Little things you do because actually you're a bit tight...

[theevildead2]

I put a bit of milk in creamy dressings to get the last bit out.

I will cut toothpaste tubes to squeese last bit out.

By bannana that are on death's door for 50p to chop and freeze for smoothies and make in to loads of bananna bread to freeze for snacks.

Am that keeping heating below 20 is considered frugal. My thermostat is set to go off at 18. If it is really cold I consider 20 a treat.

I put nearly empty washing up and bubblebath bottles into the corresponding water to get that last bit out. Buy large packs of raisins etc and keep them in a storage pot in my "children's bag" for when we go out. Make all own lunches for work, leftovers or sandwiches.

I use far less washing powder than it says on the box (we live in an extreme hard water area) - our stuff is never that dirty or smelly. OK, the 3yo looks permanently grubby, but that adds to her charm.

Also only ever buy own label washing powder.

I don't tend to buy value food, particularly meat - just because farmers are squeezed enough by the supermarkets, and I shudder to think what the animals that went into the value packets when through in their short and miserable lives. Instead, I buy decent quality meat but less of it. Even a small roast chicken provides several meals (sandwiches, stir fry, stock etc).

bath together

make nappies last as long as poss with in reason.

buy value and discouted products/foods

use charity shops or second hand shoes/clothes

car boot sales for other odds and ends

use cheap dish washer powder intead of expensive dishwasher tablets

walk and avoid using the car. cycle.

make my own birthday and xmas cards

buy all gifts in the sales

shop in the pound shop or Wilko

Keep the heating at 14'C

home hair cuts for the kids

pay as you go phone(Asda net work- 4p per text)but aim to top up with 10 pounds every few months or so.

pick any free fruit - blackberries etc

use ebay sometimes

My sister - despite being very well off (although to be honest she is probably very well off because of being like this):

• wears things she finds on the tip

• Lives for the week every year that everyone can leave large items outside their houses for the council to collect; she is in heaven

• has a calendar hanging in her house that is actually for the year previously but she has crossed the numbers out "I got given two and it was a shame to waste it."

• was given out-of-date sausages for the dog by neighbours, decided they were too good for the dog and ate them herself

I am sure there are more. I do none of the above and am skint.

saying that I love to make yummy lunches for friends and family. Also buy them the nicest thing i can at the lowest price - ie)stunning stipey boys Next jumper for 6 pounds in sales

get DS4 to re-use his night pants when they're dry.

Everyone has home hair cut - except DW - but found out her TA was a trained hairdresser in past so she likes to do it.

can never resist a sale either!

My thermostat is set at 16 Missorinoco

I make DH pop into the supermarket near the station on his way home twice a week. They reduce loads of desserts for quick sale eg £2.50 apple pie for 50p, £5.00 tarte tatin for 75p. This is how I stock the freezer with nice stuff.

other than the shared baths, and most of BallonSlaters sisters' "tips" all this sounds very like our house!
I also re-use tea bags. I don't mean I save them for weeks or aynthing, but I do use one bag for two or three cups if am making them all at the same time. I always thought that was normal until work coleagues "caught" me....

bumperella - it is normal, isn't it? I would never use a teabag per person in a mug, I always make a teabag do at least 2 mugs. No more than 3 though (Unless one of them is for my Dad - he likes his tea too weak to crawl out of the cup - most un-Yorkshire like!).

Love this!
I dilute the liquid handsoap as soon as i buy it!
Use cloth nappies and cloth wipes
Use a fraction of the recommended amount of washing powder (eg a tablespoon) - buy washing powder not tabs so that i can do this.
use charity shops for toys & books -ooh, and videos for dc (remember vhs??)
freeze half cans eg open a tin of corn, eat half and freeze the rest in freezer bag. My freezer has loads of random little packets.
Sell and buy toys at NCT sales
Park miles from where I work so I don't have to pay
Always take young DC's lunch out with me so don't have to fork out for something he doesn't eat
Wash clothes in evening then hang to dry overnight - then put outside if fine in morning or tumble dry, but doesn't take as long.

btw - those using baby wipes on leather sofas - make sure your babywipes are alcohol-free or it will knacker the leather

off to take notes, on the back of an envelope of course

Look at Ebay for everything first, before buying new.

Lots of Whoopsies. I deliberately go to Tesco at 10pm for this.

Heating set to 15o.

Breakup sets of books for Bday pressies.

Kids clothes from here or Ebay!

Own label or Smartprice on most groceries. Brnaded only if on offer. Not ashamed of Aldi or Lidl either.

Eggs from local farm - 75p for 6.

This sounds counterintuitive but - I do spend decent money on good quality clothes for me - so that they last and last. I don't midn getting them 2nd hand in good nick though. Not super designery, but good high street rather than Priomarni. I have a classic winter coat from Benetton that is now 12 years old and going strong. I have some work shoes from Next, 10 years old - also only on 2nd set of soles.

Never use the recommended amount of laundry powder, shampoo etc - always less, always works.

Book train tickets and flights (2/3 siblings live abroad) well in advance.

Sim only mobile phone deal.

No extra terrestrial TV apart from Freeview. Even box came from Freecycle.

Frecycle lots - as offered and needed.

PAss roudn clothes and toys with other mums.

Library rather than bookshop.

My lovely but frugal mother is officially the 'Queen of Mean'

• Saves all leftover food religiously... even if is few spare peas off someone's plate or the dregs of a glass of squash.
• Can take a seemingly empty jar and, after only 5 minutes careful scraping with a knife, produce enough jam to top a slice of toast
• Runs the water until the hot tap gets hot into a bowl and uses it to flush the loo (water meter offers huge scope for tightness)
• Darns tights
• Irons wrapping paper

I think she misses rationing.

make tea in a pot - that way you can hide the number of bags used and anyway it tastes better that way.

Park out of town where all day parking is £1 then walk into town if need to.

buy everything where possible on a credit card to max out the rewards - although always check if cash gets you a better deal - even bought a nearly new car on credit card and used 0% interst free credit to pay it off - had a balance transfer special offer a couple of times so worked out my real rate of interest on the loan was something like 1% over 2 years.

Take own lunches, bottles of water or sweets to cinema etc. Just avoid being 'ripped off' as much as possible.

My BIL and family are almost exact opposite everything must be new and 'the best' - they earn about the same as us but BIL is in debt for a few £k and is of our XF.

Its easy to fritter away money...

Some of the above plus I bring my own water and sweeties when we go to the cinema. I know someone who made and brought their own popcorn but I'd be worried that the bag was too big and they would want to look inside them.

How could I forget - Quidco - bought DS a phone cost me minus £1.50! Quidco paid me more than the phone cost from Car phone warehouse! DS is pleased has a phone that works fine good for calling and texting and not worried if it gets lost - why would I buy insurance on a 'free' phone. On a PAYG deal too.

I shop at Asda

I shop at Lidl, Morrison's and Sainsbury's. I always check the offers online before I go.

Very poor so being sensible methinks,

always use brown paper and string for wrapping presents (has a traditional feel and is cheap as chips in local discount store)

roll up the toothpaste to get the last smidgen out (this includes other tubes of stuff too)

always pour boiling water into empty-ish marmite jar and use the liquid to add to gravy/ stews etc (am veggie and good for vitB)

the pound shop is my best friend for cleaning products

charity shops, absolutely brilliant and so many to choose from (although a bit of a let down during pregnancy for clothing)!

bulk buy toilet roll when on special offer (a habit I inherited from my step dad)

use polish on leather sofa and hasn't caused it any harm and been doing it for years, also makes it smell nice

make my own 'febreeze' by diluting fabric softener in a recycled spray bottle, works just as well

hmm, sure I have lots more but that's just a few of them.

oh, and another house cleaning tip i invented is to pour a couple of drops of essential oil into the cistern so that when you flush it covers bad smells, sorry, I seem to have come over all anthea turner.....

Oh, I love whoopsies. You can get really top line stuff quite cheaply, I get all my free range chicken and good quality sausages from there. Tonight we're having rib eye steak for tea but the cost of the whole meal works out at about £2 per head.

My most shaming one though is that I refuse to buy sandwich bags. I buy loose fruit and veg in the supermarket (cheaper) and re-use the bags you get for them.

So many of these "tight" ideas also come under Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

It winds me up when people try to portray "being green" as some sort of middle-income luxury. (Obv some green stuff needs upfront capital expenditure, but still.)

I also buy the uber-posh stuff at Waitrose when its reduced so the other night we have scallop shells filled with lobster mousse topped with smoked salmon. Dh complained that we should never buy fish when its close to its sell buy date

Never buy chicken breats. Buy a whole chicken and roast it - you get a roast chicken meal, chicken and leek pie with the leftovers and chicken sandwiches. Boil the carcas and make soup with any left over veg. Freeze the left over soup.

Find out when supermarket reduces meat and veg and go there and stock up on whatever you find (helps if you have unfussy eaters). I like to buy good quality food, but if you buy the posh meat when it's reduced, you can bung it in the freezer until you need it.

Always take a packed lunch to work

Turn off all lights and most applicances immediately after use.

My SIL lives opposite a quite largish co-op - she knows the times they reduce stuff. We stayed there for a couple of weeks over the summer and got to know the evening staff quite wel, with almost daily checking in!