Save-a-quid-or-2 thread

[Lee H]

I'm quite lucky in that near work we have Asda and near home I have a Tesco so I can take advantage of the offers from both places to get the majority of the shopping at quite a cheap price by getting the special offers they both have each week

[Stringent]

What I now do:

Cycle some days to work instead of drive
Drive more 'old woman' like (so hard!)
Turn off everything I don't use at the plug
Switched to a low powered home server (Tranquil - still waiting grr!)
Trying to stop buying unnecessary stuff from Scan

[Raz316]

I'm not actually sure if it's worth me doing this. But I tend not to fill the fridge with stuff that doesn't need constant chilling (like, I usually buy 4 cartons of juice and only keep one in the fridge)

I also tend not to completely fill my car with petrol. The sight of a full tank makes me drive less cautiously and more often.

[TheAnimus]

Don't be afraid to ditch your bank completely.

I just ditched HSBC in favour of The Co-operative (ethical banking FTW) and got better rates on my current account, my savings account and my credit card. Makes me wonder why I stuck with HSBC for so long before!

Ok, this might be a tad off topic, but...

Ethical Banking is just a conn, a marketing ploy, in many ways one thats as bad as 'Fair Trade' Product Branding.

For a start off, how can you have non-ethical banking? Its hard because you have to define ethics, the easyest definition is the law of the land. So that makes every bank in the UK 100% ethical.

Enless that's not good enough for you, in which case you start to discriminate. Note my choice of word. These people aren't going to waste money to find out if what your doing is ethical or not, they will simply not sell it to you.

Secondly, they can't do what they claim.

Criminal organisations regularally launder money, some estimated as much as 10% of the monies traded where originating from illegal sources. How can a firm claim to ensure its money is spent ethically when the secondary market is hudge? For instance you might give money to the African nutritious food company, who make a super good naturitious smoothie, that helps with all the problems. Excellent. Until you find out the only recipients where those who are supporting a horrifically violent ragiem.

This is brings me back to why i hate the notion, its un-fair. They can't relalistically spend enough time deciding whats ethical and what isn't, so instead they use their own set of predudice rules. How many would put their money into an account that garanteed it wouldn't be used to help fund developement of wales because they're all un-employed doll scroungers, based on the un-ethical behavour of a large miniroity.

[HEXUS]

Over in the HEXUS.community discussion forums, our readers have been sharing their thoughts on how to save a few quid, and we've plenty of suggestions worth taking a look at.

Read more.

[neonplanet40]

Well i think food has went up quite a bit but you don't notice it till you do a full grocery shop. An extra few pence on all items makes a big overall difference.

So i think people should think about trying local stalls etc. For example i go to my local stalls for fruit and vegetables and i find it much cheaper (and better quality) than tesco. Especially for potatoes etc.

Although i do live at home with parents in the summer so what i do when here as i cook alot is grow some of my own vegetables. I would encourage people to do this.

[tigerboyce]

I used to always go down to the shop/newsagents to buy a few goodies such as crisps/chocolate etc etc

once i realised that i was spending a few quid on that every single day, it adds up to a sidnificant amount... i stopped

Most of the time im not really saving money, i think why spend it on A when i could use that money on B, which is probably something alot better once saved up.


I do the pennies in a jar too

[Guy]

Regularly get a magazine every week/month/fortnight?

Have a look into getting a subscritpion, usually it'l work out a darn site cheaper per issue than getting it every time. They'l usually chuck in a free gift or something as well.

[Parm]

To quit smoking is a great way to save money.

If you're wondering just how much you're spending on the bad habit, try out this calculator: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/cost-of-smoking-calculator

[Steven W]

Shifting credit card balance onto 0% for balance transfers.

That's how I bought my new car, rather than going for a finance deal or loan.

If I haven't paid it off by the time the 0% expires, I'll transfer it again.

[SiM]

Shifting credit card balance onto 0% for balance transfers.

That's how I bought my new car, rather than going for a finance deal or loan.

If I haven't paid it off by the time the 0% expires, I'll transfer it again.

You have to be careful when doing that. Make sure you read the small print because usually they charge 2% for balance transfers...

Also if you use the card for other things it can end up costing you more. Quote from Nick:

Check out exactly HOW the relevant companies will pay off your debt with the money you give them. For example, a loan is just a straight payment whereas a credit card company will use your money to pay off the CHEAPEST interest balance first.

For example, say you have a credit card with £6000 on it. £1000 is a balance transfer at 5%. £2000 is from a promotion at 10% and £3000 is normal purchases at 27%.

You lob £2000 pay-off into it and they'll first take off the £1000 balance transfer, then half of the £2000 special offer leaving you still paying 10% on £1000 and 27% on £3000, even though the last purchases made were at the top-whack rate...

So the easiest way is to kill the card totally in one massive lump sum payoff... Which I know seems like a bloody daft thing to do but saving up and then pummelling the card in one go is far, far easier than trying to ease it down a bit each month with monthly payments, unless you can afford to lob significantly higher amounts than the minimum payment each month.

[rjpearce]

I bought a house .. But I am going to buy 18 x LED 2w spotlights to reduce crazy power used by 18 x 50w spotlights..
Also might try to build the world's first hamster powered pc!

-Rich

[Nick]

Actually, that's a damn good one!

Light bulbs, especially halogen spots, are stupidly expensive... sadly, I've got eight of the small ones in my kitchen.

Now an LED spot is roughly twice the cost of a standard bulb but we bought one as an experiment and it has so far lasted longer than any of the others... we're gradually replacing them as bulbs blow.

Where possible, we've also fitted energy saving bulbs, even the cost of retro fitting the old ceiling rose and pendant bulb holder then lobbing a cheap but nice lampshade on it is working out cheaper than the lovely-to-look-at-but-expensive-to-run lamps we used to have up there.

[Lee`]

LED light will last much longer than normal lights, when they start to put them in street lights, the limiting factor to the life of the street lights will be the lifetime of the pole!

[Ferral]

Another good one is when you are cooking say something like Chilli or Bolognaise. Do a big batch of it and use what you need and put the rest in a tub straight into the freezer. Then when it comes round to wanting to have that meal again its quicker and easier to just defrost and heat. Saves money on energy.

Even better idea is actually just make Bolognaise, then you have a good base for making Chilli. Just add Kidney Beans and spice and it is done. 2 separate meals!

This can also be said for casseroles. Cuts down on waste also, how many times have you just thrown whats left away or gave it to the dog?

Another little cooking tip for people that use electric hobs, these things take ages to cool down, so if you are cooking something like rice or pasta halfway through just turn the hob off. The residual heat that remains in the rings will finish cooking the rice or pasta.

This one is for blokes mainly! If you get your hair cut short, instead of going to a barber, invest in a set of decent shears and get partner / family member to just take it down to a low grade. It is easy enough to taper in after you get used to using them also.

Finally, a lot of the white label stuff in supermarkets is perfectly ok. Things like rice, pasta, milk, meat. Main thing with meat is that it is exactly the same as what is in the decent packaging, to cut costs they leave packing white as it is cheaper than to print colour. They also don't trim the excess fat off the meat, once again making it cheaper. It takes minutes to take off the thick fat, either with a decent knife or even a pair of scissors.

Minced beef is a bit different what with the fat being ground down with the meat. I suggest boiling the mince in water for about 10 mins, then drain off the water and it takes most of the horrible oily fat with it. A lot or people don't like doing this as they believe that most of the taste is actually in that fat, regardless of how unhealthy it is. So, stick a beef oxo or stock in when you have drained the water off and make the meal you intended.

[tiggerai]

Also if you use the card for other things it can end up costing you more. Quote from Nick:

Yes, Just about to transfer again due to this one... stupid me.

once card for purchases, one for balance transfer.