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 😂

Exactly! Good advice from the plumber. I'm sure there are other ways to save money!

I think I also used to finish with a burst of clean water straight from the tap, to rinse the hose out.

Save on food bills. Call @PigletJohn then when he appears shove an apple in his mouth and roast him.

Make like a pussy cat, use the garden. Dig holes in the flowerbeds

Save electricity on expensive heated blankets and gilets by wearing the cat in bed.

Steal toilet rolls from public toilets

Steal ketchup from McDonald's

Steal hand soap and air freshener from toilets

I do have a family, my kids are school aged teenagers. I don't think a house and car are frivolities, I have both. I need somewhere to live and my house works fine providing that, I also need to get from A to B and my car works fine doing that. My husband and two of my kids are mostly like me, and have very little interest in 'stuff'. One of my kids has completely swallowed the consumerist hype and always wants new and branded shite.
My kids all have enough clothes etc they also have smartphones and laptops. I live in the countryside and my eldest is learning to drive, I'll buy them a car when they pass the test.

You could accuse me of being a hypocrite, I'm not though. I could afford a bigger house and flash car (my house and car are ordinary) this isn't because I'm tight or trying to safe money, its because fine with what we have . I'd be a rubbish lottery winner, I can't think of a single material thing I want.
Actually, I do love a holiday so I'd probably try to travel more.

Mine just goes on top of the flower bed, digging is too much like hard work! Actually, I'll give him credit, I have seen him dig a hole - he then stood in it and went on the edge. Not the best example of catting!

We've not been to the cinema for ages, but will be on Saturday 3 Sept - Odeon has a 'cinema day" price cut - £3 tickets. Bit more if you buy them online.

We have a Reel cinema near us, showings before 1pm are £3.50 a ticket - always ☺️

All the main cinema chains are doing this because it’s National Cinema Day - just in case other posters do not have an Odeon near them

Mine just goes on top of the flower bed, digging is too much like hard work

For a moment, i thought you meant you really did make like a pussy cat there@PinkSparklyPussyCat without even burying it.
This thread is really weird

Just been lying in the bath (I know such decadence and frivolity shouldn't be allowed). Does anyone remember The Clothes Show and Caryn Franklin who used to be one of the presenters? I remember her saying she had saved all the scarves she found people had dropped in the street. She had then sewn them all together to make a rather funky skirt which she modelled on the show. She suggested doing similar with old ties. For some reason my father wouldn't let me loose on his collection of ties.

Anyway, don't hand anything into lost property you find in future. Scarves, umbrellas, bobble hats. Even single gloves, wear one and keep other hand in your pocket.

Regarding the government stepping in, nobody is talking about it but I suspect that in the UK energy may actually need to be rationed this winter.

It's expensive for a reason, there may not be enough to go around.

We don't get it directly from Russia but we do get some from Europe and they are going to be short so may stop exporting.

And do you have any evidence for that or are you just scaremongering to make everyone feel worse than they already do?

I also live in a house smaller than I can afford because I would rather be able to maintain it without borrowing - it's even bigger since lockdown because of mass decluttering. I'm a bit too taken with frivolities and 'new shite', but I try to curtail it and buy quality once and for the cheapest price. We downsized from a much larger house, and I miss it (but it was 300 miles away in the wrong place) but I wouldn't want to heat it this winter.

I've thought of another moneysaver I do - if you have a dehumidifier, you can use the water in your iron. I pour into a jug and then through a coffee filter cone and paper (a sieve with muslin or paper would do). I store it in an old distilled water cannister.

Steamer basket that goes above a saucepan, so you can cook pasta/rice/potatoes in the pan while steaming veg/fish above - rather than having two hobs on and heating two lots of water

I’m sure I read somewhere that urine is good for compost heaps something to do with the nitrogen?
So perhaps the men in your life could wee in there to save flushing? Not sure I would be able to perch on the compost bin, it’s quite high.

On the pasta thing, I do it slightly differently. When DH is traveling and I know the work-school run is going to make it difficult to get dinner prepped on time, I put pasta in a pan of cold water in the morning. When we get home I put it on to boil for a couple of minutes and it's done.

Only washing my wavy hair once or twice a week has saved me a fortune in shampoo and conditioner, and my hair looks much better.

Have bought DC small water bottles that fit in their packed lunch box instead of fruit shoot etc.

We use a big lockable plastic tub in the garden in winter which doubles as a fridge, but wildlife can't get into. We also have a food box in the shed that bargain dry foods go into - for example, our local M&S was selling kilo bags of pasta for 30p recently, so we bought loads. It will last us months.

Use old socks and facecloths as cleaning cloths, I just cut a corner/toes out of them so they don't get mixed up.

Always soap instead of shower gel etc.

Buy kids clothes on ebay and in sales a size ahead if they're a real bargain.

Motatos is great for bargain tins and school snacks - just keep an eye on use by dates and delivery fees. I'll be making loads of soups and stews in the instant pot with bargains from there.

Recently got a TV in my bedroom using gift money, a discount scheme offered by work, and a sale weekend. It cost us £80 as a result and will mean warm nights watching TV in bed!

Now realising that I'm unintentionally thrifty 😂

Yes, I'm sure this is true and when they're done there, they need to secure the perimeter of your hen house to deter foxes. Obviously, not necessary if you don't keep chickens. Unless you want to deter foxes ...

We've been making compost for years now. When we started, it caused a bit of angst, but you don't need much outdoor space to make it. An old bin with some holes standing on ground will do. Aim for layers of different materials and damp - so if too wet, add shredded paper or broken up cardboard. Too dry, add, well, water. All of your peelings, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags etc can make great compost.

@PurplePosies Use old socks and facecloths as cleaning cloths, I just cut a corner/toes out of them so they don't get mixed up.

I buy ( have even crocheted some) dishcloths and when raggy and stained, I use them as cleaning cloths. But I do keep old socks for blacking our old Victorian fireplaces and for oiling cast iron skillets, my pizza steel and wok.

Who pissed on your chips 🙄

that'd save on nuying vinegar

if you have a dehumidifier, you can use the water in your iron
would save even more money not to iron

I won't be weeing in the compost bin incase one of the mice in there bites me on the bum.

My tip is, when you are washing your hair, mix a tiny amount of shampoo with some water as it lathers up better and goes a lot further