Money saving tips for the new year

[MushyPeace]

New year, new start and all that... Anyone have any fab money saving tips?

Just due to everyday costs I have somehow managed to run up £5k debt and am so embarrassed. I don't budget well. DP and I have been taking about having a baby soon (not getting any younger) and I just can't go into it knowing I have this debt. AF was three days late until today and while i would be so happy to be preg I am also relieved I am not.

So what's your top tip?

I am so far trying the budget supermarkets and it will be packed lunches from now on. I will also eBay anything and everything!

[suebfg]

Not read the whole thread so apologies for duplication

Buy wrapping paper in gold or silver so can be used for any occasion
Be ruthless with gifts. If you have no use for them, re gift
You will save a fortune by shopping at Aldi, using your freezer, cooking from scratch and batch cooking
Cut down on meat consumption
Use pay as you go mobile and use for emergencies only
Write a list before you go shopping and stick to it
Keep to a steady weight so you don't have to buy clothes every time you change size
Be ruthless with clothes buying. Only keep what is perfect and don't buy into faddy fashion

[sharond101]

• Find out when your local supermarket reduces the produce going out of date and you can get things for pennies, (last week I got a 2kg free range chicken for 89p!)
  
• Work out the cost per portion of your meals and avoid those which use up too much of your budget.
  
• Don't buy food until you have eaten what's at home. If you are having chicken for instance have it with the vegetables you have in rather than going and buying something for the sake of it.
  
• Have leftovers for lunch or freeze.
  
• Use Quidco or Topcashback.
  
• Walk or jog instead of paying a gym membership.
  
• Use Homebargains or B&M bargains for discounted food, cleaning materials, toilet rolls etc.
  
• Try Aldi - we get 90% of our shopping there now.
  
• Avoid acohol.
  
• Clean out your wardrobe instead of going shopping, you'll find clothes you never knew you had.
  
• Review your mobile phone contract.
  
• Read the newspaper free online from Metro.
  
• Buy an insulated mug and make your own coffee.

[ZeldaUpNorth]

Thanks for the ziplock tip, i've ordered a pack of 50 from ebay Can you reuse them?
My tip is: try to have a few days of the week (or a full week) without buying any shopping (except bread etc) and use what you have in. I try to do this once a month. Making a batch of homemade soup with some bacon i found in the back of the freezer for tea yummy!

[marriedandwreathedinholly]

I don't know if anyone else has said this but I find if I allow myself x amount of money each week it is much easier to budget if I withdraw that amount of cash. It's harder to spend "real notes" and easier to see what's left and what will be left if you buy something on a whim. Using a bank card it's too easy to:

buy a round
buy a coffee and a toastie
buy a magazine
buy a bottle of wine

and have not a clue what you have spent and nothing to show for it either.

[SoftKittyWarmKitty]

With regard to your 5k debt, is this on a credit card that charges interest? If it's on one that charges interest, apply for a 0% on balance transfers card - there was one on the moneysavingexpert email this week that has a 0% period of two years which would give you time to pay off the debt without it increasing the to interest.

Yes, you'll pay a transfer fee but on 5k it won't be much and the amount you'll save on having 0% interest will more than cancel

[SoftKittyWarmKitty]

Will more than cancel out the fee.

[HoraceHorseface]

Don't forget that January and February are council tax free months too so a couple of hundred pounds saving there straight away!!

[Fluffycloudland77]

Make laundry gloop. Not suitable for woollens.

[LetsFaceThePresentsTheyrePants]

Eeba is a good app. Works on s system of envelopes. I have it on android tho

[RoomForALittleOne]

Sorry if I'm duplicating but work out a proper budget and take out cash weekly for as much of your spending as possible. It's been proven that you spend 33% less when you spend cash. I was a bit when I heard this but I gave it a go and I agree. We found that we were able to have more guilt-free treats and save more money by using a cash-based system.

[Vagaceratops]

The one thing that saved me the most money was no buying any new books, and only getting them from the Library, its saved me £££

There are some great challenges on the MSE Debt Free Wannabe board, which have helped keep me motivated.

[muchostinky]

softkittywarmkittyI am looking for that account manager app you mentioned but can't find it. Do you know exactly what it is called?

Some great tips on here and it has reminded me to update my money spreadsheet!

[Binfullofgibletsonthe26th]

Zelda I rinse out my ziplock bags and hang them out to dry!

[treaclesoda]

I've made laundry gloop and I've used it on my woollens. Was I not meant to?

It doesn't seem to have done them any harm. Yet...

[Fluffycloudland77]

It says on the soda crystals not to use them on wool. I don't suppose it's as bad as using bio detergent on them.

[ZeldaUpNorth]

What about stuff like shepherds pie (a whole one)? what do you make them in to freeze? Those foil trays? Been doing loads of recipe searching today and have next 3 meals planned out of freezer leftovers :)

And Binfullofgiblets i can see me doing that too

[FreePeaceSweet]

I have never saved Shepherds pie because everyone has seconds. But making them in their own foil tray to freeze is a great idea. I don't cook with the sole intention of freezing. If I did I'd make 2 portions using foil trays. I'm all about not wasting leftovers. dh always takes a portion to work the next day of whatever I cook so that helps too. I always reuse Ziploc's. They can be reused up to 5 times before they become damaged. Don't waste them on wrapping sandwiches. Use clingfilm or foil for that. They are great for keeping your sandwich meat and cheese fresh in the fridge too. dh takes them in his pocket on the rare occasion we go to the Red Hot Buffet for a meal. Cheeky but well worth it. :o

[higgle]

Keep an eye on the prices of things that come in different sizes - such as ketchup and mayonaise. Sometimes the biggest container or the one on special offer is the best buy, but quite often the price per gram or ml is the lowest on one of the medium sized ones. Tesco are very naughty in their pricing of these sort of things. Never buy dishwasher tablets or toilet rolls ( unless you have to) when they are not on special offer.

I've adopted most of the basic tips about menu planning etc but still look for ways to fine tune the budget a bit.

[jenduck]

My main motto is never pay full price for anything if you can avoid it. To this end, I do the following:

Buy fresh food (meat, veg, bread etc) last thing at night to get the yellow label reductions of up to 80%.

Buy clothes, books, toys, house stuff at charity shops & car boot sales, also freecycle & Ebay

Use cashback websites, vouchers & codes

Make sure to use loyalty schemes to my advantage

[Galaxymum]

We're both having our wages cut in 2013 so will have to make cutbacks. Previously when we were short of money these tips helped a lot.

Use cash for every day things. Get an amount out of cash machine and don't take your card out. Sticl to your budget. Ia lso used a list at supermarket and cash. This made me really consider what was essential.

Bulk up bolognese and pasta dishes with lentils so go further.

Buy essentials at lower status (like basics)

And my new tip - trust me it works - instead of expensive pasta sauces use a squeeze and stir cup a soup with your onions and leeks and herbs! Sauces are incredibly expensive.

And bake biscuits or cake.

Cut out meat as much as possible (we've had to do that anyway)

[RosemaryandThyme]

Has anyone mentioned the Planet Earth shops ?

save the Earth run Planet Earth shops - you can pick up books whenever you like, totally free - they are great (though may have old book smell about them) and are springing up in many highstreets.

Here's the real winner though - they also host free stuff events monthly in London, saturdays for droping of unwanted items, sundays for people to fill up bags and trollies etc, basically its totaly free take what you want, the sales dtes are on their website and may well be worth train fare to london if your not local.

[FobblyWoof]

I swear by meal planning. Before we could easily spend over £70 a week on two of us by chucking things in the trolley. Even when you think you're being good you're not. We now meal plan and spend £70 every other week on the three of us. That includes nappies and baby milk. I also tend to ignore the "special offers" and promotions unless it's something I would usually buy or need.

Keeping a money diary for a month will also really open your eyes! I couldn't believe how much my £1 here and 50p there was totalling per week

[RosemaryandThyme]

For ladies clothes how about a visit to a contryside jumble sale ?

Sounds odd but out here in the sticks (rural Hampshire / Wiltshire) there are loads of WI jumble sales all year, specialist mum and baby ones run by the breast feeding folk, and as there are many wealthy patrons and land owners jumble tends to be of oddly high quality if your not too fashion concerned (or bold enough to start your own trend), loads of tweed, queenie type heals, barbour jackets, those diamond sown puffy jackets for horse-riding, horsey boots, and a never ending supply of new knitted items, knitting is a competitive sport in the shires !

You can google the websites of local papers and whizz round three or four sales in a day.