What's your best money saving tips?

[bgegmum]

Just curious not looking for anything specific. What and how do you save on money?
This week I bought a lot of stuff in bulk.
3 bags of porridge, big 26 pack toilet roll, 3 bags of pasta etc etc.
Always find by the end of the month I normally have little of this left if I buy as we need but then end up with very little money to replace.
I thought if I buy things in bulk when I first get paid I'm not scrapping for cash to replenish them the week before payday

Shopping in Aldi saves me £15-£20 per week on my normal groceries. Its the single most cost effective change I have made.

I signed up to the Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert emails. He provides loads of helpful tips for saving money. Also; 0% balance transfers save me paying interest unnecessarily. Money Expert emails provide lists of the best deals out there for things such as this, and there is a calculator to let you see what you are likely to be accepted for so you don't need to affect your credit report by applying for unnecessary thing you have no change of being accepted for.

Make the Moneysavingexpert website your friend:

Do everything in the money makeover that's relevant to you.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help/

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Look out for the money mantra about thinking before you buy anything - do I need it, can I afford it, will I use it, etc. Also make shopping around for the best price a habit.

Look at where your money goes and what you can cut back on.

Food and drink out of the house can be an enormous money drain for many. Lunch at work, coffees, food at attractions is massively more expensive than making it at home, at least three times as much. Individual spends may be small, but if you do it a lot, it can be hundreds of pounds a month for a couple/family or thousands of pounds a year so scope to cut back if you need to.

Take your lunch to work /picnic on days out
Take a flask of coffee instead of expensive Starbucks and the like

Become vegetarian

Earning more is more effective than making savings. So look for ways that you can bring money in: selling stuff on eBay, getting a second job, taking part in focus groups.

Shopping isn't a good hobby.

Know where your money's going, and don't lose out through inertia - don't let your car/home insurance auto renew without shopping around, make sure you're not overpaying on credit cards, always haggle your breakdown cover.

I agree with everything said on here. I also used to think that Pricerunner was great, however don’t take its word as gospel. I wanted to get my son some aftershave and I got it £7 cheaper (with free delivery) than the cheapest they had on there. Just make sure you shop around. Also use outlet store as much as possible.

We were lethal in this house for pissing money down the drain on stupid stuff but got our asses in gear last Jan and have honestly noticed having a few extra quid each month since making the small, well known changes

Batch cook & freeze dinners. To further save on the ingredients, go to Tesco late in the evening or at night and hit their reduced meats and food section. Shop at Aldi for everything else

Cut out all takeaways, eating out, takeaway coffees etc. unless it's a special occasion (you'll also start appreciating them more when you do have one)

Shop around for car/home/pet insurance and electricity providers every year (we saved 300 between us by doing this last year)

All of our clothes and shoes are bought in the sales. I go straight to the sale section on ASOS and next online, or the reduced rail in Tesco, I don't even look in the main section

Sell stuff on Facebook market place or similar sites and put the cash into next years Xmas fund or an emergency fund/kitty for the house for when you need something

If you are buying stuff online sign up to Quidco or a cash back site.
I've got quite a bit of money back just on stuff I was going to buy anyway.
Definitely agree don't auto-renew insurance - I got a quote for £430 for Home/Contents insurance and got a better offer on Gocompare for £230, also £29 cashback on Quidco for the policy.
When you get paid transfer some money into a savings account - even if you need to dip into some months a fair bit can add up over a year for Christmas/holidays etc.
Buy all your cleaning products/kitchen roll etc from pound shop or Home bargains not your supermarket - usually saves a few quid.

In the summer car boot sales are good to get rid of stuff and make a few quid.

Pay yourself first. Set up a savings account and transfer money to it that you don't need immediately. (ie obviously leave enough to cover your outgoing bills). Then transfer it back to your current account as and when you need to spend it.

The added layer of hassle makes me think much more clearly about spending because I have to consciously think 'oh, I'll have to take that out of my savings account'.

I would say shop as infrequently as possible, and track all your spending. If you pop to the shops most days you’ll spend twice as much as if you make a list throughout the week and go shopping at the end of the week.
Meal plan and stick to it. Eat out as little as possible, and look for a deal if you are eating out (Groupon usually have deals on Frankie and Bennys, Chiquitos/ Pizza Express etc).

I’ve managed to save £500 a month so far this year by switching insurances, consolidating two loans, switching mortgage (same provider but cheaper mortgage) and cancelling little silly things that have added up like Audible and amazon prime.

ive spent 18 months investing in a lucrative side hustle which now doubles my monthly income

with many saving accounts paying under 1.5% on your money investing is 100x more effective than saving

the best way to save money is to find a way to generate more money

One very simple tip: don’t buy anything you don’t really need. I have a tendency to buy things because it’s on sale/ I saw it and now I want it/ I think it might be useful to have etc. Not giving in to these temptations saves a lot of money.

Direct debit into your savings account as soon as you get paid. Then all the other 'little' things like lunches, coffees etc.

Shop at Aldi, meal plan, swap current account, electric/gas, phone, etc once a year to get a great deal. Make sure you never automatically renew any insurance. Basically, don't be a loyal customer unless a company truly rewards it.
I also pretty much stopped impulse buying. If I see something I like, I tell myself to wait for 24 hours before buying it. More often than not, I don't buy the thing.

My tip is to regularly change energy / broadband suppliers (when contract is up) and use MSE to look for the best deals including cash back / gift card offers.
This year I have saved £140 of John Lewis vouchers from broadband and energy switch!
I will use the money for Christmas gifts :)

DS is a baby and it’s the easiest thing in the world to spend a lot of money on his clothes as he grows out of them really fast and nice baby clothes can be expensive. If he needs something, I check the baby clothes sales on the H&M website, have found there some really lovely and cheap things. Always check the sales rack too in GAP and baby store and if they have something nice for him in a bigger size, will buy it and put it in his closet until he has grown up enough to fit in it.
Already have some things lovely bought for him for upcoming spring.

A lot of people would say they save money buying second hand. I do it too, however as pp have said shopping is a bad habit and should be eliminated in general. Just because something is "a bargain" does not mean you need it.

Also, buy less but better quality. E.g. - don't buy Primark shoes but buy quality leather shoes and you will be wearing them 20+ year with no issues. Consumerism is what's draining everyone's bank account

Agree with lots of the above, especially no coffees out, takeaways, meals only for birthdays. I walk everywhere I can (don't own a car).

Also my Smart meter - I check it every time I go into the kitchen and our electricity/gas is generally £10 per week - very rarely use central heating.

I always check comparison sites for insurance and utilities, and bargain down my existing ones if I'd rather stay with them.

Bulk buy only non perishable things when I definitely know they're going to be used.

I’ve done a whole vlog with money saving tips on my channel Clara Sais but I won’t post the link as I don’t want to get into trouble ;) I do use the library to save money on books and magazines as an example. I save a fortune!

Meerkat movies and meerkat meals...go to compare the market .com and purchase 1 day travel insurance..should cost between £1 and £5 depending on your answers
Then you’re good to go

Into our second year now and saved a fortune on meals when on holiday and eating out Sunday through till Thursday
Movies are Tuesdays and Thursdays
And of course nobody buys the cinema sweets...do they?

Switch your suppliers regularly, don’t let them automatically renew. We have saved hundreds of pounds doing this.

Shop at Aldi or Lidl, or visit supermarkets late in the evening for knock down prices. If your local garden centre(Dobbies here) has a food section there are great bargains to be had at closing time. Last week I got 3 Booth’s ready meals, priced at £4.70 each for 47 p each!

Use past its best veg in soup and curries, fruit in pies and cakes. Use less meat and bulk out with beans and lentils.

Take packed lunches to work. Don’t buy Starbucks or Costa coffees.
Train journeys are cheaper booked in advance, and two singles are often cheaper than one return.

Charity shops for clothes. I have an ankle length black wool coat which cost me £8 4 years ago and which is super smart. eBay also good for evening wear (posh frocks).

I recently discovered free kindle books...if you change the search from low to high there are loads of free books. Sadly I got sucked in to buying a whole series after reading the first book for free, but....

Don’t buy stuff unless

You need it
You can afford it

Seriously stop buying stuff.

Track spending.

Use money saving expert.com

I have just unsubscribed from all the shipping emails I used to get. If I don't see that Coach etc are having a sale, then I won't be tempted.
I still like magazines, so have done the 6 issues for £6 offer rather than buy at full price in the shops.

Buy less , simple but true.

I was reading the thread on here about Amazon, I was genuinely amazed at the sorts of things people spend their money on .

I never buy new clothes, I love shopping in charity shops.

Colleges with hair and beauty salons are great for free or cheap haircuts, or be a model at a hairdresser.