Save-a-quid-or-2 thread

[rjpearce]

... we're gradually replacing them as bulbs blow.

I thought about doing that.. but then i thought.. if the bulbs blown it's not using any power at all!

I'm tempted to replace them all cause its going to save ££.. but i'm not sure what i would do with 18 second hand halogen spot lights. And it would cost a bomb! (anti money saving!).

-Rich

[Nick]

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

The ONLY time you're going to be in trouble buying a house is if you've over-stretched yourself on mortgage payments or if you're wanting/needing to move and you're in a negative equity/100% mortgage vs value situation.

I only have a 60% mortgage (based on borrowing vs house value at time of purchase) but if house prices drop, I might end up in with a mortgage for more than the house value. However, I'm not worried as I don't see us having to move any time soon and prices WILL eventually climb back up... just when that will happen is anybodies' guess but at least I'm not faced with having to find even more money to borrow, which I might not be able to afford to pay back, just to move house.

[gagaga]

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.

Natural fat is not that bad for you. Stuff to avoid is partially or fully hydrogenated fats, sugar, and your appetite - fat people are fat simply because they eat too much!

[Nick]

I thought about doing that.. but then i thought.. if the bulbs blown it's not using any power at all!

I'm tempted to replace them all cause its going to save ££.. but i'm not sure what i would do with 18 second hand halogen spot lights. And it would cost a bomb! (anti money saving!).

-Rich

Got a light in your cooker hood? Use that instead... give the kitchen a subdued, easy feel... plus it's lighter later in the summer anyway.

[gilljoy]

tesco points are a god send,

in store u only get £1 for each £1 of points vouchers but on their website u can get magazine subscriptions, discount vouchers and other goodies at a complete bargin.

i got pc zone subscription for £20 tesco vouchers for instance

[Nick]

Natural fat is not that bad for you. Stuff to avoid is partially or fully hydrogenated fats, sugar, and your appetite - fat people are fat simply because they eat too much!

lol, er, no, not strictly true but for some people, yes, obesity can have a medical cause.

And all edible fats are natural... especially the type Ferral is talking about and just because they're natural does not mean they are less bad for you.

You're right in that saturated fats, as they're also known, are to be avoided and this is exactly the type of fat you'd see coming out of your mince... as a rough rule of thumb, any fat from a land animal will be saturated.... though there's a fair whack of saturated fat in some fish too.

I'd rank reducing fats in the diet way above reducing sugar because sugar has about 1/3 the calories by weight and doesn't carry that hidden demon in the form of cholesterol like saturated fat does.

And as to appetite, you should certainly not ignore your appetite but aim to eat a balanced diet. A good source of protein and fibre (both of which help you feel full) is beans and pulses, which, if you buy them dried and soak and cook them yourself, are superb value and great for bulking out dishes. (Just watch the carbs on the beans, they can be quite high)

[Ferral]

Adding cereals and pulses to caseroles and soups really thickens and pads them out, a decent sized bowl of soup will fill you up.

[Steven W]

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:

Yep I got charged 2%, but on £3000 still worked out far cheaper than keeping with the credit card company I was with.

[Stringent]

What I now do:
Trying to stop buying unnecessary stuff from Scan

Drat they had the Corsair PSU on Today only I wanted.

I'm too weak willed.

[Zak33]

The Zak list of money savings, which is, frankly, never ending:

When buying stuff that has no shelf life, if it's on a special offer, buy a LOT of it
eg: anti persperant/deodarant: if it's buy one get one free.....empty the shelf. Take it all.

Use as much of every part of every vegetable as you can. Always cook the stalk from brocolli, sliced fine like carrots. It's great. Never peel potatoes, even if they're for roasting, skin on is good as gold, and often tastier
(note: years ago restaurants figured out that "potato skins" were good to sell.... go figure!)

Don't buy Economy toilet rolls. They're often not good value. Just cos they're cheap, doesn't mean you use less of them, or that there is more per roll. There often isn't. Look for the ones that have the lowest cost per sheet, even if they're the most expensive in the shop per pack. They will last longer. Cost per sheet...critical.

Buy good quality tea bags and make two cups per bag, not one. Yorkshire Tea for Hardwater areas makes THREE cups! I know...I use them all the time.

Buy good quality meat, and use less of it, and cook more vegetables to go with the meat.

Turn off any electrical stuff that can be turned off...AT THE WALL. TV's and PCs use electricity even when off at the front.
Ditto with ANYTHING that has a power brick. Power bricks use electricity even when the gagets not on (in 90% of cases....Nokia phone chargers seem to be an exception)

When approaching a roundabout, lift off the throttle a bout 5 times further away from it than normal and coast ALL the way....ignore the people over taking.... trust me.... and I BET you still have to break tomake it round the thing....cars roll a LOT better than you think. TRY IT..... it'l feel weird, so curse me....but DONT accelerate...roll....curse Zak...roll...curse....and finally as you get there, still going to fast to make it round, apologise to me

Turn off your air con occassionally.... specially if you have climate control.

Grow some salad. Dig over a bit of soil, plant MIXED LETTUCE LEAVES and water nightly..... one bag of seeds, £1.20 creates equivalent to about 20 BAGS of salad. Each bag of salad costs about £1.40 in a Supermarket. Cut leaves but dont pull up whole plant they just keep growing

(Woolworths Mr Fothergills seeds are awesome)

If yuo drive a lot like i do, buy plain digestice buscuits, and carry them in your car, and carry a bottle of tap water. When you feel a service station stop coming for food, eat 2 biscuits, and a few glugs of water, and drive on past. I have done this for 3 years now, and spend less than £1 per week on food while I'm out. This saves me about £1000 per year!

If you get good service from someone, give them a tip. Always tip good waiters, or home delivery people if it's on time. A £2 coin will make someones day. How does this save money? Im not religious, but I do belive that things come round. This is the only illogical piece of advice..... I dont know why, but it's always paid me back. I get better service on my second visit, I get told the better dishes by my favourite restaurants, I get the odd freeby from my local delivery curry bloke, and in the long run...I save money! Weird innit?

[kalniel]

When approaching a roundabout, lift off the throttle a bout 5 times further away from it than normal and coast ALL the way....ignore the people over taking.... trust me.... and I BET you still have to break tomake it round the thing....cars roll a LOT better than you think. TRY IT..... it'l feel weird, so curse me....but DONT accelerate...roll....curse Zak...roll...curse....and finally as you get there, still going to fast to make it round, apologise to me

For more fuel savings on a modern-ish car, make sure to coast in gear - no neutral or clutch. Yes you won't be able to coast as far, but the difference is you will be using absolutely zero fuel to do so - as soon as you use the clutch or neutral your engine has to use a surprising amount of fuel to maintain a smooth idle. You will also have full control of the car in gear.

[Zak33]

For more fuel savings on a modern-ish car, make sure to coast in gear - no neutral or clutch. Yes you won't be able to coast as far, but the difference is you will be using absolutely zero fuel to do so - as soon as you use the clutch or neutral your engine has to use a surprising amount of fuel to maintain a smooth idle. You will also have full control of the car in gear.

You are right to mention it incase anyone thought I meant to coast with no gear selected.
(To coast OUT of gear is illegal. It implies a lack of control and would be something that a Policeman could throw the book at you over.)

So damn good point.

[Whiternoise]

Turn off your air con occassionally.... specially if you have climate control.

Or 99.9% of the time you can just open a window..

[schmunk]

Turn off your air con occassionally.... specially if you have climate control.

Or 99.9% of the time you can just open a window..

At NSL speeds it's more efficient to use aircon than have the windows open.

[hitman67]

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.

The only problem I have with LEDs is how Directional they are. I have spots in this room and they fill the room, I tried LEDs and you ended up with 3 spots of light and darkness everywhere else.

[Nick]

Yeah, they are less diffuse than normal spots so possible only good in certain areas... I have a bunch of downlights in the kitchen ceiling though, so they work pretty well for me.

One word of caution though; unless you want a room to look cold DON'T let your PC-pimp side take over and buy the blues ones... stick with white or you'll end up with a room looking like the inside of a modders case.