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.

On the topic of organic veg v value veg if you check the price per kilo etc sometime you will find that organic works out cheaper. I get really cross with the way tesco price there value fruit and veg because if you weigh it and compare it price wise it often works out more expensive that standard stuff.

if you and your dc are pop addicts the fizzy pop in aldi is good, and at a fraction of the price of coca cola

My Organic veg box is local and way better value than Tescos - I get a huge amount of fruit and veg in comparison to what I would pay Tesco for and I factor in my petrol and time as well!

Veg boxes I've seen look lacklustre,I could pick better and for cheaper
But I know folk rave about their veg boxes.im under whelmed
The Last hour before supermarket closes,load stuff reduced ESP bread and use by date stuff

What a great thread, thanks for all the great tips. We are moving house soon so need every bit of cash we can spare!

Feeling so inspired by reading all your ideas - got up 20 mins early this morning to make breakfast, coffee and sandwich then walked to station instead of driving. Saved at least £15 & got some free exercise too.

I agree I can't get excited about veg boxes in general but I would always check and weight and price of veg in tesco etc. swede being my favourite observation. Value swedes are price per item, organic swede is priced per kilo. As works out value swede is more expensive. These deliberate and shitty pricing techniques make it hard to make sure people are getting the best price.

How interesting I have never really looked that indepth

I think it's easy not to even glance at organic food even when it's on offer as we automatically assume it will be more expensive. I probably would never have started comparing the price but I started introducing more organic food due to a specialist diet I was following for ds's health issues. It doesn't always work out that way sometimes organic veg is far more expensive

I find its the organic berries that are the most expensive so they're rare around here unless I find them organic and half price.

1. Drink only tap water (also better for your health)
2. Easier to take on a second job, evenings, weekends sometimes than just cutting back if you want a lot more money. When I earned as much from work in my holidays as from my salary I set up on my own. I had doubled my pay.
3. Housing is a big cost for many. Perhaps rent rooms out to lodgers and the children sleep in your room. Make sure you have the best rent or mortgage.
4. Buy no extended warranties and unnecessary insurance. The OFT has found that just about all extended warranties are not worth the money.
5. Buy a car for £1000 or under, no more. Never take out a car loan.
6. Buy clothes once a year and only second hand.

Actually Xenia makes a good point. When I worked behind a bar, it meant I couldn't spend anything as I was at work. I saved a lot of money that way.

You can't go to the pub and spend money if you're behind the bar helping other people spend theirs.

My daughters have said the same nothing like very long working hours to ensure you don't spend... although that is not a choice everyone has. Today's news is that there are 75 graduates to each graduate level job.

I cut my own hair too.

So true about working, if you can of course. Saves us a fortune - we get free tea & coffee all day, and obviously the heating can be turned off as you're out, but as others have said best thing is you're not spending money when you're at work!

I'm saving a lot more now I'm not on maternity leave.

just a very 'now' tip.

Just bought some Calypso factor 15 bronze oil, it's a spray. It's about £3, and really good. Not sticky at all.

Got it in the local chemist.

Tesco digestives--gorgeous. about 48p.

oh, Tesco do a cereal called Multigrain Boulders which are like some other brander cereal dd enjoys. She likes them more as she says they aren't as sweet, they are a quid cheaper.

Oh that reminds me - if you want a spray sun tan lotion for kids, Aldi do very cheap one - I think around 2/3 quid mark, again, not oily at all, much better than the one I bought from sainsbos for around £7 earlier in the year

What Xenia says about housing being big cost for many- in the long term can you downsize? We bought a little house and the girls are sharing a room to keep mortgage payments as low as possible and the bills as low as possible. Tiny House Living is a big movement in the USA at the moment and its really inspirational.

thanks for the topcashback hint, have just switched broadband and energy suppliers which I was going to be doing anyway and got a whopping £130 back, as well as saving £25 a month on our direct debits! Off for a massive declutter this week so can ebay & car boot sale over the summers hols

Also, other posters have mentioned facebook selling sites, how do I find my local one? Am getting v into this now!

I spotted a once daily sunscreen in Aldi today, for £4.99. A similar one was £14.99 in Home Bargains. I dread to think what it would cost in other shops.

My tips:

Have a set day to do your weekly/fortnightly/monthly/whatever shop on. Once something runs out, it's gone. No 'top-up' shops or 'Oh shit, I forgot to get this vital ingredient' or 'Crap, we've run out of milk'. You schedule in your shop, buy what you need and if you run out, you run out. It sounds really simple and obvious, but it's helped me to meal plan better. I'm not throwing away as much food and I have a better handle on what we actually need. Add up as you go around too.

A roll of masking tape does loads of jobs. Use it to reclose packets, to label plugs, label food tubs for the freezer, wrap around your hands sticky-side out and then use to de-hair clothes.

Oh the down sizing conundrum. Our mortgage is far too big but I can't reconcile myself to move. Part of me sees this house as a future investment part of me sees it a big pain in the arse that restricts our day to day life. Answers on a post card please!

user couldn't agree more about running out of stuff, when it's gone it's gone and just make do. For people that run out of milk regularly, keep semi skimmed milk powder in the cupboard for emergencies. It tastes fine whisked up with really cold water and stops you from having to go back out to the shops where your more likely to buy more then just a pint of milk.

My parents don't actually buy 'fresh' milk and haven't done so for years, they've always used the powdered milk as its so much cheaper then fresh milk.

If it restricts your day to day life I would say downsize!

Minimalist, yep. It was a revelation for me, really, as daft as that sounds. If I run out, I need to allow for that and buy more of it in the next shop. It forces me to use up what's in the fridge and freezer too. Today, I have no broccoli. I really wanted it as a side with our curry tonight, but instead I'm doing a cucumber, tomato and red onion salad, using up the last of the cucumber hanging around the fridge.

Once your mobile phone contract expires, you may be able to go onto a 'SIM only contract' rather then upgrade to a new phone you don't really need and some of them are only £5 per month with inclusive texts and minutes.