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 😂

[daisychain01]

@Notaflippinclue

STOP - buying Chinese tack, the more their economy expands the more gas and oil they buy from Russia the longer Russia can throw money at this war, No Chinese money, no war and then - back to the good old days of warm homes and
good food, and no need for penny pinching. Simples!

That's Boris' latest logic wheeze buy a new £20 kettle so you "save on your annual electricity costs". Yup £20 is really going to make a huge dent in a £3,500 annual household energy bill.

Likewise not buying Chinese plastic tatt is really going to take us all back to £100 per month energy bills. Not in the next 5 years it won't, and probably never!

The scale of this shite situation can only be managed by competent governments so we need to focus on voting the right one into power for the long term, if that's even possible.

[DamnUserName21]

@Hopeandlove

Given mine is a huge organisation and I’m expected to answer work emails at home and required to have the internet and work laptop on at home - so that we can do calls from home (!) as well as be phoned at home or on our mobiles in an emergency - our are actively encouraging it. I have about 40 sockets in my room at work and work have said charge everything. every member of staff can request the loan of a power bank etc

we have free tea and coffee at work and they have said use it - far cheaper for them to buy in bulk and heat one urn rather then us all boil kettles at home
We have a gym and showers at work as well as a swimming pool we can use. And we have been told that as from 1st September our towels will be washed and dried by work ready for the next day, they have brought extra washing machines and tumble dryers.

we have also been told anyone struggling needs to ask and there is a confidential set up and literally they will do what they can. We already have lunch included as part of our salary but if anyone struggles any left overs will be given to staff who need an evening meal etc

But I love my work and I won’t leave it until carted out in a box

Your company sounds really good!!

Any jobs going?!!

[mycatisannoying]

@guffaux

Hoping to save on heating the house by heating the body as recommended- not sure if this has been covered already- can anyone recommend a substitute for oodies? they are currently on offer at 2 for 98 pounds, but if I could get less expensive ones that would be even better- but am wary of the quality on amazon substitutes after reading reviews- would have to be available online though -

I've had both the Oodie and cheap substitutions.
Conclusion: there is no worthy substitution.

[sleepismyhobby]

.

[Lilyhatesjaz]

I weigh things like rice and pasta before I cook them so that I only cook the amount we will actually eat. Approximately 75g per person with slight variation for size and age

[alwaysfactor50]

@Endlesslypatient82 I think your being a bit obtuse with the pushing your shop an extra day!

So I meal plan but will buy a bag of sweet potatoes as it's cheaper than loose. Day 8 I look in the fridge- one carrot, I courgette, I sweet potato, 2 eggs- I have flour yogurt and a tin of chickpeas so I make easy wraps with a veggie filling 🤷🏼‍♀️.

Other times I'll look in the freezer and find some fish fingers which I'll make with the potatoes that need finishing up.

It's not due to poor planning but thinking carefully about what you make

[YanTanTetheraPetheraPimp]

I’ve bought an eco shower head, DH spends at least 20 minutes in the shower which on full blast would apparently fill 2 baths every 10 minutes😱
//www.savemoneycutcarbon.com/product/hansgrohe-crometta-vario-ecosmart-hand-shower-9lpm/?keyword=&source=google&medium=cpc&network=x&gclid=CjwKCAjw9suYBhBIEiwA7iMhNH_Jqgq418ppniIRqOgqS1c4hCCKNJalQW--lbVIxROjxrUwUy_OoRoCNUMQAvD_BwE
Sorry for length of link!
Put a fleece blanket under the bottom sheet of your beds, makes a huge difference.

[mycatisannoying]

Lots of good, common sense tips here.
However, some of them are decidedly on the ... unusual ... side. And I do question their overall necessity.
If I had a loved one following some of these (keeping the same cup of bleached water all week for keeping the teaspoons clean?), I'd be more concerned about their mental well-being than financial.

[kikisparks]

If you need something, before buying it always check if you can get cash back with topcashback, if there are any offers on your debit or credit card, if you have any workplace/ employee reward scheme with offers etc. For example someone further up said buy cards from the card factory, with my debit card I can get 5% cashback from them making it even cheaper. You should never buy any kind of insurance without checking what cash back you can get, it’s often a lot. Also whenever subscribing to something use a referral code and share your referral code.

I recently found out that I was entitled to O2 priority due to my virgin internet, they give out free cinema tickets every week and you can get free food from Greggs. Always worth checking your tv/ internet/ phone providers for reward schemes.

Look out your old stuff you don’t use any more and see what it’s worth on eBay, I recently found a game I had been gifted and hadn’t opened and it was rare and now worth £80-£100.

Join your Union and fight for better cost of living pay rises with your employer. Stand up for yourself in appraisals and have the confidence to seek pay rises and promotions when you can. I’m not great at this myself but want to be better!

Budget and meal plan food shopping and batch cook. Don’t go shopping whilst hungry!

When buying stuff from eBay if you’re getting more than one thing from the same seller ask them to combine postage.

Something I’ve recently done is a streaming service had a show I wanted to watch, I waited til all episodes were out, subscribed for the free trial, watched the show then cancelled.

If you have the choice of paying monthly or annually for something look to see whether annually is cheaper- put it on a 0% credit card if you have one and pay it off monthly anyway.

Be considerate about who you vote for- I have saved a lot of money by the party in power here (who I voted for) maintaining free tuition fees, so my university education that led to my career did not cost me anything, free prescriptions, got lots of useful things in a baby box, will benefit from 30 hours free childcare and free school meals for my daughter, and free personal care when I’m older if it’s still in place. I pay 1% more income tax but it’s definitely worth it and I like that there are also more protections for the poor here like discretionary housing payment.

[Qik]

@kikisparks That’s amazing!! Merely by voting one gains the policies one seeks to put more money on the bottom line is truly inspirational and magical.

[kikisparks]

@Qik yeah it’s pretty great. Unfortunately a party I didn’t vote for also affects me and they spent a lot of tax money on failed track and trace and failed ppe contracts (which seem to have been given to their friends) and have imposed a huge amount of policies which negatively affect the poor so it’s swings and roundabouts.

[Qik]

In our local park the playground equipment is old and some of it is broken. Are you saying it doesn’t matter who we vote for because this equipment will be replaced soon?

[toooldtocarewhoknows]

For those of you who are still using a dishwasher. Most programs end with 10 minutes of full heat to dry the dishes. If you wait until the heating has started (so you know the clean and drain part has finished) then open the door, the dishes dry in the air and you save quite a lot of electricity.

[kikisparks]

No, I said it does matter who we vote for as the government use our money (tax) and whether we benefit from that or not (ie whether it saves or costs us money) will generally depend on the policies of the party in power.

[diamondbutterfly]

@Thegroaninggurner

I don't use my tumble dryer unless it's an emergency. I use Martin Lewis Mse site and Hot UK deals. I only put enough water in the kettle for the cup of tea I'm making.. I use Top cashback when buying things especially car insurance and switching utilities. If I get mail saying my bills are going up I phone company's and get them to reduce prices or move to another supplier. I use Hot UK deals all year round for bargains for Christmas. I use Costco for petrol currently £1.56. I use UK breakaways and comparison sites for holidays there's also another site I use can't remember the name of it so get Haven breaks for a fraction of the price. Lots of bargain pages where you can get pHs for the kids for around £3 t shirts same price. Also use everything £5 for clothes for myself, the list is endless oh and I have started using the company shop who's prices are ace as well as home bargains.

What is the site you use to get Haven at a good price please? I have fond memories of going there as a kid

[Ladyof2022]

@Zippedydoo123

I used to bleach my mug daily from tea stains. Now I keep a spare mug of water with bleach in to hand and re-use the water each day. It also cleans up the teaspoons where needed. Believe it or not it lasts 7 days. Probably doesn't save much money as I buy my bleach in Home Bargains to start with but it is still money saving.

The cost of the amount of bleach you would use by using fresh bleach daily is about a hundredth of a penny.

The cost of the amount of bleach you now use by re-using the bleach for a week is about a thousandth of a penny.

And so you are risking yourself or someone else accidentally drinking the bleach to save 0.0000000001p.

REALLY not worth it!

[CherryRipe1]

Oh Jeepers, I was doing this with bleach in tannin stained mugs with spoons in. It more to do with an effort at being eco & not using loads of damaging caustic bleach than being tight wad. I came home squiffy one night and grabbed & filled the cup minus spoons with water and drank some of it. Luckily (even though sozzled) I realized after a couple of gulps what I'd done and drank a load of milk. A&e junior doc found mild burning to my throat and oesophagus & I felt a prize idiot. Fortunately the bleach was very weakened by being there so long & damaged limited by drinking milk. I won't even buy bleach now.

[sunglassesonthetable]

I 'bleached' the inside of my mugs with bicarbonate of soda.

Worked a treat. Can you drink that? 😉

[LovingTheseAutumnSnippets]

Milton is really good for whitening cups.

[PigletJohn]

@LovingTheseAutumnSnippets

Milton is really good for whitening cups.

So is a dishwasher, and denture cleaning tablets. I have an idea some discount supermarkets and drugstores sell an own-brand. Strong enough to clean a China teapot but might damage metal.

[LampLighter414]

Quite a bit of money to be saved by turning off your TV for the next 10 days as you can expect the same reels of archive footage and royal correspondent discussion over and over.

[GetThatHelmetOn]

@LampLighter414

Quite a bit of money to be saved by turning off your TV for the next 10 days as you can expect the same reels of archive footage and royal correspondent discussion over and over.

If I turn the TV off I end up in a restaurant…

[LemonDrop22]

@pilkywilkymoansalot

Never ever dry your clothes indoors to save a penny - matter or mass cannot be created or destroyed (remember your school chemistry lessons) all that water will only go into the fabric of your home making it damp and cause condensation, not to mention bad chests, it will head for the coldest spot in the corner of a room or behind a cupboard causing mould. Years ago When I asked a neighbour why she hung her washing out in the rain she said “it will dry eventually “. Good advice.

But you could leave the window open for ventilation in that room, and not have the rad on while you're drying clothes in there.

[blueshoes]

@LemonDrop22

But you could leave the window open for ventilation in that room, and not have the rad on while you're drying clothes in there.

I understand the physics of it but I have always done this in winter in various houses I have lived in and not had problems with mould or damp. It could be because I only do a laundry load 2 times a week. Just doing fewer loads of laundry a week must save quite a bit of resources, not just fuel.

[MainePyarKiya]

Cancel Sky/Virgin, a lot of people have it as a default, but you don't need it unless you actually watch Sky channels or don't have a smart tv. We were paying £60 a month for Sky, now pay less than £20 a month for Disney and Netflix