To ask what small cheeky things you do to save money?

[monroeagogo]

DH routinely reuses stamps. His excitement when an envelope arrives and the stamp isn't marked is a wonder to behold.

Franking is the enemy.

What cheeky things do you do to save the pennies?

When my kids were young, I used to drop hints to acquaintances who had older children about welcoming hand-me-down clothes.

Now I'm on the other side of this, with a big gangly teen. I am glad to know which of my friends are particularly seeking hand-me-downs. Some people prefer new clothes, and would actually find it an inconvenience to have to dispose of unwanted clothes I had dumped on them. So please do drop hints!

I’m not thrilled that carrier bags now cost 20p (or in some places 50p ) but my opinion doesn’t count for shit because that’s what it costs, I can’t just take one and not pay because I personally object to paying.

And re the chocolate not risk my much, I have one word for you - Freddo!

@monroeagogo

I've also been known to add extra rolls or cakes at the self checkout scale. Quite often, actually.

I'm like a big time thief.

What you actually are is a shoplifter. Shops have a thing called leakage which is stock that goes missing and cannot be accounted for. We are scrutinised about this and pressure is put on to sort it out. So well done you for being in the same company as a druggie who steals to feed their habit.

Not to save money but for the environment, I can easily go 7-10 days without washing my hair. I always have my own water with me and rarely buy takeaway food - which saves on money and packaging.

I work from home and as downstairs is colder in the winter, I move upstairs so can have the heating lower and put a blanket on.

Oh and I also always pay for carrier bags.

However I was told by the checkout staff that the money from the carrier doesn't go to the supermarket but goes into the governments pockets as a 'plastic tax' how much do that is true I don't know but it wouldn't surprise me.

I reuse and recycle wherever I can, padded envelopes I always reuse as well as gift bags.

i keep a stock of gifts that I've picked up in sales to give friends or dds friends for bdays.

I only go into town on a Sunday when the parking is free.

At car boot sales, try to spot people selling stuff which they didn't originally buy. Those sellers often let things go far more cheaply than they should!

Sexist generalisation: buy tools from women and Tupperware from men! Sometimes I am just making off with my goods when the person's partner returns and says, "You just sold it to her for HOW MUCH?!"

This logic doesn't make sense

Agreed. I don't pay for carrier bags either, I take my own to the supermarket.

My dad goes to Spain a few times a year. Not because he likes Spain, but because you get free food with alcohol, so he never pays for a meal, just booze.

Reminds me of my DGM, who used to buy all the cheap stuff she could find, to go in the freezer, even if she hated it.

Carrier bags went from 0p to 5p to 10p and then jumped to 20p. I don't pay for it because I genuinely don't see why I'm paying 20p for a bag that used to be free.

Have you really not seen or heard any of the news about this over the last however many years? It's a government initiative - they may not set the actual price that is charged (above a minimum), but I believe supermarkets are monitored as to how many they use/sell and are publicly shamed on this if they use a lot more than their competitors.

You may as well ask why tobacco or petrol cost you so much more than they actually cost to produce and trade - like it or not, those are the government's laws for everybody. The alternative is outright banning them and taking the choice off people to only use what they need.

I rarely go to a hotel, but when I do, I always have a bath there! Saves money on my own bills since I only bathe a couple of times a week.

@Maze76

I take full advantage of my supermarket offers on their shopping app. It’s great as all the offers are based on my shopping habits. I save money on items I actually use and collect points which I save for my Christmas shopping. Same with Boots I save my points for Christmas gifts and take advantage of of 3 for 2 offers. I also complete surveys and product test brands - and I’m looking into becoming a secret shopper.

How did you become a product tester please?? 🙏

@PandemicAtTheDisco

Cheeky things to save money?

My friend's ex always asked to charge his phone up at everyone's house. He wants to know wifi passwords even if it's a quick stop at someone's house rather than a visit.
He stuffs himself with food at parties, brings cheap stuff then drinks the expensive stuff. He takes leftovers home and freezes them.
He forgets to buy his round of drinks, he cadges lifts and doesn't offer petrol costs.
He regifts or buys in charity shops yet claims things are brand new and bought at full price. He resells charity stuff on ebay.

He goes into the charity donations store and takes anything he can use or sell.
He pretends to be asleep on trains or hides in the toilets to get out of paying.
He gets up early at the weekend and checks around cash machines to see if drunken revellers have dropped money or left it in the machines.

I couldn't possibly think of anything more exciting, then getting up early on my weekend off work to go walking around where cash machines are just in case someone's dropped a tenner

I HATE paying for parking. I’ll avoid it at all costs.

Some of the saving hacks are far too time consuming with minuscule saving results and sound extreme and very tight.

To those who save napkins, sachets of salt, get hot water, use your own tea and coffee and so on, do you write a spreadsheet every week to show how many pennies you have saved yourself as a result? Otherwise it's all for nothing and goes back in the black hole surely? God Almighty...

I agree with buying less, stretching meals, washing less etc. = a bit of expense saved along with the planet.

@Saracen

I rarely go to a hotel, but when I do, I always have a bath there! Saves money on my own bills since I only bathe a couple of times a week.

Yes, but how does it save money? You rarely go to hotels - when you do, you've paid to use the bath/hot water?

Surely the best practice cheapskate approach to carrier bags in the supermarket is to take your own, which is 100% free. I realise that "that's just what they want you to do!" but it has the major advantage of not getting you into awkward and time consuming conversations with security guards.

I'm starting to wonder if OP and her husband are the same people who like to steal towels from hotels. Just a name change that's all.

[quote ButtercupOfFlorin]@LadyPropane I meant attractive personality wise. And it’s an ugly personal who is mean and reuses stamps or gets a cafe to fill their hot water to save 0.4p on boiling the kettle a few times a year[/quote]
And it's seriously ugly to be nasty to people who are struggling.

A place where I worked, a couple were on the phone to their mortgage broker or similar- were explaining their cost of £8 a month for water. He was going into great detail about how he wanted that taking into account because they made a terrific saving by only showering at work, both of them apparently.

Obviously I shouldn't have been listening, but I was very shocked that this professional couple were such skinflints.

DH reuses teabags.

@Momijin

Not to save money but for the environment, I can easily go 7-10 days without washing my hair. I always have my own water with me and rarely buy takeaway food - which saves on money and packaging.

I work from home and as downstairs is colder in the winter, I move upstairs so can have the heating lower and put a blanket on.

😵 7-10 days??? My scalp starts sweating profusely & itching intensely by the day after the next, if I haven't washed it again. My hair itself also begins to stink. So if I've washed it on Monday night, my scalp starts intensely itching & sweating by Wednesday morning and sometimes even by Tuesday evening.

I would do ANYTHING to get a 7-10 day break from washing my hair!

Not exactly you cheeky but I buy all my clothes on Vinted. If you’re patient you can find really lovely stuff on there for only a few quid. I recently bought a new with tags Jaeger cashmere jumper for £18, a brand new Chanel leather belt in its box for £45, and some barely worn Converse high tops for £20. I haven’t bought anything brand new for over a year now. All my clothes and shoes are second hand but you’d never know. Better for the environment too.

Heads up on reusing stamps...

www.frama.co.uk/news/single/how-the-royal-mail-has-stamp-penny-pinchers-beat/

We always did the stamp thing as kids under parental direction! saucer of water to soak the stamp off!
If my DC find a £ in a locker at swimming they are made up.
My nan used to keep her poppy and iron it flat every year ( she was war generation too, not sure if she still donated but I suspect not ! ) If we went to a cafe she used to stash sachets of sugar etc and the her favourite was mini jars of jams.
She'd be horrified at my spend thrift ways!

Collect water from rinsing vegetables and salad and use it to water garden plants

Bag in the freezer to collect onion ends, end bits of celery, carrot peel and then use when making stock rather than using a whole vegetable

I buy chicken when on offer, and butcher it myself and freeze. Three whole chickens this week were cheaper than the five breasts in a pack. We have six breast portions, six legs plus three carcasses for stock.