Thread: Hints & Tips??

Ladies (and gents),

I'm hoping you can help me with money saving or ways to make the most of the pennies. It seems no matter how hard I try I always end up struggling or everything hits at the same time (have started having to pay things monthly as I can't do them in one hit anymore).

Am considering getting some cash out each week and only using that for food etc rather than just sticking everything on the card each time and see if that makes a difference but I'm not sure if there are other things that I can be doing - will be eating whats in the freezer for a start as I'm sure there's a good week or so worth of dinners in there!

Thanks

Well, I helped my OH sort out his money

1 - Make a list of any debts (if any) in interest charged order, highest first - pay the minimum off all, but spare money goes to the top of the list.

2 -Food.. think weekly, Mince is cheaper in the larger packs so buy one, make a chilli (as an example), freeze all but 1 portion, it's cheaper in bulk and those days when you go meh and buy snacks/take aways etc you reach for you pre made meal.

3 - If you normally lunch out, make your own

4 - Plan your weeks food and shop to the list

5 - Allow yourself £10-20 your money a week, to treat yourself if you can, or you never stick to it

6 - Leave cards behind, unless you really need them

7 - If you have outstanding money on credit cards and you aren't in arrears and pay monthly, phone them up and tell them you are thinking of moving it elsewhere, so what is the balance? Most times they offer to reduce your interest to keep you.

8 - Get supermarket loyalty cards if you have them and use them, taking the points when you need them - all adds up.

Think that's about it for the moment....

I usually buy an extra couple of things a week to stick in the freezer so that come the end of the month we won't starve!
I'm a nightmare with money too.
I've found food shopping online helps, and doing a weekly meal planner that I stick to, so it means I'm not wasting food.
Try "branding down" so if you use say heinz, try tesco's own and see if you notice a difference, we've done that with loads of stuff.

all of the above, plus, I went through a stage of writing EVERYTHING down! when you get the cash out, write down exactly what you have spent, even the odd 50p etc, it is amazing how these add up, and then you realise that they aren't worth it. Keep the change, 50p and below and then at the end of the month, you might have £10/20 squid, pays for petrol etc

Also, buy own label if you can and in bulk, do your bills direct debit every month, so that you don't get hit with bills, ie £30 a month monthly etc

But try not to stress and be too strict, otherwise, like me, I find that I have been so good this month that I deserve a treat!

Plus, Wine boxes are good value and last for longer!!!!

I have my Clubcard and normally do alright with that every month (petrol costs help with that) or I check my Asda receipt online and can get money off that way (will try the own brands cos I doubt there's much in it taste wise). I try to get offers but am never sure if they are actually worthwhile....

I try to have meal plans but normally find that I don't want what I've planned when it comes to the mid week point, also good at buying fruit/veg and then not use it and have to chuck it cos its gone off Buy my meat at Lidl/Aldi cos its local Scottish stuff and cheaper/better than the other supermarkets it seems.

Don't do too bad on the Credit card front but its had to be used a few times recently and then becomes a pain when it needs to be paid off and then the tv licence goes out of the account (should have thought about it earlier and stopped the big payment) and maintenance is due on the flat shortly, plus far too many other things that come up

Off to search for stuff to sell on Ebay me thinks...

I'm the same with the weekly meal plan, it does change from day to day, but I found I was wondering what to do for tea, buying more stuff, wasting what was already in the fridge etc. So if I've got 7 meals written down, the stuff in the fridge/cupboards to cook it then I wasn't wasting anything.
Alot of the supermarkets have meat on 3 for £10 offer etc. My freezer is full at the moment, which is lovely!

If you've got lots of veg that's going past it's best, boil it all up and make soup. You won't notice the difference and it tastes great whatever you put in it (except lale; I'll only do that once, yuk!)

OK get some frozen veg in, nowadays it's just as good vitamin wise and less wastage.

You don't need to plan for the whole week, but when you buy an item, like mince, making extra's to go in the freezer means you have a backup in case you feel like not cooking, also buy food that goes together to make meals, I used to just buy things that looked nice and found he didn't have a full meal...

Planning is a big key for me.

I'd regularly get meat or whatever out of the freezer to defrost, then have a last minute change of heart telling myself I'd use the chicken etc the next day and forget and end up throwing it away. So I started really planning meals...and sticking to it. Its helped a lot.

I also wrote everything down too- and was shocked at how much money can drain away without you noticing from those little sneaky coffee's with friends (and the over priced slab of cake).

I only use my card for things I can't pay in cash. I find that handing a £20 note over feels much more real than handing a piece of plastic over and so i am far more aware of what I am spending.

I do a monthly shop love the asda 3 for £10 on meat, i fill my freezer so that i only have to buy my veg fresh on a weekly basis. Fuel is a major outgoing so he now has a bike and cycles to work and back. Also we fill the tank on payday and then plan our trips around what fuel we have. If we run out we go somewhere walking distance or we stay in if we don't have spare cash for fuel.

Make a list of all of your outgoings and decide if there is anything you can cancel for the time being or reduce until you are in a better financial situation. For example we had the accidental injury insurance thing. With him being in the army he gets paid anyway, i don't work so i'm not going to lose money if me or the kids break a bone so it was nice but not necessary so it went.

Collect all your coppers in a jar. They all add up and by the end of the month if you throw them in a quickdrop you can end up with £20/£30 you didn't realise you had.

Well I reduced my buildings/contents insurance from £30.66 a month to £16 something a month today which is a start and once I switch my vehicle insurance it should be cheaper too just have to see what else I can sort.

I calculated that 38% of my expenses over the past 3 months have been on food and non essential items which was a little disheartening so want to improve the situation.

Thanks for the tips so far

Don't be too disheartened TL. Food and fuel have gone up so much so quickly that i think pretty much everyone is really feeling the pinch and i don't think you'll be the only one following the tips.

Not quite a money saving tip, but a money tip. Try and save at least three months wages that you do not touch. Very useful back up financially should you be out of work, it will give you some breathing space should you need it.

The wife uses those voucher sites almost obsessively for 'treats', weekends away, spa treatments, etc etc I always thought cost an absolute fortune hardly dent the finances.

Tatts do you read the MSE forums at all?

I find that browsing around gives me alot of ideas for saving money, or making more from what I have in the cupboards, or even simply linking me to good deals and offers. I'm also finding I get alot of my basic staples - teabags, coffee etc from amazon as I earn gift vouchers from doing things like surveys and more often than not it's cheaper to get a catering pack from them than it would be to get a standard pack in the supermarket.

If you're free after lunch kind of time then head to the markets (this even works on the weekends, just is very busy) as more places are doing massive bowls of fruit/veg for £1 to get rid of it before the end of the day. Last time we went we got a big bowl of peppers, probably around 12 of them, we usually pay £1.70ish for just 3 of them at the super market! They're perfect for adding to those meals that you cook in bulk then add to the freezer, spag bol, chilli etc.

I definitely agree with the advice to plan meals. I do a weekly menu and write a list which I then don't deviate from. Online shopping is great for this if you struggle to restrain yourself in the supermarket. The kids and OH can't add stuff to the trolley online either

BBC Good Food - Recipes and cooking tips is a brilliant site and I use it all the time but a lot of supermarkets have their own recipes online and you can click on button to put the ingredients in your basket which makes life loads easier.

Never go shopping for food when you're hungry (biggest mistake ever) and try not to pop in after work to get that night's food and nothing else as I guarantee you will spend double what you should do. Avoid 3 for 2 offers on things that you don't actually need. The best ones to get are on meat as you can split packs and freeze things (just remember to write the date on the freezer bag). Remember - it's not a bargain if it's not on the list, it's just an extra expense.

Frozen & tinned stuff can be a better economy than fresh sometimes and you don't lose any of the good stuff. Have a look on the 'cooking for students' sites and get your storecupboard up to scratch. It's surprising how much that will save you in the long run when you only need to replace what has run out rather than buying a load of things for a recipe.

Don't assume that just because a supermarket is supposed to be cheaper than another, it will be that way for you. It totally depends on what you buy. Most do a price comparison thing now so you can get an idea. I personally find Sainsbury's to be cheapest for what I buy and now that they're doing the price check I'm finding I'm saving a good £5-£10 per shop on what I would pay at Asda or Tesco. I have friends who find the opposite happens however so it's a case of experimenting and finding what's right for you.

Invest in a slow cooker. I love mine. You can buy the cheaper cuts of meat and basics veg and it all tastes brilliant. There's loads of slow cooker websites out there for meal ideas.

Start to keep a running budget going so you know what you have to spend and what is already allocated. Some people find this harder than others but it's a case of learning as you go along. Until May I worked for a leading debt advice charity and the people who were most successful in changing their habits were the ones who went back to basics and started making a note of what was spent and when. I'm very sad and have made myself an Excel spreadsheet with cells that change depending on the info I put in there but that's because I have too much time on my hands lol. Haven't been overdrawn for almost 5 years though (although there are months when I am down to the last penny) so I must be doing something right.

Money Saving Expert: Credit Cards, Shopping, Bank Charges, Cheap Flights and more is fantastic (most of the time). You're already on the right track by trying to reduce expenditure and switching to monthly payments for things. I know there can sometimes be an extra charge for monthy payments but the extra £5 (or whatever it is) a month works out better than scrabbling around to find the full premium at once when you're on a tight budget.

If you have debt you're struggling with, have a good read of the MSE site as it has some brilliant suggestions to help you get on top of things. If you feel after that you need further help, the site will point you in the direction of people who can help you FOR FREE.

Savings are a luxury, not a priority until you are on top of things on a monthly basis. I know someone who puts £200 a month in her savings account and then uses payday loans (STAY AWAY!) to buy food, all the time wondering why she can't get straight. Savings are fantastic but not at the expense of other things. Putting away a contingency fund of £20 a month or whatever you can afford is much more effective when you're already struggling than trying to syphon off money you don't really have.

It all sounds so easy when it's written down, doesn't it? I've learnt the hard way thanks to getting in a horrific financial mess between the ages of 18 and 25. Luckily I ended up in a job that taught me how to manage things and I decided it was probably best that I took my own advice

You'll get there - it's definitely possible xxx

Oops - sorry for the essay. Think I got a bit carried away...

Oooh oooh oooh re savings. Mr Tree banks with tsb and we have a savings and a current account which are linked to each other. They do something called 'save the change' it means that everytime we use the card to pay for anything it rounds it up to the nearest pound and puts the rest into your savings account. because we have the type of savings account that means we can transfer money easily from one account to the other whenever we like it means that we usually find ourselves with an extra £20 or more in the savings just from the round to a pound scheme.

I've got that too ST, its great, and hubby doesn't know about it!!

Originally Posted by golden_showers

Not quite a money saving tip, but a money tip. Try and save at least three months wages that you do not touch. Very useful back up financially should you be out of work, it will give you some breathing space should you need it.

The wife uses those voucher sites almost obsessively for 'treats', weekends away, spa treatments, etc etc I always thought cost an absolute fortune hardly dent the finances.

I'm afraid there isn't a hope in hell of this one, I have mortgage and bills to pay by myself so don't get a chance to even consider savings right now. Although I do know that when I get my next gas/elec bill I will be panicing as no matter how many times I ask them to look at my DD again they tell me I don't need to increase it which to me seems daft cos the difference is immense but then npower aren't exactly customer driven are they?

I have been looking on MSE today and will try to see what I can do with it, got my Tesco vouchers today and can apparently increase them x4 if I use them online to buy a gift type thing so will have to see whats on offer and if it'd word as a christmas present...