Money Saving Mama's

[buttonnose82]

As we all know, the government are making cuts, tax's will rise and we cold find ourselves with a little less money in our pockets each month.

For that reason, I thought maybe we could all share our 'money saving tips', learn to look after ourselves instead of relying on others

So feel free to share your hints and tips here

Here are some of mine for now

* Look into changing your suppler for gas/electricity/phone etc
* Write a weekly food menu before going shopping, therefore only buying what you need
* Shop online - even after paying delivery it often works out cheaper as you don't have impulse buys (also delivery earlier in the week is often cheaper)
* reduce your internet package if possible
* reduce you sky package or better still cancel it and just have free view
* learn to cook, home made food works out so much cheaper than shop prepared food and is alot healthy
* save money on cleaning products - you can clean pretty much anything with white vinegar/bicarb soda/soda crystals and it works out alot cheaper
* Grown some of your own veggies, a packet of carrot seeds can cost less than £1, you can grow wayyyyyy more carrots than you could ever buy for £1
* go to the library instead of buying books
* go to the park instead of the indoor play area if weather isn't wet
* get off the bus a couple stops earlier and save the different
* walk to the local shop when going for milk instead of starting up the car
* start saving any 20p's you get, more often than not you won't miss that 20p however they will soon add up in your jar
* bulk out meals by adding veggies
* cook using a slow cooker means you can use cheaper cuts of meat but after they are cooked you will never know
* cook in bulk and freeze in portions, then if your out all day you still have a home cooked meal that just needs re heating saving money by not running out for take out
* look at packaging on products, you will notice that many 'named brands' also manufacture cheaper versions, for example every noticed the bottle of asda washing up liquid is identical to the fairy bottle ......
* do you really need to buy that newspaper/magazine? most of the stuff is available online, either that or some library's stock them (newspapers) so go read them there for free
* turn plugs off at the wall when item's aren't being used ..... where possible
* check out sites like ebay - sometimes you can even get things brand new for next to nothing!
* send a month writing down EVERYTHING you buy, you will soon notice where money is being wasted
* set a budget and stick to it, if you want something that won't fit into your budget then spend 3/4 months saving towards it
* avoid impulse buys - ask yourself - do I NEED this or do I just WANT it?

 

[frankyzw]

Nice thread. Think you've said it all.

I've decided to stay home with my baby and just realised that I don't need a lot of stuff. I cook most of my food and have almost eliminated junk - the're these cookies I simply can't resist. But I also learned how to bake bread and it was yummy.
No paid TV, have my hair done cheaper at home by a friend, minimal use of telephone- use e-mail and texts more, only buy clothes when necessary. The most shopping I do these days is for LO, lol.

I'm also looking at ways I can earn something from home....any ideas?
Will be watching this to learn more tips.

 

[Jemma_x]

Ill be watching this thread

 

[Scally]

i'd love to know how to earn money from home too, so many seem like such a big con!
Also love to budget- i have a spreadsheet and everything- lol!!!!
I always do my research before buying our shopping- leaflets come through from each supermarket and we have them all close, so i work out what we can get from each one! Also needed moisturiser last week and i do like the expensive Olay one, but looked on the internet at different places- superdrug etc and found it half price in morrisons!

 

[becstar]

As far as the online shop goes, use www.mysupermarket.com - we always used to shop at Asda thinking it was cheapest but for the things we buy, Tesco is consistently £20+ cheaper. It's worth checking out.

 

[Frankie]

Hola!!!

 

[mama2b]

Oooooh lots of good tips !

I think the biggest one I discovered and yet has been right under my nose for god knows how long is buying from the market.

Every Saturday there is a really big one at an airfield near me and I went last week and got loads of packs of johnsons baby wipes for a £1 each, they are well in date so nothing dodgy. Loads of household cleaning products cheap and found a baby clothing stand that sells seconds, for example got two packs of mothercare sleepsuits for £10 thats less than they charge for 1 pack in store. They usually have wrong labels, or maybe an extra button or something so can't be sold in store but are pretty much still the same product.

Also do all your online shopping through a cashback website, I use a really good one and get about £20-40 per month straight into my bank account just for going via there website.