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 😂

As a confirmed bidet user, I recommend them. Cleaner result than bog roll and probably cheaper, certainly more comfortable.
Also good for washing feet.
They don't cost much to buy as they're often discounted or end of range because they've never been popular in the UK. This works best if your sanitary ware is white and you don't care whether the various bits of it match. They're easy to install so that's not a big expense either.

PS The way people STILL waste money is painful to witness. Lots of poor souls can't help their poverty but many others have asked for it and keep doing just that. My particular bugbear is cars......The idea is to get from A to B but judging by all the eyewateringly expensive shiny junk round here you'd never guess.

Something to do the job shouldn't cost more than £3k. No one can afford to waste money. It is precious. They only think they can. Or worse, they don't think at all.

Disgruntled, crumbly old dinosaur.

Stock up on bread, bags of frozen peas etc rather than waste the space.

practically all of the horrible and aggressive posts in this thread are from you. My money saving tip for you is to save electricity by using the internet less. In particular the forum “Mumsnet”.

We have a non-Prime account at work and still receive most of our deliveries with Prime.

I have Prime at home, because DD likes the kid’s shows. I cancelled my TV license earlier this year as we rarely used it, and received an £80 refund. Got Disney+ instead but only kept for a couple of months and cancelled as DD preferred Prime.

Never had Sky- that looks like a huge monthly outlay!

Girlfriend44- Put the washing out in the morning then???

Dry shampoo thins the hair shaft out something chronic.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this thread, family showers , cold soup straight from tin, no flushing, No tea or coffee, Cloth wipes , it all sounds stressful not to mention the mental ,and physical, toll on posters Health. I really don’t think it’s worth the few £s saved.

Must admit, I’d rather use my tumble drier to dry my towels and sheets, then having them hanging over a clothes horse for days on end during winter.

I purchased a soup maker earlier this year. They’re not cheap, but tinned soup isn’t cheap either. Any left over veg etc, I intend to make soup with, therefore saving myself on the cost of soup, plus not wasting leftover veg. Hopefully the soup maker will pay for itself in time (I know you can use a blender etc, but the soup maker is so easy).

Gram strategy. It could save loads.

Don't bleach your mugs, it damages the surface of the glaze and makes them stain more.

Soak them in washing up liquid and water (preferably hot) then rub them with a gentle scourer (something like the green plastic ones not a wire one).

The stains come off pretty easily with a rub even if you don't soak them but they don't come off in a dishwasher

I find it easier t o dry sheets and towels in winter indoors.
The heating is usually on a good bit in the colder months, and even bath towels will dry overnight.
It is much harder to dry on cool wet summer days when I don't use heating.
I don't like tumble driers.

I also make my soup in my slow cooker- I don't think a soup maker would work for me- we all like chunky soup in this family.

Soup makers end up in boot sales. If you want one, get it there. You'll forget you have it in a few weeks. It will stay at the back of a kitchen cupboard for years and then you'll bin it or put it in a boot sale.

Get a back account puts spare money in a back account. So if I spend something that's £3.75. 25 p will be safer. It's like getting free money as you don't even notice a few pevce.

I can’t get my head round the popularity of these! I know how to budget and I know how to save and I would hate it if some algorithm started sweeping 25p around!

For you a car is something that gets you from A to B, for others it is much more. A nice car can be a pure joy to drive, and weekend getaways so much more fun. The point of having money is to ENJOY life, not just to survive it.

But I agree there is no point in buying a super expensive car unless you have the salary to match - it's not worth it if it puts you in debt or stops you affording other nice things.

Well given that we are a household that also own period pants, cloth nappies and have a free onsite laundry (as stated originally) I think we will be all be clean enough even if not to your standards.

Aren’t you lucky to be born in this century, and in the west.

You can use fish tank water, pasta or egg water and banana skins for homemade plant fertiliser. Fish tank water is good for plants that need more nitrogen. You can also coffee granules left from making coffee in a caffetier

This isn't meant to sound uncaring, but I think the biggest hacks are thinking ahead and planning - and planning for possible really hard times.

I think pets are a really big expense - especially dogs and cats. I think that if your kids really want one, or they've always been a big part of your life, then fine. But if you're sort of iffy and equivocal, and think that it perhaps might be a good idea, then think again and look at schemes where older kids can help out at animal shelters, or taking a neighbour's dog for a walk.

Vets bills are massive. Buying food, blankets and even cleaning blankets is very expensive. Once you go down that route, you are committed.

Hey guys, I found the bootlicker!

Death not a nice subject but my mum has signed up to Pure Cremations so it is paid for in advance, so much cheaper.

It’s not a saving when we pay more tax 🙄

@shinynewapple22 Whilst I’m not queuing up to use this method, I was born in 1970 before disposable baby wipes etc. How do you think my mum cleaned my backside after a nappy change? She used flannels which then went in the wash with the nappies. People need to stop being so prissy and disgusted by bodily functions

NOT MONEY SAVING BUT MONEY MAKING.
Sell all the stuff you have not used or worn for 2 years, eg. kids toys and clothes, unwanted gifts that have been in a box in the cupboard for ever. The dress you have never worn and swore you would diet into.
If you have forgotten you have you probably dont want or need it.

If you're a coffee drinker make a flask of coffee in the morning so you don't have to keep switching machines on throughout the day. If you're a tea drinker then fill a 'good' flask with boiling water in the morning