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Original poster

Right money saving tips/ideas!!!

27 replies

staceym11 · 03/07/2006 14:06

Right we've just brought (well we own 35%) of our first home, we have a 20 month old dd and a new baby due in Nov.

Our average income is about 1200, to keep the house running and food in our bellies it is costing about 1150-1300 a month. the only real extravagence we have is sky which is being paid for by extra money i make from being an Avon Rep.

I need all of your help to try and cut our living costs. I will list the things i do to help reduce outgoings already:

heating is on minimum, we have a water saving flush on toilet, share baths except dd but she has less than a 1/4 of a bath, i try not to waste any food and buy a lot of value stuff.

all tips welcome!

OP posts:
Munz · 03/07/2006 14:07

menu plan, look for cheapest energy/BB/phone supplier.

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 03/07/2006 14:10

sell un-wanted baby stuff on ebay - and buy on ebay too if it's got stuff you want. check out NCT sales / school fairs for baby stuff / toys / books - generally some excellent quality stuff for very little money; eat less meat - cook some veggie meals with pulses and beans

Roo77 · 03/07/2006 14:12

Cancel Sky and use the money to go towards your monthly bills that are essential. You don't really need it.

Munz · 03/07/2006 14:12

one I see actually on bank of mum and dad, if u gotta run the tap b4 the hot water come in save the cold in a jug and use it for juice/the kettle, also have the kettle half full- saves energy as well

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 03/07/2006 14:13

I would add - make sure you've got the best mortgage deal you can, as it's generally most people's biggest outgoing, but I assume that as you've only just bought that's not relevant - but keep an eye put over the next couple of years. Another thing you might consider (my mum does this and swears by it - but it requires discipline) is pay for everything on a credit card, that gives one month interest free, then pay it off in total every month - your income sits in the bank for a month earning a bit of interest, then you pay off your cresit card before they charge you any interest.

jessicaandrebeccasmummy · 03/07/2006 14:14

second the value goods.

Fors the first month we have switched and we have saved over £50 on our big monthly shop.

I am also keeping a cash book - a little red book available from your post office or stationer and marking down exactly what i am spending. That way i can see where i am wasting money and cut back.... it amazing how jsut that bottle of water or chocolate bar while out adds up!

jamsambam · 03/07/2006 14:17

do the rounds of all your direct debits/standing orders and check you are paying the right amounts, this can in the long run, save alot in overpaying if you are only doing the minimum amount.
something i do as well is ask all the family not to get me presents but to get me vouchers or put into a holiday fund so i can go away every few years..sounds silly but all those £10 on smellies etc soon add up. oh and make sure family pay into your child isa when new babay arrives, ask them to also consider £5 for the oldest too!

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 03/07/2006 14:17

ano ther water-saving tip - if you have a garden - (I'm diong this now, as in SE with hose pipe ban) - I keep a jug under the tap, so when I wash my hands it catches all the water that would otherwise go down the drain, which I then use to water the plants (not much good for anything else, but fine for the garden)

Munz · 03/07/2006 14:25

I get meat/veg from the butchers/market for the veg, it works out better quality and cheaper. agree with the pulses thingy as well, and fish.

if u look in the recipes there's prob loads of cheap meal ideas about.

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 03/07/2006 14:33

can you tell I'm bored?? One food thing I'm always stunned at is the cost of ham. buy a joint of gammon and roast it yourself - it's lovely hot and keeps you in sandwiches for several days/

Original poster
staceym11 · 03/07/2006 14:36

right do a lot of that, get our veg and fruit from farmers market, dont have a garden, only ever use kettle on minimum as only dp drinks tea.

really wanna keep the sky but we dont buy dvds anymore just rent etc.

mortgage we could only get one provider due to low income and part buy part renting, but will be looking to switch in 5 years when fixed rate is up.

will be finding out what the next baby is on scan tomo so can get rid of all the girls stuff if its a boy and not buy anything if its a girl.

dd gets given a lot from friends etc and have allotted £20 a month for her nappies/clothes/wipes/days out so theres not a lot i can save there.

iv thought of meal planning but am really bad at it, but our weekly shop costs about £30 for the three of us which i think isnt too bad.

i also pay all the bills by Direct Debit so that knocks off a few quid of each of them!

OP posts:
Original poster
staceym11 · 03/07/2006 14:38

cant do the fish as am allergic but we dont always eat meat, although dp does like it, me and dd eat a lot of veggie stuff, a pack of chops (ten i think) will last over a month in our freezer so i dont think the £10 spent on that is too bad.

OP posts:
SleepyJess · 03/07/2006 14:41

this thread may help

Original poster
staceym11 · 03/07/2006 15:15

am reading and is v. helpful

am not sure theres a lot we can do, we are managing and not going hungry or cold (not possible atm) but am keeping the payments on energy the same so can build up a buffer for the winter, will look at it next year and see if it is too much.

the sky is a luxury and if we cant afford it we'll cancel it but for now it will be staying. just wondered if anyone had any more ideas!

OP posts:
withoutfundsandscared · 03/07/2006 15:21

Pay cards, etc. in full each month.

Turn lights off.

Turn heating off completely.

Buy all your clothes in Primark and toiletries in Wilko.

Cooking from scratch is good value and healthy but if you are really trying to cut back, live on cheap package crap as this is the cheapest way. It should not be, but it is.

Can you tell I am bitter?

nicnack2 · 03/07/2006 15:23

put a pound a day away. you wont miss a pound but you would miss 30 pounds taken straight out of your months pay

Munz · 03/07/2006 15:31

key meters?

how about free view? u can get good packages on that. or NTL instead of sky for the BB tv and phone.

Original poster
staceym11 · 03/07/2006 16:45

we cant get NTL or telewest, dotn run near us.

i buy bulk potatoes etc. dont need clothes (maternity ones atm but got plenty for afterwards in vacuum bags) and dd gets 2nd hand or primark/peacocks.

we dont use a lot of lights, if we'r not in a room the lights arent on, our heating is set at 10 degrees atm so wont come on at all.

i generally buy toiletries from avon as can do it on my commision and they have brill deals!

OP posts:
Original poster
staceym11 · 03/07/2006 16:47

we'v also got freeview in the bedroom rather than 2 sky boxes.

dont think key meter would do much good, got really cheap supply, dual supply and pay dd so that keeps things down!

OP posts:
Blu · 03/07/2006 16:51

hatwoman - your gammon and water jug tips are ones that I will employ!
(we're not on a meter, but I don't like wasting water)

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 03/07/2006 17:06

blu - I read recently that water with low levels of soap/detergent in it is fine for the garden - which made me realise that the vast majority of water that goes down the drain could actually go on the garden. Now I'm no engineer but I really don;t think it would be rocket science (or remotely expensive) to have diverters and storage tanks for this water. (In fact I believe you can get them, but haven't got so far as investigating) If I could think of a way of making sure I didn;t let it overflow I'd just unscrew the pipes and stick a bucket under the sink! surely it's the kind of thing that could be done as standard on new houses. (the dievrters and tanks, not the buckets under the sink)

MrsFogi · 03/07/2006 17:41

If you haven't done so already join the boots parents club + sign up at pampers and huggies that way you'll get sent lots of vouchers so you'll never need to pay full price for nappies. Don't use wipes at home just go for water - this will cut down on the number of packets you need to buy. But your biggest saving would be to get rid of sky and rediscover books or whatever freeview has to offer.

alicemama · 03/07/2006 17:46

washing up water is fine for the garden and if it goes onto the leaves of your plants or prize tomatoes, it'll keep greenfly off

teacakes · 03/07/2006 18:07

Try this site, loads of ideas
\link{http://www.moneysavingexpert.com}

It also mentions using Tesco vouchers outside of Tesco. I got DH a whole year of dry cleaning this way - yipeee.

nikkie · 03/07/2006 20:12

If you threaten to leave sky they will offer you special deals (longer you um and ah the cheaper they get )

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