Can we have a 'best money saving tip' thread please?

[PlateSpinningAtAllTimes]

Myself and DH have decided that we really need to have a frugal couple of years to start properly saving some money. I think the MSE website is good but can be a little overwhelming- so much info! What are your best tips for curbing spending?

My tip: meal plan, cook in bulk, freeze individual portions. Lasagne and pasta bake seem to freeze well and are cheap to make.

Paid of course not pairs

I go to charity shops for good, chunky, often hand-knitted woollies. Some astounding bargains to be had.

Aldi for all cleaning stuff.

Always look in the quick sale portion of the meat cabinets after 4.00.p.m. on a Sunday.

For fruit and veg, never buy out of season, always buy Australian. This, I realise is easier here as it's a continent, so something somewhere's always coming on.

I assume I'm saving money by never having had a tumble drier ( not even in the UK).

Another one for the 'freezer is your friend' camp!

If, like the old, frivolous me, you use garlic and ginger practically every dish, then go through weeks without using it (and end up chucking it away), buy frozen cubes. The popular branded ones are quite dear, but you can get them in large bags from most freezer aisles. Then you just throw a cube in when you need and don;t end up throwing out sprouting garlic!

If you have a large root ginger, keep it in the freezer and grate from the whole root into the dish you need it for, and store the rest to use as and when.

I always bang on about carrots too, but that's because it really works! Cut the ends of when you get them home, and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Keep practically forever.

Sainsburys giving away a pack of their own brand nappies at the moment (with a £50 shop)

Not had time to read so a pols if already been said - use cheap hair conditioner instead of shaving foam/gel for legs/pits.
Or shave legs under water in the bath, then no need for any gel/foam/conditioner (tip from snog/Marty/avoid!)

Cheapest (yet most effective in my experience) stain remover:

Pour neat washing up liquid onto stain, leave for an hour. Then soak item in cold water with an extra squirt of liquid for a further hour. Wash as normal.

If it hasn't already been mentioned, I learnt about this grocery site off a similar thread:
www.approvedfood.co.uk/SWEETS?sortmethod=name&page=2

So glad I found this thread - I need serious help curbing my spending!
Marking my place to read the whole thread later and add any idea of my own!

I was chatting with a dentist friend, and the subject of sensitive toothpaste came up, we both suffer, I moaned how expensive it was, he looked at me as if I was stupid,

"You don't brush your teeth with it, you brush your teeth with normal tooth paste, then you rub a tiny amount along your teeth, far more effective that way"

and put it away so other family members who don't need it don't use it.

a tube lasts a very long time now.

Ready meals, especially when they are reduced and also look out for offers on frozen food, chips, waffles, pizzas etc, you can save a fortune. Have recently started raiding the reduced section in our local Asda, if you go in around school pick up time you can get some real bargains, some things can be frozen and also usually results in a cheap tea. Has the added bonus of meaning that you try things that you wouldn't normally. Find the salad bags particularly good, often reduced down to around 44p.

Also:

Cards and teacher pressies from Card Factory
Ask for vouchers for birthdays, this can include restaurant vouchers - meaning when you need something/want to treat yourself, you can
Smart price polish, frozen sweetcorn, pasta, tinned tomatos etc
For Christmas this year, have decided to do most shopping on line, far cheapers than postage costs

Only buy from Approved Food if you don't mind going a couple of MONTHS past the best before date though..... my mum loves them - but to be honest fizzy stuff that is not quiiiiiiiiiiiite so fizzy any more does not float my boat - even if it was 60% off.....

Brilliant thread, marking place

Farmfoods for 3 for 2 on the frozen veg. Great spinach & the best frozen summer fruits by far.
Heron Foods/Cool Trader for dairy bargains - sometimes muller light or Yeo on offer at silly prices with reasonable shelf life.
Heron Foods/B&M Bargains for cooked meats. The £1 packets say 'off cuts' but they are great for snacking and sarnies. I always look for the 'dry' cure ham.

marking my place

My Dad told me to this this but I could never bring myself to go ahead with. He always urged me to take out an insurance policy on him and my mum.

It just sounded weird but he pointed out in the event of his death I would get a pay out of 15k upwards.

Dad died in his sixties and the thought of 'profiting' from his death seems abhorrent but it was very sensible advice really.

A very weird money 'making' tip.

I might ask my DD to do this when she turns 18 so if anything happens to me she will have a nest egg to fall back on. Don't know what she will say though!

Flubit.com every time! Time and time and time again. Typically saves up to 15% on almost everything I've wanted to buy online :)

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Oops! Didn't mean to do a full stop! Great advice thank you.

Apologies if this is a repeat.. -

Work out a set budget for the weekly grocery shopping. Take that amount out the bank every Monday. That's all you've got to spend!! No card purchasing allowed.

If you have any cash left at the end of the week, save it all in a little 'rainy day or takeaway' jam jar. Keep for treats or add to the saving stash.

redrubyshoes - I am sure it is not possible to insure in this way for obvious reasons. This was what I was told by an insurance person some 25 years ago for the UK

You can though insure your own life and stipulate who you wish the money to go to on the event of your death

Lidl is good for juice for lunchboxes (93p/5 and 250ml!), their fruit and veg, frozen fish, ditto about the cleaning products and of course, awesome panetonne at Xmas!

If you have an android phone google the Nielsen app, it monitors your mobile use and you accrue points, every two months you should make enough for a £10 amazon voucher. I had mine last night.

Regifting ! Saves a fortune .... Also ..... The Card factory shop for cards and forget posh card shops or moon pig ...
I used to buy expensive gifts and expensive cards but am lot wiser now after nearly bankrupting us going on moonpig

Dunno if this is still the case but in the past I found that my car insurance was significantly cheaper when I added a named driver... You need someone with no points though! Think mum or dad or any relative with lots of driving experience and no claims. (OH reckons you can add more than one person and it'll make it cheaper still... Haven't tried that out though)

Thank you to everyone who's posted tips, I'm reading them all. Just had my first email from Quidco saying I'd earnt cashback (on something I needed to buy, I must add- I'm not impulse buying just to get cashback!!) - I've made a start towards the deposit!