How to be frugal? Any good tips?

[wiggletastic]

My DH is not working at the moment and we are trying to cut down on expenses until he gets another job (hopefully soon!). We are trying to use up food we have in the freezer/cupboards and have cut out treats like lunch out/coffee etc. We are not buying any new clothes/cds/books or anything else unnecessary. Has anyone got other good tips on saving cash?

1: join freecycle - a treasure trove of free stuff on your doorstep
2: even a plain old walk is more fun with another family - take a picnic (even if it's cold, flasks of hot choc, soup etc)
3: Have a clothes swap party with friends (can do children's clothes/books/accessories whatever)
4: Find out when your fave supermarket regularly reduces stuff - we got a fantastic joint of beef for a fiver last weekend - it fed 5 people for sunday sinner then 4 people on monday)

Stick to a budget when you go food shopping and only take the exact amount of cash you have budgeted for.

Pad meals out with cheap items like spuds and water down other meals with tinned tomatoes to make them go further.

Buy groceries in budget supermarkets.

Use natural products for cleaning such as baking powder, citric acid, hot soapy water, lemon and vinegar. some ideas here

HTH

look at what goes out of your account each month.... can you make any savings...

do you menu plan... I think this saves me an awful lot...

can you sell anything on ebay....

hth

Plan your meals and buy only what you need to make them. If a meal features rice and you buy a big bag, make sure you plan rice dishes in future meals iyswim.

Switch off unnecessary lights.
Dry your hair naturally- to see how much this saves, plug the hairdryer in near the meter, switch it on and watch the meter spin round....

Aldi and Lidl really are cheaper, the food's good and they do do things like free range eggs.

Unless you live in the middle of the nowhere, walk more than drive. Remember when you used to walk or cycle for miles as a teenager to see friends, well....

Invest in a sewing machine if you don't have one, make do and mend, transform old stuff like trousers into skirts etc (some investment in a book on how to dress make may be required).

If you are a gym member, drop it and run outdoors (lethal ice permitting).

Make your own spray detergent with 1 part white vinegar, 2 parts water and a splosh of washing up liquid. It lasts ages and can be used on most surfaces.

ensure you are getting the best mortgage/gas/elec/phone/broadband deal. Stop using your mobile and get rid of the contract - go PAYG

I'm rubbish at links but here goes.
This is a great website and this thread is all about being frugal.

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=33

also cheapest house & contents insurance, check all your statements/bills and look for anything that can be cut down on or stopped.

Library is a great resource, also any local toy library.

I recommend a fab website called www.moneysavingexpert.com you can ask absoltutely anything to do with money or family etc... and there is always people willing to help! - perhaps cut bills etc...

Also when you do make purchases on ebay or anywhere online join www.quidco.com I got £30 this month just by clicking through their website when making purchases online.

Also an obvious one! Sell all your old clothes/toys/other bits on here or ebay

My other advice is already here by other people!

It is hard but you get by
Good luck with him getting a new job

If you aren't already, have a good look at your phone bill/mobile phone bill. Understandably, we've got into a culture of using the phone whenever we need to when in ye olden days if you were out you'd have to find a phone box or wait til you got home.

I remember my mum doing this when I was young... houskeeping money. That is take your housekeeping money out of the bank every week and only spend that. You will be amazed how much more you think about spending money when you have it in your hand, plus it stops you going over budget.

We are in a similar situation atm, except it's because I had to give up work to look after ds.
One thing that has really helped with our spending is meal planning. Now we are spending on average £20-£30 a wk on groceries rather than the absurd amount we used to. I also cook things like lentils/ chickpeas etc that I never used to as they are cheap and bulk food out. Websites like www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/ are quite informative. I now freeze everything that isn't used if possible.

I've also cancelled sky which has two benefits - I'm saving a bit each month and they keep trying to get me back by knocking the price down and down, so eventually may take it up again.

Shop around for your phone/internet. If you have a contract mobile you could switch to a payg. Think O2 were doing free sims if you top up £15 each month you get free calls and texts. I know mine is a really old sim and I top up £10 a month and get 500 free texts a months. Works out far cheaper for me than a contract as I barely use it.

Good luck

I definately recommend meal planning as well. I used to spend about £150 a week on food but now i make a meal plan for the week and buy on line (less risk of temptation to wander over to clothes department). My food bill is now down to £50 per week.

Also - with washing powder - put half soda crystals (v.cheap about 60p for a kilo in tesco/asda) half washing tablet/powder. I also now use the stuff to clean bathrooms/floors etc - really good at removing grime - much better that specifically bought cleaners.

Go through your direct debits - change insurances etc www.moneysupermarket.com is a good comparison site!

Speak to your mobile phone company - I asked them if they could reduce my tariff if I didn't take up their offer of a free phone at the end of my contract. They said ok and reduced it by £10 per month so now I pay £12 a month on contract with lots of free airtime and texts.

Check out the webside www.entitledto.co.uk to see if you are entitled to extra tax credits etc.

If any birthdays come up in the family - get the kids to make homemade cards (loads of people in our family - I used to spend at least a tenner a month on cards!).

Packed lunches are a real money saver - although we keep forgetting to make them! Or make extra food the previous night that you can take a bit extra to reheat the next day for lunch.

Excellent tips girls! I think meal planning is something we have to try as our shopping bill is horrendous! I used to just buy whatever I fancied without checking the price but now check everything and can't believe the difference between really similar stuff. Shop own brands are great and 2for1s etc. We have cut back on everything else and cancelled stuff we don't need although not Sky as DH really thinks he can't live without it. I did the 'don't need a new phone' thing with 02 and they halved my contract cost which was great. Still get lots of minutes and texts. Will try some of the other ideas and see how much more we can save.

Keep a track on how much you spend every day for a month - this will help you pinpoint any unnecessary expenditure

Mollyroger thanks for the freecycle tip. I got a bumbo chair for dd today and she seems to really like it. We had wanted to get her one but felt it was too expensive incase she didn't like it. Also, have got a high chair free from my friends aunt. It seems to pay to ask around (if you are cheeky enough like me!)

Aldi is ace, most of the food is good, they do a decent selection and it is way cheaper than Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury etc. Obviously they won't have everything you need but it's still good. Pound shop's and places like B and M bargains are good for toiletries and household cleaning products. Join Tesco and boots parenting clubs and you get vouchers for nappies and wipes etc. I always take a shopping list (I am an OCD list maker anyway) and don't buy crap I don't need.
My mates that have had babies are always offering their babies old stuff to us (they are always dying to get rid of it cos they don't have enough room to store it), ask your friends if they have any stuff going spare.
Primark is good for kids and adults clothes, they have some good designs and cos they don't cost a fortune you can stay in trend without feeling guilt if it goes out of fashion. Peacocks also have some nice stuff that is very reasonable too.