In these tough times how are you saving money, please share your tips.

[livvylouis]

I will start.

We have cancelled our sky TV package

Switched our phone and broadband provider

Switched our energy provider

Halved our weekly shopping bill

We have decided to sell DH car as we can manage with only one.

Even doing all of this we are still struggling and need to save more money, anyone got any other tips?

Blimey you are doing some big things already. I was going to come on here with little things, like packing sandwiches instead of buying lunch, avoiding shops, not shopping when hungry...but think you want bigger ideas. Hard though isn't it?

Yes it is hard, but it is all the little things as you mentioned that add up. I now cook everything from scratch as this has also saved us ££££'s

Ebay, sell any old stuff....grow your own veg, see if you can get what you need on freecycle, I too ditched Sky and am living very meagrely at the mo...very dull. My DS 9 won a box of organic fruit and veg last week Gawd Bless him- enter competitions?! I know sounds mad! Ummm...can't think of anymore.

i have changed hot water timer to 35 mins in morning and 45 mins in evening. there is enough for two (not too full) baths a day plus washing up for 3 meals worth. infact i am going to reduce it by another 5 mins tomorrow.

few months ago changed mobile phone deal to 10 pounds per month - 200 mins plus unlimited texts. - more than enough for me

Changed car insurer, changed broadband provider.

Also now break all my dishwasher tablets in two and use about half as much washing powder in the washing machine as I used to. It's a start....

I have always bee using half the recommended amount of washing liquid

now I am buying it in Costco so even cheaper

I think it may be not difficult for some - but always go shopping with a shopping list and never buy anything on an impulse

a challenge for me - not to buy any new book (even i charity shop) this month :)

We tried to reduce all our bills into one payment, which I hope is going to be easier. We are also not going to spend so much. I shopped in Aldi last week and got my shopping down a week by another £20 - so hopefully will be able to make it last.

Hoping to not spend anything else this month, apart from basics in food and as little petrol as I can. I will also not be spending anything on my little ones school fete next week. Will give little one £2.00 in change to spend himself and then that will be it. Just can't afford to spend anything. I am also not going to purchase a school photograph as we had one taken a few months ago and don't really need another one.

I know it is really tight, but it is the only way not to over spend. I also cut the window cleaner and told the man that we couldn't afford to have out windows cleaned and would do it ourselves. The man was a bit gutted !!

I have always wanted to grow my own veg, we only have a small garden what could I grow in tubs?

I have never sold anything on ebay before but I may start, we have quite a lot of dc's clothes and toys which they have out grown.

We are in a contract with our mobile phones, but as soon as the contract is up I will change to a cheaper deal.

Thanks for all the great tips .

You can grow most things in tubs; spuds are great, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans,lettuce, carrots,beetroot the world is your lobster as I used to teach my Japanese students when I was bored many years ago!!!

I looked in my Jewellery box and sold any gold jewellery I hated.

It's scary when you've done or are doing everything you can to reduce your out goings but are still struggling i know.

I haven't got much to add apart from;

Buy bottles/cartoons of drinks when cheap to save buying expensive ones when out.

If you go to hairdressers, try and leave it few weeks/months longer between visits. I buy root touch up kits inbetween appointments, can last longer that way lol.

I read somewhere that if you put washing machine on at 30 degrees it costs less as water doesn't come on..don't know if it's true but clothes still clean.

Try and arrange to arrange car journeys to fit in lots of errands in same area to save petrol.

Turn the oven etc off five mins before food is done as heat will carry on cooking food to save gas.

Use white vinegar as a multi purpose cleaner, it's great and very cheap.

Re they hair..........if you are really gray, get it cut into a really short funky style and stop colouring. I just did this and I love it...:)

Saves a fortune and no inbetween root issues.

Found Sainsbury's basic range packs of birthday cards 8 for just under £2.00
Has saved me a fortune on kids cards.

www.friday-ads.co.uk

www.pre-loved.co.uk

are free to sell stuff on

moshchops Can I ask where you sold your gold? I want to do this and I've heard the price is high atm.

Love all these tips :)

I trim my husband and child's hair. I dye my own hair. I only have my hands and feet once (I have recurring ingrown toenails) in a while and do the in between upkeep myself. I borrowed a book about Chinese cuisine and now we have homemade Chinese takeaways! Aldi and Lidl are great for shopping too.

Poundland and Home Bargains are great shops for picking up cheap (branded) toiletries. Also Savers chemists.

I use EcoBalls in the washing machine - haven't bought any soap powder for a couple of years. And I also break my dishwasher tablets in half (when I remember).

Sell CDs and DVDs on play.com, big things on Gumtree and everything else on eBay. Well, not everything obviously

Also, I have an awful lot of people that I buy Christmas gifts for, and I find buying throughout the year in sales etc. helps enormously come December.

I use Tesco mobile for my phone (Pay as you Go) so I get the Clubcard points. When you top up, they double your money (so I put on £10 and they give me a free £20 to be used within a month). Although whether that is bargainous depends on your mobile usage I guess.

Will keep thinking....

many the same as others

use a bit less soap powder in washes.
only buy soap powder and dishwasher tablets when on offer - buy these in bulk when on offer so don't have to buy again for a while
walk to work instead of getting DH to drive me
changed the car from gas guzzler to more economical one (saved us £100 per month, plus cheaper tax).
switch to own brand/basic brand where possible
make own pastry/pizza dough
shower less!
go to parks and free places so fun can be had and cost little
change light fittings from 3 bulb chandeliers to one bulb fittings (saved a LOT)
make sure I am on the best electric and gas offers
only pay for usage and not over pay with utilities
put a jumper on in winter before turning up the heating
Get rid of my mobile and use just DHs
change tv/broadband/phone supplier to a cheaper one
only spend what I have - take no credit and use no money on credit cards. If the money is not there where do not have it.

oh and DD makes all the christmas and birthday cards, and I dont care if people like it or not! much more personal and DD gets to show off her new writing skills! (she is 5).

Selling stuff on ebay and at NCT sales has helped me a lot.

Ditto buying on ebay eg a posh dress for my daughter to wear to a wedding cost a total of £2.99.

Taking a picnic and water bottles on days out rather than buying food and drink.

Camping, obviously. :)

I just did a house swap holiday and we had a fortnights break for free! plus it really made me clean my house and declutter so we made lots of money selling things on ebay.

I thought it would be a bit weird but it was actually fine.

Re growing things in tubs - do you cook with herbs much OP? I find they're so expensive to buy, but really easy to grow. I have rosemary, bay, sage, parsley, thyme, chives, and mint

Only do a grocery shop once a month and buy vege, milk and bread on my way home from work - I can't carry the tempting things.

Cake and biscuit cooking on a saturday morning - once the feral mob have eaten them there is no more and you only need to heat the oven once. Second the cooking from scratch - it saves a fortune.

Watch the weather forecast and do the washing on sunny / dry days.

Cancel gym memberships - use a pay as you go or join a local club ( I run, cycle and canoe for nothing now). I have a turbo trainer for the bike and a dvd that shouts at me for the days when I want to do an indoor training session.

Have friends over for tea rather than going out to eat or the pub.

Look after friends kids so they will look after yours - we have a group of friends who each look after the kids for a week each through the holidays - it is done in pairs so it isn't too much for one person. After school there are activities in the park - football, cricket, bmx, skate boarding, running club or cooking, knitting, film if the weather is gash. All organised by local parents / grandparents to save on child care and keep parents sane. Last winter they rigged up a tow rope to teach the kids how to ski and snowboard. It dose take some organising and kids that are hard work don't get invited back - all kids are told on pain of death that they must be on best behaviour. Every family does their bit

I use basic dishwasher tabs, multisurface cleaner, disinfectant (both decanter into spray bottles) bleach, bio powder, wax furniture polish, rubber gloves and cream cleaner. Aldi glass cleaner is as good as brand IMHO.

I use basics vinegar to descale my kettle, a bottle lasts all month and it works from cold so no boiling the kettle.

I only use cloths and tea towels no kitchen roll.

When I do a meal I put things like veg into Pyrex jugs in the oven and cover with boiling water, I can do everything in the oven then so I'm not running a Hob too.

I try all the basic stuff when I need anything, asda basic stuffing is really nice DH hasn't noticed we don't have paxo anymore.

Aldi is very good at pop, cereals, beans, cat food, chicken, family size pies, soya milk, hovis bread only 99p, body lotion, cheese, and dark choc.

Aldi/poundland for cleaning products
dye my own hair
no more waxings - just razors and/or Veet
charity shops for clothes - have snaffled some real bargains
register for Groupon
use slow cooker for bolognese/stews and freeze the leftovers.
lentils are your friend - not just for soup but add to mince dishes and make curries
packed lunches for work
supermarket own brands where possible.
no gym membership - jog outside or walk witrh friends