Small things you do to save money

[Thrifty_NinjaUK]

Hi

Love the ideas, thanks for posting. Here are the little things that we have done, that have made a big difference:

Use a slow cooker, for curries, chillies, spag Bol,stews, casseroles etc. and keep enough back to put on a baked potato for lunch the following day.
Take the heating off the timer, and only put on when we actually feel cold
I buy whole chickens, or legs and thighs. Loads cheaper than breast.
I buy loo rolls and dishwasher tabs in bulk from Groupon goods
I have bought an electricity monitor, so that the kids can actually 'see' how much it costs to leave things on. This has really motivated them.
I have popped a Shower timer in the bathroom, so that we get five showers from each tank of hot water.

 

[Jon]

Have never heard of buying bog roll or dishwasher tablets through group on

Will keep an eye open

 

[424blue]

Old-fashioned term for sewing up a hole! It was right on my big toe so got really uncomfortable as the hole was cutting off the circulation to my toe! They're my favourite dog walking socks so they get a daily battering. I do wear shoes as well lol ;D

This did make me laugh but know where you are coming from. I use to throw away a lots of things but now I mend what ever I can before buying new. It is funny how a change of income changes what you do and the way that you think. I might be living on the bread line but I am actually really happy and I wasn't when I earned loads of money, I was just stressed all the time!

Oh yes and Tesco own brand of food is really good. I got a curry yesterday for 95p and it was far nicer than well known brands.

 

[Jon]

I think people take to these sort of ways of saving money because it offers them a good level of control.

Sometimes bills rise or we get an unexpected amount of money that needs paying and we have no control over them.

But here you can make a saving by fixing things yourself it gives you a chance to both feel good and save money.

My example is last week the oven element broke. We rang round a few appliance repair companies and they wanted £40-£65 to come out and fit a new element.

So I did some googleing and watched a few YouTube videos on how to change the element on our brand of oven and ordered a replacement off Amazon for £6.75!!

Fitted it myself with my iPad next to me playing the YouTube video and hey presto, house hasn't blown up and I have saved a ton of money.

 

[The Funky Blue Dog]

That is so true about YouTube and being able to fix things yourself.

There are some real techie sites that show you how to fix mobile phones and tablets too and you can get all the parts you need online. I suppose you have to weigh up the time factor, ie are you better off fixing things yourself, or spending that time earning the money to pay somebody else to do it?

 

[The Funky Blue Dog]

Old-fashioned term for sewing up a hole! It was right on my big toe so got really uncomfortable as the hole was cutting off the circulation to my toe! They're my favourite dog walking socks so they get a daily battering. I do wear shoes as well lol ;D

This did make me laugh but know where you are coming from. I use to throw away a lots of things but now I mend what ever I can before buying new. It is funny how a change of income changes what you do and the way that you think. I might be living on the bread line but I am actually really happy and I wasn't when I earned loads of money, I was just stressed all the time!

Oh yes and Tesco own brand of food is really good. I got a curry yesterday for 95p and it was far nicer than well known brands.

Sadly I had to admit defeat with my fave socks and I haven't found a decent replacement yet

I know exactly what you mean about the way you live when on a low income - weirdly it can be a happy place . Maybe it is something to do with taking control like Jon says

TheThriftyNinja - they're all fab ideas. My old cottage gets really chilly but I only have the heating on for as little time as poss. I roast when I go to someone's house and they have heating on full for hours a day - and they're walking around in a T-shirt and bare feet??!!! How sensible is that?

 

[Thrifty_NinjaUK]

Thanks for the tip re: bicarbonate and a dishwasher tab for grubby whites. That's so timely as I have just accidentally grey'd all my underwear and best tee shirts on holiday!! Grrrrrr.....

I agree re: control. I am so much happier now that I feel my finances are in my control. Previously, I felt I was on a roller coaster.

 

[Jon]

Here is an obvious one for one I always do

Anywhere that I can walk to within 45mins... I do

I rely on public transport for getting to work and getting around for my work but if I can walk somewhere I ALWAYS do

Saves me money and always good for you

 

[DeeBee]

I check my bank accounts every day without fail. Two or three times a week, I 'round down' and transfer money to my savings account.

So if my balance is £54.32, I'll send £4.32 over. I've done pennies and pounds but it all adds up without you really noticing

 

[steve00117]

Some great tips here, thanks all, keep them coming.

 

[Grerbi]

Recently we've switched to cloth wipes rather than standard baby wipes for our son's nappies (can't believe how much money this will save in the long run!). I've also started making homemade curry sauces rather than using the ready made ones and found that I like the homemade ones much better.

 

[Yorkshiremeerkat]

Some really interesting posts, thanks for posting them

 

[RossyB]

I put the dishwasher and washing machine on overnight when the electricity is cheaper, only small but it adds up! I also try not to throw anything out and re-purpose things as much as possible, or at the very least try and sell them on!

 

[anthony.blockley.3]

Compare my shopping

 

[usa1]

Don't buy expensive rinse-aid for the dishwasher, buy white/distilled vinegar instead. Its cost about 34p from Tescos

When buying wrapping paper, buy either gold or silver rolls as they can do both Christmas and B`days

 

[Jon]

Don't buy expensive rinse-aid for the dishwasher, buy white/distilled vinegar instead. Its cost about 34p from Tescos

When buying wrapping paper, buy either gold or silver rolls as they can do both Christmas and B`days

Great advice this

I read it online a year of so ago and have been doing the vinegar thing ever since to clean the inside of our dishwasher

 

[william.gould.355]

We invested in thermal lined curtain before this last winter. They kept the house A LOT warmer when drawn shut at dusk. We are now finding they also keep the house a lot cooler aginst the blazing sunshine!

 

[Hippy11]

To spin out casseroles etc I add lentils and always freeze leftovers which we are not eating the next day.

 

[usa1]

When buying eBay, don't waste money on paying P&P, use a local eBay finders website;

http://www.baycrazy.com/

 

[grapesicle]

Brilliant tips!

I don't know if this counts because you're not directly saving money, but if you're planning on a holiday abroad next year, it's worth collecting Virgin Air Miles. You can get some if you shop online via the links on their Shops Away page, lots of well-known retailers (Apple, John Lewis, Debenhams, Feel Unique, etc) and get air miles for stuff you would've bought anyway. And trading in your Tesco Clubcard points for air miles is great value too - I've got my family to do most of their shopping and petrol filling at Tesco and I have more than enough clubcard points over just 3 months to get a free upgrade to Premium Economy when I (hopefully) go away to the US later this year. Or I've collected enough since last October via both these methods to get a 'free' (still have to pay tax I believe, good deal nonetheless) flight to Orlando.

Definitely a brilliant way to save a chunk of money if you need to upgrade for the legroom on a long flight, if you're taller/older/etc and would've spent the money on it anyway!