Peachy Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Following on from the credit crunch thread, I thought it would be a good idea for us all to share our money saving ideas. Here's mine.... - Going to the weekly market for our fruit and veg. It's much fresher, lasts for longer, tastes nicer and is MUCH cheaper than the supermarkets. - Swapping Tesco for Lidl (or Aldi) regularly. Their food is just as good, if not better on occasions. - Buying rice and pasta in bulk. - If it can be made instead of bought, then give it a go. Bread for example. My breadmaker is now back in action. - It's still not too late to grow your own. Salads leaves are really easy to grow and don't need much space. We have strawberries, cherry tomatoes and chillis in hanging baskets. - Have a space for storing bulk items. We have put a shelving unit in the garage and now buy bigger packs of things and more of them. It saves in fuel to get to the supermarket, as well as being cheaper. - Never miss a BOGOF offer if it's something you use. If you don't need it now, you will at some point. - If you have a multi-cultural area near you, visit it. The food in asian supermarkets, for example, is authentic and usually much much cheaper. Spices and sauces are sooooo cheap. For anyone closeby, Cowley Road in Oxford is brilliant! Others please.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yena Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Always go shopping with OH and Son and leave your purse at home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murtle Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Write lists of things you need to do/purchase and try and do them in go instead of to-ing and fro-ing to the shops/town. Use food before they go off, and if you don't think you can use them cook and freeze them. If you've got the oven on, see if there is something else you can cook in there to make the most of it i.e. a lasagne that you can then freeze. Only have the hot water on for as long as necessary. Our shower doesn't go through the hot water so we have it on for a very limited time. uhm, sure there are other things.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobleronie Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Find out at your local supermarket what is their change over day for food, my OH gleamed from Sainsbury's its a Thursday so he now goes shopping there later in the evening and follows the lady with the reduced gun round the store Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nettie Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 I'm with Peachy on the local market, we go to Wimbledon market on a Sunday morning for fruit, veggies and meat, much cheaper than Sainsburys. When you do go shopping, make a list and stick to it. When using the car get all your jobs/chores done in one run. Dry your washing outside, don't use the tumble dryer on a sunny dry day (dryers use a huge amount of energy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yena Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Dont' stick to certain brands, buy what's on offer If the BOGOFF offer is that good, buy extra Go for the 33% or 50% extra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted June 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Find out at your local supermarket what is their change over day for food, my OH gleamed from Sainsbury's its a Thursday so he now goes shopping there later in the evening and follows the lady with the reduced gun round the store I'm liking this one!! We regularly check the reduced items, even if it's only one item a week it all helps to stock up the freezer. Must start to follow people round the store though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesB Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Great thread Peachy I'm busy doing stuff like reviewing our insurance policies - house, car etc, and checking we are getting the best deal on TV/phone/broadband (I didn't realise we could downgrade our broadband speed and get it a bit cheaper ). I've just changed my mobile package too so that's save a few quid. Also looked at my direct debits and cancelled a couple of magazine subscriptions. Have re-set the central heating controls to minimum, checked the washing machine and dishwasher are on 'minimum/eco' cycles automatically. And I'm getting a washing line/whirlygig thing (even though I hate them and they make me feel funny) rather than drying stuff on the radiators/clothes horse. I applied for a cashback credit card and put as much monthly expenditure as I can (diesel, shopping etc) on my credit card and then pay it off in one go at the end of the month to get the cashback deal. Using the monthly statement o add up what I spend on day to day stuff hasn't half concentrated my mind on where the money is going. I go on the moneysavingexpert.com forum a lot too, it's a great site for info, coupons, discounts, cheap recipes etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKYSIAN Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Major major one.....join Freecycle!! It's amazing what you can get for nothing. Also if you have an allotment nearby, pop down one early evening and have a chat, alot of the people there have excess produce and will happily either sell it to you or swap for something they want (ie other types of plants or vegi's). Keep an eye on Lidl's for example next week at my local one all fruit and veg are half price, I'll make sure I stock up and freeze. (Also the horse will be a very happy boy!! ) Farm Foods are fab for offers, but watch the best before dates! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudi Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Don't buy dogs balls made of foam...they don't last very long Make your own liver treats instead of buying them - someone I met at the Wiccaweys working trials day told me to cook liver sprinkled in garlic granules (not garlic salt) in the oven until it was done, chop it up, then cook it again for a while on a low heat, then turn off the oven and leave the liver overnight. It goes dry but not too hard and makes fab treats for about £0.60 - less if you get the liver when it's been marked down. Make spaghetti bolognese without the meat, it's just as nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safneo Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 I always buy stuff that is on offer, even if I dont need it that week, and vary brands if something else is on offer. My tip is to leave OH and daughter at home when going shopping as it is done much cheaper (and quicker) Also, I put the washer/dishwasher on at night (well OH does when he comes to bed) Going camping with the dogs saves on expensive holidays and kennelling and we get lots of exercise too. Take advantage of offers on mobile packages. On O2 I can type in a code to get a free 'prize' each month in my case I choose extra texts as does my daughter. I am definately going to ring round this year to get cheaper insurance quotes for my car. Usually I just go with the same insurance. Also, going to look at transferring my credit card balance to a lower/zero interest rate one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collies r best Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 (edited) A well known one.. always eat before you go shopping then you dont fill the trolley up with junk because you're hungry. Presents.. visit charity shops or car boot sales, its amazing the brand new items at really cheap prices. You can also get books rather than buying new. Make your own cakes etc . If you have small animals buy square bales of hay from farmers rather than packets of hay from shops, its much cheaper. Another freecycler here as well, i've had some beautiful things off there. This might seem daft but really is saving a lot each week. I only put tinned cat food down of an evening, that way it gets eaten instead of sitting in a bowl all day getting hot and smelly and covered in flies!! Dried food stays down all day. Feed rabbits etc plenty of greens , grass ,thistles etc as its cuts down on the amount of dried food they eat. You can ask neighbours to save peelings for you. Shop throughout the year for christmas,even if you buy one item a week and put it aside it soon mounts up. I also buy saving stamps weekly then christmas isn't such a big expense. Edited June 20, 2008 by collies r best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudi Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Is there some way of using Freecycle that doesn't involve the incredibly tedious Yahoo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 A few websites that can help you save when buying http://www.offeroftheday.co.uk/ http://www.grabitnow.com/ I got a free pack of AA batteries the other day (no postage either!) http://www.madaboutbargains.co.uk/ http://www.hotukdeals.com/?pagenumber=2&page=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nettie Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Have re-set the central heating controls to minimum, checked the washing machine and dishwasher are on 'minimum/eco' cycles automatically. And I'm getting a washing line/whirlygig thing (even though I hate them and they make me feel funny) rather than drying stuff on the radiators/clothes horse. I bought a whirlygig, didn't like them much at all but I love mine now. We have a very small garden and so I put the whirlygig pole through the hole in the garden table and then into the parasol stand so it doesn't take up much room. I bought a cover for it and when its not used I collapse it and put it away, works perfectly and you can get tons of stuff on it. I used to find I was doing a wash a day as I only had a clothes horse indoors and didn't have enough drying room, now a wash dries in a couple of hours max and you can fit at least 3 washes on the line at one time. Isn't it sad when you can get excited about a rotary washing line! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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