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 :)

Actually had a look at themall print of that voucher and its £5 off a £25 spend so a bit meh unless you need something from there

blueslipper I have a very active working spaniel and we buy working dog food from our local agricultural merchant. It would be worth trying your local ag merchant to see what they offer, Countrywide Stores also sell it I believe but I find them more expensive.

I buy this dog food, it's a dry kibble, 15kg for £14.90 and because it's working dog food there's no VAT. A big bag like that lasts us a couple of months and is much cheaper and (for my dog) much healthier than a tinned dog food.

However you will need to provide much more water than normal because they can no longer get water from their feed.

It is a high energy feed though, so unless you have an active dog I wouldn't suggest feeding it as it could make your dog put on weight.

Haven't got time to read whole thread now and apologies if a million people have already posted this but... I've just bought all the new school uniform we need online using Tesco clubcard vouchers in the voucher exchange, so not only 'free' but 'free AND half-price'.

apologies if already mentioned, but break your dishwasher tablets in half - they really do clean as well as a full tab, and if you use rinse-aid replace this with white vinegar :)

I second the feed merchant idea. When we had a greyhound we fed her wholesale greyhound food that was dry in sacks. She thought it was v tasty and it was v v v cheap! We used to give it with budget gravy - she actively preferred it to domestic dog food - she did have a sensitive tummy though and win a lot erc too rich. She also drank gallons of water but she was the laziest dog ever - it wasn't like giving oats to horses and didn't make her any more active

Other people have mentioned already the benefits of being able to sew, and I find that being able to make simple alterations means I'm not limited to buying clothes in the right size - larger items are just as suitable, having spare fabric for small matching accessories.

My present economy food item is cottage cheese as base to a salad of any veg and fruits which go well together - it's high protein, cheap and can even be non-fat, as well as no cooking required.

NT membership a bargain, especially if there's a few properties close by - always take your own food & drink then it's a free day out. They also do lots of free activities for adults & familes. We go to our local place every couple of months and book free guided tours/walks where we can.

I'm not great at sewing but just bought three pairs of new M&S / Next trousers in one of our local charity shops which is having a half price sale as it's closing down(can you believe a charity shop closing as it's not taking enough!) Paid £7.50 for all three pairs & only had to take up the Next pair - result!

Blimey the tea bags are cheap - how is it possile for them to sell them at that price? Will try but must say I'm a wimp where tea is concerned so they might be too strong for me.

Try using soapnuts for your washing instead of washing powder. They last for months.

www.soapnuts.co.uk/

Aldi also do a good concealer, apparently - my sister insists on Mac/Benefit makeup but always buys Aldi concealer. She's very fussy and has senstive skin.

Try making massive pots of soup and then freezing them. I freeze portions in plastic takeaway tubs (I save them from takeaways but they're easy and cheap to get hold of if you're avoiding those). Tomato soup and vegetable soup freeze well. I always have a few tubs ready for the end of the month.

I don't do this, but I thought it was a great tip: freeze fresh herbs in ice cube trays. There's always waste, I find, when I buy fresh herbs, so just chop up the leftovers and freeze them in ice cubes. You could do it in portions and then just pop out a portion when you need it.

I recommended the Sainsbos tea bags (amongst others) and I DO love a good strong cuppa. Maybe one in a tea pot would work if you don't like it strong?? I love them, I buy 4 or 6 boxes at a time!

Don't buy online as the online supermarkets cost way more than Aldi/Lidl. I love Aldi - it's cheap and great quality.

A lot of shops will sell you brown bananas for next to nothing (I have a place that gives them to me rather than chuck them), stick them in the freezer and you can use them for banana loaf, or put in porridge.

Serve small portions and have seconds, rather than piling your plate up and wasting the leftovers, then freeze whatever is left, or make soup out of roast dinner leftovers. My granny was the Queen of leftovers, it's all she seemed to eat, but the food at her house was always amazing!

If your DC are the right age start making presents for Christmas with them, all my family this year are getting salt dough gingerbread man chains, cost me hardly anything and entertains the DC

Sorry if I'm repeating advice

If those soap nuts are what's in those Eco balls they were a dead loss IMO.

I make cards with dd she lives it but we did Xmas cards last year and god that was a big job! Too big really I need a quicker plan for this year

Perhaps one of the best things you can do for your children is pass on all this good advice onto them. Think of all the money we could have saved if we had been ingratiated into money saving from an early age.

Good idea about teapot boredandrestless - will save even more money - or use 1 bag for flask for picnics on national trust daytrips.

Bicarbonate of soda. Mix 1/2 teaspoon and a few drops of washing up liquid in 500 ml squirty bottle. Use it to clean everything from cookers to baths and stains. Haven 't bought cleaners for a year now.
Most of my baby's clothes, cot and toys are bought second hand ( a common practice here in New Zealand )
It is suprising how little you can live off if you do not have spare cash. We are living off a 1/3 rd of our previous income in an effort to both bring up baby....meal planning is essential. Few treats and lots of home baking. Once you stop browsing shops and buying stuff you never needed but wanted, you will wonder why you ever bothered. it will be ok, good luck

I have tried to be frugal since becoming a freelancer as I have no guaranteed wage to depend on every month so need to be very careful in what I spend. So far my discoveries have been.

1. Aldi make-up - lovely especially if you have fair skin, the powder is better than the No7 one that I used to use. And there undereye concealer is also better than the No7 one I used to use.

1. Aldi face creams - £1.99 and a nice texture.

1. Alberto Baslm shampoos and conditnors - lots of nice scents to choose from and only £1 each.

1. Switching supermarket to Aldi for most food and buying any bits I could not find at the end from a bigger supermarket but stick to the list!

1. On each shopping trip buy any reduced items that can be freezed and worked into the week afters menu. Salmon for 25p? Yes please!

1. Visit car boot sale for childrens toys.

1. Free days out to park, library, £1 cinema at weekends (take your own popcorn and drinks etc. bought from aldi!)

just marking my place so i can read this entire thread when time allows - some amazing ideas! thanks everyone.

Idea for speeding up Christmas-card-making, crackcrackcrak, have you thought of just making one (or a few) then printing them out at home instead of struggling to make all individually?
Thanks for your comment on soap nut balls.

Get crafty and get creative. I am totally rubbish at general saving money, but I am good at being creative.

Young children do not need toys. When people give you toys for a birthday, immediately hide them and re-gift to someone else...or save for christmas.

Empty water bottles to play with in the bath. Wooden spoons, disk, pots and pans. Make shakers out of dried rice/beans in empty water/milk containers. Play catch with a grapefruit. Pillow fights and tent making out of cushions and bed linens. Use an old sheet that you might bin to paint a giant mural on. Use food colouring to dye very cheap pasta and put on string to make jewellery or glue on things to make masks. When kids want fancy dress or need it for a party, see whats in your closet, create something. Save destroyed clothing for this purpose, to cut up, re-use as part of costume.

Save ribbons that come on gifts to you or look for super cheap ones. Wrap all presents in old magazines or newspaper and tie with pretty ribbons...looks fab! Also make your own cards...people love things made by children. Or make cards yourself, simply google famous quotes, write one on paper with a note and fold like a card...people appreciate this kind of thing.

Surround yourself with genuine friends and start using each other. Create karma...I watch your kids for a few hours if you watch mine. I bake you a cake if you bring lasagne over. I will watch your dog if you watch mine, etc.

Show time - didnt mean to sound rude. I tried the soap it balks when dd1 was tiny and they didn't remove baby sick etc and couldn't get the smell out of exp work clothes. I really tried. Ecover refills is the best I can manage being green

Whilst I agree you can create toys and games from all kinds of stuff I would draw the line at taking gifts of toys away from my children. I certainly believe small children don't that many toys but I would never deny dd a gift from someone else.

stilldazed I have to confess I use a breadmaker, I bought it before I got poor but maybe you could find 2nd hand?

My kids like foccacia which I do with

250ml water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
3 cups plain flour
1 and 3/4 tsp breadmaker yeast

so I just make the dough in the breadmaker then press into tray, brush with olive oil and sprinkle rock salt

but there are so many kinds you can make and just use the breadmaker to bake the whole thing

good luck

I bought soap nuts but haven't used them yet. I think I read on here once that you can use them to wash your hair?

I bought Sainsbury's Basics tea bags last night, I kept reading about them on here

Soap nuts are different from Eco Balls - they work much better. They're supposed to be as good as non-bio (we used them though we had to revert to industrial strength bio to get DS's eczema cream out of his clothes).

You can use them for general cleaning, hair & hand washing too.

We like Sainsbury's teabags. We like average strength tea and 1 bag does 1.5 cups.

Last night in Sainsbury's I bought nearly everything I needed from the Basics range and a couple of loaves reduced to 19p to stick in the freezer for toast. Took home a massive bag of food for less than £7.00 :)

I'm new to being frugal and I'd always assumed I'd feel like a pauper going to the till with reduced and cheap stuff. I didn't at all! Maybe because I'm older now and more secure in myself.

I've really changed my outlook on how I live, and spend money. I'm trying to look for experiences to make me happy and fulfilled, rather than stuff.

Thanks AngelDog :)

I've also used ecover washing up liquid to wash my hair. I wouldn't do it every time as might be a bit harsh.

I mix bicarb with my shampoo to make the bottle go further.