What thrifty tips do you NOT recommend?

[ArcheryAnnie]

There's been discussion on other threads about some "thrifty tips" which don't seem all that sensible, like rinsing the sauce off spaghetti hoops to reuse the cooked pasta (wastes sauce and calories), or boiling soap to make shower gel (wastes electricity and soap - better just use the soap bar). What other thrifty tips have you either invented or tried, that you would warn other people off?

Here's mine: people have said a pinch of cheap curry powder helps elevate all kinds of dishes, including baked beans, tinned tomatoes, etc, and helps ring the changes in a monotonous diet. Here's what curry powder doesn't elevate, kids: porridge oats. Many, many years ago (pre DS), desperate for something other than plain porridge made with water, which had formed the bulk of our diet all week, we tried currying the porridge with an onion. Now, if I make or buy terrible food, I'll still usually eat it anyway, and just determine not to buy or cook it again. Not so this: oats, curry power and the onion all wasted. Don't ever repeat my mistake!

South facing! Well drained beds, lots of sunlight all day, watered the right amount, it’s all there. But I’ve managed to fuck it up somehow.

Then again, I can’t even keep a cactus alive in the house, so I don’t know what I was thinking.

Why are you boiling more than you need?

But you can't wash your hair in the bath?

Of course you can wash your hair in the bath. I rarely wash mine by any other method. How do you think people washed their hair before showers were ubiquitous? You just use a jug to pour the water over your head to rinse it off.

Growing your own can save money if you grow the right things, some things are not worth growing as they cost so little to buy (carrots, potatoes), I grow fruit and had a huge crop this year, my freezer is full and I have made lots of jam.

lidls bin bags are the best.

Shampoo bars. People say "they last for ages". They don't for me! Cost about £3 and last a week. Maybe because I'm in a soft water area?

Tesco own brand shampoo costs 75p and lasts me months.

Buy a supermarket’s own brand 1 litre bottle of bath foam (about £1) and use it to refill all your liquid hand soap dispensers. Basically same stuff. Been doing it for years with no complaints!

Also, decant washing up liquid into a spare hand soap dispenser (remove label). A couple of squirts is usually enough to hand wash dishes. Saves waste as you get a standard measure.

I tried a conditioner bar once which was well-reviewed. Spent bloody ages rubbing the thing in the shower to try and get any conditioner to come off it, then when I got enough off it to put on my hair it didn't even feel like it had been conditioned. This was more for trying to cut down on plastic use than cost, but still. Gah.

It possibly is cheaper if you already bought the chicken for the meat and the bones are just going in the bin!

Cheap toilet roll inevitably just doesn't last. The price differential often evens itself out in number of rolls used for cheap ones.

I try and do some baking whilst oven is on so for example whilst chicken and roasties are in on Sunday I will make a tea loaf for lunch boxes as it lasts a few days.

It's totally different to actual breadline issues but I get and make the most of the oven when it's on.

I buy a huge container of Ecover lavender soap and refil the pumps, but it's more to reduce single use plastic. It's nice soap and kind to my hands, not necessarily the cheapest.

Of course you can. Dip it under the clean water, shampoo, use a jug which you've filled with clean water to rinse.

Budget tyres. Not much cheaper than a decent mid-range brand, significantly worse performance and wear much faster. Totally false economy.

Whoops! OP said ‘NOT’ recommend - sorry!

My hair is thick, wavy and dry so needs conditioner. I wash my body while conditioner is on hair then rinse everything.
A bath would use way more water and energy.

Plus my hair wouldn't be properly rinsed

That's still a fiver per meal though plus the effort of prepping and cooking and cost for fuel which isn't particularly cheap, probably more expensive than a "naice" ready meal.

If you wanted something easy, but unhealthy you could just get a large domino's pizza for the same price (9.99 for a large deal on off, would last 2 meals). .

Or if you just recreated the gousto meals yourself some of them, like the pasta or Veggie ones, you could do for a third of the price of gousto.

Our local Sainsbury's is MASSIVE and great for clothes and non-food but a bit hopeless for food. Expensive and always running out of things - long before Brexit/Covid. The fresh things going out of date is because of poor stock management, I think it's just too big. Same with Tesco. Of course it depends on your local store. I've been in Aldis/Lidls in other parts of the country which are absolultely dire but our local ones are great.

Or if you just recreated the gousto meals yourself some of them, like the pasta or Veggie ones, you could do for a third of the price of gousto

Yes but surely for the poster's DD it's more the convenience. Working long hours, £30 is within her budget, she gets something quick to prepare healthier than a take away without having to spend too much time thinking about food. It saves time and effort.

I thought about doing it to get some different meal ideas every now and then but they don't cater for more than four people and we are five adults.

Only time I did it I ended up with conditioner still in my hair. Different if you have a shower attachment on the taps

A big plastic tumbler at the side of the bath, quick rinse through with water from the mixer tap should suffice and I have long thick hair.

But generally prefer a shower.

We grow veg but don’t freeze the surplus.
We give it away. Growing veg is time consuming but doesn’t cost much otherwise. Our neighbours give us surplus eggs. Other neighbours give us raspberries.
Everyone benefits from shared produce.

We all managed in the 70s and before.

One day last week we had a boiler problem and could not get hot water. It was fixed next day but until then I boiled a kettle and put the water in a bucket, filled with cold and took it into the shower. Easily enough for a quick shower and probably more effective as I took more care, and a lot less water wasted. Ta da !

Love this!

Try dunking your hair in the water (lie back to do it) and swishing it about to get rid of most of the conditioner, and then rinsing off with fresh water.

But that point that has been made SEVERAL times is that this suggestion is aimed at people who are getting tins of spaghetti they don't like FROM A FOOD BANK and therefore are not choosing it.