What are your best money saving tips?

[mamadiva]

Needing help Blardy credit crunch!

I find NOT going shopping helps (seriously!) For the last month I've been seriously cr*ppy about going shopping and we've saved loads AND used up loads of stuff from the freezer and cupboards that was going to go off!

Can't agree more with cluckyagain.

Also, plan meals so you don't but a thing more than you need.

buying milk and bread in bulk. The kids are on long life milk and bread is frozen. So I can limit shopping to once a week and don't find that quickly popping in to the supermarket results in a £30 bill. I buy most things in bulk.

I did my weekly shop online this week and used mysupermarket.com which is FAB and did my Tescos shop for £20 less this week (just me and my 3 year old at home)! I think I will defo do this every week from now on in, it saves browsing and getting carried away, and the swap and save function on the website is just brilliant. You can still have a good thorough look online before you decide to order and it really makes you think hard about how much the bill is totalling up to.

Also I don't eat meat which must surely help, and started cooking more with lentils which are delish, and I bought a bread maker which makes fabulous bread ....!! Even though I buy the expensive spelt flour it still is cheaper than shop bought bread and much healthier. Yum...

There is only one money saving tip that anyone ever needs, and it is really simple too:

Live within your means.

Rocket science it is not.

ok, this year like every year, i save up in a pot every £2 and 50p coin that either me or dh get in change. take um to the bank when ive got £20 or so, guess what, i now have just over £200 for christmas.

get those stamps from Tesco every time i go shopping and have a couple of spare £1 coins in my purse, now have £100 for christams food.

menu plan every week, make shopping list and stick to it.

make double food, freeze half in takaway pots. makes a quick meal a couple of times a week.

Dont go shopping unless really have to.
do cheepy shops, for toothpaste etc.

also, take sarnies to work, never ever buy from canteen at work, saves shed loads.

Not shopping. Use up what you already have in your cupboards / wardrobe / bathroom etc. Read the books in your bookcase, look at old films etc.

Don't buy any meals / drinks out at all.

Get rid of a car if you can.

Don't plan to be out shopping over lunchtime, then you won't spend £15 for some coffees and sandwiches in Cafe Nero .

I think 'slowing down' saves money - not just in the driving more slowly sense (that does save money!) but also in what you DO as a family.

The kids really won't suffer if they don't have endless after school drama/ music / sports clubs.

Send DH to the park with a football.
Use the free facilities (tennis courts/ parks)
Go on country walks rather than pay for 'days out' at over-priced family attractions.

Here are mine, for what they're worth (none very original):

• if you don't already take your own lunch to work, start;

• think seriously about taking your cards out of your wallet (with a credit card that you wouldn't normally spend on if you are going somewhere dire emergency might occur). That was you can't just buy a book/magazine/bottle of wine on the way home;

• Set aside a week where, other than bread and milk, you buy no food. You will be amazed what you can put together from your cupboards and freezer if you have the amount of stuff hanging around most people do;

• If you need to get milk in the week, pop to the shops with only approx the right cash. This stops the £30 impulse buy syndrome;

• Write down everything you spend. It's terrifying and makes you want to spend less!

There are also the bigger things like checking you are in the right council tax band, getting better insulation and bedding to cut heating costs, getting rid of a ('the' if in London) car, etc. What level of saving were you thinking?

get rid of the car
don't go into shops for just one thing like milk or a paper cos you will buy more!

take cash out at the beginning of the week and only use that and leave your debit/credit cards at home when going out....

go through your clothes and find you don't really need to buy more for yourself, dc, dh etc....

finally, DON'T GO OUT unless you really really need to.... as soon as i step out of the door i start spending money!!! crappy weather anyway invite playdates over....

If you have a dishwasher turn it off (you need to know how to reset it to do this) as it starts the drying cycle, it will dry anyway or open it to air dry more quickly. Only boil the amount of water you actually need in the kettle. Cook 2 meals worth at once, even if it's 2 lots of roast potatoes or something and reheat half the day oafter next or something. Basically use your oven to capacity.

Turned iron - quite expensive in terms of electricity