Extreme penny pinching tips

[PennyPincher64]

Hello,

I need to reduce my outgoings and save as much as possible over the next 12 months or so I'm looking for every possible way to save money, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. I've looked at money saving expert and know about meal planning etc. and will be trying to buy second hand if we need anything but I'm really looking for the less obvious ways of making savings. Even if I won't be saving a massive amount I'd still be interested. Some of the less obvious ways I've come up with so far are unplugging all electrical appliances from the wall when not in use, shower with cold water and use the toilet before leaving work so I don't need it when I get home.

Also willing to hear about anything with a bit of an inital outlay that will save money longer term.

I bank with Halifax and use their save the change function. It rounds up whatever you spend on your debit card to the nearest pound and puts it into your savings account. It really adds up!

Shopping at Aldi helped me

I’ve read people cutting dishwasher tablets in two and lots of small changes on here.

Things like bar soap are cheaper and last longer than liquid soap. Use anything you keep and wash rather than bin. No kitchen towel, no

Find meals that use lentils or beans. Use dried beans and store cupboard food at least twice a week. Batch cook so the oven doesn’t get used. Grow herbs and veg.
Cook with potatoes.
Bake a cake rather than buy snacks and rubbish.

Sell anything you don’t use.

My biggest tip is rather than cutting cost see if you can increase what comes in. Tough right now, but worth bearing in mind.

There have been lots of threads on her though so read those.

Jack monroe recipes are good for cost saving cooking.

Four small things I have done in relation to shopping that add up over time:

1. I now have 2 meatless meals a week. Significant savings on more expensive meat, and also better for the planet. Usually healthier too.

2. on Sunday nights I usually have a “lost soup” or “lost omelette” or “lost pizza”, in which all the leftovers from the fridge go into (or on) the thing. It’s great to use up leftovers and the eggs or homemade pizza base is v cheap, so it’s a very cheap meal.

3. I am to do my food shopping every 8 days, not every 7. So my meals have to extend one day further (See above - the ‘lost soup/eggs/pizza). In doing this, every 7 weeks, I have a week where I haven’t been shopping and can save that money from my pay. I usually store it up for the bigger Christmas Food and drink shopping list.

4. the supermarket I go to has a rewards scheme. So I ONLY go to it, in order to get every little reward I can. I find this gives me the equivalent of 2 weeks grocery shopping a year. (If I had been to different supermarkets, it would have spread the reward about and none would be significant. Together they add up). I also check if there are any points deals or lower prices on things I don’t really care about, eg TP? Most brands are the same, if there is a deal on one, I get it. Other things I don’t compromise on. Again, I usually put this towards food and alcohol at Christmas meaning I don’t have to budget more at that time.

Thank you for the tips, some great stuff I hadn't thought of. Avsolutely love the idea of splitting the dishwasher tablets in 2. That was exactly the kind of obscure tip I was hoping for

Well if you’re really keen

I add a cup of lentils to meat dishes and soup too. Cheap bulking ingredients.

If you’re on a water metre: if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down - it’s an environmental thing really, but it saves money.
Brick in cistern too to reduced money flushed away.
Take a drought shower ie 1) get wet, turn off shower, 2) soap/shampoo 3) turn shower back on to rinse.
If you need to shave legs keep the plug in so you use the captures water to rinse the razor (or give up shaving to save on those too!)

Turn off radiators upstairs and add blankets to beds.

Don’t turn on the oven unless you’re filling it so bulk cooking. However slow cookers are cheaper to run.

Go to local ethnic shops to buy rice and spices. Much cheaper and often better.

Something I remember from MSE was people buying full fat milk and watering it down a bit to give the equivalent of semi-skimmed, but a bigger volume.

They also used to re-use tea bags but that sounded a bit more unpalatable!

Might seem really obvious
If you shop in store shop later if possible to see if there is anything reduced that can be frozen
Or
Try click and collect or home delivery so you aren't going into the shop and impulse buying.

Bar soap is cheaper
Washing powder is cheaper than pods and
you don't need as much washing powder as you might think.

buying things in bulk can be sooo much cheaper too.
I buy 84 pouches of wet cat food every 3 months (give or take a few days) for £20 instead of £5 for 8 pouches.

I re-use tea bags
It’s fine

I shop at Aldi

Pre lockdown, I shopped for mum at Morrison’s - was horrified at the cost difference.

Blow a few quid on a second-hand copy of the Tightwad Gazette. It’s dated, it’s American, and it’s extreme, but to help you get into the cost-cutting mindset it’s unbeatable - plus it’s a great read.

Why would anyone “blow a few quid” on a money saving book?!

Because you’re unlikely to be able to get it from the library, and it will pay for itself many times over. It’s a penny-pinching classic, and as I said before, a great read.

All penny pinching tips can be found for free.

Whatever

Why are you doing this? Is it because you HAVE to, or because you're trying to see how little you can live on? There was a poster a few weeks ago trying to live on a ridiculously small budget for food because she was saving for flight tickets or something - that's a very different scenario from being totally skint and needing to economise just to get through.

Reduced to clear is the best money saving tip in my house. My shopping today included a sheet of chilled puff pastry reduced from £1 to 15p, a pack of pork loin steaks reduced from £3.49 to 49p and an individual steak pie reduced from £1.25 to 14p.

See if you can buy from the wholesaler. Lots are selling to the public while restaurants are closed - much cheaper for lots of things.

Talking of toothpaste the cheapest toothpaste I've ever found is the Tesco own brand. 50p for 100ml. It's absolutely fine.

Best supermarkets for reduced prices at the end of the day are Asda and, funnily enough, Waitrose.

Only have meat once a week is my big saving.
Also don't wash clothes too frequently. Don't use a tumble dryer.

Buy things in bulk where you can eg
Oil
Rice
Lentils etc
Asian grocers often have v good deals

Definitely go veggie. Saved a fortune.
Currently we are only spending money on food.
Organise a second hand swap with friends.
Use local recycle sites on FB ETC.

Always remember the biggest way to save is to not buy something at all.

If you really think you need something (non food) write it down. If you still need it in 30 days, start to look around charity shops/second hand selling groups for it.

Only buy things that have been on your need list for 30 days or more. I often find I'm getting on quite well without the object I thought I needed and end up removing it from my list.

Washing powder - the man from Miele said you never need to use more than a tablespoon of washing powder. I get those huge boxes of powder when they're on special offer and keep a tablespoon measure in it. I do a lot of washing, but one of those boxes lasts about 8 months