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Small money saving habits...petty even

374 replies

Buddy80 · 30/10/2012 11:44

Hi,

I was just thinking of some of the small habits i've gotten into from habit and though i'd share...Smile

I know some of them have probably been mentioned before Grin

Always break a dishwasher tab in half
Water down fabric conditioner to get 2 bottles instead of 1
Freeze unwanted bananas for cakes
Chop up apple cores for the birds
Save pumkin seeds for planting
Save envelopes for seeds from old calendars
Use old envelopes for shopping lists if not reused
This one is stingy [embarrassed]...intead of buying a calendar, I just print off monthly from on-line planner. It gets amended anyhow and easier just to put on pinboard
Save old flyers to make paper chains.
Add handful of porridge oats to make crumble go further

OP posts:
TiredofZombies · 08/11/2012 12:34

Ooh, another one, I'm on a roll now! Save seeds from your flowers if you can. I haven't bought nasturtiums in years, their seeds are huge and easy to spot (they look a bit like brains). Other flowers have much smaller seeds, but generally you'll find them if you break apart the flower head, once the flower is dead. Sometimes they come up a bit different to the original flowers, if they are a hybrid or fancy type.

ppeatfruit · 08/11/2012 12:48

tiredof I always soak my pots, if they need it of course, and it doesn't have to be in hot water.

I'm lucky 'cos we live 50% in mid west fr. and everything just grows unless they're nasturtiums though.I think our earth is too sandy or limey and doesn't hold enough water for them when we're away.

Daisydaydream · 08/11/2012 12:51

I always go to Card Factory for greetings cards, you can get 10 for a pound! Nice design general birthday ones with coloured envelopes, keep in the drawer for all possibilities, esp kids birthdays. You have to go in when there is not a big card buying 'event' coming up though (eg Xmas, Easter, Mothers Day) as they pack away the cheapo ones to make room for the new seasonal stock.

A bit of table salt mixed into my normal cleanser makes a better face scrub than anything I've ever bought.

Fluffycloudland77 · 08/11/2012 13:40

If one washing up glove gets a hole in it (mine always go on the left thumb wether they are marigolds or smartprice) keep the good one and make up pairs when you have a few. They can be turned inside out too.

BeauNeidel · 08/11/2012 13:41

I'm going to try a lot of these. Most of them are things I have read before but still haven't done Blush

I saw something on Pinterest the other day which isn't really money saving, but is definitely space and time saving!

It was a tray with named coasters on it, every person in the house has a glass and you use that one for drinks. Sounds silly, but at the end of the day, generally between the 5 of us normally here, there are about 12 glasses and a couple of mugs which take ages to wash and then all the space in the rack. I guess this way you know to just rinse the one you have been using (if you want milk after juice I guess) and there is no, 'ugh, he drank from my glass!' style whinges.

I always make ends of bread into breadcrumbs then freeze. Brilliant idea, courtesy of 11 YO DSS would you believe! I'd always thought they would freeze into a solid ball but they don't.

Also, make sure to take meat out of the plastic packet and then freeze each chicken leg/steak/whatever separately. Handy for getting just stuff out for the kids or whoever's going to be in for dinner.

MulledWineOnTheBusLady · 08/11/2012 13:42

Oh, that's reminded me! Fluffy's gloves trick can also be used with tights. When you get a hole/ladder in a leg, cut the leg off and keep, wait until you have another similar pair, and wear both at once. Extra advantage, it makes them into light control tights because there are two waistbands.

Do make sure the tights are the same colour and gloss/mattness though, or you'll look like you got halfway through a fake tan.

Cailleach · 08/11/2012 14:46

Thought of another one today: I always stick leftover stale bread in the blender, turn it into breadcrumbs, add dried onions and sage, and then bag and freeze it.

Voila! Home-made stuffing. When you want to use it, defrost it, add butter and water then prepare as usual.

harrietspy · 08/11/2012 14:57

Not really a frugality tip, but I suspect there are some on here like me who are desperate for funds.

Just been offered £75 from 2 sell-your-books sites, where you enter ISBN and they tell you what they'll buy them for. I won't recommend them till I have banked the money, but happy to share details with anyone who's interested. Mainly text/academic books. Seems a better bet than listing on Amazon along with 40 copies of same book.

On birthday cards, I now have no shame. I cut the backs off cards I've received and write on the back of the front. If you get what I mean:)

littleladyindoors · 08/11/2012 15:33

Harriet Id be interested, Ive got a lot of law textbooks only useful for doorstops I dont need anymore, do they pay for the postage of them too (some are pretty epic tomes) We have a local second hand bookshop otherwise, but id like to see what I can get for them- anything is better than nothing right!

Buddy80 · 08/11/2012 15:56

me too, please. I have law books to sell

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harrietspy · 08/11/2012 17:51

Littlelady, yes postage is free. The two sites I used were webuybooks.co.uk and fatbrain.co.uk. Definitely worth copying and pasting the isbn into more than one site - you can also try abebooks as well. Good luck!

AlwaysReadyForABlether · 08/11/2012 18:31

This thread is inspiring! I did something today that I've been meaning to do for ages. I got my BT bill a couple of weeks ago and it was £78 in credit. So I phoned them and asked to get that back - I don't mind having a little bit of credit but I could really use that money. So make sure you check your bills and get back any credit balances.

mmmerangue · 08/11/2012 19:50

ragwort It's a brilliant scheme, I think most banks do it, I just went into my branch got a 5 minute meeting and he set it up to pay into my ISA (I bank with BOS). Say you spend £15.57 in the shop and pay with your bank card, the other 43p will go into your savings. So you barely even notice but its constantly paying in (at least for me I use my card a fair bit!)

RarelyUnreasonable · 08/11/2012 20:06

Nationwide don't offer save the change Sad (at least as far as I can tell from google).

ivykaty44 · 08/11/2012 22:25

I don't buy fabric conditioner, firstly to save money and secondly as someone on mn wrote that it is not good for either your machine or your clothes I think.

I have a week each month eating from the cubboards and not the supermarket - we make do and it works.

I half the amount of powder suggested for clothes washing and it works.

I use my washing line for drying clothes, boring but it is free and I am still drying on the line in November. I used to have a tumble dryer and it cost one pound per load of washing. The tumble dryer gave up the ghost and I have saved about 3 pounds per week Wink which over a year is 150 of my electric bill

boogiewoogie · 08/11/2012 23:20

Can I join in? I do some of the above already.

Train the dcs to open presents carefully to save the wrapping paper and to keep it in crisp condition for future presents (no pun intended).
Ditto saving ribbons for crafts.

If you have fruit trees or have access to them, make jam during the harvest. We still have some of last year's batch of damson jam even after giving some away as presents.

Save old newspaper. They have multiple uses. We use them to put muddy boots on in the porch, scrunch and wipe windows sprayed with vinegar to get them sparkling, stick some in wet trainers to dry them quicker, protect tables when painting etc.

Save old toothbrushes for cleaning taps, difficult to reach corners, shoes. I also used some to do some stencil spray painting the other day with dd.

Bought a big bunch of coriander for just the one recipe? Save the rest by chopping it up and freezing it.

Laddered your tights? Cut off the toe bit and roll it up into a doughnut like you would for a sock bun and use it instead of a scrunchie. It's stronger than a normal hair bobble and particularly ideal if your hair is long enough to get in the way but too short for hair elastic to hold in place.

Don't use curling tongs! Use the rag curl method for tight curls or sock curl for loose curls. I used an old cut up t shirt to rag curl my hair for a 40s style hair do and it worked very well, stayed in place all day. It needs a bit of practice to not look like Shirley Temple though.

Use old mugs that have leaks as containers for random bits. My poor Denby breakfast mug had a leak but I couldn't bear to throw it out. It now holds random hair things.

Reuse old envelopes for children's dinner money, forms etc. Make your own cards and cover the writing of old envelopes with coloured paper. I sometimes do hearts or butterflies as the label.

whatchagonna · 09/11/2012 01:20

Love this thread :)

Couple to add (if they're not already here):

  1. Add oats to meat stews etc (eg shepherd's pie) to thicken it out.

  2. Turn off all lights as you leave the room: our house is always in darkness other than the room we're currently in (DD's nightlight excepted).

  3. Buy tinned veg - often cheaper than fresh and just as good.

  4. Reusable nappies rather than disposable. Initial outlay is a bit, but then they're way cheaper and better for the environment.

  5. If DD doesn't finish a meal she gets it for the next one :) Same goes for DH (although this rarely happens!)

  6. Don't eat meat/eat it very sparingly. Healthier for you too.

  7. Get a nectar card. Before you buy anything online, go via the nectar website: a lot of sites give you nectar points for doing it this way (including ebay!).

  8. Organise babysitting swaps rather than paying for a sitter.

  9. Omelettes are a great way of using up small amounts of left-over veg etc.

  10. Walk, don't drive. Saves a lot of money and much better for you.

  11. If you want magazines, get a subscription (or get one as a present). You can save a lot.

And I have a question.

What's the cheapest way to remove make-up? Cotton-wool or wipes (although I'm loathe to use these since they seem bad for the environment)? And if cotton-wool, is it best to get balls or just the big rectangle of the stuff? Petty but bugs me every time I restock!

Ditto razors - is it more economical to use disposable or reusable?

Buddy80 · 09/11/2012 04:08

whatchagonna there are a couple of natural make-up removers, but the best one seems to be olive oil. The rest listed are: milk, yoghurt.

Here is a link for making homemade makeup remover: Makeup Remover you could use fleece wipes and just chuck in the wash.

Hope this helps Smile

OP posts:
Buddy80 · 09/11/2012 04:13

Slightly off-topic...does anyone know if there are any charities which accept the foil milk bottle tops?

Or any uses for them? Smile

OP posts:
LapinDeBois · 09/11/2012 07:11

Two more. Use last year's Christmas cards to make tags (DS thought this was the most exciting thing he'd ever done Hmm). I then just wrap Christmas presents in brown paper and a nice tag. And the second one is Ecloths. Expensive to buy, but they clean glass and shiny surfaces like magic, without any cleaning product at all, just water.

redgate · 09/11/2012 08:19

B&Q do classes on how to do DIY stuff, like putting shelves up, changing washers etc. It costs about £10, but they gave us a 10% off everything card that lasted a few months, and reckon I have saved loads not having to get the plumber round :) www.diy.com/content/support/services/youcandoit_classes/index.jsp

redgate · 09/11/2012 08:22

Frozen sliced sweet peppers are great, about £1 for a big bag. A bit too soggy when defrosted to go in salads, but ideal for cooking with

jenduck · 09/11/2012 09:20

Another tip is to go to the MoneySavingExpert website & sign up for Martin Lewis' weekly email. It is packed each week with money tips. In the past I have gleaned all sorts of information such as when energy prices will go up, where to buy reduced price postage stamps & also grabbed freebies such as a full-sized shampoo & conditioner from Boots & free fish & chips from BHS when you buy a hot drink (both deals now expired but this email tells you about them in time)

link

Buddy80 · 09/11/2012 09:38

I save my veg peelings (apart from potatoes) in a container in the freezer. When I want to make chicken stock, I use the peelings in with the chicken.

OP posts:
ppeatfruit · 09/11/2012 09:39

Whatchagonna The problem with tinned veg. is that (apart from the often high salt content) the tins HAVE to be bought to the boil for a quite a while which kills any of the healthy enzymes; so apart from the fibre in them they're not as healthy as frozen veg. and esp. freshly bought veg from the farmer's markets. Which you CAN buy cheaply if you look carefully.