Best money saving tips ...

[littlemamawithoutthedrama]

Hi all, just wondering with the cost of everything going up in price what are your best money saving tips ...

I'm trying to batch cook more and use all my left over veg for soups etc

Buying food on sale on its sell by date and freezing it - something i never did but you can get great bargains on meat, pizzas, ready meals etc

Using cheaper (own brand) washing powder/fabric softener

Trying to cook fake aways instead of eating out at weekend

Ordering off the saver menu at McDonald's and bringing our own drinks 🥤

Anyone got more to add ? It's actually quite fun when you realise you've saved £30 by tweaking what you normally do lol

@Svara

But it’s all been stuff I would have purchased anyway
So 25% on travel insurance
20% home insurance
20% car insurance
15% car breakdown
15% holiday (this was loads!)

@GeneLovesJezebel

Wasn’t there a thread recently where some had money taken from their account, and it was an annual subscription to one of these cash back sites ?

5 years I’ve been with top cashback No issues whatsoever

Buy and sell on vinted. All my kids outgrown stuff goes on there and eBay. Good brands go individually, supermarket stuff in bundles.

I second making a pot of soup. I found a fantastic lentil soup recipe (I'm veggie) and I have it for lunches for a filling, hot lunch, or for tea when DH is at work and the kids have had a hot dinner at nursery. It probably costs pennies a bowl.

Eat less meat, fewer pizzas, no take aways. (We cut those all out ages ago for various reasons)

Only boil the water you need in the kettle.

Turn lights off you are not using.

Drive smoother. Drive slower on the motorway.

I use white vinegar as a cleaning agent: 50:50 with water for windows, mirrors and taps etc ; 50:50 with washing up liquid for surfaces and bathroom fittings. Make it up in spray bottles and it lasts for ages.

Floor tiles and lino use soda crystals. Microfiber cloths.
Buy and sell on Vinted, eBay and charity shops-especially childrens games.
I do my food shop with cash and buy stickered food to freeze.
Left over veg, inc broccoli stems, goes into 'round the fridge soup' with some garlic and onion.
Batch cook.
Instead of paying monthly for insurances etc I put the money aside and pay annually it usually saves a bit.
Save loyalty points, vouchers and any change under 50p for Christmas treats.

I’m definitely going to start looking at paying insurance annually instead of monthly, I think I’ll save a good amount of money there.

when going for a meal have a jug of tap water

use a slow cooker
go down a brand

Make sure you are using loyalty cards. Nectar card can be connected to argos, eBay, ASOS etc as well as to your bank.

Thanks @Selok, I had no idea they could grill and roast too, this is exciting.

@starray I just called to cancel or switch (from necessity) and they started negotiating. Broadband was a new provider and just seemed to ask what I could afford - I didn't have the nerve to say nothing
Biggest surprise was Adobe, they even offered a payment break. I just wish that you could haggle with energy bills.

I also do a weekly meal plan, review my subscriptions every month to see if I really need stuff I pay for and look for cheaper or free versions of well known and overpriced software. For eg, I started using Photoworks instead of Photoshop and me getting rid of Adobe monthly subscription didn't influence my photo editing at all, Photoworks appeared to be just as good.
I do treat myself to a takeout maybe once a month but mostly I prefer to eat at home and cooking by myself also saves money greatly.
Selling stuff doesn't work that much for me since I a) don't have lots of stuff to sell b) maybe am not that good at promoting it, idk, but if there is a chance to sell something I don't need I will always try to.

more veggie meals, ie kidney beans, butter beans, rather than meat substitutes

@Svara @Toanewstart23 I think you need to be a bit careful with these cashback sites. It just takes time and checking. Quidco used to give me "10% back on insurance" etc but the price they were giving was exactly 10% more than a price comparison site gave me. I prefer the "2% off everything you buy" offers. Quidco was very upfront that it charged £5 a year or something, it's not a hidden charge, but reading this now I'm wondering if I need to go and cancel that!

Love the holiday budget from shopping at Aldi .

Always keep emergency supermarket pizza in the freezer. Saves £20 on days you're too knackered to cook. We still have takeaway, but as planned treats not emergency stop gaps.

Recently:

Cancelled Amazon Prime membership.

Bought Friends and Family Railcard with Clubcard vouchers.

Shopped around - essential household items such as a fluroscent tube sourced at a local shop in our nearest town, was significantly CHEAPER than Amazon! £6.20 compared to £32.99!

Invested in a smart plug for TV and console. One light bulb in each room, even if two light fittings, or only lamp on and no ceiling light bulb. Lights switched off when rooms not in use.

Doors of rooms not in use or less used are kept closed to retain heat. Heating on 1 hour AM and 1 hour PM. Will soon reduce this further. Occasionally put heating on for an extra hour PM. Two blankets at bed time. Keep a jumper and socks/slippers on.

Bulk buy non perishables and pantry items.

Reverse meal plan and have meat free nights. Do NOT stop for top up shops during the week. £5 Freezer family meal deal for a treat.

I've said these before but will repeat.

Build in left overs eg if you are having baked potatoes for tea cook to many and the following day make gnocchi with the ones you didn't eat.

Make a mince meat, onion and tomato 'Bolognese', split it in half, add sage and herbs to one to go with pasta, put chilies in the other with some kidney beans to make a chilli - you can freeze one if you don't want mince two days running.

My council tax saving tip.

When you get your next council tax bill round it up so if it is £72.45 round it up to £100 and pay that off a month, once the balance is cleared switch the standing order to a savings account, you have the same amount going out all year so it doesn't feel like you are missing anything.

Collect small change and bag it up to spend, local shops always need more change.

One of my neighbours collects 'dragons', if she gets a £1 coin in her change she puts any with a dragon into a different purse. Her daughter does the same with a different design.

Also check your spare cash to see if it is worth something, I checked some 50p coins recently and found one is worth £1.30 to a collector.

OK so it's not worth that much but is 'free money'.

@sashh love the council tax idea! A friend of mine saves £2 coins towards a Disneyland trip when her kids are older.

Buying larger cuts of meat. A whole chicken is often as cheap as just buying chicken breasts. A gammon joint in the slow cooker can do a few meals.
If you shop at Lidl they often have offers on so or XXL deals on meat so it's best not to be too rigid in meal planning. Have a rough idea but adapt it to what's available for the best price.
Ice creams on days out. If you are close to a Tesco local or similar then a four pack of cornettos is a pound.
Buy a decent insulated mug/ flask to take your own coffee.
Take picnics but if you want a sit down in a cafe as a treat it's then coffee and cake rather than a full meal

Thank you for some of these!

When looking for TV movies, see if you can find cheaper ones. And when use price comparison websites too. If booking a hotel, or restaurant try to find the cheaper rooms as well etc. Take your own snacks/drinks to the local cinema and buy meat from farm shops instead of at the supermarket.

If you don't have time to make soup, add all your leftover vegetables to a tin of basic veg soup/chicken broth, plus red lentils/tinned haricot beans/baked beans etc if you need protein.

I find soup a bit of a waste for me, used to make lots of it with leftovers then fever eat it!! I now keep a blackboard of when everything goes off in the fridge and meal plan according on the day (I don’t do well with set meals for each night as I don’t always fancy the same thing). That way I can make sure I freeze things before they go off and I also chop vegetables that are about to go and put them all ready chopped in the freezer so they’re ready to use when making something in the future.

For those saying leftover veg into soups - I never understand what flavours compliment each other? Do you literally just bung it in and hope for the best re taste?

One thing that I grudge payingn for is air fresheners. Any tips here?? I have a diffuser in the living room (use less sticks) and the sense and spray glades in the bathroom

@onwardsandupwards22

For those saying leftover veg into soups - I never understand what flavours compliment each other? Do you literally just bung it in and hope for the best re taste?

One thing that I grudge payingn for is air fresheners. Any tips here?? I have a diffuser in the living room (use less sticks) and the sense and spray glades in the bathroom

Re soup, yes bung it all in, and I change the taste by using veg or chicken stock. And I don’t like air freshener as it’s breathing in chemicals, so just open the windows for fresh air, it’s free !

@onwardsandupwards22

For those saying leftover veg into soups - I never understand what flavours compliment each other? Do you literally just bung it in and hope for the best re taste?

One thing that I grudge payingn for is air fresheners. Any tips here?? I have a diffuser in the living room (use less sticks) and the sense and spray glades in the bathroom

Yes, all of it, takes me a while to get through things like a kilo of carrots, half a kilo of parsnips, a whole celery and so on. So I do a bit of each to use it up, with onion, garlic, sweet potato, tinned tomatoes.

I don't use any air fresheners, I use bleach in the loo and open the window. A few drops of eucalyptus oil on a damp cloth when wiping surfaces. A bottle goes a long way.

[quote Maestrog]**@Svara* @Toanewstart23* I think you need to be a bit careful with these cashback sites. It just takes time and checking. Quidco used to give me "10% back on insurance" etc but the price they were giving was exactly 10% more than a price comparison site gave me. I prefer the "2% off everything you buy" offers. Quidco was very upfront that it charged £5 a year or something, it's not a hidden charge, but reading this now I'm wondering if I need to go and cancel that!

Love the holiday budget from shopping at Aldi .

Always keep emergency supermarket pizza in the freezer. Saves £20 on days you're too knackered to cook. We still have takeaway, but as planned treats not emergency stop gaps.[/quote]
Totally agree with the frozen pizza tip.

If I'm tired we have cheese on egg or beans on toast. Or there's often some chilli in the freezer. If I can't be bothered cooking rice we have it with toast or couscous.

If you have leftover Mediterranean veg, or homegrown courgettes then you can use them in ratatouille