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Housekeeping

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Original poster

SHARE YOUR MONEY SAVING TIPS HERE A STRICTLY NEED TO KNOW BASIS!

30 replies

allthegearnoidea · 23/10/2007 22:48

Are there any chnages you've made recently in your household that have helped you save the pennies? DH gone back to college and we need to make savings wherever poss, so any suggestions you thrifty lot?

OP posts:
Original poster
allthegearnoidea · 23/10/2007 22:59

bump

OP posts:
Katymac · 23/10/2007 23:04

I send DH shopping as he only buys what is on the list - saves me a fortune

expatinscotland · 23/10/2007 23:06

my tip is putting on a jumper with a top underneath before putting on the heat.

the other is leftovers.

i am the master of disgusing them!

and my fav way of doing this is to put leftovers in the food processor and blitz them down, make a gravy, then make pasties out of them.

Pekkala · 23/10/2007 23:13

I'm in the same boat - back to a student budget after 10 years of earning good money!
Two things -

  • Sign up to Quidco.com - it's a site that gives you cashback on loads of stuff - this year we have saved over £300 on household and car insurance alone.
  • Look at moneysavingexpert.co.uk - there's loads of advice on how to save money by choosing the right suppliers of utilities etc, and also 'thrift' advice on how to cut down your weekly spending.
Flibbertyjibbet · 23/10/2007 23:16

everytime you think of buying something, multiply the price by how often you would buy it during the time he is studying (3 years?). So a magazine for £3 once a month becomes £108.
And suddenly its an outrageous amount to spend on something frivolous!

Having to cut back a lot for a good reason like study is very good purse training for when he is earning again too

bookwormmum · 23/10/2007 23:23

Read the news online instead of buying a daily paper at 35-70p a day (depending what you read). Could save upto £20 a month like that or just buy the weekend papers which tend to have all the news in anyway.

grannyslippers · 23/10/2007 23:25

shop at Netto Aldi or Lidl - that's what we did when I was doing my masters. Abandon pretensions re: quality of food!

TheEvilDediderata · 24/10/2007 00:28

Charity shops for everything inedible. Your clothes, his clothes, toys and books. If you're a reader, and you currently buy books, join the library.

Getting thrifty can be good fun ... it almost becomes addictive. Write down exactly what you want to spend in a week, and allow for a minimum of £10.00 saved from joint income.

And if there's anything on your direct debits that you can live without, then live without it.

cat64 · 24/10/2007 00:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

lispy · 24/10/2007 02:37

THis sounds really anal but I wrote on little bits of paper that i keep in my purse weekly dinner meals that all require using up left overs and ingredients from the other meals then when grocery shopping i know what i have to get for the week ( i hate starting something but realising i don't have an ingredient). THat's the theory. Some weeks I don't bother and we get takeaway a lot but when I do do it we save heaps. It took me a little bit to do it initially but it was worth it.

twentypence · 24/10/2007 04:46

Don't go to the shops. I'm not being glib - it's just if I go to a mall I end up buying lots of "bargains."

If I really don't want to spend I go to the local supermarket, which only has a post office and library near it - so cuts down on impulse purchases. I think the UK equivalent would be to go to Aldi or Lidl - because these tend to be stand alone, and avoid tesco extras!

AussieSim · 24/10/2007 04:55

Shop at Aldi. Always have snacks and drinks with you for the kids. For larger purchases always ask if that is their best price. Forget about exxy holidays. For bigger projects always collect a few quotes and ask your friends and neighbours to refer people they have dealt with. Do your budget and cashflow and then cut out the obvious stuff. Cable tele, takeaway food, brand new books, cleaner, lawn mower, ironing/drycleaner, entertain at home rather than going to the pub. Walk or take public transport instead of using the car (cut down from 2 to 1 car if you can). Colour your hair at home, sell stuff on ebay that you don't need anymore.

I had to cut back last year when we bought our house - crisis is now over thank god - but I went back to work for 7mths. It sure was a learning experience ...

bookwormmum · 24/10/2007 12:07

Get your dh to sell on his textbooks when he's done - either through college or on Amazon.

WideWebWitch · 24/10/2007 12:10

Yep

switch gas and electricity
shop around for insurance
buy own brand shampoo etc (43p shampoo is FINE)
cook from scratch, always, freeze stuff
stop fritttering, i.e. coffees/magazines/outings
get all debt onto 0% if pos
really THINK about everything you buy and whether you need it
analyse your expenditure and look at where you can cut down
don't eat out or do takeaways
do free stuff - lbraries/museums

DavidTennantsMistress · 24/10/2007 12:12

main things i've been doing since being alone is budgeting properly.

expats tips are good- more blankets on the bed, and a jumper instead of heating. also a nice hot drink as well.

shop at lidls if you can and look for deals on meats - I get mine from the butcher but do a huge batch and then keep half frozen and eat some. also don't buy cakes biscuit etc I've stopped with those do fancy one but literally buy only one.

also ebay if you can I think that's good.

for college books see if your college does a shop for the used text books might be worht a look. or local bookshops sometimes have text books as well

flowerybeanbag · 24/10/2007 12:12

Do internet shopping from a list of usuals rather than going to the shop - we save loads this way. When DH goes to the supermarket he comes back with all sorts of cakes and various things that we 'need'. If we do a shop on the internet we just buy what we actually need.

bookwormmum · 24/10/2007 12:30

Also try and get dh's textbooks from libraries - often they carry current editions but so few people think to check them for FE/HE courses. You can renew the books for as long as you need them. Sometimes you only want a book for a term.

perpetualworrier · 24/10/2007 12:37

My Dad who is fantasically generous, but very very "careful", always says you can only spend it once. So if it's £1 or £50 once it's gone it's gone.

I think the easiest way to save is not to spend the £1's. My kids know that there's no way I'm going to buy a £1.20 ice-cream at the park, when we can buy a box full at Lidl for the same price. I always have drinks and snacks with me when we go out. If you don't the money you spend on those can often be more than the cost of the day out and you've nothing to show for it.

I also never, ever buy comics, mags or pocket money type toys - my children just don't expect it. They don't go without, they just know I won't spend money on tat.

Lidl is great, loads cheaper and better quality than the mainstream supermarkets IMO.

saltire · 24/10/2007 12:42

I shop online, even with delivery it's still cheaper.
I have a couple of thick cashmere throws (they are M&S seconds, the place MIL works for helps with the maufacture of them and any seconds they get to buy cheap, very cheap) on my sofas, which we often wrap ourselves up in when its cooler
DH takes his lunch with him, often a flask of homemade soup, DSes have packed lunch
I always take a couple of cartons of juice and crisps or a choccie biscuit or a banana in my bag as a snack for the DSes if we gou out for the day.
I joined the libaray because I read a lot, and it saves me spending in the bookshop

saltire · 24/10/2007 12:44

Also don't go to the shops unless you have to. I go to the corner shop with 40p most days for my Daily Ranger - which DH likes to read since we can't get the Scotsman.
On odd days I will need bread or milk and will only take what I neeed

bookwormmum · 24/10/2007 12:47

Use second class post - it gets there just as quick as first - which is all a bit of a gamble these days anyway.

saltire · 24/10/2007 12:49

Or try this www.readitswapit.co.uk/TheLibrary.aspx. Someone linked on it on here once before and I joined, haven't actually listed any books yet, but I will

Original poster
allthegearnoidea · 24/10/2007 14:04

went to bed after posting and only just logged back on now, thanks for all your suggestions, am doing lots already was good to hear i'm doing the right things, lidl/aldi is my next food shop though!

OP posts:
AnybodyHomeMcFly · 24/10/2007 19:09

Try freecycle before you buy any household objects / furniture.

Also, to be seasonal, I just made four meals out of one pumpkin! Soup on day one which used half of it and then on day two I roasted the rest in chunks and added it to pasta, risotto etc. It only cost £2 but could be even cheaper after Hallowe'en.

I second what others have said about multiplying things to work out what they cost you a year. Moneysaving expert website has a special calculator for just this purpose.

3Ddonut · 24/10/2007 19:32

we're in a terrible mess financially and do waste a lot, my only tip to add to these is to be a sensible shopper, buy your kids summer clothes for next year in the sales now, buy your seasonal stuff just after the season, so halloween stuff in Nov etc and if you see a pressie that someone would love and it's reasonable but not their birthday for months buy it now. We also stock pile kids birthday cards, we buy from home bargains (not sure if this is just a Northern shop, shame if it is) as their cards are 29p each and saves running out on the day of the party and spending £1 something on a card.