Just a quick one today. As you know I love shopping in charity shops and sewing things partially (mostly) because it's fun, but also because it saves me a bit of hard earned dosh. Which is always a good thing.
Money supermarket have launched a competition to get 1000 tips to save £1 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of said pound. All you have to do to win £30 (a pound a tip) is to write a blog post with 30 tips to save a pound and send them a link to it.
All their details are in the link below.
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/30-ways-to-save-1-pound/
Anyway, here's my list!
1) meal plan, take a shopping list to the supermarket and don't shop when you're hungry. Those extra biscuits and sweets definitely add up to more than a pound!
2) instead of throwing out slightly damaged clothes and buying new ones, learn to sew and repair them.
3) if you do need new clothes, try the charity shops first! I've had brand new (with the tags still on) jeans, dresses and shoes from them at bargain prices.
4) try going shopping at a later time of day and shop the "quick sale still fresh" shelves. Bread for 9p and meat at a hugely reduced price!
5) get your shoes re-heeled. Much cheaper than a new pair (and you've already worn them in! No blisters for you!)
6) when you're cooking, plan to make more than one portion and freeze the other(s), you'll use no more energy cooking and if you defrost without the microwave, much less energy to hear it through.
7) when using things like mince, bulk it out with grated carrot (which absorbs all the juice and is tasty), lentils and other veg which is much cheaper than meat and helps your portions go further.
8) cut meat out of some dishes altogether. I make shepherds pie using beans, lentils and chunks of veg, it does us six meals and costs much less than the meaty version.
9) if you've bought a bunch of fresh herbs, chop it all up in one go and freeze a pinch in each cube of an ice cube tray with some water. Perfect for adding to meals and no waste!
10) take packed lunch to work. And make your own tea/coffee.
11) try and drink only water. It's better for you, and practically free from the tap!
12) buy cheaper cuts of meat and cook them low and slow in a stew or similar. Tastes amazing for half the price.
13) heading away from the kitchen....make sure anything electrical you have is never left on standby. This gobbles electricity with no gain for you!
14) use everything to its full potential. If you have the heating on, hang socks to dry on the radiators. If you're done with the oven, leave the door open to warm the kitchen. (maybe that needs some sort of health and safety disclaimer....don't burn yourself please!) If it's warm outside (ha!), open the windows to warm and air your house. Don't leave lights on in rooms you're not in. If there's two of you in separate rooms reading a book, try sitting in the same room! Simple.
15) turn the heating down, or preferably off. Stick on another jumper, a hand knitted scarf (maybe a hat!) or snuggle up under a blanket.
16) instead of watching tv/going to the gym/paying to do anything, go for a walk. It's free, if you're lucky with where you live it could be beautiful and it saves you money on gym membership, plus it'll warm you up Nd help with number 15!
17) if you have pets, try a discounted food brand. Our old dogs favourite was bakers which was much cheaper than others which are supposed to be better. This applies to your food too. Check our the value brands. I can't tell the difference most of the time!
18) if you see an item you use all the time or you have a coupon (for more than a pound obviously...), stock up. It'll save you money in the long run, and if you have a tight month, you'll know you have supplies.
19) oops, back in the kitchen! Use up odds and ends of everything. Make soup. Make breadcrumbs. Make pies. There's no point spending the money on it if you're going to waste it!
20) and this applies to toiletries too. I cut the tips of bottles of foundation to scrape the last out with a cotton bud. A little bit of water in your mascara will make it last for another good week or so. Rinse out your shampoo/conditioner/bubble bath bottles and use the remnants.
21) I don't buy kitchen towel anymore. I invested in some micro fibre cloths. Tesco value. Pretty cheap. They're perfect for wiping up in the kitchen with any extra (expensive) chemicals and they just get thrown in any old wash when they're used.
22) laundry. Try and wait till you've got a full load before you run a wash, but don't overload as this makes the washer inefficient.
23) line dry your washing. Even in the winter. Tumble driers are ridiculously expensive. Outside in the summer and I hang my things inside in the winter.
24) drive more efficiently. Plan ahead, drive a little bit slower, don't brake hard or accelerate hard. Plan your route. If you have lots of stops in town, don't zig zag back and forth but go to each one in turn. This saves you fuel and time!
25) use your local library. You might have to wait for a book sometimes (or even a DVD or blu-ray, how modern) but this could save you a lot. And save space in your house. Maybe for shoes!
26) keep things you might just throwaway. Newspaper is GREAT for cleaning windows and mirrors. Streak free for free! I use the free paper that comes round each week... It's also great as parcel packaging. Toilet rolls can be used as planters, holders, and sometimes I make cat toys with them...
27) use freecycle. You might not always get what you want, but when you do, it's freeeee! And that's always good.
28) Re-use gift wrap. The paper if you're very careful with it, don't use it if you've already shredded it! Mostly gift bags. Keep them, re-use them, they're expensive. Have a giggle when you forget who gave it to you and you give it back to them! Sometimes I cut up pretty cards I've been given to make gift tags.
29) make sure you have decent heavy curtains to cover your windows in the winter. Don't let that heat escape. Draft excluders are also your friend.
30) keep your freezer full. Sometimes I put in scrunched up newspaper to plug the gaps. Your freezer is more efficient when it's not trying to freeze large lumps of air. It also stops it from filling itself with ice. Try and plan what you're getting out of the freezer so you don't open the door too much either. This applies to all appliances. Keep them well maintained and they'll work better and last longer.
Wow, harder to come up with thirty than you think.
And now for the ones I didn't think I could include in the original thirty. They're meant as a giggle, not to offend!
31) don't have children. They're loud they're expensive.... This applies to let's as well!
32) don't clean, it's boring and cleaners are expensive.
33) don't use the cooker. It uses electricity and is expensive.
34) have romantic candle lit dinners to save more electricity!
35) live with your parents. That's what they're there for, to look after you!
Anyway. :-) I love freebies. I'd love thirty pounds to spend on some pretty fabric I have my eye on!
If you want to do it too, here's the link again:
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/30-ways-to-save-1-pound/
And here's a picture of a pound, because I like my blog posts to have pictures :-)
