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?

Freeze banana?who knew...

Make bread
Meal plan
Make things like tomato pasta sauce in pressure cooker - makes loads and so tasty
Don’t stick to brands
Lidl gin, it’s really no different
Use the library every week
Check eBay for kids stuff
Always take a packed lunch/snacks
Dye my hair myself (no one even notices the difference, I’ve asked loads of times!)
Don’t throw out any food - I’ll freeze egg whites, herbs picked in the summer, anything!
Cycle when we can
Cheap shampoos, moisturisers etc
Charity shops for toys etc
Have a financial advisor and accountant- saves £1000s in the long run
Save as much as we can

I could go on... We’re comfortable but I love being frugal, it’s how I grew up. I’d like to really reduce the amount of stuff we use tbh.

A lot of these thrifty ideas are great

I had a smart meter installed. Lots of people grumble about them but three years in and my tarrifs gone down each year. It's amazing how economical you become when you can see how much electricity is being wasted on a daily basis.

Me and dh often jump in the shower together. We have two shower heads whichbwas a genius idea as we are washed and out quickly.

All my kitchen big appliances have got quick or less water useage settings on them and since changing them over my water usage has gone down.

We make our own McDonald's wraps and muffins as a treat on a sun morning with a cold coffee from Aldi at 59p each instead of nearly £2 each for branded.

Do online surveys for nectar which adds up in points. Last year I had an extra £40 in points just from surveys alone on one sight. All adds up

Aldi's version of Pepsi max and lilt tastes as good as branded at 45 p a two litre bottle

We were doing great with meal planning and getting our weekly food bill for 5 of us and 2 dogs to between £70 and £80 a week.
We then went to shopping with a 2 week meal plan fortnightly which saved loads as we weren't buying rubbish and had more time on the weekends but it's slipped in the last cpl of months and we are spending a ridiculous amount of food again

I usually do my own nails
I get my hair cut about twice a year
I always buy cleaning and laundry stuff when it’s on offer
I never buy alcohol for the house and rarely drink

But...I do buy a lot of coffees and I only buy top brand tinned tomatoes!

Agree with drinking water instead of paying extra for sugary drinks, alcohol, coffee.

What I hate to see is people's freezers stuffed full of stickered items that they don't use. Old chicken, dried up bread, mystery bags of leftovers, all waiting to be turfed when space is needed....for newer stickered items. Madness.

I feel like I'm reading Viz. 😂

Doesn't really save money... but ALL leftover drinks go into plant pots (tea/coffee/fizzy drinkss/milk) - the plants all seem to thrive... I also use those waxy bags from cereal packets as freezer bags

Nobody has yet mentioned an Ecoball for washing clothes- reusable plastic ball with holes in about the size of a tennis ball.it contains solid pea sized granules which you replace at intervals.bought for about £12 online but has done several months of washing with each refill.
Not sure about the chemistry of how it works,but it does and saves ££££ as well as the environment. Commercial washing powders contain inert fillers such as chalk which over time will bung your drains up a treat.

@Kazzyhoward tights!...absolutely genius idea!!

scubadive Sun 26-May-19 21:31:12

Where’s the joy in life, spontaneity, freedom, live a little. All this planning, planning, planning, limited options and constrained living would sap the joy of life for me

It's the planning and saving that allow the occasional treat like a trip to the cinema or the odd meal out.

If you do your work - making your own meals from scratch, etc - with a light heart and a sense of purpose, and if it gives you joy (to borrow a phrase form Marie Kondo) then it's not a matter of constrained options. It becomes conscious living.

Trading old/unused goods in is helping my children fund new (to them) stuff. They’ve rounded up stuff they no longer use, as have I, and I’m slowly trading it in at CEX for vouchers for games etc. They’ve got just over £100 saved at the moment so it’s going well.

I bulk buy partly because it's the norm where I live (you can't buy less than 30 rolls of toilet paper EVEN THOUGH everyone lives in apartments, it's mad) but I realised that it does save me money because I am at the shop less.

I don't impulse buy, I just buy what we need.

We meal prep and freeze all vegetables that are freezable so that we don't have food going off.

We only have one car (but we do live in a big city).

Where’s the joy in life, spontaneity, freedom, live a little. All this planning, planning, planning, limited options and constrained living would sap the joy of life for me

Sadly, not all of us have the option of NOT planning if we want to have enough money for a holiday or to go to the cinema sometimes or even just to keep surviving.

Must be nice not to (and I've been in the position of not having to and yes, it is far nicer) but not all of us have the money to just do what we like.

A lot of these are quite a bit of effort for minute savings. Fair enough. Every bit counts.

I prefer minimal, in fact NO, effort!

So I buy as much as I can through cashback websites. I have received more than £500 in 18 months.

And I get ash back in my nat west credit for utility bills and shopping. Almost £500 is about 16 months.

As per above post

I bulk buy washing powder on Amazon. It is brilliant and you get a 200 wash sized bag ( which lasts double as long because you only need half the amount recommended ) for about 12 quid. And free delivery. Works out about 5p a load I think .

Amazon washing powder is called proline.

Toilet roll stash goes in the acting cupboard
Worn out clothes become dusters
Egg boxes are made into bird feeders
Pringles tubes become bee homes
Cardboard boxes go to friend with animal rescue as cats, guinea pigs and rabbits play in them.

Airing cupboard !!

I love the idea of your acting cupboard, octopus, do you also have a singing wardrobe and a dancing larder?

I've just started using the Emma budget manager app, it's easy to set up.

We use washable kitchen roll, and we drive our cars into the ground.

I understand a business class flight might be lovely, but you're still paying hundreds or potentially thousands for a still relatively cramped experience lasting a few hours. I'd rather have a second holiday. (Which is what we do) I think you need to be seriously minted not to wince at the prices and think how else the money could be spent.

With everything else, we just try not to waste things, give loads to charity and buy on offer where possible. Doing this gives us enough for luxuries now and again.

Charity shops are so well stocked there's no need for anyone to be wearing threadbare clothes imo.

I'm confused about QuidCo, do you have to shop via their site, or do you put something on your computer that knows what sites you visit?

You go to quidco, click through to Marks and Spencer for example and the cookies take care of it for you.

notfrom sometimes you can get good deals on business class flights though. I've been a couple of times and it's only been 200 or so more - for flying long distance, it was definitely worth it for us. Depends on the situation though, of course.

When it's 3 to 4 thousand more, or you're only flying a couple of hours, I don't get it unless you are seriously welathy.