Money saving tips

Analoguesat

Analoguesat

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Ok money is tight. Folks must have various good idea for saving money in these difficult times. Serious tips only please!

So to kick things off heres mine.

Use the Tesco & Asda price comparison websites after you have shopped in there.

-https://www.tescopricecheck.com/

-http://www.asdapriceguarantee.co.uk/

Last Friday we did a small shop in Asda, (curry for dinner, a crate of 18 tins of Stella, and a couple of interesting bottles of beer I hadnt seen before)

Stuck the details in the Asda site, and they told me Sainsburys would have been £1 cheaper, and gave me a voucher for £2-20!

Last weeks big shop in Tesco got me a voucher for £1-10

You arent going to get rich on these amounts but its a couple of quid off the next shop in Asda, and at the end of the day the money is better in my pocket than in theirs. :D


(*) The tesco one isnt well advertised (wonder why?!) but it does exist!
 
Another tip - when you get home put all the small loose change (1p / 2p / 5p) in a jar. You wont miss it, and it'll make your pockets lighter. You would be surprised how fast the pennies mount up. I stick all my 50p's away in a piggy bank as well - and that really does make a difference.

Empty the coins at the end of a year and get them into the bank. Ive got around 60 quid waiting to be banked atm.

Be careful about using those coin counting machines that are appearing in supermarkets now - they take a hefty percentage of the money going in (~8%) You are better off going down the bank and getting some coin bags off them.
 
1. Brew own Beer

2. Brew own Wine

5. Don't be snobbish about Lidl



Oh, and when running hot tap, save first few pints in watering can until flow actually gets hot.
 
Nowt wrong with Lidl - they have some nice cheeses in there :)

I use to brew my own beer - it was terrible :-rofl2
 
Heres a nice simple zero cost one - turn all your heating & hot water thermostats down a couple of degrees - you wont notice the difference but you will save loads of £££'s
 
Charity shops for non-perishable stuff. Plenty of good class ones where I am. Got a nice set of curtains for the bathroom a while ago.
 
Analoguesat said:
Heres a nice simple zero cost one - turn all your heating & hot water thermostats down a couple of degrees - you wont notice the difference but you will save loads of £££'s
Click to expand...

You must have a very understanding other half, mine notices if I drop the thermostat 1 degree


I have to say I was surprised by this but this last winter I kept the heating on 24/7 during the really cold spells turning the thermostat down when going to bed and up again when coming home from work. I used 20% less gas even though we had freezing weather for twice as long last winter than in 2009/10
 
Topper said:
You must have a very understanding other half, mine notices if I drop the thermostat 1 degree
Click to expand...

You could always reverse the wires in it - less is more etc. - and it still clicks......
 
B&M Bargains have spread from their North West homeland, opening quite a few new stores in the last couple of years. Great for store cupboard items
 
Analoguesat said:
Heres a nice simple zero cost one - turn all your heating & hot water thermostats down a couple of degrees - you wont notice the difference but you will save loads of £££'s
Click to expand...

Owing to the huge cost of Heating Oil at times since December, I decided that instead of leaving all the Radiators on throughout the house and just relying on Room Stat/TRV, I'd physically turn off the valves in unoccupied rooms.

I kid you not, but I have saved 40% on the normal volume of Oil consumed.

The only downside is that on occasion (and Topper will empathise, I'm sure) , I have forgotten to put the Bedroom radiator back on an hour or two before going up the wooden hill (A difficult enough exercise anyway, as we live in a bungalow).

I also turned the actual Boiler temp. up as I discovered it had been like driving a car in the wrong gear going uphill and the boiler was shutting down on boiler temp before the room stat and hot water stat. demands were met: Pump therefore running to little effect.

Much more efficient now.


Edit: BTW, I would be careful about turning down the hot water temp as there can be health implications if it fails to reach 55C.
 
Tivù said:
The only downside is that on occasion (and Topper will empathise, I'm sure) , I have forgotten to put the Bedroom radiator back on an hour or two before going up the wooden hill (A difficult enough exercise anyway, as we live in a bungalow).
Click to expand...

lol On numerous occasions and I still bear the scars :eek
Tivù said:
I also turned the actual Boiler temp. up as I discovered it had been like driving a car in the wrong gear going uphill and the boiler was shutting down on boiler temp before the room stat and hot water stat. demands were met: Pump therefore running to little effect.

Much more efficient now.
Click to expand...

Did exactly the same Gordon, upped the boiler thermostat as well

Tivù said:
Edit: BTW, I would be careful about turning down the hot water temp as there can be health implications if it fails to reach 55C.
Click to expand...

Not just from the legionaires either
 
Tivù said:
Edit: BTW, I would be careful about turning down the hot water temp as there can be health implications if it fails to reach 55C.
Click to expand...

Our hot water is heated by the fire as well - we regularly boil the tank in the winter :-lmao
 
Ah, perhaps you burn Pete ?
























Sorry, I meant Peat.
 
I tried to but he kept climbing out of the fireplace :-rofl2


Coal normally, logs if I can get some cheap - the lads on the far occasionally come round and give us a pile of logs for 20 quid or so
 
Tivù said:
Ah, perhaps you burn Pete ?
Click to expand...

I have a very low calorific value (unless you meant Pete Burns who will have a high plastic content)

It's amusing to read about the supermarket comparisons, as locally I only have a choice of two, SuperU or Lidls. I do shop at both and select my purchases carefully in both stores, with an eye on special offers. Heating wise I have the Rayburn providing cooking, background heat downstairs and running 4 radiators + a towelrail upstairs. There's no thermostat to alter either. If it gets chilly in the living room I can light the log (peasant) burner or if I'm feeling mean, put on an extra layer of clothing.
 
Ahem. Back to a sensible discussion - ensure the car tyres are inflated to the correct pressure & take out all the unnecessary junk rattling around in the boot
 
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