Tell me ALL o fyou r best money saving tips. Every single one....

[ladytophamhatt]

On shopping, bills, household stuff, holidays.....

Best value/quality shopping listitems

you name it, I want the tips.

Asda sell chicken wings (about 24) for about £2-3 which a very meaty. I use them to make chicken stock and pick the meat off them.

I use some of the meat to make a chicken soup, and the freeze the rest to use in pies, rice or noodles dishes where you don't need 'nice' looking pieces of meat IYKWIM.

They are meaty enough if you to do somwthing like southern fried chicken.

Never buy drinks for kids when out for the day, take them with you.
I also never buy birthday cards, what a rip off, make them or recycle pictures kids do at school/nursery and turn into b'day cards.

Buying all christmas/birthday presents in sales or from ideas found on Moneysavingexpert or Hotukdeals throughout the year.

Buy in bulk any non-perishables eg loo rolls,bleach soap etc if a good offer spotted.

Buying as much as possible online using free delivery and discount codes.

Never paying to go to the cinema - always go
to free previews courtesy of seefilmfirst.

One of our favourite meals is what we refer to as "Dogs Dinner" - that is everything left over/lying around cooked and served up buffet style - usually stuff where theres maybe only one or two items left in the box in the freezer. Nobody seems to mind that certain stuff dosent really go together.

cook big portions and freeze, instead of ready meals

maybe a bit 80s but get a soda stream - we got one recently as we're addicted to fizzy water and felt bad about the plastic bottles. it is muuuuuch cheaper and can make fizzy drinks with it too, of course

buy value everything and as big a pack as you can afford of things like washing powder, fabric conditioner etc

buy a JML Doktor Power cleaning thing (woolworths, asda etc) - this cleans everything brilliantly and lasts absolutely ages

use coupons. I live in America where it is the norm for folk to use coupons all the time, and they are much more abundant than in the UK, but I'm sure you can find them.

I regularly save $20 or so on each shopping.

I have just signed up with this website to get the best deals. The USA seems quite good, haven't nosied around the UK one yet. Once you get into the habit of using them you can become addicted - the trick is not to buy things you don't actually need just because you're getting 50p off!

Brush off your bicycle and use it for local trips...I have seat on back for dd

Make own packed lunches for work ...

Cook in bulk and freeze ...

Make ready supply of soup ...

Use lots of pulses in cooking to 'stretch' casseroles etc...

Buy clothes in one or two colours (probably v. boring but most of my winter clothes for eg are brown or based around brown which allows me to add to collection each year and use items for much longer - also buy less because everything (accessories and shoes) goes with everything )

Get water filter and drink tap water instead of bottled

Buy good quality children's clothes in huge sizes - dd has been wearing one of her coats for 3.5 yrs!!

Buy Christmas presents (particularly toys) wrapping paper and cards in January sales (wish I could follow my own advice on this one!!)

Use Voipbuster to make phone calls - better than skype because can use phone2phone facility - don't need to be rooted to computer screen, can use ordinary land line

Look after clothes well. Store them well. Will last longer.

Be organised with birthday and Christmas presents (again need to follow my own advice here) so you don't end up "guilt" buying something more expensive because it's late ... also, inexpensive thoughtful gift much more appreciated than expensive last-minute buy

Grow own fruit (blackcurrants v. easy for eg) and make your own jam to give as presents

Dispense with "luxury" cleaning items ie things that are not totally necessary such as fabric softener. Use household white vinegar to clean everything - v. good for rinsing hair too!!

Make your own cleaning products (loads of websites provide details)

Buy bogoffs on things you use and that will keep (washing up liquid, washing powder, toiletries etc).

Sainsburys value rubber gloves and sanitary towels are fine.

(Can't bring myself to buy "value" food).

Use cash instead of debit card. Get cash out of atm and promise yourself not to use debit card for as long as you think cash SHOULD last.

Turn off heating 15 mins earlier at night and put it on 15 mins later in morning.

Do not wash every item of clothing every time it is worn (except undies, obviously).

Buy children's clothes in charity shops and ebay.

Never buy bottled water. Take drinks for children out with you.

Do not use a nappy sack for a disposable nappy that only has wee in it.

(scraping barrel now)

Take the exact amount of cash with you. Put one item back at the till if you are a bit over.

Take a snack as well as water bottles when you go out anywhere.

Only buy particular household items at sales time eg bed linen and towels

Get one of those pipe things that diverts rain water from gutters in to barrel and use it to water garden

Always buy fruit and veg (and some fish & meat eg game) in season

Write down every single thing you spend for a month - lord that was a shock ....but v worthwhile exercise

Always buy specialist sports equip or clothing (eg skiing gear, riding boots) from good quality second hand outlets (safety exception = helmets) ditto 'event' dresses that you might only wear once

Withdraw enough cash for week and only use that and no more .... if you save any put it in a jar for a rainy day

Have a gently-used toy swap among friends

Swap books among friends

Give up alcohol, sweets, bought puddings for six weeks and put money away for a rainy day ...

Oh now .. didn't mean to come across as brown-clothed lentil-weaver ....

house swaps for holidays

go with another family on holiday (pref friends with dc the same age as your dc) and save on transport costs and baby-sitting costs ...

Instead of expensive family days out to adventure parks or zoos etc join up with another family for picnic or treasure hunt in woods etc - just as much fun with a bit of imagination and forward planning ....

buy from ebay, u can get everything from ebay at lots less than retail price

kids clothes sell on ebay so dig them out get rid, make some money

do car boot sales

check out www.hotukdeals.co.uk, great offers on there!

make up big jugs of diluted juice and slice an orange or 2 pop in fridge and fill up cups for the kids to take out, rather than buying expensive bottles, etc.

i always take snacks on trips , to avoid rip of cafes.

buy cheap clothes from asda or tesco, they r great value.

I put all my coppers and 5p coins in a big jar. I cash it in at the bank in December and put it towards Christmas food.

I always try and buy Christmas cards in January. Got 4 packs of 10 for 60p each this year.

Always get cheap wrapping paper - it's only going to get ripped up and thrown away.

Have second class stamps on you and try and remember to post something in time to use 2nd class post.

You only need half the amount of washing powder it says on the packet. And I do all y washing at 30o.

I only ever wash my hair once. None of this "rinse and repeat".

If you fly in Europe often (my sister lives in France) book flights as soon as they come out.

Use your local library for books, dvds and cds.

For adults, buy good quality clothes once, rather than cheap clothes often. More environmentally sound too.

Check out Richer Sounds and Morgan Computers (google them) before buying any electronics.

Never go food shopping on an empty stomach!

I would imagine also that learning to knit and use a sewing machine, if you haven't already, could lead to lots of clothes-related savings (and would probably mean you get a better fit tbh, cheap clothes are always rubbish for that).

You can earn up to £4,000 tax-free for renting out a room in your home.

(cyteen, I'd agree re the sewing machine but knitting is a very expensive hobby! Wool always seems to cost more than the completed garment would in the shops)

Hehe, yes, now that you mention it I do know a couple of serious yarn addicts

Write a list of who you need to but xmas presents for (outside of your household) and through the year buy a couple each month from ebay or the sales and by Xmas you will have quite a stash.

Use the libraray dvd's and cd's a pound a week and free books and internet.

On days out try and go to free places like the museum and park also take a picnic.

Meal plan

Flannels for wipes

own cleaning products

I can vouch for the cleaning power of bicarbonate of soda, it removed all the black gruft from even my hideous, never-cleaned oven.

haven't read the entire thread, BUT

I've found I've spent less money since I've started using only cash to make purchases (unless online obviously).

Every time I've been out to the shops and bought something as soon as I get home all my 1's, 2's and 5's going into the piggy bank (done this since the 1st of January and have £6.40 in there so far!).

Buy the biggest packs/tins/boxes/packets of non-perishables that are available. Yes it'll make the odd shop appear more expensive, but you'll save a FORTUNE in the long run.

If you know anyone with a Macro card, or have one yourself, use it to the fullest. Things like tins of tomatoes, pet food etc. are much cheaper bought in bulk (my dad used to sort me out with pallets full of tinned goods every time I went back to uni).

Handknit clothes are not cheaper but well made they last FOR EVER.

Have just bought a half-pint little thermos flask in TKMaxx, am going to use it for taking coffee out with me to break my Costa Coffee addiction.

Am also going to get a 25kg sack of bread flour for the breadmaker (not all at once!)]

Use mooncup if not already doing it.