any money saving advice

[MEL78]

help we are really feeling the squeeze at the min...and would appreciate any money saving advice think I do all that I can but maybe you lovely people have some good ideas.
We are a veggie household so therefore don't spend moeny on meat justr aswell I think cos we couldn't afford it.
Non smoking barely drinking ( if you can count a half opened bottle of wine that has been in the fridge for the best part of three months)
s to for work.
Have an allotment up and running first year though but I am managing to get some of the basics from it.

Please help any advice would be great
Mel

[boboff]

Keep a written budget and update it weekly.

Don't use credit cards / debit cards, take out a set amount of cash.

Never renew with your current insurer.

Check that you are getting all the benefits you are entitles too.

Always go shopping with a list of what you need for the week, don't buy extra's.

Save 10% a week for contingencies, they will happen.

Sell on e-bay.

Get part time work

Go round skips and dumps looking for cheap free stuff.

Be happy, it's always easier when you are happier.

[chickenchargrill]

Biggest thing you need to do is work out where your money is going.

Never buy new if you can make it, get it free or second-hand. I go on freegle, another local gifting group via facebook, charity shops and my favourite second-hand furniture shop (we moved from 4 of us in a fully furnished, 1 single-bedroomed place to a 3 bed terrace and we've spent 250 on everything from beds to cooker- only a washer to go).

Instead of buying toiletries I now make all my own, same with cleaning products.

If I do want something that's more of a luxury I go on groupon and various voucher sites.

[MEL78]

Thanks for the advice but as with most things I think I do most of them already....have shopped in charity shops sicne I had the kids 12 years ago active member of my freecycle....don't buy much cleaning stuff ( mainly cos I don't do much cleaning) have no credit cards....my main expense however is the kids they have music lesson horse riding brownies guides etc.....I prob should limit them but as my eldest is 12 and still wants to do activities I feel that anything she is interested in is one mroe thing stopping her hanging about the streets

[Annpan]

I think the thing that worked best for us was to budget... write down everything that you spend the money on, then go through the list and try to cut it down.

We have set ourselves a budget of £50 to live off of and some weeks we are managing on only £20 (not including petrol, bills or things we need for the house)

Bulk cooking and no treats are our biggest money savers I reckon.

Take a look at Matin Lewis website (google MSE) lots of great tips about cutting costs.

[chickenchargrill]

I limit the kids to cheap activities. They know about our money situation - to the point my youngest daughter has become very frugal and has spent very little of her pocket money for the last couple of months. My eldest goes to a drama group which costs £35 per term, then I take them to free activities on at the library, museums or parks.

I know it's hard, but if you are struggling for money you need to talk to your kids and get them involved in helping to save money. Maybe talk them into each giving something up for a month - depending of course how you pay for it - and explain as soon as we can afford it we'll make sure you get to do x. Are there after school clubs or cheaper alternatives to those things they already do? Maybe make it into a challenge and see how much money you can all raise/save between you in a month. Do some carboots or something...

[Green Aura]

Have a look what's in your fridge/freezer and store cupboard and write it all down, including quantities. Then write a menu plan for the next month using just this and what you can get out of the allotment, as far as possible. Work out exactly what you need to finish it off - milk, butter etc and do a shop of just that. You'll be surprised how well you can eat from what you already have in (I speak from experience!) You'll have to replace it at some point but you can do that slowly so it doesn't eat into your budget and if you can manage a "freebie" month then you'll have a little behind you - the contingency fund mentioned above. If you have friends or relatives in a similar situation (or even if they're not) it might be worth seeing if you can bulk buy and split with them - much cheaper.

If you don't make your own bread, cookies etc then now might be the time to have a go - much cheaper, and more filling than shop-bought stuff.

If you have debts (mortgage, credit cards etc) make an appointment with CAB and they'll help you to get these put on hold, or even reduced if they're above a certain level.

Have a look at what crafty things you have about and see what you can make - sell to anyone and everyone who'll buy from you - ask if local shops will take them (even with their commission it's still money coming in).

Good luck honey, times are hard aren't they!

[RuthG]

Go to the quick sale counters in the shops and see what you can get discounted. I just filled my freezer with enough meat at knock down prices (almost at sell-by date and offers) to keep us going for the next two or three months.

[niknik]

Check if you have the best deals on your bills, orcan you change to a cheaper provider........ Elec, gas, telephone/ internet ...... and mobile.

If have a mobile on a contract, consider changing to payg.calls might be more expensive, but you´ll use it a whole lot less!.

Find ways to cut the bills, even if only by a few pence. Dont leave electrical items plugged in on stand- by, its amazing how much they use ! ( oh how I wish the sockets here had switches.so much more convenient than always pulling plugs out!)
Make sure any freezers are full......... ( fill any empty spaces with bottles of water or newspapers).

If you have a car, then minimize the use of that too. Walk or cycle whenever posssible. Doubñle benefits there... save on fuel and get extra exercise!

Don´t wash clothes unecessarily.things CAN be worn for more than a few hours!

sell off ANYTHING you no longer use.(books, dvds, clothes, electrical items etc etc.)

but probably most useful as chicken chargrill said..write don every cent you spend.........

It´s quite scary in some ways, when you realise where the money goes, and you´ll soon see ways of cutting back
and with a weekly budget, make yourself stick to it, and just do without any week there´s nothing left!

( I must start that again myself actually.......... I did 20euros a week, + 20 for biggeritems( for the month) earlier this year, and even managed to save some out of it ( not a lot, but every penny helps!) ( there was just me ( and pets + chickens ) and I AM a smoker)

[kit-e-kate]

Hi!

I think you should sit down and work out how much goes out each month (be totally honest and realistic, and include all debts/loans/fines from the bank etc), then work out (being similarly honest) how much comes in each month. You should then be able to work out whether you need to aim your sights on spending less OR earning more. Then really focus on doing whichever side you choose. It's too soul destroying to try and do both simultaneously!

If you find that a lot of your money is going on paying off debts then think about attacking them using this method;
If you have a debt you pay off regularly (monthly perhaps) for a fairly small amount, then (brace yourself) pay that off in full! If that isn't possible, just chuck all your spare money at it til its gone.
Then transfer the money you used to put towards that debt onto the repayments on the next smallest debt, adding it to whatever your repayment is there. Soon, it will be gone too. Next, add the money you were paying to that debt to payments on your next biggest debt. So on and so forth...

Put small change in a piggy bank, honestly it does add up! Its a really easy way of builing up a small "contingency fund" which sometimes seems to be an impossible task!

Most importantly: Don't let money get you down! It's hard to remember sometimes when you've got b*gger all, but bear in mind that a lot of people struggle with having no money at some point in their lives. I make enough to live on now, but i went through years of debt and worry to get to where i am. Anyway, to finish, a piece of advice i was given once;

"You don't have to keep the wolf from the door, just throw him a few scraps occasionally!"

Happy money saving to us all!

[Milims]

I'm a firm believer in cutting my coat accrding to my cloth. We have an income which is probably considered poverty line, yet we live like kings. Seek out the cheapest deals for everything - utilities, mortgage (if you have one), credit cards (if you must), etc etc etc. Buy in bulk - I know it seems like a huge outlay at first but, for example, I bought 5 litres of eco friendly shampoo this time last year for £28 and I've only just had to buy more - and there are at least 2 users - one of which is a teenage girl! It works out at around 60p per week. Make as much as you can. Why buy jam when you can make it out of foraged fruit? Swap as much as you can. Be friendly to everyone - it's amazing how much it enhances your social life for free! Keep your eyes open and appreciate what is on your doorstep. We are lucky enough to live in a village on the Northumberland Coast - people come here on holiday, for us it's like being on holiday every day because we've learned to look thru the eyes of a tourist. Keep your pleasures simple - find an old film on the internet and all snuggle up on the sofa with home made popcorn to watch it, instead of driving to the cinema. If you feel like indundging - throw a party - really! If your friends ask if they should bring something don't be afraid to say "yes please!", you can have a fabby "night out" at home! Living frugally isn't just about money it's also very much about attitude and a postivie attitude it priceless

[red]

Keep your pleasures simple

well said

i agree with keeping records, planning meals by the week, buying in bulk and looking for ways to make even a little extra money. not easy when you are doing so much already, and want to give the kids their activities. hugs

[MEL78]

Thanks for all the advice....think the best thing I can do is go through my cupboards and plan meals ahead....I think food waste (not waste but buying in additional stuff ) must be my main money drain....will have to plan ahead for the allotment to see what should be available from week to week.....might make me cook better and more healthy anyway which can only be a good thing

[mrsflibble]

food waste turned out to be our downfall, I've been learning lots of old fashioned recipes to use leftovers and even making up some more (macaroni snackballs, disgustingly fried but oh so heavenly to eat)...and your freezer is your friend. go for the best and most efficient you can afford.

also, sign up to the MSE newsletter and if you have a t3$c0 clvbc4rd, check out your balance of vouchers online. I did mine recently and found £50 we'd not used so have had them rolled over to our next mailout and will decide what to do with them then!

finally, not all budget brand foods are crap. asda smartprice pasta isn't too great unless you like it al dente or really mushy, (ilike pasta just done, not aldente, not mushy) cos cooking it there seems to be no midground. it's either nearly raw or dissolving lol.

it's better with tinned tomatoes to go for the not quite budget, I've found the budget ones all seem to be mostly juice which is annoying because it then means my spagbol or chilli needs thickening, and you can forget about using them as pizza topping.

embrace wartime cookbooks, BUT remember to adjust seasoning in recipes! and DO NOT MAKE MOCK APRICOT TART. it's disgusting. (glut of carrots a few years ago, *shudders*).

clean (if you must) using cheaer items. we found asda smartprice washing powder works just as well as aerial, but is about 1/3 the price. I also use it as shake 'n' vac after a friend told me it works well! it does!!! white vinegar is cheap and wonderful. use with salt to polish stainless steel, on its own to wipedown surfaces, diluted for floors... add essential oils if you feel you need to. buy economy toothpaste for polishing metals. no, really. again smartprice is great, but so is t3$c0 economy. I use it on brass, gold, silver...

remember if stockpiling, rotate your stash. you dont want to find your rice has little insecty things wiggling around in it. much rice is infected with rice weevils, to help you can put your rice in the freezer for 24 hours before decanting and storing. this kills the larvae.

keep flour in airtight containers and don't stockpile too much wholemeal flour as it can go rancid. you can freeze it though. you can also freeze spice powders too.

olive oil keeps indefinately, if it goes cloudy dont panic. you're just keeping it somewhere a bit too cold. it wont affect the taste or the cooking ability. sunflower oil keeps too, but flavoured oils don't keep well and can't be frozen.

if you have abottle of wine (hahahahaha) or beer and there's some left over (HAHAHAHAHA), freeze it in ice cube trays. once frozen, decant into bags. they can be used in cooking. if you have cutrus fruits coming up to past their best, slice and freeze on baking trays. once frozen you can put them in bags and then they stay separate and you can use them for drinkiepoos.

free fruit is great for preserving. sloes, hips, hawes, rowan, blackberries, meddlars.... go! forrage!

you *can* eat dandelions, but I'd notrecommend it unless you really like bitter lettuce.

[MEL78]

many thanks for the advice Mrs Fibble ..although it is many years ago that I bought any named branded foods (unless on offer) we defected to the like of lidel and aldi long before the masses did and my fav shop is a local one off that sells foreign package food and close to sell by stuff end fo line etc .....so I do get the bargains.....
Have also jotted down our expenditure and income and have decided to limit myself to £100.00 a week and will take that amount out and on no circumstances go over ( should be do able) hopefully will be able to put some money to one side to pay for the car service and other big bills that are due soon.......