Money saving tips thread

[doodledoodudu]

I am trying to be extremely careful with our money to see how much I can save up before Christmas but I just don't seem to be getting anywhere. Any advice or tips with food shopping/anything shopping or anything money related in general would be so very much appreciated!!

If you buy the top brands of food, move down to store's own or economy brands, some you might not like so much, but others will seem very similar to what you usually eat.

Add lentils/chickpeas/beans to any stews or soups to make them go further, so that you can buy less meat, but still have a well fed family.

If it is that tight, forget tatmas. You need six months living expenses first.

Try to think of things cumulatively when you're tempted.

So if you regularly do something that costs 'just' £1, say, a daily chocolate bar, think of it instead as £30/month.

Of course you can't cut everything out, we need some treats, but try to cut out a few small things that cumulatively add up over time. Finding yourself using the word 'only' ("it's only £3") is a good sign it might be one of those things!

Buy a large ketchup online or elsewhere. We used to spend a fortune on Heinz ketchup then we bought a burger van size one and it lasted four months

You can buy 60 toilet rolls from groupon for much cheaper than the supermarket

Buy cleaning products from b&m

Order you meat from muscle food

Go to your local supermarket after 6pm the bread is often reduced to pennies. Buy lots and freeze

Before you buy anything, ask yourself is it a Need or a Want, only buy the Needs!!

Buy as much as you can from Aldi and Lidl if you have one locally. Or if you shop in big supermarkets, learn what things are often on offer and never pay full price - toiletries, cleaning products, tinned tomatoes, pet food etc.

Never eat in a chain restaurant without using a voucher.

If you have Sky, cancel it and get Now TV and Freeview/Freesat.

Go through the Moneysavingexpert money make over to systematically reduce all your bills as much as possible. Also do a proper budget to see how much spare money you have. Aim to save for emergencies and annual expenses before saving to spend a lot at Christmas. Have a minimalist Christmas - many people buy far too much and waste loads.

This is a good time of the year for foraging - plums, and not long before blackberries and Apple's too. If you have a garden grow things like carrots beetroot potatoes and tomatoes - will save money and taste lovely :-)
I also keep hens they eat our scraps and if you have fresh eggs you always have a ready meal.
Use an Ecoegg for laundry to save ££££ on detergent. Use bars of soap instead of liquid soap.
Sell stuff you dont need e.g. on eBay.

If you or your partner work, ask for a pay rise. If they say no, ask what you need to do to get one.

Get your CV up to date and work on moving up the greasy pole.

You can't exercise away a bad diet, you can't economise away from low pay, try and address that.

Good luck

Are you buying anything that isn't exactly necassery? And are you spending cash or on a card?

Also, why Christmas? specialsubject is right, a safety net for the family is much more important than a bloody great excersise in How to Ruin A Family's Finances Christmas.

And YY to climbing the greasy pole of employment in anyway you can.