Please could I have your money saving tips?

kettlenic

I live in London - pricy as heck! And would love to hear your top tips on saving money as I am tryingto pay off debt and it is taking forever!

thank you

hush7hush

Buy less stuff.

morganadk2_deleted

don''t buy graze boxes, don't get me wrong i do , but i'm not paying of a debt! sainsburys do quite a good value range..

i see you are using Alpro soya milk , if your not lactose intolerant swith to regular , milk if you have to have soya milk sainsburys own value is ok..

jo_bel

When it comes to food shopping, plan at least 5 datys at once. You will be surprised what you can do with left overs if you think about it.
For example, my husband and I can make a chicken last 3 days, and that includes having my brother round for dinner for one of them! (he eats a lot!)

joanneeee

- dried beans/legumes
- nuts
- buy no name brands
- buy bulk if you can

louiseei

Take a packed lunch to work - saves a fortune. Don't go out for coffee and cakes.
Trade down on your supermarket. I used to be sainsbury's all the way. i've switched to Asda and it's at least 20% cheaper and the quality is much better than it used to be. Try own brands, if you don't like tham switch back, but I've found they are generally good. If it's something you usually buy that doean't go off like washing powder and it's on a multi buy, buy it. Use leftovers. Try eating vegetarian once or twice a week.

Good luck

Louise

DoctorWhoFan

Plan, plan and plan.

Plan out what you are going to eat for the week, every meal. Then you can buy the food to suit without heading into Tesco everyday for lunch

Prepare lunch at home, it is so much cheaper to buy a loaf of bread and some cheese, for example, than to buy a cheese sandwich everyday.

Also, check out the refrigerated reduced section in supermarkets. Suss out what time your local store tends to put out their reduced stock. A lot of the food, such as meat, can be frozen and thus will last a long time!

Also, soup is cheap and filling! If you don't want to make it yourself, you can get fresh soup in the chilled section. They tend to say that half a carton (about 300g) is one serving, but can get 3 servings out of one carton if I have 100g less. Thus, I get 3 meals for £1

Sorry all of these are food related, but this is MFP I'm a student so I mostly scrimp and save on the food I buy. Hope this helps. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

cloggsy71

Have you been on the Martin Lewis website?

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

Worth a look!

dcmat

Grow your own salads on windowsills or micro herbs (sow a thick layer in a seed tray and cut when 1cm high, grows real quick and all the flavour of a full sized plant is it that 1cm! Try it with rocket).

Make your own pack-up for work. Make your own soup..and the stock that goes into it. Then we get onto homemade yoghurt ice-cream.....

kettlenic

thanks guys - making a list of things to save on and your ideas as we speak - always good to eb reminded of some of the obvious things - I can't drink normal milk though - me and milk we don't go well together....thats all or it will be too much info

dcmat

Plan, plan and plan.

Plan out what you are going to eat for the week, every meal. Then you can buy the food to suit without heading into Tesco everyday for lunch

Prepare lunch at home, it is so much cheaper to buy a loaf of bread and some cheese, for example, than to buy a cheese sandwich everyday.

Also, check out the refrigerated reduced section in supermarkets. Suss out what time your local store tends to put out their reduced stock. A lot of the food, such as meat, can be frozen and thus will last a long time!

Also, soup is cheap and filling! If you don't want to make it yourself, you can get fresh soup in the chilled section. They tend to say that half a carton (about 300g) is one serving, but can get 3 servings out of one carton if I have 100g less. Thus, I get 3 meals for £1

Sorry all of these are food related, but this is MFP I'm a student so I mostly scrimp and save on the food I buy. Hope this helps. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

Forgot this one - we managed to spend a massive £31.28 for a weeks meals for a family of five (but we do have chickens and make our own bread)

kettlenic

Thanks I do want to grow my own herbs = may give it a go this weekend - get a window box - I have some potting soil from a pot plant already

Fattack

Try to shop online for your groceries. Yes, you can miss out on deals and you have to pay 3pounds or so for delivery, but you save more money by not buying things that you wouldn't have bought anyway. It also helps whilst dieting because you're less likely to impulse buy things that are far from ideal for your health.

BerryH

I also live in London on a very modest wage and I'm seriously struggling with all the recent prices hikes.

I've done a monthly budget, also taking into account all quarterly, annual and irregular expenses. On months where I don't have the big bills, I save for when I do!

I always know on a daily basis what I have available to the last penny. It's hard and boring, but the only way to go when on a budget, I'm afraid. You also have to seriously look at every penny you spend and decide whether it's essential or a luxury. Whether I can keep my car is under review at the moment!

I second what the others have said about moneysavingexpert, bulk-buying, stocking up on pulses, reduced end-of-day stock and supermarket own brands. I go to the market weekly and can buy a ton of fruit and veg for next to nothing to prepare big, healthy meals on the cheap.

Meat is expensive, use it as a garnish rather than the main feature of a meal. Though frozen mince features largely in my diet! If you skip the "popular" overfished fish like cod, you can get some really cheap stuff.

Walk everywhere. Not only are you saving on fuel and fares, you're getting fit for free!

Good luck!

jetsec

Get down to the food markets, much cheaper and usually nice fruit and veg. Cook in big batches and freeze in portion sizes. Don't buy junk food or snacks, they cost money. Most supermarkets do 3 meats for £10 now, I get Tesco, lean minced beef, chicken breasts and pork loins or chops, a whole weeks meat for £10!

Good luck.

Jayne
x

kettlenic

Thanks adding to the list

I agree the price hikes are killing me and expenses such as council tax!!! such a rip off - I have a bicycle so tend to cycle everywhere which definitely saves me money as no longer hopping on the busses

LushLoni

I only buy meat at the weekend as a treat meal, I find it too expensive otherwise and I use quorn instead, and I've stopped drinking; these two combined mean my shopping bills, when once over £60 are now around £30... kinda shocking really. I buy in bulk where I can, it doesn't make sense to buy in bulk in salad but if it's cheaper overall to buy 12 loo rolls than 4, loo roll doesn't go off, same with canned foods and dry foods like pasta and rice. Be flexible in what you buy - my boyfriend used to only buy Anchor butter which is NEVER on offer and really expensive, I buy only the stuff that's on offer really, and I don't notice a difference in quality, just the delectable smugness of knowing I've saved some money. Have a think about what your buying - are you buying premium goods just because? Could the own brands be a snip of the price and just as good? Try the value ranges, you only have to take a look at the ingredients to see that they tend to be the same as what goes into the premium goods.

Make dinner tonight, save half and eat for lunch the next day - especially good if it's a chilli or something because the flavours have more of a pizzaz.

Get yourself on vouchercodes.co.uk so you're always aware of a good deal going.

Consider the phrase: Do I want it, do I need it, can I afford it, where will I put it? and if you can't answer 75% of those questions without hesitation don't get it.

I try and travel off peak as much as possible in London (I work near St Pauls) - cheaper tube travel before 6:30am and after 7:30pm... Or walk if you can which is great exercise.

I buy economy where it's not going to hurt - shop around, use mysupermarket.com to check out the deals at your local supermarkets. Remember that Wilkinsons and pound shops carry a lot of super brands that are heavily discounted so don't be afraid to take a look in there.

kettlenic

Thank you guys some great tips all round debt free by the end of 2012 is the aim - here I come

Angellore

Check out frozen meats. I do my shop online with Sainsbury's and they do bags of frozen skinless chicken breasts. I think they are £3 each, but I know they are £5 for 2 at the moment. They have nothing added, so are the same as the fresh ones which we all know cost a fortune! They also sell diced pork and sliced beef for casseroles, frozen, which are also on 2 for £5 at the moment.

Other than that I'm just repeating what the others have said really. Definitely check out reduced fresh stuff and freeze it. Co-op is good to check if you have one near you. Usually they are pretty expensive, but our local one has great bargains on reduced meat because they don't seem to sell it, so have to reduce it when it's near it's sell by date. Yesterday they had a pack of 2 pork loins for £1.70 and they were lovely thick ones, great for grilling or casseroles etc.

kettlenic

Thank will have a look in the frozen section next time I am shopping - great tips

UpToTheChallenge

Budget what you buy, use coupons when you can.

I also set up a savings account with an automatic deposit feature. Every other week (set up on the same day I get paid) You can choose the amount and when it gets taken from your account. It goed from your chequing account right into your savings account! This has helped me save quite easily and I add in more when I can!

louiseei

I thought of a few more for you. Little savings are great, but you have to look at the big ones you pay each month/year. Cancel memberships and subscriptions you don't use or can live without like magazines, expensive boiler cover, protection for your sattelite dish etc! Can you get a better rate on your gas/electric/ phone/broadband etc?

Re quote your house/car insurance. Join a cash back site like quidco. I got £50 back on my car insurance premium with this. Obviously only buy what you need and whould have bought anyway, so the cash back is a bonus.

Ebay stuff you don't want anymore. I just made a few £ selling the clothes that are now too big for me.

kettlenic

thanks will def look into the cash back site...going to consilidate insurances on phone and pc etc.....

Thank you

hroush

Crock pot! Very easy way to make healthy and inexpensive meals using raw ingredients. This also allows you to make multiple meals at once, providing leftovers for the week.

chris0912

These are not food-related, just some ways I have managed to put some money aside since I quit working.

1) When I balance our checking account each month, I round up all of our account transactions to even dollar amounts and then transfer all that change into our savings account. So for example... my husband pays $70.15 for gas, $0.85 goes into our savings. Since I do this for every transaction, I manage to put at least $30 into savings each month. There is one bank here in the States that does it automatically for you (the program is called Keep the Change), but since we don't use that bank, I do it myself.

2) When our mortgage payment recently went down by $80 per month, I decided to put that money into savings as well. We were already used to paying that much and we're covered in case they come back at a later date and say we have an escrow shortage (which has happened more than once before).

3) When my husband gets paid every 2 weeks, if there is still money in our checking account from the previous payday, I transfer it into our savings account. If we haven't used it already, then we obviously didn't need it.

These are just little things I do to help us make ends meet!

kettlenic

Thank you - I have started using the crock pot and you are right it is great being able to freeze meals!



I do love the change round up idea - very clever!!! will look into that and pay it into my savings till it bulks up a bit then bang it into a loan - they will be gone by end of 2012 watch this space I am very determined!

My friend is moving back to SA and I went around hers as she was givign stuff away - got awesome set of drawers wicker chair and practically new pots and pans with lids which was fab as mine are old - 4 years and from ikea!! that was a great help in saving money! I was very grateful

I have also really cut down on toiletries - only one of every item and I use it till it is finished before buying the new ones! this has saved us heaps as I am a toiletry junky!

Thank you guys some very helpful ideas and reminders - glad to see I do not super scrimp alone!

hroush

These are not food-related, just some ways I have managed to put some money aside since I quit working.

1) When I balance our checking account each month, I round up all of our account transactions to even dollar amounts and then transfer all that change into our savings account. So for example... my husband pays $70.15 for gas, $0.85 goes into our savings. Since I do this for every transaction, I manage to put at least $30 into savings each month. There is one bank here in the States that does it automatically for you (the program is called Keep the Change), but since we don't use that bank, I do it myself.

2) When our mortgage payment recently went down by $80 per month, I decided to put that money into savings as well. We were already used to paying that much and we're covered in case they come back at a later date and say we have an escrow shortage (which has happened more than once before).

3) When my husband gets paid every 2 weeks, if there is still money in our checking account from the previous payday, I transfer it into our savings account. If we haven't used it already, then we obviously didn't need it.

These are just little things I do to help us make ends meet!

You'd be better off continuing to send that $80 to pay on the mortgage. The interest accruing on that $80 that you didn't pay off will cost you a lot more than what you gained in the savings account.

I am a big fan of paying off your house and car as quickly as possible. You are saving money by avoiding the interest. Just paying an extra $20 a month on the mortgage can save you $100s if not $1000s over the life of the mortgage.

kettlenic

I agree - loans/mortgages are best when gone!

DoctorWhoFan

These are not food-related, just some ways I have managed to put some money aside since I quit working.

1) When I balance our checking account each month, I round up all of our account transactions to even dollar amounts and then transfer all that change into our savings account. So for example... my husband pays $70.15 for gas, $0.85 goes into our savings. Since I do this for every transaction, I manage to put at least $30 into savings each month. There is one bank here in the States that does it automatically for you (the program is called Keep the Change), but since we don't use that bank, I do it myself.

3) When my husband gets paid every 2 weeks, if there is still money in our checking account from the previous payday, I transfer it into our savings account. If we haven't used it already, then we obviously didn't need it.

These are just little things I do to help us make ends meet!

These are amazing ideas! The mortgage one doesn't apply to me, I'm a little too young/poor to own my own house