your top tips for money-saving and a more frugal life..

[amigoingmadhere]

Right - having until now led a relatively good lifestyle, am about to be single with 3 young dcs and very little money (not going to go into background here as it's depressing and will only get me down on this sunny morning).

Rather than sit here terrified, I would like to gather the collective wisdom of MN to see how I can immediately live a more frugal life and preserve any little money we have for a house and the dcs' future.

So, here's what I can think of to start with:

• get a new Boots card (old one is connected to my stbxh's email account)
• get Tesco clubcard
• get Nectar card
• always scour the internet etc. for vouchers / codes etc. (do this anyway but in a more random way)
• only ever buy presents in sales
• when moving house, try to get as much as possible from charity shops / freecycle etc.
• use library more
• see if Surestart still exists (a while since I used their services)
• start looking for any local free/cheap gym / sports facilities

There must be more that I'm not thinking of.. would be grateful for your ideas! - shopping / cooking / kids' activities / house furnishing etc.

I'm starting afresh on a new and wonderful life.. but it's going to be hard.

thanks :)

If you go for the "buying marked-down things at the end of the day" option, note that some shops, but not all, will combine them with their multibuy special. (i.e. orig price £3, but now 2 for £5 or BOGOF). And a lot of the end-of-day markdowns are there because the shop's ordering guy overestimated how excited people would get about the deal and got in too much.

Sainsburys does, Morrisons doesn't, I can't remember if Coop does, I don't shop at Tesco or Asda (anybody else have that input?)

This blogs very good and funny, www.theskintfoodie.com and I buy a massive bottle of cheap dry vermouth when shopping in Lidl to use in cooking. Great in spag bol that should actually use white wine as well as risottos and gravy etc.

Marina if you go on the Mse website there's a table of shops and when theymstart to discount....
I love that site.
:)

i agree about the shops Dysfunction. it is best to stick to a list and go where you need to go and avoid browsing the others. you have to be really strong. i was very pleased with myself yesterday for just buying what i needed.

i think alot of us (i hold my hand up) shop to make ourselves feel better. i have a habit of using it as a leisure activity.

maybe see a friend instead

Dysfunction. That is a great summary of frugal living tips ! Said most things on this thread in one post.
I agree with meal planning - and either shop online or go to one supermarket at the end of the day and try and get markdowns.
It's actually not that bad living frugally. Even though we don't really need to any more I just do it as it's a habit and it feels odd not to budget, meal plan and save money. I don't think it makes life any unhappier.

A fab alternive to take away is getting a nice ready meal from marks

We got a meal for four and wine for £20 much cheaper than a takeaway

Checking the active ingredients in cleaners can save you money, caustic soda is sodium hydroxide.

Mr Muscle drain/sink unblocker is about £3. It's sodium hydroxide though.

Caustic soda is about a £1 for 500g in poundland/homebargains and will do several applications.

Go to carboots much cheaper than eBay, I get clothes,school uniform,shoes,grams there. There is also a fruit and veg stall. Shop at fultons and markets. Have days out at parks take picnics. Have packed lunches if you work or kids do.

I used to shop to cheer myself up but once you break the habit it changes everything.

I'm def buying the caustic soda I have a big drain problem!

If your doc are quite little buy large bags of crisps etc and decant them into little containers for lunch boxes etc. this is healthier too - dd to my horror thinks wotsits ate wonderful but I'd prefer she didn't eat a whole packet in one meal! I buy the wotsit type crisps from aldi she doesn't care!

Learn to love lentils. Will save you ££££££. Costs next to nothing, extremely healthy, filling, cheap, nutritious, the perfect frugal family food.

Lentil & brown rice bake: red lentil and brown rice with sliced carrot and added sultanas baked in sainsbos basics chicken stock , sainsbos basics herbs, topped with sainsbos basics cheese.

Lentil soup: red lentils in veggie stock with cliced onion, carrot and celery.
serve with crusty homemade bread.

Green lentils boiled in veggie stock with onion, carrot, cumin and tomato paste. blend.
Lentil pie: mixed root veg and lentils cooked in herbs and tomato sauce topped with mash. serve with sainsbos basics gravy/beans.

Lentil curry: boil lentils with tumeric, chilli powder, curry powder, ginger, garlic, salt, add fried sliced onion when done. serve with boiled rice.

You can omit the veggies /adapt and meals will still be fairly nutritious. a packet of lentils cost a pound and is food for a week.

buy sainsburys basics where possible. I cant fault their range.

anticipate sales days , go online and buy your kids clothing first thing in the am when stuff is available in ur kids sizes..

i bought a second hand breadmaker off ebay and use it to bake my weekly bread which is delish and now one less thing to buy every week.dds wont eat any other bread.

forget crisps, sweets, choccies , juice when you shop. my dds have learnt to live without them frugal or not!

i like living frugally. We eat so much healthier. I feel like am in control of finances rather than endless mindless spending . my dds always looks well dressed and pristine because of clever, smart shopping. my house is clutter free and tidy as i live minimally. we go regularly to parks, libraries and museum which are all free. no sky tv, spend time playing actively together.
good luck x

This is one of the most helpful MN threads ever!

Thanks to everyone who's contributed

Great post dysfunctionalme. Can you give me your recipe for bread?

thanks!

I've been reading with interest but have not had time to read everything so hope I am not repeating

Before you spend any money think 'do I really need this' and if the answer is yes find out whether you can buy it cheaper any where else.

We have a large roast chicken on a Sunday and with careful removal of the meat can make a meal on Monday and often Tuesday as well with the leftovers (chicken risotto, chicken curry, chicken parcels, chicken pie)

Get your children used to drinking water or milk - no need for squash, fizzy, etc etc.

Our health visitor gave us the number (I think it was part of the health authority) and they come and do a free safety check of the house and will supply stair gates and fire guards at cost price and fit them for free.

Use quinoa in your cooking - I seem to remember reading that it is the best source of protein not from animal sources and fairly cheap

We are given National Trust membership as our family Christmas present from my parents and this means days out are free and interesting. They often have good parks and cheap events on during the year. We went to see Father Christmas and it cost a couple of pounds for each child, the entry was free and the present the children got was worth more than the amount we paid.

If you cut down on all the foods you don't need to buy (crisps, biscuits, chocolate, sweets, etc) and walk / cycle whenever you can you won't need to go to the gym!

Good luck with it all OP I am sure because you are seeing it as a challenge then you will succeed and may even enjoy it. I love finding new ways to economise and get feel really pleased when I have got a bargain!

Oh yeah if you have little ones in nappies check out the tiny muslin cloths from mothercare (I presume they still do them). they have saved me a fortune in wet wipes / cotton wool balls. I also get cheap flannels in Ikea and use them at meal times.

in similar boat - shocked this holiday to realise how spoilt both myself and dc's are/ hate having to say no to things like souvenirs now when out and about - can manage ice creams but not postcards, soft toys, assorted crap in gift shop...we ended up making our own picture postcards for rellies while holidaying - (caravan instead of rented villa/house) gave us something to do and saved loads of money. I've switched all pets (we have lots) onto cheapest foods available - got loads of free hay from farmer who'se just cut meadow;and they're all eating them without complaint - saving a fortune. Thanks for all the tips, some great ones here.

I can't do everything on this fab thread - the physical shopping around is impossible for me but I have had a few other thoughts...

I'm going to start an amazon wish list for the dd's which I can send to the relatives who ask what to buy them for Xmas/birthdays. I'm also going to ask for money toward activities/membership to local attractions in lieu of gifts too - dd1 has so much already and prefers to be out and about anyway. I have just seen the local zoo is £40 a year - stuff like this is easier with small children who are free when you are a long parent I admit
I'm enjoying trawling MSE for ideas :-)

Where do people find cheap dog food? I have a very unfussy mongrel with no special dietary requirements. Currently eating Aldi's own brand stuff no problems. Would be interested to hear alternatives.

Been a single mum for two years now and finally head above water. The main thing is that you make sure you are entitled to benefits, a few not mentioned ( I dont think from scanning the post)

Council tax benefit (single adults discount)
Housing benefit (income dependent)
thats on top of the load mentioned above. If you are on a decent salary, talk to your employer about childcare vouchers. Also speak to a financial adviser, it works to have pay in certain brackets and not in others. For example, my current salary part time as CEO, has got a higher take home in benefit value then if I were working full time. No point busting your gut full time when you could work less and spend time with the children and earn the same amount. It all depends on how much you earn of course. But also its important to work out the different thresholds. If you are staying in the family home, move the kids to share bedrooms as much as possible and rent out any spare bedrooms you might have. Sometimes its cheaper to rent a slightly larger house and then sublet some rooms to students then a smaller house for all of you. I rent out to English students and they pay me 165 per week and I have to cook for them, a good extra income. Look for local English schools in your area.

Many Councils also have supported lodging schemes for 17-25 year olds who are looking for homes, they pay well 175 per week on average, and you just need to give a bit of a kick up the motivational bum to the teenagers to help them get up and out to work or college every morning. Not quite a foster parent role but something quite a lot more hands off, good if you are good with teenagers.

As others have suggested, use cheap flannels instead of babywipes. I got ours from Wilko's and my mum cut them into quarters & hemmed them so they're smaller, but you can use them full size. Apparently the average family spends something like £250 per year per baby on babywipes.

Buy children's PJs a size too big and use wonderweb to shorten the trousers for the first year or so. Then you can remove it once the legs start getting too short.

Occasionally I make cheap little activities for my 2.7 y.o. (e.g. shooters made from straws and paper, pom poms with magnets stuck to the back etc). When I do, I'm making an extra set or two so I can give them as cheap presents to my nephews / at birthday parties.

If, like me, you have hoarding tendencies, try really hard to use stuff up before buying more.

If you're going to bulk buy things like rice etc, make sure they're in well-sealed plastic containers or you could end up having to throw them all away due to an attack of mice or weevils

Can I just add one thought I had last night - don't use being skint as an "excuse" to eat cheap crap from iceland and equivalents. Yes a £1 pizza will fill you up, but it's rubbish food with virtually no benefits and will leave you feeling down and blue in the long run.

I speak from experience - when apples and choc bars cost the same - choose the fruit. In cheap food, miserable feelings lie. You need healthy food and vitamins to be determined and strong.

12p for a banana vs 55p for a Bounty bar!

Exactly Frontpaw.

So easy to fall into the trap of buying cheap processed food but I really have found it makes you feel like crap. And on top of everyhting else, you do not need that.

Iceland is great for a treat meal, instead of a takeaway for example, but really not for regular use.

(Other cheap shitty food shops are available :o )

I think someone else here mentioned the M+S meal deals. £10 for a whole chicken, veggies, pud and bottle of wine/cartons of juice! Rather nice (although veggie options not great) and mimimal prep/cooking!

My cousin buys everything from eBay but he's v strict about it. He doesn't browse. You decide in your item, then you decide how much you are willing to pay then you only place buds in the last minute of the auctions. He says you can't be fussy and fix on one thing you like lots then blow the budget.
I gave tried this out a bit as cousin is excellent with money and lives well on a low income. It worked well when I was buying a car seat base - they are all the same! And I didn't go over budget it just took longer. Currently trying to do it with a sofa bed and I'm too fussy because they are more aesthetic!

found a voucher at bhs where you get a £5 bhs voucher for recycling a bag of clothes before 30th sep quote bhs on 08450 722 780..

sainsos basics tea bags 80 for 23p - saw them reccomended on this thread so tried them and found them too strong because we usually get tetley decaf (£2.50) but when making I poured a tiny bit of water on swished then threw away the water before making tea as usual, this reduces the caffine - more than £2 saving thanks! App they are fair trade can only assume this must mean people buying the expensive tea bags are giving sainsburys a lot of profit