Quick Money Saving Tips and Tricks

The original post (The Facebook Stalker - The Conclusion) has now been moved to the join the rest of the story. All the pages have now been recorded as one entire post. Find the complete story here

Today’s money-saving tips are just a few tricks to keep firmly in mind when you go shopping at the supermarket. Of course there are so many other areas in our lives where we can claw back on the amount we’re spending, but we’ll discuss these in due course.



1.Instead of buying several different cleaners for multiple tasks, add soda crystals to washing powder to do a multitude of cleaning around the house. It’s cheaper, safer, better for the environment, and gets the job done.


2.Before you think you’ve got a deal it’s wise to check the price per smallest unit (100ml or 100g for example). This information will be on the price tag on the shelf below the item, in almost-invisible writing which you have to bend over to read. Generally, larger items are cheaper per unit, especially with things like cereals, washing powder, toilet roll etc.


3.Frozen spinach, carrots, beans, peas, okras, roasted (frozen) aubergines, etc taste exactly the same as their fresh counterparts and sell for almost half the price. You save in two ways: (a) The amount you pay for the product. (b) There is no wastage. Fresh items are sold by weight but you can’t use end bits and stems. There’s also no ‘going bad’ in the fridge so you never have to throw it out.


4.Not having a list is a very expensive way to shop. If you don’t know what you need, you’re likely to grab everything you think you want. Make sure your supermarket visits are accompanied by a list.


5.Always look at the bottom shelf or the one above eye-level for the true price the item is worth. Supermarkets put their most expensive items on the eye-level shelves. The chopped tomatoes you pull off the shelf on your way to the freezer section could very well be selling for 20% less on the shelf right under your nose – literally.


6.Visit ‘discount’ or ‘cash and carry’ outlets for items like paper towels, shampoo, toothpaste etc. You may find that they stock end-of-line products and sell them cheaper than your supermarket. While you’re there, buy long-life items like rice, pasta, oil, toilet roll etc, in bulk. You’ll get them for as much as half the price.

Winter Living Savings

The original post (The Facebook Stalker - page 2 of 3) has now been moved to join the start of the story. All the pages have now been recorded as one entire post. Find the complete story in my short story collection, 'Head Games'. 


At this time of year we tend to go wild with spending. I think this is because it can sometimes seem useless trying to save money on one hand, while splashing out on goodies for the family and more Christmas decorations for the tree, on the other. However, there are still some tiny ways in which we can try to minimise the outgoings in other areas of our lives. Our wallets will thank us for it in January during the wringing-of-hands season when the first bank statement of 2010 arrives in the post.



In and around the home


This is the time when cars get randomly attacked and vandalised in the street. We’ve had our cars smashed, used for a graffiti canvas, snowballed (which resulted in a broken side window), otherwise vandalised and a windscreen destroyed, all at this time of year when it’s dark and not many people are in the cold streets late at night. (And we live in a decent neighbourhood.) Make sure that you’re parking in a safe place and save yourself the stress. As you know, claiming on insurance is not totally free. They always get you back the following year.


Speaking of car insurance, if you park your car in your drive (driveway), or better still, in a garage, you get cheaper car insurance. Having a working alarm also helps lower the premium. If you’re older than 50, why not change your policy to one aimed at older people? If your senior parent lives with you, having them as the main policy holder and you as the second driver will save you a few bobs every year.


Reduce your hot water temperature at the source. You’ll be using a lot of it now and you’ll only be mixing it with cold water to cool it down. Why not save your boiler the hard work (electricity) of heating it up to that extent in the first place.


Register with cinema chains and take your kids to the cinema for free (at certain times). Win free tickets, music vouchers and cheap popcorn too. This is the time for presents. Get yourself and family some free stuff when you have the time to use them.


Let your printer work for you. Print your coupons from family days-out sites. Get fantastic deals and free trips.


If you have kids visiting who cannot sleep without a light on, use a night (plug-in) light instead of leaving your hall lights on all night.


Watch what you’re using your credit card to buy. If you used your credit card to purchase something which came at a discount of 10%, by the end of next year the interest you will have paid on the price of that particular garment/present will add up to significantly more than you ‘saved’ in the sale (unless, of course, you pay off your cards each month).


Eating ugly is good for you


Price depends largely on how attractive the item appears to the buyer. If you don’t mind eating a pear that’s gone, well – pear shaped, you could snap it up for 30% less than the actual price. Items are always priced to make a decent profit for the retailer, so don’t feel bad because you’re not getting it for less than it’s worth.


Most vegetables are sold as pre-packaged and loose versions. The pre-packaged ones are all neatly arranged, virtually the same sizes and are beautiful to behold. The loose ones are bent, ugly and of all different shapes and sizes. There is no difference in the nutritional value of these two groups of vegetables/fruit. The difference lies with the pricing. Don’t get taken in.


Bottled water


Purchase a jug with a filter rather than bottled water. Drink pure, fresh-tasting water for a fraction of the cost you now pay. A glass jug with a filter (which you change monthly) provides you with water just as pure as the bottled variety. The difference is in your wallet.

For more on money saving ideas, see my book, 'How To Spend Less.' Details on this blog.

How to Save on Family Entertainment

One of the areas in which we’ve had to cut down our spending has been entertainment for the family. The current economic situation has signalled a shift in the amount we previously spent on our social lives. Many people are currently looking to find more traditional ways of spending time with their spouses and kids. The value of the ‘quality time’ (as opposed to the hefty cost of the treat) can now be stressed. Below are some helpful ways of cutting the entertainment costs within the family. My book ‘How to Spend Less’ addresses these points in more detail.
1. Do some research to find enjoyable games that you can personally set up and play at your kids’ parties instead of hiring a DJ/face painter/juggler. This is terribly easy to do even if you’ve never done it before. Design and print your own invitations. Play your own music. Assign tasks to various family members, and get all the work done for free.


2. Get together with your kids’ friends’ parents and plan a car share system for travelling to clubs, school, swimming, trips and other activities. One parent picks up, the other drops off. Save time, energy, costs and carbon emissions.


3. Book your foreign holidays in University cities. Universities rent out students’ accommodation during school breaks. These go for half the price of hotel rooms. Check before you go, as based on the size of the individual rooms, this plan may not be suitable for families with more than one child.


4. Plan an affordable and green wedding to control your spending. Find the entire article at Beyond Jane. It’s called, ‘How to Have a Green, Affordable Wedding; The Definitive Guide.’


5. There is no need to stop going out for a meal with your partner entirely. If you eat out, check newspapers for two-for-one deals particularly during the winter when custom is slow. Do lunch instead of dinner. It’s a lot cheaper, especially if you order the set menu and the house wine, and pass on the coffee at the end.


6. Remember that if you wish to go to a bowling complex or activities’ centre, you can get significant discounts if you’re part of a group. Getting together a few of your kids’ friends and their families for these outings is an idea to consider.


7. A perfect day out camping in the back garden and surviving on just what you packed in your overnight bag is a great experience to have with your kids. All of this comes for free and the only thing spent would be time and effort.


8. If you would like to take your child to visit interesting venues but can’t afford it, offer yourself as a volunteer on a few of his/her school trips. They’re all free for parent volunteers and give you an opportunity to get to know your child’s friends and teachers.

My book, 'How to Sp£nd L€$$' is now available.

Saving Money On Buying Christmas Presents

As far as possible, buy Christmas presents from shops that give reward cards, loyalty discount vouchers, and two-for-one offers etc. You will get a lot more for your money because this is the only time of year you’ll have the need to buy several presents all at once.



I try to figure out ways to shop wiser every Christmas. For the last four years I’ve been buying presents mainly from my supermarket, mail-order catalogues, and a UK chemist/gift shop called Boots. Here’s why.


To each their own list

First I allocate how much I’m going to spend on each person. I start shopping at the end of October and decide what proportion of presents I’ll buy from the various outlets I’ve mentioned above. I give my kids a free catalogue I pick up every year from a national toy shop, and ask them to make a list of 10 items each – based on the hundreds of toys in the catalogue – of things they would like for Christmas. I take this list to my supermarket (during my weekly grocery shopping) and purchase the items there, where they cost much less than they do at the toy shops. The kids understand that while they won’t get everything on the list, its existence ensures that they will get two things they really want. Thus, the element of surprise is still preserved. This of course is separate from the stockings full of random, surprise goodies Santa leaves under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve night.


Make sure you keep all receipts and a tight check on what you’re spending.


Supermarket bargains

Supermarkets are the perfect outlets from which to buy presents for your kids and younger members of your family. They stock similar (if not exactly the same) items as popular gift shops, but sell them for half the price. If you don’t want your recipients to know where the gift has come from, purchase items whose shop labels you can easily remove; use the plain variety of stylish wrapping paper; and spend extra time wrapping your presents with generous wrapping ribbons and bows. These you can purchase at half price after Christmas to use for the following year’s festivities. Fine wrapping paper will give any present a lift.



Mail-order catalogue shopping

 Mail-order catalogue companies try to attract new customers at the start of the autumn every year, by offering a free gift (usually with free delivery) with every order from new customers. Take advantage of this. Make an order, get your free stuff which is essentially a two-for-one deal, pay off your balance, and forget about them. If you ignore their subsequent catalogues for the rest of the year, they will stop sending them soon enough. If they don’t get the drift, cancel your account with them and move onto another company next Christmas. You’re doing nothing wrong. You’re taking advantage of a bargain and paying for your purchases like every good citizen should. This year I got a fabulous (expensive) coat for free with a single purchase from a mail-order catalogue. There’s another Christmas present I didn’t have to pay for!


Two-for-one deals and loyalty card offers

I saved £62.00 last week end when I made my final Christmas presents purchases. These were made at the chemist/gift shop where they sell three items for the price of two. I’ve done the bulk of my serious Christmas shopping here every year, ever since I discovered their magnificent offers.

Customers get the cheapest item free, for every three items you buy. However, to make this work in your favour, you have to make sure you’re buying three items as three separate purchases, and not twelve all in one go. Separating the purchases means that you get more expensive things for free, as opposed to all the cheap, leftovers at the end. I bought my mother-in-law two items for £15.00 each and got a free gift for my sister worth £13.00. After I paid for these, I put them aside on the counter and presented my second basket. This purchase included two items for my father-in-law, one worth £22 and another £20. I got a third item worth £20.00 for my husband for free.


As I was parked right outside, I put these in the car and went back yet another time. My sister’s, daughter’s and father-in-law’s birthdays are a few days either side of Christmas so I find it convenient to shop for these at the same time. After buying two gifts worth £23.00, and £22.00 each, I was able to secure another lovely free gift worth £18.00. As if this wasn’t enough. The points on my loyalty card rocketed because 500 free points were on offer if you spent more than £30.00 in one transaction. Added all in, I had a total of £11.00 to spend on anything I wanted in the store. I got a present for my husband and another for my daughter’s birthday gift.


Together, buying presents from catalogues that give you free gifts for shopping, shopping at the supermarket where items are cheap, and buying from shops that offer you savings on what you spend save you a whole lot of money on your Christmas shopping. Think of all the food you could get with the cash you saved!

If you wanted to save even more, why don’t you buy next year’s Christmas presents this year in the New Year’s Day sale? I didn’t have a chance to do that last year because of illness, but this is a perfect way to get expensive presents for less than half their asking price. As long as you stay away from fashion and music, (and not use your credit card) you’ll be singing your way to the bank next Christmas. But this is another article….

For UK readers: a major wine company has just gone into administration. This is the perfect time to shop for a case of wine (half price) then distribute individual bottles as Christmas presents.


For those sending packages and cards to the UK; we’ve had a lengthy postal strike and the undelivered mail is piled up way high. It’s time to send yours now if you want them delivered for Christmas.

Save Money At The Supermarket

Today’s money-saving tips are just a few tricks to keep firmly in mind when you go shopping at the supermarket. Of course there are so many other areas in our lives where we can claw back on the amount we’re spending, but we’ll discuss these in due course.



1.Instead of buying several different cleaners for multiple tasks, add soda crystals to washing powder to do a multitude of cleaning around the house. It’s cheaper, safer, better for the environment, and gets the job done.


2.Before you think you’ve got a deal it’s wise to check the price per smallest unit (100ml or 100g for example). This information will be on the price tag on the shelf below the item, in almost-invisible writing which you have to bend over to read. Generally, larger items are cheaper per unit, especially with things like cereals, washing powder, toilet roll etc.


3.Frozen spinach, carrots, beans, peas, okras, roasted (frozen) aubergines, etc taste exactly the same as their fresh counterparts and sell for almost half the price. You save in two ways: (a) The amount you pay for the product. (b) There is no wastage. Fresh items are sold by weight but you can’t use end bits and stems. There’s also no ‘going bad’ in the fridge so you never have to throw it out.


4.Not having a list is a very expensive way to shop. If you don’t know what you need, you’re likely to grab everything you think you want. Make sure your supermarket visits are accompanied by a list.


5.Always look at the bottom shelf or the one above eye-level for the true price the item is worth. Supermarkets put their most expensive items on the eye-level shelves. The chopped tomatoes you pull off the shelf on your way to the freezer section could very well be selling for 20% less on the shelf right under your nose – literally.


6.Visit ‘discount’ or ‘cash and carry’ outlets for items like paper towels, shampoo, toothpaste etc. You may find that they stock end-of-line products and sell them cheaper than your supermarket. While you’re there, buy long-life items like rice, pasta, oil, toilet roll etc, in bulk. You’ll get them for as much as half the price.


I hope these tips have been helpful to you. I’ll be discussing others as we progress. Thanks for your time and please feel free to add your own. If you’d like to read more, you can find my book on saving money.

Money Saving Tips

I run a weekly column dedicated to saving money, on Year Zero Writers' blog. I wanted to save all the material on 'A Blogger's Books' as well, so I'll be copying them over here once they've been read and archived. This won't interfere with my usual posts here, It will just satisfy my need for 'nesting' by having my work displayed on this page. The post immediately below is the first of my contributions on that site. The links below it are the subsequent posts. Click on any one of the headings to read the full articles individually.


All the tips included here are from my book, 'How To Spend Less' now available to buy when you click on the link 'available books' at the top of this blog page.

SAVE MONEY BY SHARING A PET

My topic this week concerns pets. They can get very expensive to maintain, can’t they, especially in this current financial climate. My idea for cutting down on pet-related costs is to share a pet with your siblings/friends and their families.

How will this work?
If you’re now thinking of having a pet, you could start off by choosing one with another member of your extended family or good friend. Pet insurance, vet bills, food, toys, care etc will all be shared equally by both parties. The pet will have two homes and twice as much love. You could alternate visits weekly, and when you go away on holiday you’ll save yourself a bundle on pet care/sitters because the other family who owns the pet will have it at their place for free. Of course you’ll still have to buy food, litter etc, but whatever you purchase will last twice as long, thus be half as expensive.

If your kids have always wanted a dog (for example) and you have no objection other than you could not afford it, you could make plans to half adopt your friend/sibling’s dog (with their agreement of course). If you’re thinking that the animal may be stressed, I don’t think you have to worry about this at all. My friend’s cat lives with her and her neighbour equally. It gets fed, petted, loved and needed at both places. It thrives on its regal lifestyle. My dog, China did exactly the same thing with myself and my friend. She was equally happy at both homes. I didn’t have any kids at the time, but my friend did. China got her exercise running around with my friend’s kids. When she was tired, she came home to me and played lazy, got her back rubbed, and a nice bowlful of food to eat.

A burden shared is a burden halved. A pet shared is twice as much fun and the financial responsibilities halved.

And the subseqent posts: Click on the headings to read the entire article.

A Hole In Your Sock

Last night my daughter told me she had a hole in one of her socks.


‘Put it in the bin.’ I told her, ‘but keep the good one.’

She screwed up her face, puzzled that I would want to keep one odd sock. You see, I’ve always bought socks in large packs. A pack of ten identical socks generally gives you twenty socks. When number twenty has been worn down and thrown out, you’re left with nine pairs and an odd one out.

Why The Credit Crunch Is Not All Bad

Say what we want about the credit crunch, it’s been good for us and the way our spending was reeling past the red zone of the crazy meter. I know this sounds bizarre. How can tightening our belts and having to spend less be good for us? How can cutting back on luxury items or entertaining our kids be good for the way they live, and in their best interests? Having to reduce the amount of energy we use in order to cut our bills and spending, surely is a burden and not a blessing.



Spending Less On Home Improvements
 
In the current economic crises, it’s obviously wise to keep spending to a minimum; especially when it relates to arbitrary outgoings like home improvement. However, we shouldn’t have to give up on this altogether, because there are several simple ways of doing it well, yet cheaply.
 
1. Need a new kitchen? Reuse your old cupboards, but change the doors and door handles. It’s wasteful throwing out good cupboards. Keep your sink. Replace the taps.
 
How To Save At The Supermarket
 
Today’s money-saving tips are just a few tricks to keep firmly in mind when you go shopping at the supermarket. Of course there are so many other areas in our lives where we can claw back on the amount we’re spending, but we’ll discuss these in due course.
 
1.Instead of buying several different cleaners for multiple tasks, add soda crystals to washing powder to do a multitude of cleaning around the house. It’s cheaper, safer, better for the environment, and gets the job done.
 
Saving Money On Buying Christmas Presents
 
As far as possible, buy Christmas presents from shops that give reward cards, loyalty discount vouchers, and two-for-one offers etc. You will get a lot more for your money because this is the only time of year you’ll have the need to buy several presents all at once.


How To Save On Family Entertainment

One of the areas in which we’ve had to cut down our spending has been entertainment for the family. The current economic situation has signalled a shift in the amount we previously spent on our social lives. Many people are currently looking to find more traditional ways of spending time with their spouses and kids. The value of the ‘quality time’ (as opposed to the hefty cost of the treat) can now be stressed. This article outlines some helpful ways of cutting the entertainment costs within the family. My book ‘How to Spend Less’ addresses these points in more detail.

Winter Living Savings

At this time of year we tend to go wild with spending. I think this is because it can sometimes seem useless trying to save money on one hand, while splashing out on goodies for the family and more Christmas decorations for the tree, on the other. However, there are still some tiny ways in which we can try to minimise the outgoings in other areas of our lives. Our wallets will thank us for it in January during the wringing-of-hands season when the first bank statement of 2010 arrives in the post.


Quick Money Saving Hints and Tips



Today’s money-saving tips are just a few tricks to keep firmly in mind when you go shopping at the supermarket. Of course there are so many other areas in our lives where we can claw back on the amount we’re spending, but we’ll discuss these in due course.
1. Instead of buying several different cleaners for multiple tasks, add soda crystals to washing powder to do a multitude of cleaning around the house. It’s cheaper, safer, better for the environment, and gets the job done.
2. Before you think you’ve got a deal it’s wise to check the price per smallest unit (100ml or 100g for example). This information will be on the price tag on the shelf below the item, in almost-invisible writing which you have to bend over to read. Generally, larger items are cheaper per unit, especially with things like cereals, washing powder, toilet roll etc. 


You can purchase my book below for extreme tips on how to save money.