle) before you go in, then have s small full fat latte when your in, the combination will make you feel surprisingly full, always get your loyalty card stamped if they have one, for children if they are small enough take sippy cup drinks for them (no-one would object to this) for older children give them a financial choice ie you can have a milkshake for £3, or £3 in your moneybox,or small toy for the same, or smaller drink, or share a drink and save half etc - children can spend an inordinate amount of time picking throug options and discussing this one - meanwhile sit back and enjoy your coffee.

Sneaky tip - kids milk bottles can be, ahem, topped up from the jugs of milk provided for tea and coffee drinkers at Starbucks. Of course it would be polite to buy a small filter coffee if you plan to, ahem, avail yourself if this (filter coffee being one if the cheapest drinks they do in there).

Also Waitrose do free samples in the daytime in some areas, as do Whittard and Planet Organic. Nom nom.

If you are in a university town, there will be a student union type cafe or canteen where you can get a cheap hot meal. In most places you just walk in off the street. At London Uni the Hare Krishnas serve free food at lunchtimes in term time near the Senate House.

FreePeace yes I'd agree with cold turkey approach - if you have agreed not to do gifts then don't. If someone gives you then you just have to say but we said we wouldn't do presents and leave it at that. Cos if you get them something in case they give you then the cycle goes on.

Also good point by earlier poster (sorry forgot to note name) re sorting the big stuff like mortgages first as that makes huge difference rather than saving few quid on expenses.

When I was a student I used to work out (still do actually) how long I had to work to earn what I was spending and ask myself of it was worth it.

Also marking my place...

If you have a water butt the water is soft enough to go in the iron and steam mop.

blayblahblahyeh and RosemaryandThyme thank you both for the tips about cheaper fun with children! (Better than my idea of sending the 5 year old off to clean chimneys)

lurk

"Brighton to Vauxhall is half the price as going to Victoria"

That's quite a shock (used to use the Littlehampton - Hove - Victoria service in the 80s, but would never consider working in London and living on S Coast - seems such a waste in hours of travel and X.x thousand quid, and while higher salary would be paid, you're losing more in tax and travel and feel shattered being out 12 hours a day, surely ? ).

Jahan the only thing to watch out for if you are buying branded groceries e.g. filter coffee in pound shops is pack sizes - sometimes the £1 items are in special smaller packs made for the pound shops and the price per 100g is actually higher than elsewhere.

Agree that coinstar machines are a ripoff - save your pennies to put in self-service tills!

When I was pulling my hair out with rainy day boredom on non-work days with toddler ds, but completely skint, I used to occasionally go to IKEA for free coffee with my Family card . Ds would have a play in the play area in the cafe or we'd play "house" in some of the rooms.

Of course this only saves money if:
1. You don't then go mad for amazing "bargains" in IKEA (luckily I am mostly immune these days)
2. You can get there without spending a fortune on transport (ours is only a couple of miles away)

I did also arrange to meet a friend there for coffee a couple of times but she broke cardinal rule 1 and I think spent about £50 each visit...

Thanks for all of the replies on this thread and thanks HQ for moving it!

So far I have:
-taken £100 from my isa to pay off an overdraft of an account I never use and closed that down.
-paid off a credit agreement I STUPIDLY set up for a laptop I bought years ago by moving money around.
-cancelled a couple of direct debits that really don't need paying
-applied and got approved for an 18 month balance transfer credit card - I will then transfer my 2 credit cards and a store card. I will pay off some every month but as it is interest free I will try and earn money through my ISA and savings account too. These 'savings' can always be used
-bought a reusable water bottle to stop buying bottled every day or so

After I've done these transfers I will not have any debt with interest on!

I still need to do a thorough budget plan and think about lunches for work - I usually buy fresh soup which works out at about £10/wk. Not sure whether to keep doing this or do something else. I also need to sort the coffee thing- I buy one every day at work, about £11/wk.

I'm also going to try and negotiate a better deal on our Sky TV/Internet/phon deal.

Anyone have any good lunch ideas?

Oh and another thing to do is go through my clothes - both to see if there is anything I can sell but also to have a good sort out!! I buy too much stuff so need reminding if what I have. I aim to not buy any clothes for at least two months (small steps!!).