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!

[HellesBelles396]

Own brand shampoo great - own brand conditioner hideous. If you have long hair, steer clear.

After any purchase, delete your card details from online sites (eg amazon) it will reduce the likelihood of impulse buys.
Wash up as soon as you eat - you'll use less washing up liquid and hot water.
Only machine wash full loads.
Use a tea pot - I get 4 cuppas from 2 teabags by doing this (you'll need a cosy).

[FreePeaceSweet]

I'm off to Aldi today to see if I can pick up some Christmas bargains for the freezer or for next year. Anyone been and spotted any?

[Theveryhungrymuma]

Free peace, got a 2.5 kg boiled ham down to 3.00 at aldi last night, one of the pre cooked Christmas range, will do for a meal tonight DH's sandwiches for the rest of the week and maybe add a bit to soup or pasta sauce. Also a few of the frozen Christmas party stuff is down to £1 , got dd a few packs of spring rolls , will make a few cheap lunches for her. Also got dd a lovely wooden train for next Christmas there, I think about £7. Am aiming to buy her one thing a month and save £10 a month towards next Christmas, so I've done January already!

[coorong]

shop on foot if you can! If you have to carry it home, you're less tempted by things you don't actually need.

Oh, and if you can, send you're other half to the supermarket. Whereas I'm tempted by offers and stuff in the non essential aisle, he never is.

[FreePeaceSweet]

Ooh thanks Theveryhungrymuma. I hope there are some similar bargains at my local one. :)

[coorong]

oh, and i think cash-back sites are false economy. They're about spending more overall, rather than saving.

The two things we've done this year that have worked are menu planning (also helps with life in general) and leads to less food wastage and not drying clothes on radiators. We bought a electric clothes airer from Lakeland and dry clothes in a separate small utility room. We've been able to turn out heating down from 18 to 16 and watched our bill shrink.

[slatternlymother]

Every £2 coin we get goes into one of those jars you have to take a hammer to in order to get to what's inside. We've not been going long, but our friends just broke theirs after 3 years of collecting.

There was £1,800 inside.

We were

We also have a change pot, which gets dipped into every so often for parking, but twice a year we take it down the coin star and today I got £25.80 and it was all 1s and 2s really.

[slatternlymother]

coorong we've got one of those heated airers too! Aren't they just the best?!

[muchostinky]

softkittywarmkitty thanks for that, I am downloading it now

[FreePeaceSweet]

I disagree about cashback sites. They work if you are buying stuff you need in the first place. You might as well get the savings or money back. I got a £35 M&S voucher just by going through the site to change energy suppliers last year.

[FreePeaceSweet]

I read about a lady on Pinterest who saved every $5 bill she got over a period of two years. She managed to save around $4000! I'm tempted to do this with £5 notes.

[Shagmundfreud]

Buy all shampoo and conditioner in Poundland. It will be cheaper than the supermarket UNLESS you are happy to use supermarket own brand, which will work out cheaper.

Don't buy squash or fruit juice. Kids don't need it.

[BoffinMum]

One thing I do is use a cheap filter coffee machine to make decent coffee that I can then take on the train in a special flask. You can make a huge amount for a few pence as opposed to £2 for a takeaway coffee at the station. Filter machines start at £10.

[thundernlightning]

It may sound counterintuitive but DH and I save up and buy the best kitchen things we can afford (fancy breadmaker, crockpot, etc) and then we use it till it begs us to let it die. Really.

We get the best ones because we're more likely to use them consistently (as we like them, or they're quiet or easy to clean, etc) and they're more likely to last. We haven't bought in bread for years and have easily paid for the breadmaker now.

Likewise if you're going to do all the baking, get bakery-size staples. I buy 20 kilos of flour, oats and sugar at a time at the warehouse store and we go through it all in about 4 months. Yes, It means our cramped kitchen is even more cramped than it should be, but we save a bundle.

[nowahousewife]

Great thread, have resolved to use freezer much more!

Two things I've done recently that have really helped are:

Checked online comparison sites for both car insurance and pet insurance, I've saved several hundred pounds doing this. The wierd thing about it is I've that I've actually stayed with the same insurers. They've sent me renewal notices, I've compared online, I've telephoned them to say can you match this and they've said no, you'll have to do it online not through our renewals system

Second thing is I've switched to Lidl (from Ocado/Waitrose). Not only is Lidl much cheaper but they have far less selection so I'm not tempted to pop vair naive goodies in the trolley. I do still need to pop into Waitrose for some things but on average I'm saving £50 per week.

[SoftKittyWarmKitty]

I disagree about cashback sites too, I think they're brilliant for - and this is the key point - things you need to buy anyway. For instance I recently bought my car insurance (after comparing prices on comparison sites ) and I bought it through Top Cashback which means I'll get £55 cashback in a few months.

SlatternlyMother where did you get your terramundi pot from? I really think I'd benefit from one. I save £2 coins but have to admit I dip into it if I need change for parking or something like that.

[Fluffycloudland77]

I do agree about expensive machines, I get Bosch appliances as they use less electric and water than cheap models. Relatives of ours buy Miele, before they we replacing major appliances every few years.

Filter coffee from Lyons and douwe egberts is available in pound world, home bargains too.

Locate free on road parking in your town centre, mine gives you an hour in some streets, plenty of time to walk in and do my banking and pound shopping.

Don't press the quickwash buttons on the dishwasher or washing machine, they use more water and electric to get the same results faster.

[Jahan]

Filter coffee for £1?
We usually buy 2 for £5 in the supermarket!

[Fluffycloudland77]

True story.

[Jahan]

How can it be so cheap?
I'm off to poundland this week and buying 5! Should keep us going for a bit.
Will have a look at other food/drink items.
I've only ever bought kids craft stuff from there and tinsel for school play. I've never looked at the food. I just assumed it would be rubbish stuff.

[BoerWarKids]

slatternlymother With coinstar, do they charge? I normally take my bags of coppers to the bank but the last time I went they said, "we're not doing this anymore"

Can this thread be moved to Credit Crunch? Be a shame to lose it.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Don't ask! I checked the dates etc but not short dated.

They do Duchy of Cornwall jams and tea sometimes, again £1 a jar. I've seen Lindt chocolate bars too.

Don't fight the bargains.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Coin star are 8 or 9p per £1. I ask my bank for change bags and count it out at home.

[slatternlymother]

Yes I think it's 8p per pound, and there's an option to donate that to charity. It's not as good as the bank, but I went and got directed to the coin star machine at the local Sainsburys!