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Money Saving Tips

AuroraAurora Posts: 11,722 An Original Mixlorian
Hello guys,

Sadly money doesn't grow on trees. Behind TheSite.org, the leaders spent some time talking about Money Saving Tips and what we find beneficial when it comes to saving money. We all have different money saving tips and we want to know what you use when it comes to saving money!

Some of the leaders came up with a variety of ideas when they were asked how they saved money and what would be beneficial, some of their ideas included using websites such as MoneySavingExperts and HotUKDeals, as well as allowing yourself to set a weekly budget and maybe even starting a saving account that charges you to withdraw living from the bank.

As well as using your balance check numbers to check your minutes and texts to keep you within your contract (Which I should of done before going £90 over VAT). As well as allowing yourself to compare products in different stores, so are Beans in Asda cheaper than those in Tesco?

So, what do you guys use to save money? :)

saving.jpg

:)


Best wishes,
Angel

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I use a budget for my expenses, and comparison services to make sure I'm getting the best deal.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Learning how to cook was a big help at uni, so much cheaper to buy ingredients than ready meals or jars
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Each week, draw out a certain amount of money. You can't draw out any other money and once it's gone, it's gone.

    Don't go food shopping hungry.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Bulk buy everything if there's more than one of you, but if not, buy only tinned, dry goods and things that can be frozen. Go in after 6 when the fish/meat/deli counters are closing to pick up reductions.
    Have a meal plan for the week - taking into account what you need to use up, if you'll be out any days. It doesn't need to be prescriptive, you could jumble the days up and eat what you like but you have those choices of food to make.
    Buy things on eBay with odd ending times - like the middle of the night or early early morning. You might still get snipers but most people won't be up to bid on the off chance.
    Buy most of your clothes/furniture/electricals second hand. They're often in just as good condition but half the price.
    Always mend stuff or at least consider if it is mendable before chucking stuff away (that goes for electricals too!)
    Freecycle freecycle freecycle!!
    If you want funky home decor and see something in a shop window that's decoration, go as ask what happens to it when I comes down. I have bags of half meter sq silver plastic studs from warehouse to put up sometime.
    Ask yourself can I make it before buying if you are at all crafty.
    Buying magazines is usually cheaper electronically or via subscription
    Subscribe to money saving expert for alerts on savings you can make on a huge number of items.
    Always ask yourself do I need it when buying stuff.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've started making my own fabric conditioner and cleaning products. It's so easy and you only need a few cheap ingredients. And the softener stops dryer static :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ballerina wrote: »
    I've started making my own fabric conditioner and cleaning products. It's so easy and you only need a few cheap ingredients. And the softener stops dryer static :)

    Ooo, this is interesting! Tell us more... how do you make them?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ballerina wrote: »
    I've started making my own fabric conditioner and cleaning products. It's so easy and you only need a few cheap ingredients. And the softener stops dryer static :)

    can you really make fabric conditioner for like, less than a pound? that's interesting :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    can you really make fabric conditioner for like, less than a pound? that's interesting :)

    Yep! All you need is hair conditioner (you can just get really cheap stuff), white vinegar and hot water. Here's a link to my blog
    http://rachgoesrawr.wordpress.com/
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Melian wrote: »
    Don't go food shopping hungry.

    Definitely agree with this.

    When you're going out, don't take a credit/debit card. You end up spending more when drunk, once the cash runs out, that's it. Either blag drinks or go home.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you have an amazon account, turn off 1-click ordering (it makes it so much easier to waste money if you just have to click!)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I make Febreeze and use water and microfibre cloths when I can instead of cleaning products.

    Also, trying to do some shopping away from the supermarkets and keeping records of every penny you spend yup see where you can trim the fat.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Similar to what's already been said, bulk buying, meal planning and DIYing. If you know anyone with a costco/cash and carry account certain 'essentials' such as toilet paper, laundry tablets, tea, coffee, sugar, can work out quite a bit cheaper than supermarket offers. Eating less meat can make a big difference to the cost of a weekly shop. If you can grow your own veggies at home there's also some big savings to be made. I buy mostly supermarket own brands for things like tinned tomatoes and pulses as they taste just as good as the more expensive versions once herbs and spices have been added.

    I clean with hot water and lemon juice/vinegar as others have mentioned. If I want to deep clean something I have a big cheapo bottle of bleach which I just squirt a tablespoon or so at a time into an old spray bottle and top up with water...much cheaper than the fancy cleaners. I went 'no poo' about a year ago and my hair and wallet have thanked me for it. I use bicarbonate of soda mixed with cooled down boiled water as 'shampoo' and lemon juice as 'conditioner'. For me this makes my hair look much fuller and healthier than when I've used designer shampoos in the past, and I find my hair stays cleaner for longer between washes.

    If you live near a university or an apartment complex, you may find some perfectly good items being thrown out in the coming weeks as the students head home for summer. Over the past year I've found 2 perfectly good leather sofas, a working PS3 and a massive plasma TV!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you've got your own freezer, then do your own cooking in 4 or 5 portion chunks and then freeze it to eat later.

    That way you can easily use the better value packets of mince etc. And when you're making things like bolognaise, add in vegetables, tastes better and you get more for your money.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ballerina wrote: »
    Yep! All you need is hair conditioner (you can just get really cheap stuff), white vinegar and hot water. Here's a link to my blog
    http://rachgoesrawr.wordpress.com/

    I like your blog :) have to say I'm not really convince though, I'd rather buy a bottle of comfort or a flash spray for a pound each I think it works out cheaper. plus I'm lazy :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My most reent way of saving money has been switching to Ovivo mobile. :)
    I used to spend maybe £10 every 5 weeks or so on pay as you go (not a regular user!), then I found this company called ovivo (google them!) - where you pay £15 for the sim card one-off, then you get 200 text, 150 mins and 500MB data a month for free! I mean, obviously this wont be ideal for everyone, but for me it's been a great way to cut down on costs!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ballerina wrote: »
    Yep! All you need is hair conditioner (you can just get really cheap stuff), white vinegar and hot water. Here's a link to my blog
    http://rachgoesrawr.wordpress.com/

    such a good idea!

    mine aren't great but I buy lemon squash instead of juice as it lasts for ages, we use cotton wool and water to clean baxter's tooshie instead of baby wipes- going to start doing this again because he keeps getting nappy rash as I've been lazy and have started using wipes, buy all clothes from charity shops, make our own cards (via B's footprints and handprints!), use a lot of veggies to bulk out dishes instead of meat, walk to places instead of the bus, check voucher websites when planning a meal out (got two main meals for twelve pounds from strada this week!), ask for tap water at restaurants.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I like your blog :) have to say I'm not really convince though, I'd rather buy a bottle of comfort or a flash spray for a pound each I think it works out cheaper. plus I'm lazy :D
    Thanks :) well I could have done it even cheaper by buying the super cheap hair conditioner which I think I'll do next time. The softener is lasting ages, it filled an old bottle of comfort and half a 2 pint milk bottle and I've only just finished the milk bottle.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I also saved a ton of money this week by downgrading to a sim only contract because my contract comes to an end next month. It means not getting a new phone but I can just buy a 2nd hand one from Cex or somewhere when it dies. I'm now paying £7.50 per month for 250mb data, unlimited texts and 3000 mins, whereas I was paying £21.50 a month for 100mb data, unlimited texts and 200 mins. I only had to ring them up and ask.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think I might do that. I've been paying for two contracts and I think I might save a fair bit if I reduce mine and get the other one off my bill (it's time they took responsibility for it!).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you use 0845 numbers a lot, you can usually pay a small fee to your mobile phone network to get a certain amount of "free" minutes per month.

    Charity shops do sometimes have some really nice new (including the tag) stuff. Cancer Research (where I used to volunteer) had a lot of old stuff from Tesco.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Money Saving Expert


    If your whites are not white, try dissolving 2-3 aspirin in a teaspoon of water, then place it in with your washing/washing powder etc. It make a difference
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Make a packed lunch instead of buying a sandwich/drink/yoghurt meal deal or whatever.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have got a small book to keep track. in the back is written my entire fixed budget (that word too me too many goes to get right) on a monthly basis. It has on one page my out-goings, bills, rent, debt repayments, and also my incomings in terms of salary and rent from Piccolo and our house-mate. After that I write from pay-day to pay-day what I've spent out of the difference between incoming and outgoing. I don't have to check my bank balance, or wait for it to catch up. I know what it is in real time.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Shop around when it comes to mobile phone deals. There are also some decent deals on PAYG - you top up a certain amount of money per month and you get some minutes, texts and sometimes internet. Orange PAYG have a phone fund - whatever you top up, 10% of that can go towards a new phone.

    Before I got my current phone, I'd gone in and was set on getting a Samsung S3 mini. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the deal I wanted; so ended up with a HTC Windows phone with a better deal than now. (well, I needed more internet and had loads of texts and minutes I don't use)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    To add to that use - http://www.billmonitor.com/
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Don't spend anything you don't need.

    Open a savings account. Work out what you pay a week, monthly and yearly and put the rest in here.

    Don't use a credit card.

    Buy a decent, cheap-to-run car, such as a deisel or Eco-friendly petrol.
    I bought a Fiesta 1.4 TDCi Titanium 3dr a few weeks ago and can do 420+ miles per tank. Road tax is £20 a year. Better than my 1.24 petrol that did only 280miles per tank at £175 road tax.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    One thing I did whilst at uni was draw out a certain amount of money each week and that was all I could live on for that week.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    FishyFrags wrote: »
    Buy a decent, cheap-to-run car, such as a deisel or Eco-friendly petrol.
    I bought a Fiesta 1.4 TDCi Titanium 3dr a few weeks ago and can do 420+ miles per tank. Road tax is £20 a year.

    I want to do this, and can even get it at an even more preferential rate because I can get it through a salary sacrifice scheme- but I did the numbers and my mileage and usage means keeping my current car until I run it completely into the ground makes a lot more sense than trading it in (for peanuts) and getting a nice shiney new one...

    Also kind of agree on the credit card front: I use one and bought furniture, stuff for the home, paid for big one off costs on it - and it is annoying to always have to be paying it off each month. I suppose the flipside would be though without it we would be in a completely unfurnished flat still! We used two duvets and cushions in the lounge for about 6 weeks before we got a sofa...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Simple but useful add

    1. Never buy food when you are hungry! In this case you will spend more (spontaneous shopping) and buy more than you really need. :yes:
    2. Never go shopping right after receiving the paycheck. It's better to make a spending plan before any buy.
    Spend not where you may save; spare not where you must spend.

    *link removed by mods - spam*
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