to expect MNers to

[homebirthmummy4]

Come together and support each other today. Regardless of income we will all be affected.
So let's all share some money saaving tips
Mine is ....
Invest in an electricity monitor. We got one last year and with 3 teenaged electricity vampires cut our bill from £135 per month to £70

Any other ideas?

A water meter, we got one installed and it's saved us a bit of cash.

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Cut down on meat (with the extra motivation that it's better for health and environment). Also when we buy meat in larger packs we separate it into freezer bags so we don't use too much at once.

Use mysupermarket to see who does your shopping the cheapest.

Quidco for everything you buy online!

Op are you Sam Cam?

Run DW and WM at night if you have a cheaper tariff overnight. Use economy cycles if they exist. I am certain this has made a difference to us. Both machines (especially DW) run most nights.

homebirthmummy - my monitor arrived this week, have not fitted it yet as we are about to move house so couldn't work out how easy to fit and then move. Will check it out today, though, cos even a few weeks before moving we could save save save I suspect... As long as the monitor can move with us of course!

Walking instead of driving, where possible.
Take a calculator and a list when you go shopping.
Make your own greeting cards.
Arrange with family and friends to not buy presents but get together and enjoy each other's company instead.

I like that last suggestion about presents!

I made it a 'tradition' in my house a few years back that gifts from my kids are either home made or from charity shops. They love trawling them for quirky trhings.

I like that last suggestion about presents!

I made it a 'tradition' in my house a few years back that gifts from my kids are either home made or from charity shops. They love trawling them for quirky trhings.

Consider letting some of the servants go, and cut the heating bill to the dower house by making granny go to Monte Carlo early this season.

YABU

hbm4: you could make savings by posting a message only once.

yes - electricity monitor excellent - I bought myself an OWL (although when I moved here British Gas sent me one of their as well - so actually I have a spare if anyone wants one! PM me if you do and you can have if FFP).

Haven't set up the tariff thing or anything, but keep it on the current usage screen and I'm training the boys to keep an eye on it and I KNOW when they've left a light on somewhere.

My tip is to use cash as much as possible for purchases - and have a set amount each week for buying extra bits (bread/milk etc top ups, and other "frivilous" things you pick up. It's all to easy to put that £3.20 for a sandwich and crisps on your card, and then another £2.50 the next day and not really realise just how much you're spending.

If you have the cash in your wallet I've found it makes me think more about what I'm spending and whether I really need to spend it.

I also empty my wallet every day of coins that are 20p or under and am saving them, last count (before the summer holidays) I'd saved nearly £50 in just a couple of months!

Oh and for non perishables look and see which pack is better value for money, usuall it's the bigger pack (but not always so worth checking) - it will mean a one of "bigger" shop once in a while but you'll save in the long run.

Online shopping for groceries - the total is there in black and white before you press 'send' and you can rethink if you need to.

Ebay is your friend, buying and selling.

Approved Food is my version of choice www.approvedfood.co.uk/ (there are others around) - overstocks and close to best before date food at very reasonable prices indeed. I am awaiting an order that includes 3kg of runny honey for £4.99 - cheaper than the basics version at Sainsbury.

Slow cooker rock - cheap meat made tender & tasty

For fun, sneaky ways to save the pennies forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=826963

wannabe - isn't it funny as I find if I meal plan and make a list I can spend less shopping in person. The "selected seconds" and "reduced to clear" often give out some very good bargains that you won't find online. But I guess it's horses for courses on that one.

pearl barley in stews, soups for autumn / winter

less meat - I'm with whoever said that - we eat meat or fish pretty much everyday and we just don't need to.

always check out specials at the supermarket - as MaMoTTaT says the bulk buy is usually the best but sometimes on a buy one get one half price or even just odd pricing it's cheaper to buy two small ones that one big one - tescos used to do this with their tea bags - it was vastly cheaper to buy two boxes of 120 bags than one big box

again at the supermarket - look o nthe reduced aisle on a monday morning if you can - meat from the weekend that you can freeze (how many of us buy meat fresh everyday and never freeze it anyway?).

Always speak to your insurance company before you automatically renew - they are constantly bringing out new policies etc and their biggest source of income is people that just automatically renew rather than question why their premiums are going up, even just a little bit.

Do you have a grocers near you, or for instance we used to live in Clapham and in Tooting there were large fruiterers - you save such a lot of money shopping there rather than at the supermarket for fruit and veg.

Eat seasonally - why buy tomatoes in the middle of winter when they're imported and often taste watery anyway? It's so much cheaper to eat fruit and veg that's in season.

MaMoTTaT - you lose out on a lot of bargains shopping online, and you can miss great offers. Sometimes it is hard to compare quality. For me, using mysupermarket.com so that I know that there are cheaper versions/offers available and knowing that I will only spend so much it works.

Also, I am a sucker for the 'it's a special offer, I need to buy dozens, even if I hardly ever use the stuff' mentality and it has taken me years to get past that. We are finally getting to the end of a pallet of sugar I bought nearly ten years ago I miss out on the marked down stuff, but I can use a bit cooler judgement when I am looking at offers on line.

Also I have physical difficulty getting to the shops sometime so it is a lifesaver.

Agree with daddy seasonal friut and veg is cheaper if you have a spare 10 minutes to compare it to your normal fruit and veg.

Our local saturday market is also good for meat. Our local market I can get 15 british chicken breasts for £10. Asda do 3 packs for £10 most of the time and you only get 3 breasts in each pack. They also do minced steak by the kg a lot cheaper than supermarkets.

I buy the big packs of veg from supermarkets (got 1K of carrots for 50p this weekend) cut them up, blanch them and freeze them in individual or in 2 or 3 person portions.

Play insurance companies/ utility companies off one another... they are all fighting for your money so try and knock them down.

Also I've just cut £15 a month off of our sky package and not lost many chanels! I phoned them to cancel our sky package, told them we couldn't afford it. They said that they would reducce the price for 6 months if we stayed with them, I think I cut out some ridiculous channels we never watched, but they bent over backwards to stop us leaving. After the 6 months if they want to put the price up, I'll leave sky. Freeview is a hell of a lot cheaper!

that's fair enough wannabe - I guess it's just what suits each of us better - you can save money both ways if you know how to do it.

Sorry for the spelling mistakes... really should put my glasses on!

I've started taking a notebook with me to the supermarket for a price comparison trip - then go to makro and see if it really is cheaper to go there - sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't - we get our loo roll, kitchen roll, washing powder, household cleaning stuff and deodorants and ladies things at makro regularly - it's stuff we use on a very regular basis. I too have falen foul of the great bargain but it's something we use once every 2 years, but have got it anyway...

MaMoTTaT - I think if I could physically shop more then I would have a rummage around the clearance shelves more often. I've had some great bargains from there. But it is like you say, different things work for different people.

Currently there is no room in my kitchen cupboards as Mr Sainsbury recently had an offer of 3 for the price of one on the pasta sauces that OH loves and I bought a shed load (though I heard of one lady who bought 72, I am not that bad!) I also had a £10 voucher because they were forty minutes late and I used it to stock up on tinned meat like corned beef, which father loves.

Buying meat - buy the best you can afford and make the most of it. Eg get really good casserole beef and make a casserole but with loads of veggies, barley, red lentils etc. Get really good mince and bulk it out with porridge oats and red lentils. Get a really good roasting joint of a decent size, then serve it as hot, cold, stir fry and cottage pie. Really good meat, from a good butchers (if you can find one) goes further and is less stuffed with additives, water etc.

Home made soup - really easy to make, nutritious and often possible to make for very little.