An Avalanche of Austerity for April - Mumsnet frugaleers continue!

[MissAnnersleyismyhero]

Thought I'd start a new thread for April

NSD. I'll read through properly later, but just to say welcome back to Helenagrace.

Welcome back helenagrace

I will get thinking re my top frugal tips!

3.60 om two goose eggs. Never had them before. Going to take them to my mum's as me, DS and my bro are heading there tomorrow.

3 top tips:

1. Get cash out for the week for shopping and spends. Once it goes it goes. Any left over goes in a money tin for emergency/fun.

1. Never buy clothes full price. (Sign up to your favourite shops' email so you get email alerts of sales.)

1. Haggle. For phone packages/interest rates/insurance. Also MOT and service. Also big ticket items like beds, technology, sofas etc. - both in independent shops and major chains. No shame, me.

Thanks fluffy!!

Here are mine but there more like frugal philosophies rather than tips.

My top tips (in addition to those already said):

1. Think of money earned as time spent away from the people and things you love doing. (I enjoy my work but in practice, if I needed less money I could spend more time with DS or my friends or doing hobbies)

1. Educate yourself. Learn from Martin Lewis, etc. How financial services work and commercial tricks, etc. to level the playing field between people in the business of getting you to give them money and you.

1. Take pride in outsmarting the advertisers and retailers. I work in a related area and know that they spend a lot of effort in trying to get your attention for the things they want you to buy - attractive packaging, things at eye-level, putting basics deep in the shop so you're more likely to buy other things. Take pride in not being a "typical shopper" walk the other way round the shop - start at the back right corner - look at every shelf to compare prices, become blind to all advertising (bus stops, papers, TV, in-store promotions).

Zoggs?

NK5BM3 you will not be disappointed with your dishwasher - I have only had one in recent years too, and was amazed at how clean everything was when washed in it. I agree with using the powder as it is a lot cheaper than buying tablets. Mine takes about an hour and a half on a cycle but that includes drying. You will probably find you only need to put it on once a day so will be saving on the hot water you would have used to wash up.

Thanks Fanta! Really excited about it!

My three tips/philosophies:

1. Pay cc off every month (I realise not everyone can but that's the biggest cost!)
2. Buy stuff you 'need' when the sales are on. By this I mean if say Sainsburys is having a 25% off in tu clothing and you know you'll need socks or new pjs or whatever anyway just get them then. Dh didn't get that. He does now.
3. Buy children's presents in bulk during sales or if you are walking past the works or those cheap bookshops.

Plus also shop in Aldi etc.

Question about electricity : is it really true that it's cheaper to use electrics during the evening? If so then we can use the dw at night!

Only if you have cheap rate electric at night. Some do, some don't. If you check your electric bill it should say if you have night rate.

I don't run the wm or dw overnight due to fire risks.

I get two hours cheap electric in the afternoon not sure what I'd do without it!

I know it's not quite end of month but all April bills are out. We're £200 under budget, minus the £60 we were over in jan and £20 march (feb was equal) that's a spare £120 to go into our holiday spending money fund. We haven't been very frugal and have used the bill acct to go out to lunch etc a few times so we've only managed it as we got two weeks rent free over Easter. All in all I'm happy with that. If we can start back at zero in our new bank account rather than minus we should be able to keep on top of things.

1. If you don't need it, it isn't a bargain no matter how cheap it is.
2. Buy items like dishwasher tablets/washing powder etc. in bulk when on Special offer. DH stocked up on dishwasher tablets about a year ago when on buy one get one free in cash and carry.
3. Buying something you don't like because it is cheap is a false economy. Better to spend a little more to get something you like.

1-work all your big bills out to amount per paycheck needed eg my car tax is due in 26 weeks so I need to put away €710/26 each week to pay it.
2-save gift cards & use in sales getting better value for your free money
3-if you've put on extra for dinner take extra portions out & free at serving time rather than leave on the hob for greedy males to take a second & third helping!!

£268 in credit with electric. I'm going to call them tomorrow and get £250 back to go into holiday spending money

They can lower the DD if your that much in credit.

I did consider that fluffy but it's been a mild winter hasn't it? We've got shitty storage heaters. Plus I think our fixed rate might be coming to an end this year

Ok, my three pennies worth! Btw, these are 'do as I say, not as I do' and things I need to get better at myself!

1. learn to say 'no'. Coffee and cake, weekends away, take-away when cba!
2. check bank balance, budgeting tool, spreadsheets every day - be in control!
3. do sweat the small stuff. Walk instead of bus, blankets rather than heating, veggie over meat. Every little does help.

1. Go old school. Buy a spin dryer, fit draught excluders on the doors, put thick door curtains up, fit thermal curtain liners, close the curtains at night to keep the heat in, buy high tog duvets, keep doors shut, turn off what isn't being used at the plug, put the regulation 27cm loft lagging in the loft, lag the pipes and hot water tank, put a thermal top and leggings under your clothes, heat the rooms you use all the time like the kitchen and lounge but switch the bedroom and bathrooms off until you need them. People did this sort of thing years ago because it worked. Somewhere it went out of fashion, probably because its boring and mundane, but it works.

2. Think about what your doing, can it be done cheaper? If a bulb goes dont replace it with a cfl, buy an LED equivalent. Research what your buying, how much electric will it use? How much water? Which cycle is the cheapest to run? Is it the Eco or the quick wash?, which tv uses the least electric? Is the food you want cheaper in the ethnic aisle than the dried pulse/rice aisle? Is it cheaper for you to put an older relative on the car insurance? Do you need to use that much powder in the wash? Can you cut it by a third and still get the same results? Do you need the powdered stain removers? Isn't it just concentrated bio powder sold to boost non-bio powders cleaning power?. Question everything like a child who's going through the "why?" Phase.

3. Don't be complacent. Don't accept the first quote/renewal on insurance, keep the packaged bank account that you don't need anymore, the magazine you subscribed to but don't have time to read now, the gym you never go to anymore, the service plan that will eventually cost more than the item insures (like Dh's insurance on the tv .

You've already done all my favourite tips so I had to think hard to come up with that.

Adoras not been back. I think she might have actually done it this time.

Gifts can run away with your money particularly if you have children's birthdays etc to buy for - I shop in Tesco sometimes and there is always a reduced section upstairs hidden away (silly really as you would think they would want it to sell, but anyway) and I have got some really good bargains - lots of stationery bits, craft sets and stuff like that. Also look in the seasonal aisle after Christmas for reduced wrapping paper and cards.

Have been wracking my brains for tips but most of the ones I've learnt recently have been from you lovely people!

However ones that my aunt has bestowed upon me recently are:

1. Don't waste anything- even fruit that isn't looking it's best goes it's making something else & things can be stretched further for more meals with basics like pasta & frozen veg chucked in.
2. she also buys on a Tesco credit card earning extra points, always takes her own bags for extra points & this is basically how she has afforded days out/ weekends away for her & 3 DC.
3. my own although quite obvious would be shopping around for things, the best deal, the best price.

Also not sure if any of you are on Facebook but I recently joined a group called Fill my family on a budget. Some great ideas on there also amazing to see what people have bought in the supermarket that's reduced that they are then going to freeze/ do something else with

Mine are probably all to baby minded, but being a first time soon mom, I have been trying hard to get my baby the stuff I wanted but for the price I as willing to pay

1. Check FB for local area mama site for second hand things, charity sales ect. I have been to a couple of charity sales in churches and seriously bought clothes for 10 % of the value price. Clothes that is in very good shape, some even with tags on still. A good wash and they are as new.

Bonus is if its a charity sale, that your money is even going to good cases, in my case orphan homes in Tibet.

1. Buy bits and pieces for the baby over several months, then the budget is not suffering all to much on a monthly basis and you can search for good deals.
2. If you dont ask, you dont know. A lot of brand stuff, eg. prams, tripp trapp ect cost the same in every store, so in my world, I will ask for a discount, voucher ect in order for me to put my money in that store, otherwise I can take my purchase to another store.

We saved, I think, around 33 % in total just by asking.

Italian another baby tip I saw on another thread was to keep the tags on clothes and then once the baby is here and you know what fits and what will not get much wear, you can exchange the extra things for the next size up.