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Original poster

Top tips for doing things cheaply please

37 replies

nutcracker · 12/04/2006 19:12

I know we have had these threads before but am not in the mood to search so humour me.

Am already changing phone provider etc, but need any other tips anyone has that they think save them money.

TIA

OP posts:
NannyL · 12/04/2006 19:17

look at the aldi lidl threads and buy the recommended cheep things from there

make a meal planner, then shopping list of ingrediants and STICK to it

use shops own brands instead of big brands.... sure there another stuff on which tesco value stuff is actually ok!

NannyL · 12/04/2006 19:19

change gas and elec provider

if possinel in this nice weatehr line dry ratehr than tumble dry clothes

washable nappies and washable wipes

compo · 12/04/2006 19:20

mooncup... lol

Original poster
nutcracker · 12/04/2006 19:25

Not sure if i can change electric and gas but will check.

Don't use nappies anymore and am definatly never ever ever using a mooncup Grin

Meal planning is probably the biggest thing I could do cos i do buy stuff we don't need.

OP posts:
colditz · 12/04/2006 19:26

Base all your meals around the carb and the veg, not the protein.

for example.

You have potatoes and carrots already. Frozen Tesco Value protein source would go down fine, like white fish (I don't know what breed of fish, but it's white fillet, it can't be that bad), chicken portions, mince, etc

Belly pork is very nice if baked in the oven until crispy, and is cheap.

Cheese is a protein, so are eggs, and both are cheap. Omelette, home made chips, and peas. Macaroni cheese with frozen veg in it. those cheap 9p noodles, chuck the flavour sachet in the bin, cook the noodles, there's the carb, Tesco Value sausages, and carrot batons.

All these are very quick and easy! Buy cheap cuts of beef andf stew it, it tastes better anyway!

colditz · 12/04/2006 19:27

Put everything you make with loads of potato. Most of us eat too much protein anyway.

spacedonkey · 12/04/2006 19:27

Good tips colditz!

One of our fav dinners is baked potatoes with beans and cheese.

I noticed when I was veggie my food bill was definitely lower

Original poster
nutcracker · 12/04/2006 19:28

I have a slow cooker so already buy cheap meat to cook in there.

Am goign to bath Ds now but will return to see whats what Smile

OP posts:
Cristina7 · 12/04/2006 19:30

We recently went from 2 FT working parents to a self-employed one and one on 10-h a week. we also need some tips so I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. I'm gradually going through sainsbury's own brand stuff. Some are OK (e.g. kitchen towels, tomato tins). I've also been to charity shops yesterday and today and bought £30 worth of stuff. Somehow I don't think that's how you're supposed to do it. :)

moondog · 12/04/2006 19:30

Buy kids' clothes and toys in second hand shops.

popsycalindisguise · 12/04/2006 19:42

I was going to revive my economising thread as we have done LOADS!!!

Here is what I did:

  1. change phone to primus saver option 2 - free evening and weekend calls to uk landlines. Register with 1899.com for cheap daytime calls (3p connection charge then 0p per minute). Register with 18165.c0m - cheap mobile calls
  2. went on uswitch.com and got better gas and electric
  3. meal plan! set a budget for weekly shop based on the ingredients for 7 meals plus lunch things. Each person allowed to have one treat worth a set amount. have a small 'slush' fund for bread, milk etc through the week
  4. take packed lunches to work
  5. buy cheapest petrol we can find
  6. plan to get cheaper car, life and building and contents insurance when they come up in may
  7. plan cheaper meals and pad out with veg
  8. washable nappies and wipes (alreay using them()
popsycalindisguise · 12/04/2006 19:43

oh yes - started buying veg in aldi - way way cheaper

dh tries to cycle to work more often - and will do much more in the summer (if it arrives :))

popsycalindisguise · 12/04/2006 19:43

oh yes - have a sort out and get your stuff on eBay!! am in the throes of that at the moment

colditz · 12/04/2006 19:48

If you think about each food group you need to shove into a meal to get it nutritious (sort of) and balanced, then root in the stuff you already have instead of going to the shop, you will save money. It's a (not very funny!) standing joke in my house that I nip out for bread and milk, and it costs £20 and comes in 3 bags by the time I've finished.

So - Carbohydrate foods.

potato, pasta, noodles, rice, bread, couscous, porridge oats, bulgar wheat.

Protein foods - meat, poultry, fish (tinned oily fish can be pretty cheap, as is tinned tuna), eggs, cheese, lentils (yuk, personallyBlush), baked beans, seafood.

Vegetation - the obvious, but basic stuff like apples, pears, oranges, bananas, carrot, brocolli, cabbage and frozen veggies are cheaper than exotic stuff like stirfry mixes, mango, papaya etc. Salad also works out quite dear.

Fill your freezer with the proteins you want for the week, then just ad whatever carb and veg you want to it, whichever seems like a good idea at the time. You can bulk-buy pasta, noodles and stuff, and freeze bread, so if you have the space, you only need to go to the shop once a week. Especially if you can tolerate UHT milkWink

Cristina7 · 12/04/2006 20:21

Colditz - some good ideas there. And thank God someone else has pointed that "Salad also works out quite dear." Also, they atke a long time preparing. I've made one this evening and it's lovely but it was neither cheap nor quick, yet salads are often bandied about as the quick & easy option.

(BTW I made chickpeaS - OBVIOUSLY HAD TO BE SOAKED OVERNIGHT, SO NOT EXACTLY SPONTANEOUS - GREEN PEPPERS, TABASCO, CHILLI, oil - sorry for the caps.)

drosophila · 12/04/2006 20:32

Check out \link{www.moneysavingexpert.com\Moneysaving expert}

drosophila · 12/04/2006 20:34

Again\link{http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/\link}

Original poster
nutcracker · 12/04/2006 20:52

Thanks everyone thats a great help.

I think my food shopping is the most urgent thing I need to sort out as I also go in the shop for bread and milk and come out with bags full of stuff and it's the co-op which isn't cheap.

I need to meal plan, am not looking forward to it but i think it will save me quite a bit.

We have Aldi now so will start shopping there for as much as I can, and I must actually look in the cupboards before I go and see what we already have.

OP posts:
nikkie · 12/04/2006 21:50

Reduced to clear sections in the supermarket, in ours there is quite often whole chickens etc that you can freeze.

swedishmum · 12/04/2006 22:06

I really found online shopping helped cut down my bill but I'm not organised enough to do it every week. Having spent £150(not even week's shop) in Tesco tonight I'm tempted to try again though.

Dior · 12/04/2006 22:17

Don't get caught up in the BOGOF offers, unless they are for things that you would buy anyway. Tesco often do BOGOFs on beans and tinned tomatoes, and that's when I stock up big style!

Janh · 12/04/2006 22:22

Which phone provider, nutty? The best are \link{http://www.1899.com/\1899.com} for landlines (3p a call for as long as you want to talk) and \link{http://www.18185.co.uk/index2.php\18185.com} for mobiles (5p a min weekdays, 2p a min weekends), 0870 etc and abroad.

Don't go with Sky or TalkTalk or any of those which charge you by the month, 1899 and 18185 are way cheaper. You do have to dial the code each time but it's so worth it!

Janh · 12/04/2006 22:23

Tesco is best for petrol - cheap and clubcard points.

CountessDracula · 12/04/2006 22:23

lwhat is 18165.com? Can;t find it and would like cheap mobile calls

Janh · 12/04/2006 22:24

(Have you got a car? You mentioned that Laguna the other day, were you selling or buying?)