Come tell me your top three tips for saving money that work for you please

[graceinabundance]

trying to learn, in this must needed area

Waiting with baited breath

Heres my 3:

1. I go to hotukdeals and check if there are any bargains if I need something in particular (ie have a wedding coming up and need to buy a gift)

1. Have started to shop in Lidl / Aldi - learning whats good there (any recommendations most welcome!)

1. I have started a budget sheet (wish me luck!)

I am in a pattern now, I visit 2 or 3 different supermarkets and 1 tesco express over a 3 or 4 week period. I know which items are cheaper to buy in each shop and stock up accordingly, tis sad, all that head space taken up with what is cheaper where!

Sometimes tesco express have things on offer when the main tesco store does not.

Waitrose are cheaper for some things.

I don't shop in aldi or lidle atm as the petrol I would need to buy outweighs the saving currently, same for Morrisons :(.

I use ebay and charity shops a lot

I also (try to) use the moneysavingexpert mantra before I buy anything -

If you're skint:
Do I need it?
Can I afford it?
Have you checked prices elsewhere?

If you're not skint:
Will I use it?
Is it worth it?
Have you checked prices elsewhere?

If the answer to any of this is 'no' then don't buy it

Second the Aldi washing up liquid.

OP-look at the superscrimpers websaite (channel four series) and look for tips etc and if its on castch up have a look as there has been some good tips to do with cars, negotiating with Sky and mobile deals etc etc.

hmm, interesting! im learning

LOTS

thank you

1. Set a cash budget, draw out on fixed day, allocate to separate areas of expenditure and spend no more than this. For example we spend £30/wk on petrol - if we are running out, we stay local at weekends. Occasionally challenge yourself to cut back by a tenner and put that aside for a treat later on.

2. Buy things you'll need in advance to avoid panic buying. Shop in charity shops etc and buy what you will need in future - next year's coats etc. I have got excellent coats for three years for no more than £3 a time, but if you desperately need one today you have to get new or get something hideous. Same with presents, I have a presents/cards/treats box full of things I got very cheap.

3. Be open and honest about saving. Tell people you'll meet for coffee not lunch, do picnics not cafes, go to free galleries not soft play. Tell your kids you're on a budget and why. do not allow peer pressure or pester power to derail your efforts.

Please can I have 4)?? Invert your thinking to focus on potential savings. I used to say 'It's only an extra tenner a month to have the best phone, why not?' Now I say 'It's a whole £120 a year saved if I stick on a basic package'. All the tenners and fivers add up to a major difference.

Aldi - avoid other supermarkets except clothes buying. Have a milkman, stops nipping out for milk then spending £20 on nothing.

Poundland - Good for packs of batteries, brand items, stationery and household bits.

Price comparison all unusual purchases against Amazon / Ebay/ Tesco direct/ B&M bargains/ Argos and offeroftheday.co.uk to check what sort of price is a good deal.

The big one - if you see/ think of something you want, put off buying it for a month. If you still want it.and can justify using it then get it at the best price you can. I shop online all the time put stuff in baskets and then switch off the computer. Like shopping but without the expense.

Freeze milk and bread - saves popping out for some and then overspending.

Buy toys/bikes etc in unisex colours. Dd had a blue scooter and green bike - ds then inherits these.

Look around for clothes swapping/sharing/hand me downs from others - freecycle often has good stuff on there too.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD tips ladies, my like

loads of great ideas on here - marking my place to read the rest later!

1. Stick to one supermarket shop per week instead of popping in every night after work. If this means you have a night of eating mushy peas, turkey drummers and packet noodles because of bad planning then so be it, plan better next time.

1. Stop eating meat everyday.

1. Say No To Takeaway Coffee.

1. Give up smoking.

1. Stop using the tumble dryer.

1. Reduce car use.

1. Open a savings account that's linked to your main current account, so you can easily pass money back and forth. Open an ISA when you subsequently have spare cash to put away for a long time.

1. Try and work out what all your monthly essential spends are. There's a good planner on moneysavingexpert.com and then each month transfer your 'spare' money over into the savings account, leaving a little for extra spends. If you need some money you can always move it back, but hopefully you won't want to touch it.

1. Have a savings goal (like new clothes, holiday, new car, kitchen, pay off mortgage, early retirement) - whatever you want really and set up a spreadsheet and be ultra focused - turn it into a hobby.

I do loads of other things (similar to the stuff mentioned in the thread) which help me save the money in the first place - but these are the three things which have kept us going in the long term. The other main thing that I try to do is keep the essential spends to a minimum - i.e don't sign up to anything that requires a monthly fee or loans etc unless absolutely needed. Therefore apart from bills like rent/mortgage, gas, electric, petrol, food, essential insurances all your money is free for you to save or spend as you wish.

It's amazing how writing a meal plan and then only buying what's needed for that, can save so much money. It cut my supermarket bill in half.
If you're making spag bol, chuck in two extra tins of chopped tomatoes. It makes no difference to the taste, and will then stretch it to make some to freeze for another couple of meals.

Mine are:

1. Bringing a packed lunch and flask of coffee to work everyday. Well, most days anyway, I treat myself sometimes but I reckon that saves me about £5 a day.

2. I use Quidco for online purchases. I started just before Christmas and had £30 cash back already. It's all things that I would have bought anyway. I've booked the holiday though them too so there's more to come! And I always, always look for voucher codes too. I tend to buy a lot on line and get it delivered to store as you often get better deals that way.

3. Do grocery shopping on line. I find it easier to browse the special offers and get some good deals, and it cuts down on impulse buying/being nagged by DS.

I've been desperately trying to save since January and I've managed to save nearly £800 that may not sound like a lot to some people, but I'm really proud of myself.

When I get the urge to buy clothes, which is often , I fill up my baskets online and then go through the basket again, chucking out anything I don't love. Then I look at what's left and think "do I need it?" if I answer yes, I close the website before I make a payment.

I try and make lists in advance for birthday presents and this year I'm going to start Christmas buying from June/July.

I use websites like lastminute.com for 'special' presents like for my DM. They're tickets for £10, nice afternoon teas for £10 etc. nice presents for a minimum cost.

We try very hard to meal plan, but I am the only driver. If DP is feeling lazy and doesn't want to plan, I have to be quite hard and say well that's fine, I'll buy a load of potatoes and we can have those all week because I refuse to go tithe supermarket more than once a week.

I rotate my clothes - some in another wardrobe in a room we don't really use and some in the loft. This is largely because I'm too fat to fit in most of them at the moment, but every so often I have a root through and find things I've forgotten about. It's almost like shopping...

I think very carefully about using my car. This often means that I only drive to work and to the supermarket, but that's why we have legs! I'm too lazy to walk so just stay inside

I also have an obsession with doing my 'budget' I like to sit down with different coloured pens and a piece of paper in front of my online banking thing and a calculator. I do a 'date' column, 'income' and 'outgoing' and write down everything I can think of. I did one two weeks ago and worked out that if I stick to y budget, by the 11th may I should have over £1,000. It has really helped me because I get the urge to binge spend occasionally, but then I think about my budget and how it will throw it out.

Sorry, bit of a long post! I love the women freebie website btw, i will be signing myself up straight away

eat before you go food shopping.

Take a packed lunch to work and never, ever leave the office at lunchtime.

Definitely meal plan. And instead of buying chops and chicken breasts etc, buy joints of meat/whole chickens and make two or three meals. Roasted meat tastes nicer in stir fries, pies and curries anyway.

Drop a Brand Challenge. Saves £s.

Check the ethnic foods aisle in supermarkets for things like spices, tinned tomatoes/beans/chickpeas, lentils etc. They are often so much cheaper than 5 yards away in the tinned section.

Have a meatfree meal at least once a week.

Put tights inside a sock when they go in the washbasket and washing machine. I haven't had to buy new opaque tights for at least five years and they still look brand new.

stop drinking take-away coffee

it's saved me fortunes

great tips

more please

Buy a tin bank from the pound shop and put your loose change in it.

I done this for my DD for her spending money on holiday, started in January and the tin is almost full. I put in 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20p's.

Will be opening it within the next 2 weeks and I'm dying to find out how much is in it.

Or you could put just 50p's or 2 pound coins in to save more.

Oh I like the tip about washing tights

1. One tea bag for 2 cups of tea (if making 2 at the same time, that is. Not saying to reuse one that has dried up!)

1. Turn off electric at the wall - microwave etc don't need to be on just for the clock. On same note, don't use digital clocks. Use your mobile phone for your alarm.

Can't think of a 3rd at the moment

1). Do a budget - boring but you'll see where your money is going and therefore where you can instantly save (e.g. buying a coffee or newspaper on the way to work)

2). We have some money on a credit card so I've just got a 0% interest on balance transfers one. Means we'll pay it off much sooner.

3). We cook a big chicken on Sunday and then use the left over meat in pasta bakes or indian meals during the week. I try to meal plan too.

4). Switch to cash. We withdraw our shopping budget on payday and only use that. Makes you think twice about what you buy at the supermarket when you need to make the money last.

5). Buy gifts throughout the year as you see them and put them in a big box. Keep a note on your phone or in your wallet as to what you've bought and for whom. You can then get stuff when you see it and spread the cost.