What are your thrifty money-saving tips? Share with Scottish Friendly to win a £300 voucher NOW CLOSED

[AmeliaMumsnet]

Scottish Friendly are launching the Great British Savings Challenge to encourage people to think about their saving habits and financial security. For young people in the future, saving for a financially secure family is going to get tougher, so Scottish Friendly want to encourage a positive discussion on the subject, by asking you for your top thrifty money-saving tips.

Here’s what Scottish Friendly have to say: ‘The Great British Savings Challenge will follow 2 families from across the UK spanning a range of family and financial circumstances. Each family will take on a series of challenges; ranging from only using cash for a month to see if they keep track of expenditure more closely, to swapping the brand they buy at the supermarket.

Each family will produce blogs and vlogs each month to be hosted on the Scottish Friendly website. Readers will able to keep track of their progress, the problems each family faces along the way and how they work through these.’

So, whether you put aside percentage of your wages, or just rifle around the sofa cushions every few months for small change.. Maybe you plan all of your lunchtime packed lunches to avoid expensive coffee shop sandwiches or have a cheaper home-made alternative to branded cleaning products.. Share your top thrifty tips for saving money on the thread below and you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 voucher of your choice (from a list).

For another chance to win, add your money saving tips to Scottish Friendly's Facebook post to be entered into a prize draw for a £10 gift card.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Budget budget budget... and once the boring bit is done, shop around. It pays to bulk buy when items are on offer

I empty my purse daily of any 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p and 20p coins - I have a huge jar where I save them and my husband also put the same coins in when he has change. Its surprising how fast it fills up and how much we save - I've just emptied it as we are going on holiday soon and there was over £200 in it that we've saved since last May.

I do most of my grocery shopping online to avoid impulse buys. I set a weekly budget and try to plan meals in advance. I always buy expensive items like coffee, dishwasher tablets etc when on offer.

Change gas and electricity suppliers regularly, look for a new insurance provider each year (especially motoring insurance - loyalty does not pay!) and use a cashback website (I like Quidco best)

I shop at Aldi, it has saved me a fortune .... obviously you can't get everything there but the core things like meat/veg/fruit/cheese can be bought for much less. I also try to list what I am going to eat for each night and only buy the ingredients for that, otherwise I get waylaid by impulse buys.

If I am buying a particular item other than groceries, or a large grocery item, I google it to see whether there are any offers, what the lowest price is or whether there is an applicable cashback offer or voucher code.

I had a baby in January and was made redundant last month so I've become Martin Lewis overnight!! So far I've shopped around and reduced my mortgage payments; gas and electricty bills. When I shop online I ensure I go via Quidco or Topcashback (whoever has the best rate). As for food shopping I look online to find out whats on offer and stock up. I have no loyalty to brands. My other half if having home made breakfast and packed lunches for work. If I have any veg left at the end of the week I make soup out of it so have reduced my food waste loads. If I have any £2 coins I put them in my daughter's piggy bank. I have been terrible with money when I was younger, and I want to bring her up to save and be sensible with her money.
I would make a £300 voucher last us a few months :)

Particularly with small children I buy clothes out of season. So I bought the winter coats for next year in the sale this year. It's saved us a lot of money already

I use cash on a day to day basis and find that it's so much harder to part with then simply handing over your card. It makes the purchase feel more real and definitely stops me spending so much

Cash back websites and a reward credit or debit card for every single purchase you can. I hate buying something that I can't get something back on!

We have DDs for an ISA which we have paid into for years.

We are also very good at zero waste shopping and have 1 night a week where we eat leftovers. Lots of soup and curries cover much of our odd bits of food and make it yummy again.

DH is good at checking bills / deals etc.

Kids get £50 a month and this covers all clothes, phone, pocket money, everything except school lunches. They both have part time jobs too so their "costs" are fixed.

Reducing food waste really does save money. Quite often we will have a meal from assorted leftovers, maybe with fresh veg or salad. Sometimes those random meals are surprisingly nice! Also, save money by taking food and drink when out for the day - a little bit of forethought can save pounds.

The most important tool that I use is my excel spreadsheet that has all my incomings and outgoings each month so that I can see exactly how much money we have in the future as the balance in my account today isn't actually what is available to spend. I am constantly updating it as I spend so that I can see what is actually 'spare'.

A duvet and blanket over the back of the sofa means we can cut a good month off having the heating on, and keep the house a couple of degrees cooler, as everyone snuggles under a warm duvet instead of whacking the thermostat up.
Overpaying the mortgage with half of DH's raise each year means we've paid it off 10 years early.
A handful of lentils in any mince meal makes it go much further.
Growing our own fruit and veg saves loads of money and means it's fresh and local.
We forage for fruit in local woodland, it's free, keeps kids entertained, and makes fruit an adventure!

Same as PPs when I was a SAHM I was an Aldi shopper and batch cook queen. And I learned to shop as rarely as possible.

I bought fruit for the week and ate them in order of shelf life. So strawberries at the beginning of the week, melon and pineapple later and apples at the end. Fresh bread at the beginning of the week then ready-to-bale at the end of the week. Milk for now and more in the freezer.

I packed lunches for DH and did home made soups.

DH got petrol at Tesco so we got vouchers for days out and then always took our own lunch and snacks. We did have a coffee or hot chocolate and a cake sometimes though as it was something I knew they'd finish.

HOWEVER I've now gone back to work and I'm knackered at the end of the day. I work alternate Saturdays so everything has to be done on the Sunday. So batch cooking has gone, as has a packed lunch. DC have school dinners and I shop at the nearest supermarket on my way home. Food bills have skyrocketed and are swallowing some of the financial gains from working. Makes you wonder!

Shop around. If I'm interested in buying something, I'm prepared to wait to see if there is a discount code to be found. Buy reduced food and either stick it in the freezer or turn it into a soup.

I go to the local recycling centre and pick up baskets and pots I can plant flowers in. Then I give them to friends and family for birthday presents. Sometimes I will give them as a present in return for help they have given me. It saves me lots in terms of money and helps with goodwill!

I don't buy leading brands anymore unless they are on offer, the own brands are just as good. I also buy in bulk when the items I know I'll need are on offer, the non perishables like toothpaste. I also try to hit the shops when they have their yellow stickers on so I can get some bargains

We save all our small change into a jar towards Xmas, I also use coupons in supermarkets, surprising how much you can save, and always buy what is on offer, but it has to be a good offer

keep old t-shirts and towels and cut up to use as cleaning cloths for dirty jobs, then bin them.

I try to avoid buying things that I don't need. I will treat myself occasionally but don't often buy new clothes for example, unless I need them. Charity shops are always good too, and helps reduce the waste caused by our throwaway society. I also try to save some money each month. When I get paid I put some money into my online saver account and give myself a certain amount to spend each month. If I need a bit more I will take some out of the savings that I put in, but I find that better than just leaving it in my account and saving what I haven't spent at the end of the month.

We holiday at Haven caravan parks (or similar ones), and book direct with the owners (there are several websites if you google "book holiday caravan direct").

You still have to pay for the entertainment passes on top if you want them, but still save money, especially in peak season and have the advantage of selecting the exact location of your caravan eg with sea views.

Plan meals out and write a shopping list, cook from scratch and use the freezer for any left overs for another meal.

i make packed lunches and freeze alot of bakery items to use later saves a fortune

I make bulk batches of healthy meals and freeze them so we always have homemade soups/ dinners etc ready to go. This means I can save on going to Pret at lunchtime.
I store up all my loyalty points - Nectar, Tesco, Boots etc throughout the year and then use them for Christmas presents.
I save up a small amount each month - one into my ISA and one into an emergency easy access fund. Anything in the emergency fund at the end of the year again goes towards Christmas.

I don't drive but my friend drives me home from work. Every evening she drives my via the local, small supermarket and there are always 'stickered' foods. In all fairness they tend to be really good items.