Frugal Resolutions for 2013

[Buddy80]

I will try to...

More batch cooking
Buying in bulk (Tescos have a great deal on Daz washing powder, just bought 10 boxes and got £10 cashback from cashback site)
Hanging washing
More effort to re-use instead of recyling IYKWIN

[Mum2Fergus]

Oooh, good bump! Have checked back...and I have! Better than that, one was to have completed house deposit savings by June...and I did that this month! We move to new house in 5 weeks

[Fluffycloudland77]

Are we sticking to our resolutions?

I'm using laundry gloop (hiding it from Dh under the spare vacuum)
I bought the nicky loo roll, very happy with it. It's softer than the triple velvet we had from Costco.
I don't just pop out in the car anymore. I plan for each journey now.

[Bakingnovice]

Softkitty I'm not sure how you refer but if you find out let me know. I assume they'll give you a link to pass to me before I register? I only looked briefly but it looked like the referral was £100 next evoucher?!!

Batch cooking - for anyone wanting to try this my advice would be to keep
It simple. Always cook more than you need that way you have extras for freezer. Or another way to do it is to make enough for two consecutive days. This means less faffing during the week. Eg this week I will be making lasagna, instead of one big one I'll make three small ones by padding out the mince with lots of peas sweet corn mushrooms courgettes. Two are used this week for dinners. One goes into the freezer. I made these last night. Tonight I just have to throw a salad together. I now don't have to cook till Wednesday. My meal plan is to have omelettes and beans on Wednesday so quite simple. Batch cooking not only saves money it's v time saving too!

[pollyteapot]

Another vote for the Farmfoods toilet roll from me (I couldn;t remember it's brandname).

We just switched energy suppliers 2 weeks ago, and plans for 2013:

If we can;t reduce our debt, then we're at least going to try hard not to increase it.
the £1 a week savings for DS sounds like a great idea
We do meal plan, but occasionally get side tracked with 'can't be bothered cooking today', so batch cooking it is.
Getting our shopping delivered so that we only buy what we need, not popping in lots of treats and silly things cos I fancy them at the time.
Less wine. One bottle a week (DH doesn;t drink) and swap wine for shloor (sp lo) sometimes.

[zookeeper]

Great thread. I am going to; -

Save thirty pounds a month for Christmas
Really try to batch cook and not waste money on food
Walk the dcs to school as much as possible rather than use the car
Avoid the shops except where really necessary.
make packed lunches for us all

[SoftKittyWarmKitty]

Fluffy I've used Nicky toilet roll, it's very good and so cheap. They sell it in Farm Foods too.

[SoftKittyWarmKitty]

Oooh, is there a referral Baking, I didn't know about that. Yes, I'll refer you, if that's ok . Do I need to give them your email address or something like that? Am on phone at moment but will get laptop out tomorrow and have a proper look. Thanks for letting me know about it.

[Bakingnovice]

SOftkitty- i want to send clothes in as I have a few sacks full. But on the website it says there is referral gift of next vouchers if you refer someone. Do you Want to refer me and see if you can make some money out of it before I register?

[Fluffycloudland77]

I have made laundry gloop, I used Yardleys Lavender soap as it was Palm fat free (orangutang ishoos, dont ask) and 250g of washing soda so the raw materials cost is £1.17. I think I made 7ltrs. It all got a bit fraught after the cold water debacle. You are not meant to add cold water to it, only hot.

It's hopefully setting in my utility.

I am going to use Nicky toilet paper from Homebargains, it was 18 rolls for £3.99 last time I went in and people on moneysavingexpert are saying nice things about it so it cant be that bad.

[higgle]

Less ebay buying, more ebay selling.
Do not go to farmer's market ever.

[onlyhannah]

This is really inspiring--- im going to get involved in meal planning - its the best thing ever!

I also have resolved to read all the books I have bought and stay off teh daily mail website!

[BornToFolk]

Mine are

1. save something every month, even if it's just £10
   
2. get a water meter installed
   
3. set myself a budget for fripperies. I'm really bad at going shopping at lunchtime and spending the odd £1 here and there. It all adds up.
   
   I make laundry goop in smaller quantities and store in a tupperware box under the sink, takes up less room than a box of powder.

[racingheart]

1. Use libraries instead of handing most of my income to Amazon each month. (Book addict.)
   
2. Hang washing on the line.
   
3. Eat less!

[SoftKittyWarmKitty]

Those sorting out clothes, I recommend sending your unwanted items to these people. I had a clearout a few months back and sent off for a sack from them which I filled, and they sent me about £16 back. Ok, not a fortune, but better than nothing.

[Buddy80]

Got a few more...

Take more leftovers for lunch. Went and got a couple of Thermos Food Jars (yeah, I know, more expense). But they work well for taking hot lunch to work.

Small things...hand wash the car, look up cheap insulation tricks, declutter, plan and grow my herbs & veg for next year.

Make better use of my time on-line...look up frugal sites, seed swaps, community news, etc.

[ghosteditor]

Thanks novice . I've heard the shred is great but I do plenty of cardio with my sport, so I am looking for something to balance out my injury risk with all the running. Since my post-natal yoga class ended I haven't done much and I need to stretch more!

[ComradeJing]

Budget and stick to budget
Record spending as I spend
Be debt free apart from mortgage
Build up some savings
Put any pay increase for DH straight into a savings account

Quite general resolutions at this stage... Once I've gone back through our budget ill know how much I can spend where.

[Bakingnovice]

Ghost - re the exercise. By the shred DVD for a fiver from amazon. It's only 20 minutes and it's amazing. I use it a lot in winter when I can't force the kids to walk to school as its freezing! It's v fast and v effective.

[SantaIAmSoFuckingRock]

ah right. i might ask my mum to do that for me next year then. thanks.

[Fluffycloudland77]

You get a letter saying you are being debited again, and membership cards.

You can send them back then and ring them to cancel saying you can't afford it. Then you can get your dh best friend etc to buy a membership for you and it goes through as a new member.

[Frontpaw]

They do! Other places do too (like London Zoo) so keep an eye on what you've signed up for and when it comes out of your account.

[SantaIAmSoFuckingRock]

fluffy dont they *national trust) just renew your direct debit at the end of the year so it comes straight from your account? that's what they did with me anyway.

[Frontpaw]

I am going to be soooo good next year. I shall ban Amazon for starters!

Stick to a realistic food budget
Plan weekly menus so we don't buy enough at the supermarkets each week to feed an army
Not eat out so much - not that we do now, but it's usually because we are out and about and peckish
Not drink coffees outside - they are usually yucky and not worth the money!

[Fluffycloudland77]

Topcashback and quidco do cashback on National Trust membership, I got £19 back on our joint membership. Next year DH has to buy it so we are still "new" members.

[Pantofino]

Ooh marking place for a read later.