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.

[OnTheBottomWithAWomansWeekly]

This thread inspired me to check my bank account as a couple of months ago I changed car - small petrol engine (1.2L) to a small diesel (1.4L) & I haven't checked my fuel saving till today (I've a fuel card (which I pay myself, but goes through as a DD at payday in arrears of a month - bit of free credit there!)

I used to spend ?250 a month - last month I did extra driving as DD has started a new job and there are some more dropoffs and collections - new fuel cost a month is only ?156 .

I knew it would be less but my gast is flabbered!

Also Netflix instead of buying/renting DVDs - ?7 pm. Borrow/lend books among friends with similar taste - has cut my book buying habit by at least a third - and find a good second hand book sale locally. You can pass on books you won't read again to it, and buy nearly new books for ?2-?3. Also they are usually to support a good cause (ours is the local old folks association) so you feel very virtuous afterwards.

I replaced my cable TV with a satellite dish and decoder - only cost I have now is TV licence for about ?10 pm. No landline or broadband - me and DD have iPhone contracts (yes that is a luxury, I know) with unlimited data, so we can each use our phones attached to the laptop or iPad as a modem. My phone/broadband usage is never more than ?42 a month (in fact they rang me recently re an upgrade and the girl on the phone says I have never gone above my monthly call/text allowance - so I've never incurred any phone costs above the basis). Dunno know why they are offering me an upgrade - they'll never make any extra money out of me...

[topbannana]

I lie these :)
For DS's lunchbox I have a selection of Tommee Tippee pots, originally for weaning. He takes either yoghurt (a large pot of Yeo Valley is less than £1 at the moment and lasts over a week) or I make up jelly on a Sunday and put in individual pots. Proper jelly (rather than basics) is only 35p and that will last a week.
Soft cheese and breadsticks.
Packs of crisps to last 2 days.
Water bottles/ flasks- DS is is seventh heaven when he actually gets a real honest to goodness carton of drink :o

Halve the amount of washing powder you use unless clothes are very dirty.
Our washing machine has a timer so I set it to come on after midnight when electricity is cheaper. This one simple action has made such a difference to our bills :)
Likewise I put dishwasher, phones, slow cooker etc on for overnight. It's a habit you need to get into but now I am quite distressed if I forget and am forced to use proper price electricity :)

[SuckAtRelationships]

Just STOP spending. You need that little thing do you? really? No? Good.Walk away. The kids NEED that new jacket/bag/latest toy really? Can they cope without? Good.

This has been mine. Just to stop with the little things. The two pound things...

[kukeslala]

When we were saving for a deposit, I remember reading somewhere on MSE, that for every £1 you dont put down as a deposit, it will cost you £2 to pay it back and you will have to earn £3, to all equal to the £1 you didn't put down on your original deposit.
I dont know how accurate that is *disclaimer! There is also lots of scope for changes in the figure.
But I liked how it broke it down, so I could see how every penny really counted, which especially on such a big amount like a house deposit, the smaller amounts can sometimes get a bit lost.
When we thought about it like that, it changed our spending habits even more- was the cheap gossip mag, I would have brought alongside my milk normally really worth it? IYKWIM.

[kukeslala]

Go through your bank accounts check all payments going out (DD's etc), cancel any you no longer need (obviously giving any notices etc), have a think about the ones you think you may need e.g. the gym, cinema card etc, then monitor monthly to decide if you are making use of them or not.

Write every little spend down for a month, you get a better view of your personal spending habits, and then can look into stopping/adapting/changing them.

[topbannana]

Oooh I thought of another!
I started to order my groceries online so I have my meal plan and order exactly what I need. If I go over my budget I can go back through and knock off a couple bits to bring it back into line before actually placing my order.
I have also found garlic bread to be my friend :o A lasagne, chilli, bolognese (all padded out with lintels of course!) can stretch even further with the addition of garlic bread and salad. We also reserve pudding for weekends, though we do always have fruit available.

[BornToFolk]

Book an appointment with your bank manager and go through your accounts. I did this last year and switched my current and savings accounts to ones with much better rates of interest. Cost me nothing but I'm now earning more interest on everything. He also quoted for home insurance but it was more than I'm paying now.

Buy as much as you can online and use cashback sites and money off vouchers. I needed new shoes recently so went into Schuh, found some I like, tried them on to check the fit etc. Then I ordered them online, through Quidco so I got cashback. They were delivered free to store. This works really well for me as I work in the town centre so I can easily pick things up at lunchtime.

I grow salad on my inside windowsill in the conservatory. It grows very well and does not get eaten by anything that should not be eating it!

[youaintallthat]

If there isn't an aldi near you shopping online can help I'm a sucker for getting distracted in the supermarket and buying stuff I didn't go for with online shopping I don't impulse buy so have saved money. Also I you do eat meat go to a gabbots farm if you have one near you I bought 10 kgs ( about 40 ) chicken breasts for £20 a few weeks back they do great meat offers and it's nice meat. I just can't find anywhere or cheap fresh fruit n veg though tried market stalls, aldi etc. anyone know where to get cheap fruit n veg?

[whiteandyellowiris]

I need to start getting cleaning products somewhere cheaper

[MinimalistMommi]

I extremely rarely buy a book (like once a year) I order books from our local library if they're not sitting on the shelf. 80p to order something is cheap in comparison to buying it and I don't have to keep the clutter afterwards

[MinimalistMommi]

top are you on what used to be known as Economy Seven? It might still be called that....my parents used to get us out of bed really early so we could ahold before it got expensive. I'm not sure all households have the cheaper during the night electricity system though.

[MinimalistMommi]

top talking about garlic bread reminded me that the Tesco Value Basic garlic bread in the fresh section for approx 32p tastes lovely and I refuse to buy any other garlic bread.

Also, for anyone that likes juice cartons for convenience for lunch boxes, they sell Tesco Value Pure Apple Juice for 45p for three which I think is great value. I usually buy 6 in Waitrose for £1.69 so that will be a new change for me.

[MinimalistMommi]

Quote your post about gardening was extremely inspirational!

[topbannana]

Yes minimalist it's the dreaded Economy7 as we have night storage heaters here
DS knows to be in the shower by 7am too :o

[curryeater]

RetroHippy - please can you talk me through the "cooking cakes from frozen" thing? So you freeze a blob of cake mixture in the paper case and then just bung it in the oven? That sounds far too easy! Or... what?

[MinimalistMommi]

top
Glad you could understand what I wrote, my iPad turned 'shower' into 'ahold'

[Salbertina]

Houseswap for holidays

Online food shop- to buy in bulk and avoid impulse purchases

Buy presents/ cards as you see them to get bargains not as you need them. Keep a present drawer. Make presents & cards as you can- ikea do nice, cheap presentation boxes.

Don't drive walkable journeys.

Bet MN get a book out of this thread !

[harrietspy]

You said you don't have an Aldi close by, but if you can make the trip occasionally you can get some great stuff. I go specially to stock up on laundry liquid, washing up liquid & ketchup - their own brand stuff which has won Good Housekeeping awards.

Other things we do (as well as most of the stuff listed above):

Mending clothes instead of replacing them.
Using tea bags twice!
Warming up milk in the microwave to have with instant coffee & keeping filter coffee as an occasional treat.
Selling books on webuybooks.com.
Booking train fares well in advance where possible.
Keeping a box of dates and oatcakes in my bag to help me resist the urge to buy chocolate.
Using old comics as wrapping paper. (It looks great!)
Not buying anything unless it's absolutely avoidable!

I think the first step is just to record your spending and see where your money's already going. That simple act can transform your financial situation!

[williaminajetfighter]

Agree with tracking all your money. It's essential. I've had a Quicken Register since 2007 and was shocked to see (a) how much I spent on coffee and food out and (b) how much interest I was accruing on credit cards etc. Hard to ignore when it's there in front of you in a pie chart.

Just reiterating what others have said....

Grocery shop online and with a budget in mind. Arrange delivery at set times during the month so you've always got groceries and never tempted to go to the corner store to drop 10 or 20 pounds when the cupboards are bare. Corner stores are the devil's work!

Just don't ever go into town to 'browse' at the shops or shop for fun. I only buy clothes when I need them and have sold all the ones I don't need on eBay. I never buy nicknacks etc. On weekends we never head into town, either plan free play dates with others or stay around the house.

Avoid the cinema. It's just too expensive.

Try not to drive to everything. Walk/cycle if you can or make sure when you're out you do everything you need in one go so you don't spend the whole weekend driving about. Petrol is SO expensive, an absolute killer.

Plan for your next job, if you can, so you are working towards a higher income. If that means more studies etc so be it. If I had to assume I'd be on the same salary for the next 25 years I'd cry - i really am looking to a future when I'm making a better salary.

[chicaguapa]

When you want to buy something, buy it online, put it in the basket but don't click purchase. Come back the next day before buying - avoids impulse purchases

Now that's a great tip. I've often tried to buy things online, gone to get my purse, got distracted and don't complete the purchase. I go in the site again a few weeks/ months later and find something in the basket that I'd forgotten all about!

[BornToFolk]

Another tip for cheap books is to check if your local library does book sales. My local big one seems to always have ex-library books on sale for next to nothing (25p for adult paperback, 10-15p for children's books)

[Badvoc]

E bay for kids clothes/sales. Have had some lovely stuff for ds2.
Re negotiate all your insurances etc...we saved £60 per month just doing that.
Get a cheap payg mobile. I am getting rid of my contract in a few weeks and hate my phone so sill steel it through mazuma mobile and use that to buy a new payg phone.
Buy toiletries and cleaning products when on offer. I'm not fussy so dont mind what brand I use.
Buy adult clothes in the sales/supermarkets.
Do not buy branded food (Heinz, Helmans etc) I also buy UHT milk. I prefer it and it lasts for ages and I never run out!
I don't rate lidl or aldi for food (other things, yes, but not food. Lack of choice for a start)
But I use ocado with a delivery pass which means I pay just over £1 for a delivery each week at my convenience. I then top up at the co op and try and buy food/items on offer.
I bake, and we have a bread maker.
I only use the car when I have to which cuts down on petrol costs.
Must use the library more.

[Badvoc]

I agree about the cinema...we wait til it comes onto cable.
For 4'of us it's stupidly expensive.

[BeaWheesht]

Am marking my place.

This isn't really a money saving one but if you have young kids don't be afraid to do a cheap holiday - local papers often do codes etc which you collect to get deals. It cost us about £150 for 4 of us in a nice caravan on a nice site for 4 nights. We went to one only an hour away to save petrol, kids didn't care. Swimming pool included as well as kids activities and vending entertainment. It's all very cheap and cheerful but my 6 and almost 3 year old couldn't care less.