Because I feel a bit bad about having a go at winegoddess when she was genuine and having other issues to deal with, I thought we could do this thread, share our best tips for saving money, and then whenever someone asks about how to cope or says they are struggling financially, we can link to it.
So.
Food
All fruit, veg, pasta, rice and many dairy products can be bought at Aldi and they are just as good as the stuff in Sainsbury's, but cheaper.
For all meat, wait until Friday evening or a Saturday and then JUST buy meat from the supermarket. This is when they mark things down so you can stock up and freeze stuff.
Use cheap cuts for casseroles, curries, pasta dishes, pies etc. You can do loads of things with sausages! And buy bacon, it goes with practically anything and if you haven't got much meat, you can add bacon for extra meaty flavour. Make more than you need too and put some into pots for lunches. (great for jacket spuds)
Go vegetarian once a week. It's healthy and saves you buying meat for that day.
Buy more meat than you need. It's cheaper buying in bulk and you can halve it and freeze the rest.
Holidays
Book your holidays during half terms, you'll get cheap deals and if you go abroad, you might find that your half term falls within the first week of their low season. Premier Inn also do really good mid-week deals, so you can spend a few days in Edinburgh for as little as £15 per night.
Clothes
Ebay Ebay Ebay. I now get my kids feet measure in Clarks, and then buy the same shoes off Ebay. I recently got dd a pair of brand new Hush Puppies, her size and width, for £12.
Likewise if you have spare clothes, sell them. Next and Gap stuff sells really quickly, as does anything with a label.
Car Boot
Have one. You probably have loads of unwanted stuff and if you got it all together you could make a good car boot with it all. You can hundreds doing this. Don't ever think that someone won't want that crappy vase your mil gave you, it's amazing the stuff that people collect and they all go to car boots!
Make-Up.
Go to a counter in, say, Boots, have a look at the products and a chat with the lady about what you like etc. Then ask the price and make a face, say it's very expensive and you'd really like to try it first. They have bags of samples under the counter and she'll probably offer you these. Do this at a few stores and you have enough to last you months.
Going Out.
If you go out anywhere, take drinks bottles for the kids. Pubs charge a fortune for drinks, as do restaurants. If you bring your own you'll save at least a fiver on kids drinks alone. And we've never yet been told off. If you're buying drinks from the pub/restaurant then they don't really care what your kids are drinking.
Gifts
Enter competitions. I've won more from Mumsnet than I've ever done in my life! Recently got £25 of Amazon vouchers for taking part in a discussion about freeview. So that'll pay for ds's main present.
Stop playing the lottery. Some people spend five pounds a week on tickets or scratch cards - even if you do win you'll only win back what you've spent. It's a one in 25 million chance - give up! Save that money instead and treat yourselves to a nice meal every month.
Anyone got any more?