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 😂

[Neronaut]

@sue20

What does this mean?

Don't have multiple children or pets.

[DanielTheGhostGangbanger]

@martinsmoneysaver

oh when we were on harder times and still had a prepay meter, we ran out of electricity in the bath (winter it was freezing as no heating and pitch black very scary) I had to get my 2 (very small at the time 2 and 3) out of the bath in the freezing cold and pitch black and try to find a lighter or torch.
We used candles every bath after that. Its surprising how much they can warm a room. Plus for bath and bed the low lights help get everyone sleepy.
It happened a fair few times but dh was always home to put the emergency on. that time he was at work.
Another reason why we tag team!
I don't think I could wash a child alone again after the trauma of that night 😅

Actually on the subject, one way gardeners keep their greenhouses warm above freezing during a frost is by putting a tealight underneath a terracotta pot . the pot heats up. I wonder if you were having trouble with heating if it would warm a room up for you.
my nan used to keep river stones (the big ines bigger than a man's fist) on the electric fire (you know the ones, metal boxes with the toaster grill lines under a metal cage) and they would stay hot for ages after the fire was out. you could still burn your hand after an hour if you touched it.

@martinsmoneysaver - really stupid question but what do the stones do if they're too hot to touch? Do they warm up the air temperature? I was imagining them as some kind of stony hot water bottle 😂🤦🏻‍♀️

[CuppaTeaAndSammich]

@AiryFairyLights

Another one I forgot to add - when the supermarkets have their parsnips and Brussels on offer I buy loads, peel, cut up and freeze in portions!
Both sprouts and parsnips cook beautifully from frozen

Do you part boil them before freezing or just freeze raw?

[Aria999]

Only bathe small children once a week not every day. It's supposed to be better for their skin anyway.

[Gooseysgirl]

Another vote for the dried pasta cooking tip - I've been doing it for years after I saw Irish chef Darin's Allen recommending it during one of her tv cookery shows.

We are very guilty here of leaving devices on charge, TVs on standby etc. all the time. Tonight for the first time ever, everything is switched off!!

I reused the entire contents of our paddling pool to water plants for a week during the July heatwave. Yes it's a faff but when I saw how long the water lasted it was a no brainer! And god do I feel guilty now about emptying it out onto the ground in the past 🫣

[Mumwithsons]

Being minimal. My fridge has so little in it compared to anyone else’s. My friend works in utilities and apparently my house has 1/4 of gas and electricity than the others on my street. Only buy what you need, clothes, food, books.

Very minimal presents unless they are also really generous, in that case I do spoil them. Priorities for me are looking after friends and family.

Check with everything, is this making a massive difference and do we really need it? So:

• gym - no exercise at home
• starbucks - love it but once a week
• phone and laptop - really necessary so get the best I can afford
• clothes - hardly ever
• hairdressers - twice a year
• showers - once a day not for long
• washing clothes - once a week
• food - porridge, sandwiches, cost effective meals and pasta
• socialising - really cut back - walks with friends - coffee - cut down drinking
• holidays - half the time away, have a better time and then spend rest relaxing at home
• gas - never just put on for hours, only an hour at a time. Good curtains, blankets. Buy a thermometer as it better shows you ideal temp
• 0% credit cards for anything you’d usually pay more for annual policies - so you can pay in one lump sum but be very very careful and always pay off

I think cutting down on everything, saves so much more than the odd ‘saver’.

[MakingNBaking]

Get a decent solar power bank. The one I have (£22 on Amazon) charges my phone and iPad 4 times before it needs to recharge itself and can also be charged via usb as well as solar.

[martinsmoneysaver]

yes I was thinking a stoney hot water bottle too, but I don't have any to try it, I just know we weren't allowed to touch them as kids.
I think they probably ly would warm up the air temperature In a closed room
a tealight does and that's a tiny flame

of course I could just be talking out of my arse.

[DanielTheGhostGangbanger]

@martinsmoneysaver

yes I was thinking a stoney hot water bottle too, but I don't have any to try it, I just know we weren't allowed to touch them as kids.
I think they probably ly would warm up the air temperature In a closed room
a tealight does and that's a tiny flame

of course I could just be talking out of my arse.

😅😅

Thanks @martinsmoneysaver, don't feel quite as daft now - thought it might be some really well-known thing that I wasn't aware of haha!

I'm moving house soon where there is a wood burning stove (I know MN hates them but I'm excited) - I might actually try out the stones and see what happens..... 👀

[martinsmoneysaver]

@DanielTheGhostGangbanger

😅😅

Thanks @martinsmoneysaver, don't feel quite as daft now - thought it might be some really well-known thing that I wasn't aware of haha!

I'm moving house soon where there is a wood burning stove (I know MN hates them but I'm excited) - I might actually try out the stones and see what happens..... 👀

I don't know if this is true or not or if I'm getting mixed up with volcanoes but I'm sure I heard some stones can explode or crack under intense heat.
Worth looking I to before me and my nan last your eyes out with our stoney hot water bottles.

[hangrylady]

@Mybestyear

Well that’s one way of saving money on vinegar 🤣🤣🤣

I'll try that one😂

[AiryFairyLights]

@CuppaTeaAndSammich

Do you part boil them before freezing or just freeze raw?

Just freeze them raw.
Tried carrots but they don’t freeze well at all.

[hangrylady]

@Discovereads

Heat just one room, usually living room, spend all waking time there.
Turn off radiators everywhere else.
Sleep at least two to a bed (heat off at night) or get an electric blanket.
Stop using hob and oven- ie Cold tinned soup is cheap and nutritious. If you eat from the tin, only a spoon to wash.
No showers or baths- use kettle to heat water for flannel baths/hair washing
No electric lights at night, candles are cheaper and add warmth to the room
In winter, turn off fridge and store food outside in a cool box
Get a solar charger for phone/pads
Cancel broadband- Use free wifi at library or in hotel lobbies or in churches (wherever is in walking/wheeling distance). Free heat sometimes free food there too.
Don’t use a TV/radio
Talk to co-op manager and find out when they throw out the food that’s on its sell by date, go and beg for a rummage before the food goes in the bin. (If you’re able bodied, you can just dumpster dive).

Do you actually do these things?

[martinsmoneysaver]

@DanielTheGhostGangbanger

decideoutside.com/how-to-use-rocks-in-your-campfire-without-explosions/

it was camp fires! and true so take care.

However if you put them on top of a wood burner (does it have a top I don't know) they should heat up slowly and evenly and be safe. So don't worry but also worry a little bit.

[ClaryFairchild]

@martinsmoneysaver

that's shocking!
why aren't electric companies investing in batteries amd using domestic solar panels to charge them? of they're producing enough to overload the national grid!

I think they are trying to, but the solar uptake was so massive that the systems are playing catch up. As domestic batteries get more affordable it will be less of a problem I guess.

Battery technology is in the cusp of being "affordable". On old electricity prices the savings you make with a battery would pay off the costs of the battery right about when it was time to change said battery, so no real savings. With increased power costs and the reduced price the companies pay for the electricity generated it might have recently moved into a "real" saving (albeit in 5-7 years..)

[Supersimkin2]

Charge plain flat garden solar lights for a few days. Use them to light all the inside of the house for a week or two. Pretty and free lighting.

No idea if this works as well in winter, you’ll be the first to know.

Use outside as a drink fridge from October-March. Include bottles of water. Veg and potatoes go in a box next to bottles, meat and fish I’m cowardly about.

Milk and dairy on windowsill. Bread in freezer, whip out slices for toast one at a time.

[martinsmoneysaver]

@ClaryFairchild ahh that's good.
we were looking into it before (solar not batteries) but it was so expensive and confusing more than anything.

Hopefully the energy crisis helps push things along quickly.

[martinsmoneysaver]

@Supersimkin2 my family always put a plastic bag tied to a tree root in the River for beers on holiday.
I bet you could get away with meat if freezer was broke or something.

[JohnsShirt]

@Adversity

When you make mash cut the spuds in to tiny cubes, bring to the boil for a minute then leave the lid on with the power off. Cook themselves after a while.

This works for pasta and rice too.

If you use a slow cooker, you can also cook the pasta or rice in with the stew/curry etc and a slow cooker is cheaper than using a gas hob.

[CharlotteSt]

very quick showers, whole family jumps in and out with each other (2 adults plus 4 kids)

How big is your shower head?!

(Having said that, DH and I share bathwater and in the heat of summer we'll save it to water the garden but our bathroom is downstairs and backs onto the garden so I just pass the cans to DH through the window.)

[JulesJules]

Christmas - presents for children only

Washing - the Miele washing machine engineer told me you should never use more than 1 tablespoon of powder, you don't need more than that and it's actually not very good for the machine. I keep a tablespoon measure in the box, a big box of powder lasts about 9 months.

Fridge - once a week collect all the sad looking veg and make soup

[BeggarsMeddle]

@tillytoodles1

The people charging their phones and filling flasks at work do know it stealing electricity don't they?

I have to use my personal phone at work for work purposes. I'm happy to let them provide me with a work phone should they get stroppy when I occasionally have to charge it at work (the batteries are knackered and it runs down quickly).

[Iamthewalnut]

I used to buy ingredients to make 7 meals per week, but now I just buy for 5 days and make those meals last over 7 days.

I use all the dresses that my daughter has outgrown as tops or tunics in subsequent years.

I've stopped buying shower gel and now just buy soap - it lasts so much longer.

We've got rid of our car - not possible for everyone, I know, but it's doable for us since working from home. Now when we really need a car we just hire one.

Not so much money saving, but money making, but I list absolutely everything I no longer use on eBay, even for a few pounds here and there, because it all adds up. I always wait until eBay offers an 80% off listing fees weekend (once every 2-3 weeks) to maximise profits. Over the last few years I've consistently made at least £200 per month doing this.

[mackthepony]

Another good one: change job and get a payrise. Or ask for a raise in your current job.

And make sure you're getting every perk that your job entitles you too- there's often stuff they are reluctant to mention.

[Totallyanonymousplease]

My money saving tip here would be cancel the gym membership and go for a run! 😂