To ask for your most ingenious money saving tips

[Toothiehurtie]

my Best one is…

a visit to the card factory for cheap cards and gift bags and then picking up presents from car boot sales or charity shops. I have got some brilliant kids party presents for 50p so with the card and a cheap gift bag I have brought the cost of a present in for a pound before.

looking for any tips at all, obviously you can buy porridge oats in bulk cheaper than buying expensive kids cereal etc but anything clever or that people might not have thought of before.

don’t know how bad the fuel crisis will be but considering charging battery packs to charge phones at work and taking a thermos of boiled water home 😂

The dregs of shampoo and conditioner are also great for hand-washing delicate garments like cashmere. Shampoo as a detergent and conditioner as a fabric conditioner.😉

😂

Yes, but so what? If everyone actually used their gym membership, then the cost would also go up. Should we all be joining and staying at home?

That's your suggestion, not mine.

It will never ever go away for British folk will it, you know the Spirit of the Blitz. Some of you are a bunch of masochists who seem to take great pleasure in pretending it is the 1940s again.

It isn't. Cut back by all means and economise where you think it will really save you money versus being fkn miserable, but there is a balance.

The Government will step in with some help, it has to.

I have just read that the EU as a block is preparing Emergency Intervention next week. The UK must follow their lead.

Not sure if anyone has said this but you should always withdraw your cashback as soon as you can because it the company go bust there.isn't the protection that you get with banks etc.

people have been caught out before with those Christmas saving scheme things

They'd be like storage heaters. Slow release heat after you turn the heat source off. Good idea. Our sitting room is freezing, even with the heating on, and a few candles really do help.

I've posted loads about my meagre budget recently, but it's all standard stuff. Less bathing, less laundry, less protein, go nowhere and do nothing. Depressing!

My only original tip is to buy full fat milk. Same price, more calories.

Perhaps all those complaining about extra energy costs if made to work from by employers might like to look at this site:

www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home

If you meet the conditions there might be net tax saving of £1.20 per week for basic rate payers.

If I menu plan I don't have much left though...! I'd be eating plain rice and frozen spinach on day 8

I have been doing this too! No need to spin at 1600 when it is warm and dry.

Many years ago remember reading the following in one of those magazines that pay £5 for canny tips.

When your rubber gloves get too old to use, cut them up so that you have a good supply of rubber bands.

Fill your boots MumsNetters

@PinkSparklyPussyCat
While I agree that those who wfh will have much higher bills to pay , it does depend on whether it's your choice or your employer's decision that you work from home
@FlipFlops4Me is right in that if you've been instructed /contracted to wfh then you can make a claim on your income tax for additional expenses.

@Twyler has kindly provided a link for you.

However , you must realise that by wfh, you've already saved on train/bus/petrol costs and, according to some MNetters, even childcare costs.
You've possibly even saved on takeaway teas and lunches.

When my husband chose to wfh he immediately saved around £500 pm on train fare. He saved so much that the forthcoming increased costs are ( and I am embarrassed to say so) doable.

Please be very careful about telling people that you wfh and can't afford it.
Go back to the office and use their facilities or suck it up.
Most people envy your position.

I wanted to use up some over-sweet marmalade as a pudding syrup but didn’t want to put on the oven as we’re about 28 degrees at the moment.
3 minute (more like 5) microwave sponge cake. And it’s really good. Alchemy!

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/fastest-ever-lemon-pudding

Probably all been suggested already, but my money saving tips:

cold lunches and breakfasts (saves on electricity)

cooking dinner in slow cooker rather than the oven or eating salad.

when contacted king pasta or rice, bring the water to the boil, add the pasta or rice and then switch off the gas. It still cooks perfectly, just takes a couple of minutes longer. No need to simmer it for 10 minutes.

meal planning, and shopping just once a week.

packed lunches.

foraging for berries in the autumn and freezing for use over the winter.

washing laundry on cold 1hr cotton cycle, turning spin speed to lowest setting during summer.

Air drying outdoors year round.

quick showers.

using a ‘baby dam’ to reduce the capacity of the bath for the youngest.

everything switched off (ie not left in standby) when not in use, led lights on sensors.

hand washing dishes once a day rather than using dishwasher.

one super basic/budget dinner per week (I aim to keep our weekly grocery budget to £75 to feed 5 of us)

buying bulk washing powder - works out to 10p a load rather than 22p per load that we were paying for SMOL

walking rather than driving if it takes 30min or less to get walk somewhere.

For the winter we will be having a philosophy of ‘heat the person not the house’ and have invested in thermal vests, Oodies, fleece onsies, thick socks, slippers, hot water bottles and heated throws for everyone.

very quick showers, whole family jumps in and out with eachother (2 adults plus 4 kids) why? And How can you all fit in?

I watched The Revenant last night. When we get a cold snap, locate a newly-dead horse and scoop its guts out. Climb inside and pull its rib cage around you. The warming effect over the next 24 hours is equivalent to a 15 tog duvet. The following night, locate another horse. Rinse and repeat.

Some of these are “ingenious” as the OP wanted, others are plain bonkers. I’m wondering if some posters are on a windup.

Cross posted with Qik 😂

If you do use a tumble dryer, you don't need to dry stuff completely. Almost everything will air dry really quickly if you start it off with 20 minutes in the dryer.

Not going to keep your shower bills down though, is it? Do try to be a little more practical.

Far more practical to use a newly dead Tauntaun. Far warmer, as it worked on the ice planet Hoth, IIRC, which is much colder than Canada.

And you get leather for a new pair of shoes in the process. Of course, you'd need to charge your lightsabre in advance, but as long as you don't plug it in when creeping around a Deathstar, your boss isn't going to be quite so strict on terminating your contract for theft.

We have to go into the office one day a week but can choose to go in as often as we like. The problem is very few people want to go in for any additional and we're not allowed in on our own so I'm finding I can only go in one or two days per week.

I've hardly saved anything in travel costs as I only have a 15 minute drive to work so no, nothing has really benefited me. I haven't said anywhere that I can't afford it but I've got increased energy costs, I've lost my dining table as it's now my desk and I save hardly anything with my commute.

@PuzzyGalore tip noted and duly acted on.
I am now sporting pony tails which I shall use to mop the floor with later (after I’ve emptied the loo of water obvs).

If you know anyone with a bluelight card ask them if they'd mind sharing their login. For example I bought flea stuff for the dog with a 20% discount from a site I'd never even heard of recently using a discount code.

please don’t do this, this is the kind of thing that fucks it up for those of us who have shittily paid blue light jobs