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?

Same as@Laurie-never throw food awayEVER,Mass bulkbuy if its2-4-1,1/2price..still love charity shops..do my own cleaning,hair&mani/pedi..most people i know think im wierd for this(we all earn decent salary)&i think theyre nuts for literally throwing money away on stuff without a 2nd thought.I raised my DC on to 'reduce/re-use/re-cycle' as its the other side of thrift.

Use groupon for local salon deals for stuff I can't do myself.
Always use KidStart cashback or check for vouchers. I usually sign up online, put what I want in my basket and wait 24 hrs for the voucher to be emailed. Whoever I am buying from is watching me shop (!)
Meal plan. Grow own herbs and flowers for house.
Shop for cleaning stuff at home bargains and have a good look round - no need to pay more if you don't have to.
We don't drink alcohol however we never have so it's not a saving as such.
I make all the cakes and biscuits
We don't eat snack food - crisps etc. So not a saving really again because we don't anyway.
Used an ancient old book about being glam and elegant with no money and two frocks / dressing for the life you have not the one you want:). So I have one pair or jeans that look lovely. Won't replace until they are ruined. Etc

Campaign against credit score companies that strangle people for years, making money from personal data they get free from the government and charge other companies for it. This can have a massive impact on your saving.

Walk where you can.
Don't go overdrawn. The banks charge more for fees than payday loans! Payday loans are a big negative for credit check companies however are better value for money than a bank overdraft. Banks love credit check companies.

Check free stuff, always ask for discounts, always spread cost interest free even kids paid activities.

I use YNAB religiously. Saves a fortune.

Hairdresser comes to our house and cuts all our hair. Haven't been to a salon for 10 years.
Never waste food. Happy to eat food that is past its best before date if it smells OK and isn't green and hairy.
Buy yellow stickers items and freeze.
Cleaning cloths are chucked in the wash and last decades. Use cut up old flannel instead of facial wipes and chuck them in the wash too.
Old toothbrushes are used for cleaning taps, grout etc
Finish dishwasher tablets work out 10p each if you buy them at Poundland.
Lidl for wine, meat, cheese, yogurts, tinned food etc
If in Tesco, my choice of cleaning products, biscuits, crisps etc is always based on which one is on offer. If something I particularly want is not on offer I'll wait till next week.
Use my slow cooker LOADS. Used my smart meter to establish that it uses less than 1% of the electricity my oven uses !
Use box powders for laundry - miles cheaper than capsules or liquid. Buy it when on special offer, and use less than the box tells me to !
Line dry my laundry most of the year. Use tumble dryer occasionally if weather is bad and house looks too much like a laundry with things hanging everywhere.
Use plastic takeaway boxes as Tupperware.
Earned over £200 through TopCashback last year. It's particularly lucrative for hotel bookings but use regularly for M&S online, train tickets, Wayfair etc. Earned £5 cash back on my Mum's birthday flowers recently.
Use loyalty cards to fund travel and days out. Just booked a ferry crossing saving £100 using Clubcard. Funded daughter's birthday meal with friends at Pizza Express the same way.

Is there a Limit on how much change/number of coins you can use at a supermarket self service checkout? This idea is amazing!

if I get a voucher for my birthday or Christmas instead of spending it on crap for myself I'll buy the years birthday presents for everyone out of it

Only ever buy electric toothbrushes when 2 for 1 at boots - saving of £3:50 each time. Same with pampers nappy pants - £8 saving each time!

Always make own baby food (except when we are up north visiting family a few times a year). Pouches are expensive!

Another vote for dish cloths instead of j cloths or sponges! And I don't ever buy kitchen roll or anti bac wipes either - microfibre cloth is just as good imo.

Diluted vinegar to clean glass instead of expensive glass cleaner.

Yes sometimes it is miserable. I would love to have my hair coloured and cut just how I used to and think nothing of jumping into the car did a spontaneous day out with the kids and not worry about packing food.

However, doing the above would be foolhardy and ensure we have no money for food. Often I don't have more than one meal a day at all, to save having to buy food. You get used to it.
Once we have allocated the bread, there is no money for as hoc trips to the shops. No petrol either.

It's extremely stressful and we can't be ill because there is no money for prescriptions. Or hospital car parks !

There also isn't any money to take my ex husband to court to make him pay child maintenance. He lives the high life abroad and is uncontactable at best.

We have learnt to be parsimonious. We have a sunny outlook and optimism though. That is free:) perhaps I could coach it:)

I work a day job, have my own small business, and do the best I can with what I have now. I'd do the lottery but we can't afford it. A pound!!!

Oh bless you Honey what a great attitude in a rough situation.

@theliverpoolone what app is this please?

Almost never pay to park when out(except in busy high street).Dont have cc .Only ever buy paper on Saturdays(can read all of them online). Dont bother with take out coffees at all .Always buy frozen mince (can use what you need save the rest,(cooks from frozen).

As a single person, I often cook normal-sized meals - casseroles, chiles, curries - eat one portion and then freeze the other three separately. Means I can be home late and have the equivalent of a ready meal just waiting to be popped in the microwave. I also make random veg soups out of any veg left at the end of the week and freeze them in one person-sized quantities for lunch. Best money-saving device for me is definitely a decent-sized freezer compartment!

Buying airline tickets etc at the cheapest times (either as they come out, or use skyscanner etc to monitor).

Put flat on Airbnb while we’re away - we made £200 profit on our last holiday (ie after deducting the cost of our own holiday, flights etc).

Tinned toms, lentils, spices - KTC brand in the world food aisle is my friend.

Buying gifts for kids’ presents and similar - buy/plan in advance, wait for offers or discount codes to come up.

Get to grips with a few super cheap meals - dhal, egg and chips, Spanish omelette. I do at least one of these a week, at about 50p per adult portion.

We’re not hard up thankfully, but when people don’t do this kind of thing I really battle to understand it (personal circumstances excepted of course).

Otoh, my gardening efforts last year cost about £200 and yielded one blueberry and about a dozen chillies!

Honey . Lottery is £2 now . We don't do it anymore.
I hope things get better for you. I can't believe how many 'fathers' don't pay for their offspring. You'll have their love and respect and he'll get nothing. Priceless.

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

No larder but the wardrobe is all singing and all dancing

Someone I know never buys vodka when she goes out just the coke. She brings vodka in little bottles smuggled in. Saves a fortune

I work from home as often as I can to save on petrol and parking charges (no viable public transport connection that I could use instead). I think it saves me about £15 a week!

Always air dry clothes - just got into the habit at university so never saw need for tumble dryer.

Bar soaps are way cheaper than liquid.

Always bulk buy detergent on promotion

Luckily am very introverted so tend to stay in on the weekends to do my hobbies (music and reading (free online resources) so no additional cost).

I put my clothes onto a rotation so that 1) I can save storage space and 2) I feel excited about wearing my old clothes - I look after them so sometimes someone will compliment me on a new item, when its really 5 years old. I keep my clothes looking fresh and presentable by wearing loungewear in the house and only wearing my proper clothes if I'm going out.

One for musicians: I always download my music scores from IMSLP so I haven't needed to buy any new music for years. Having said that, I did get gifted some lovely Paderewski editions of Chopin Waltzes and Mazurkas recently which I really treasure (so much nicer than reading from a laptop!). I also used to scour charity shops for cheap editions of music scores.

I used to visit a charity shop in a very upmarket area where I found a lot of very nice barely-worn clothes. Most of my evening wear is from that shop - bought and FCUK dress that was still full price in the shops for £10 (full price would have been £150!)

We use our credit card for everyday purchases and fuel for the cashback rewards. We budget this carefully though

I use exfoliating pads similar to these www.amazon.com/Hair-Removal-Pads-Piece-2-Pack/dp/B00T9U3NA6?tag=mumsnetforu03-21 to remove leg hair. Overall it's much cheaper than razors, and now that I just have to replace the pads it's more environmentally friendly too. An added bonus is that you end up with nicely exfoliated skin as well.

Will always try and source furniture second hand/free rather than pay for it. Lots of people just want to get rid or their old cabinets/sofas so will give them away for nothing. Found some really nice high quality and antique-looking items like this. Can then sand and polish as required to make them look nice.

I'm really wrestling with the hair cut thing at the moment. I need to cut expenditure and my hair is an area that only affects me so it's an obvious one to start with. I pay £40 every 8 weeks for a wet cut and blow dry which I don't think is outrageous but I'd be happier paying less. I have the salon owner and they trim my fringe for free any time it needs it between cuts. I could go elsewhere but I've been going to the same hairdresser for 15 odd years, and I'm supporting a small local business by doing so. So while I could economise there, I'm not entirely sure about it. I've extended the interval now so it's 10 weeks not 8. Sitting on a fence right now!

I have someone to come to my house to cut my hair. A wet cut is £15 every 6-8 weeks.

I use shampoo as shower gel. Saves me buying two bottles and reduces bathroom clutter.

Liz38 you could opt for a dry cut or just no blow dry? Alternatively you could occasionally ask for trims instead (they're cheaper than a styled cut)

I don't know which app @theliverpoolone uses but i use an app called my budget book.

You set it up with all your outgoings and incomings. It then tells you how much you have left at the end of each day. Obviously you need to tell it when you spend on spontaneous things, but it does make me think about whether i really need to spend that money on a cup of coffee.

You can also set up categories to assign each spend to and see what you've spent on what each month.

You can also set up budgets and it'll tell you how much you have left of a particular budget.

At the end of the month/quarter/year you can see what you've spent on what and where your money has gone.

The only downside is it costs about £3 to buy. Although I think the saving definitely outweighs the cost

I keep one eye on the ground wherever I'm walking, particularly supermarket carparks. I made £1.03 this weekend in found coins.

Has someone said you can download audiobooks from your library free , £16.99 on Amazon!

I feel like I'm reading Viz.

Make sure your wife is always the first to apologise after a row by tightening the lids on all the jars in the kitchen.

I never waste food. If veg or fruit starts to look a bit sad I make soup, smoothies, crumbles etc. I use the stalks and leaves of things like cauliflower, broccoli in stir fries or soups.

I bulk buy things like kitchen paper, toilet paper, washing powder, fabric conditioner etc. It saves money and means I can go shopping less (I hate shopping). I don't use much washing powder anyway as I use an ecoball unless clothes are really dirty (DH does a manual job and often his clothes get filthy).

I buy Nicky toilet paper from Home Bargains or Farm Foods. They are less than £5 for 18 and just as good as the expensive brands.

I buy clothes from charity shops and ebay although I rarely buy clothes. When they start looking tatty I wear them to do housework in. When they have finally had it I cut them and use as dusters.

I have a tumble dryer but rarely use it. I line dry as much as I can or else use an airer indoors.

I buy the cheapest body wash in Wilkinsons and use it as handwash.