Share your top frugal hacks here..

[PollyShelbyLifeCoachServices]

Credit crunch and MSE old school money saving have taught me so much about how not to waste my hard earned cash, at times all the lovely posters have provided meal plans and inspiration to make ends meet. From watering down the milk to using yellow stickered goods in your freezer, let's go beyond switching energy suppliers, transferring credit cards and moving your money around all the banks...anyone care to share their best finds at Aldi or their favourite frugal hack (no judgements here).... I ask in a light hearted and kind way, this thread has potential to help people...

I have a couple of silk tops I picked up in the charity shop that aren’t to my taste but make excellent light but toasty underwear.
I also have a woolly band kidney-warmer that I can wear under a jumper for extra warmth without feeling restricted by another layer.
Wearing a hat helps keep warm. I quite like tucking a hot water bottle behind my back when I’m sitting working.

Close curtains and blinds at dusk, and shut doors. Block up chimneys when fire isn’t on.

Many things work just as well cut in half, or using half the amount.

I’m a fan of rubbish meals (more because I’m perverse than actual frugality) e.g. soup made from pasta/rice water and the off cuts of veg like mushroom stalks or asparagus trimmings (that are perfectly good but cut off so all the stalks are same size). Stock thrills me because it comes from nothing all, and I love nettles in stir fries.

A small amount of leftovers added to something else can make a nice meal - pasta bulks out an omelette nicely, a spoon of chili as a topping on a baked potato, etc.

Chop a mars bar in pieces, and pop in the freezer. It takes much longer to eat than scoffing a bar at room temperature.

Sliced bananas frozen and then whizzed through the blender makes ice cream. Great way to use up very ripe bananas, dc happy to get ice cream and mum happy to feed them fruit

With kids clothes, knee length dresses become mini dresses, long leggings become cropped leggings and out-grown leggings can be chopped to make knee bands to extend the life of current leggings! Trousers become shorts, long sleeve tops can become t-shirts.

If you’re handy with a needle, buy bigger sizes in a nice girl’s dress and when the first one is out grown, cut it down into a doll’s dress. Dolly and me type outfits are massively pricey and you’ll have a matching set for years for nothing at all.

Saturday soup: all the leftover veg, odd bits of mash potato, passata, half tins of chickpea, bits of leftover chicken all blended into a soup.

I make a huge casserole, once we're sick of eating it I freeze it and then take it for lunch. Saves money and is healthy.

If the oven is on I cook at least two things - and I always throw some jacket potatoes in there for lunches.

Make coffee at work.

I look in the cupboard and make a meal out of it - i.e pearl barley, rather than shopping for me food.

Freeze black bananas, make banana bread with them, it really improves the flavour.

Not possible for everyone but I work somewhere where there are very few opportunities to buy stuff - not many cafes, no shops etc. You're forced to take lunch with you, so it's cheaper.

I only eat veg in season. Not because I'm air miles conscious, because i'm cheap!

Possibly a stupid question, but when you freeze bananas is it with the skin still on or without the skin? We seem to throw out a fair few overripe bananas and I would like to try this. I am particularly fascinated by the banana ice cream idea

I freeze skin on to use later for banana bread.
But for ice cream, slice thinly first and spread out on parchment and cover. Freeze for about an hour and use within a day or two. You have to eat the ice cream immediately. It’s very creamy and lovely but it doesn’t store or last well.
Hth

Ann Thanks

fab thread, many thanks op

I went to Morrison's yesterday and spent £25 on a huge amount of food. I bought from their 'wonky veg' range - carrots, parsnips, red onions, peppers and cauliflower. All much cheaper than the standard veg and all absolutely fine. In fact I can't work out what is 'wonky' about most of them!
I also went to their 'world foods' aisle and bought tins of chickpeas and kidney beans - cheaper than their old brand tins on the tinned vegetables aisle. Also some 2kg bags of split peas, brown lentils (which are like puy lentils) and red lentils. I use these to make curries, spiced dhal, soups and stews. Again the world food aisle pulses were considerably cheaper than buying their old brand alternatives.

I've already made lentil soup using onions, carrots and the brown lentils, (plus garlic and stock) and for dinner tonight will be making a stir fry using onions and peppers (and some of last week's leftover garlic, mushrooms and cabbage) to have with egg fried rice. Delicious!

So my tip - look around your supermarket, check out their world food aisle and don't overlook fruit and veg that isn't as pretty as the rest!