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

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My main tip is to think twice about buying ANYTHING - Is it really an essential? Do you need those new clothes / shoes? Do the kids really need that latest toys / gadget? NOT buying something is the biggest saving rather than buying something in the sale / at half price / on offer if you could actually manage without it in the first place.

For essentials - shopping around and being willing to switch brands or to own brand for things like food can save lots too.

Online food shop against a meal plan... Means those BOGOF offers don't sneak their way into my trolley. The meal plan is also on a shared drive between me and my husband. Whilst he never looks at it, it means that I can easily login and make amendments from any device... say if our dinner plans change, so we waste less food.

Stock up when things are on offer... mostly with cleaning products (shower spray, bleach, washing tablets, dishwasher tabs). And the better deals (half price pasta sauces, etc).

Cashback... I wish I'd jumped on the bandwagon years ago. Recently signed up online and I reckon we'll get around £30 per year back in Amazon vouchers (we're not big spenders). We also get cashback on our credit card and current account.

Points... we're pretty loyal and collect points for our xmas shop.

Plan ahead... I buy 99% of DS's clothing in the half price sales and set aside for the following year. I do the same with Xmas gifts - buying when I see them on offer - and store. I take a photo of each item and 'pin' to a private Pinterest board, so I can see at a glance what I've already bought / what I need to get / what matches (not that he cares!)

Not really thrifty, but more financial planning... Put aside a set amount each month for 'emergency' expenditure and for a gift fund. Every year we work out who we need to buy presents for x what the budget is pp and then divide that by 12. This money - £55, we have a small family - then gets set aside each month into a separate bank account. When we have gifts to buy, we dip into it.

Supermarket brands sometimes can be even better than big ones!

We always make sure we have the best interest bank account, reviewing it regularly. Regularly checking energy prices and other bills for the best deal, monitoring finances with a spreadsheet each month. Anything left in the bank the day before payday gets put into savings.

If you buy organic or good quality meat, then buying it from a butcher rather than a supermarket can save loads. Supermarket meat looks cheaper on the face of it, because it contains more water than butcher shop meat. If you work out the price per 100g of cooked meat, butcher's meat is much cheaper. I've done the comparison on more than one butcher, and their meat was much cheaper. You can also get free bones to make stock with, which can save you £££ on buying meat. We also use the fat on the free bones for cooking with.

Eating liver or organ meats regularly is not only one of the best things you can do nutritionally, it's one of the very cheapest ways to eat meat, and because its so high in nutrients you don't need to eat as much of it as you would of muscle meat.

Don't buy snacks and drinks when your out apart from occasionally for a special treat. It always suprises me how many people see buying meal deals for lunch everyday as normal!

Cleansing/Make-up removal wipes, I keep them in an airtight tub because you don't always need a whole one! They tear very easily and a strip, about one third of a wipe, is ample to remove eye make-up. I also keep a few cotton buds in the same tub so that they are moistened and are ideal for those little dabs of mascara that end up in the wrong place!

Give charity shops a chance

• Don't be a brand snob. Shop around and try own branded products.
• Reduce waste. Plan well and don't buy too much fresh food in advance.
• Use common sense with sell by/use by dates. Many products are still fine when they are just out of date, but get thrown away unnecessarily.
• Shop later in the evening to pick up reduced bargains and freeze them for future use.
• Don't be fooled by marketing hype or special offers. They are not always what they seem. The price may be lower, but is it the same size? Check the price per g or ml on the shelf label.
• Bulk buy everyday items you always use when they are on offer, such as toilet rolls and washing powder.
• Juggle meals with more expensive ingredients with basics such as pasta or rice based dishes.
• Don't spend money on branded clothes for kids, unless they can be handed down. They grow out of them too quickly.
• If you have a big family like us, for days out it is often cheaper to get an annual membership, like National Trust.
• Have bank cards which give you cash back on purchases.
• Collect points on supermarket, Nectar cards etc. Use the vouchers carefully.
• Pick up free supermarket magazines, which usually contain vouchers, as well as good recipe ideas.
• when your car, home, holiday insurance or mortgage deal runs out, do not automatically renew it. Always shop around for the best deal!
• Consider switching service providers for gas, electricity, phone, broadband etc.
• If the expense of Sky TV is too high, buy a Freeview box. It pays for itself in a couple of months, then is totally free!!
• Shower instead of bathing to keep your water bills lower.

I find planning our meals and sticking to the shopping list for that meal plan really helps to save money on the shopping bill.
Also, I buy all my cleaning products, bin bags, dish cloths etc from Aldi!

Keep swapping super markets because then they will send you vouchers for money off to make you come back!

We visit the supermarkets @ 5 - 6 pm when the stores reduce the prices on items and usually get bread for 10p a loaf . Good for the freezer and excellent joints of meat , ready meal. etc. etc.

Shop around and use discounters, especially for shampoos and toiletries as supermarkets are so expensive. I also put £1 each day into a separate compartment in my purse, swapping for notes as soon as I have £5, £10 etc. I hardly notice it going but it soon adds up and I use it for children related things such as school trips, presents for friends/teachers etc- all the things that are hard to budget for and seem to make me feel the pinch every time I have to shell out for them.

Only buy what is on my shopping list - don't get tempted by offers. I make a meal plan for the week compile my shopping list from that and off I go. I have a few different savings accounts and I put a regular amount in each month - one for holidays, one for kids expenditure (so I always have money when it comes to school uniform time etc & for their birthdays) and one general savings account so I can treat us from time to time. Shop around when I do need to make a significant purchase and try and get the best deal. Always look for vouchers/offers when we are planning days out/trips to places.

I go to the supermarket in the evening and stock the freezer up with reduced price meals. I save loads and we eat really well!

I'll buy almost anything secondhand and haunt tkmaxx as well. Particularly for household items and furniture.

Know how to alter, mend and customise. I've just painted my old pine bedside cabinets in grey chalk paint with clear oiled tops, they came out way better than expected for maybe £30.

Before buying anything online google the item to make sure you have the cheapest place then the online shop name and 'discount code', you'll often get 10 percwnt off or free delivery

Compare prices online and use a cashback site. I also look for coupons and vouchers online.

You can't beat a good list when shopping and also a spreadsheet to keep track of your outgoings.

I use price comparison sites to check out the cheapest deals around

I use MySupermarket to check offers and stock up on products we use when they are offer. Toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, tinned goods, cereals etc. can be bought in bulk - this saves a lot of money. We take picnics on days out. I bake all our cakes and buns due to family allergies - this makes glutenfree/milkfree items very much cheaper than store bought especially when batch baked and frozen.

We bring hot chocolate in a flask when we go out for a walk as a family, saves £10 on hot chocolates in a coffee shop.
We also have packed lunches when we go out for the day!

We always take a picnic, flasks, drinks and snacks on days out as this saves a fortune at usually overpriced food and drink at attractions, but always buy the children an ice cream at the end of the day if they deserve it

I tend visit supermarkets after 7pm when they are reducing a lot of the fresh breads and cakes. I freeze the bread and then use it at a looter date x

I save 20% of my earnings each month into an ISA account