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  • Savings tips

    Hi folks,

    As promised on the credit crunch ideas thread, i am posting some savings ideas from a "Living on Less" thread from the other forum I haunt.

    I will preface this by saying that these are not all my ideas, and I haven't tried all of them, nor do I advocate all of them. I am simply putting up what others have suggested.

    (And it may take me a couple of messages to fit them all in).

    For starters - the food cupboards!!

    Grocery shopping - Meat
    I buy all my meat in the butcher My butcher is cheaper than the local supermarket and the quality is much better. There is also a knock on effect in that the packing waste (and therefore the space in the bin) is smaller from the butcher than the prepacked stuff in the supermarket.


    Grocery Shopping - other
    I bulk buy 100% extra free products THAT I WOULD HAVE BEEN BUYING ANYWAY
    bulk buy things that have extra free if I would be buying them in the future anyway
    Always buy Washing Powders dishwasher tablets in bulk, I got a 5kg Box of Surf today in Dunnes for 9.99 50 washes. I usually only use half the recommended amount of powder too! So lasts even longer.
    Teabags and coffee also buy when on special offer!
    use any coupons I get
    I also use my club card no matter what I am buying to get the vouchers

    Always watch for reduced near end of date food and buy in bulk - got 10 tubs for the price of 5 today in the pinapple pieces that dd1 uses for college lunch snack

    Always buy 4st bag of potatoes - in some places it is the same price as a small/med bag of same potatoes

    When on holidays bring back one or two bottles of some expensive alcohol - e.g., we always bring back a bottle of whiskey and a liqueur like Baileys. We don't use them often but they're half the price and great to have in the house (doesn't apply to you LoTwan, you're too sensible!!)

    Do a trip to Newry once in a blue moon even just to stock up on the bulk items like washing powder, cleaning stuff, cooking "store-cupboard" ingredients, etc.

    Anything you use that's on special offer, buy several of. We have cupboards full of coffee, tea, juice, cereal, flour, etc. Whenever it's cheap I bulk buy.

    I do a small weekly shop, but do 1 big ONLINE shop a month! This not only stops me from picking up stupid stuff we don't need, but I do it around childrens allowance day when there are a tonne of special offers on both Tesco online and Superquinn online. I have a look at both sites, decide who has more of what I'd buy anyway on special offer and buy from who ever has the best deals! I generally get a lot of BOGOF items and Buy2get1free stuff. Saves a packet on the shopping!

    I have NO loyalty to Brands or stores, it's just whatever is cheapest on the day!
    Boots have BOGOF on most soaps etc at the moment. I got 8 bars of soap today and will go back to get more on Monday (and I used my advantage card so I claimed the points)

    It is only a bargain if you were going to buy it anyway.

    I have found that since the cost per item etc came in I find it easier to see if something in a bigger pack is actully cheaper! Last week I was buying pampers nappies and it was working dearer to buy the box instead of the double pack! so I always look at the cost per item before I buy! I bought a pack of 32 loo rolls last week for €13 and DH said he was embarresed to be buying so many, when I told ihim they were €5.99 for 9 of them normally he changed his mind!!! I also buy in bulk even if I don't need them now but will in a few weeks etc and we recently built a nice big cupboard to hold all the extra stuff!!

    I always buy the BOGOF if its things I normally buy and like someone else I have no loyalty to any brand in particular.If its cheap Ill buy it!I


    Also have a cupboard clear-out once a month especially before the 'big shop' - you'll re-discover soup packets/mixs, tins of beans and herbs that you might have duplicated on your shopping list... Plus know what cleaning products you already have.

    Plan the weekly meals before you shop - Saves on overspending/unnecessary items or clogging up valuable space in freezer that may be needed for those meat specials!

    Do my shopping in Aldi so it always saves me a fortune - I wonder how I ever did it in Dunnes
    . Shop at Aldi/Lidl and save..difference is amazing.

    I'm with you on Aldi & Lidl, all the way!! I do most of my shopping in both of these, quality on most items is great, fewer artifical additives in some items than the branded version. Other items are actually made by Irish businesses... my dh is a tea snob - I'm the coffee snob!! Dh's fav tea is Aldi (Barry's tea, I believe!) and my fav ground coffee comes from there too..

    I got a 500g of porridge oats for 56c in Lidl ! That's a months worth of breakfasts for the price of a bar of chocolate
    Its amazing how many 05 mercs you see in the car park of Aldi and Lidl and then filling the boots of their cars with huge trolley loads of stuff...you'd imagine someone with an 05 merc would be shopping in M+S /Superquinn etc but I guess it goes to prove the saying watch the pennies and the pounds will mind themselves (or something to that effect!)
    Social economists call that 'the tightening of the Gucci belts'


    Amended my pending Tesco.ie delivery to remove all fruit, vegt, meat & poultry. I'm going to the local butcher & greengrocer on Saturday morning.

    meat can be cheaper than the supermarkets, also buying your fruit and veg in a fruit and veg shop is cheaper, I think there is a perception that supermarkets are cheaper but it's not the case, I was buying some 'health' foods recently in a health shop and first checked the prices in the supermarkets and they were dearer, so it's worth to shop around.

    We do our BIG shop once a month north of the border since we realised thatthe money goes OH_SO_MUCH further up there if we'd known sooner. We stock up on freezer goods from ICELAND and get all our juices, cordials, canned and dried foods from Asda, and all the little 'nice' things we'd never dream of buying down here Things like school uniforms are for NOTHING in Woolworths up there. Honestly, I paid 40euros for a grey pleat pinafore for DD1 in the local 'recommended by the school' shop and that weekend we went up north, and I got 3 more grey pleat pinafores (not on special or anything) virtually the same damned dress - for £6 each. DH must have told half of Ireland when we got back

    I shop online with superquinn because I buy less that way and it's hassle free. I buy the items that I really need first, then the things that are on special offer and finally if there is anything left in the budget, we get a treat for us and a treat for the kids.

    We save up all our supercent until Christmas and use it for the Christmas shop, it's usually about 60 or 70 euro. Also, Superquinn are great at giving you little extras when you shop online, they have often given me something free and at Christmas they give vouchers for free items all throughout the month of January. Considering that I find them cheaper than Tesco anyway, it's brilliant.

  • #2
    Food useage
    When cooking in the oven I throw in bread, cake, pudding - to use the gas that is on anyway
    Never ever make enough for only one dinner when doing the likes of a pot dinner eg; stew, bologonaise, chilli, curry etc. - make in bulk and freeze
    Make my own Soup mixes, buy veg prepare it and freeze it, then all i have to do is pop it in a pot and cook!
    Cook a batch of "cheaper" dinners, i.e., bean stews, tuna casseroles, etc., and have them in the freezer. Kids also love a rubbish dinner of eggs, mashed potatoes and baked beans which costs very little and over the course of a week if you have that twice (it's still nutritious) it can save a good bit.

    If you've left-over pastry (you know those bits you can never do anything with) chuck it in a bag in the freezer and keep adding to it. It's very handy to have a batch of made up pastry ready to go.

    Bulk buy when things are on special and bulk cook and freeze.

    Tescos and Dunnes do very good value on food that's out of date that day or the following day - well worth buying in bulk and freezing. I got three huge chickens in Dunnes last week for €3.00 and made enchiladas for the freezer - enough for the five of us for six different days.

    Pick your own fruit - somewhere local.
    Eat vegetarian a couple of times a week.

    I also do a couple of veg meals a week.If there is not much left in the fridge on a Friday I make something out of whatever is there!We have some very interesting meals in this house I can tell you!!

    Never eat lunch out - always either go home or bring it to work with me - saves a fortune

    Always make enough sheppards pie/lasagne/stew etc to do a lunch/dinner over a coupel of days - get paid monthly so freezer is already always full with meat etc for month.

    Make your own soup - really good for you and you can throw in whatever veg you have in the press/fridge

    Eat eggs - filling, cheap and nutritious and can be used in so many different ways.

    One thing that came to mind when someone (can't remember who) mentioned her DH not throwing away stale bread 'cos it's a waste... next time you're using the oven for something else stick it in till it goes really hard, leave it cool down afterwards and use a cheese grater (the fine setting) to make thin breadcrumbs out of it. This can be used then instead of that Paxo coating that God only knows what's in it, and it lasts for a long time in storage too (as opposed to the fresh breadcrumbs)

    Also, if you're buying chicken breasts, check the price of the whole chicken. I've sometimes found that the whole chicken is only slightly more expensive and you can get the 2 breasts, the 2 wings, the 2 thighs and drumsticks, make chicken stock with the carcass and a couple of veggies, and once the carcass is boiled scrape off the bits of meat that were left in it and make chicken croquettes (delicious if you add a chopped boiled egg too). The croquettes then can be coated with the breadcrumbs above and batches can be put in bags in the freezer.

    we got a small chest freezer a couple of years ago that doesn't take that much space. I have found that the freezers without drawers per se can take much more stuff than the other ones
    . our house is fairly small too, so we put the small chest freezer out in the shed! DH had to put electricity out to the shed anyway.. so I figured we might as well use the space!

    also try to avoid buying boneless chicken breasts or fillets whenever I can, I find the price extortionate and much prefer the taste of chicken cooked on the bone Extra work I know but yummier. I would also love your recipe for chicken croquettes and could offer one of my economical recipes for chicken casserole in return?

    Buy whole chickens, rather than portions. We cook a chicken at least once a week and we get about three dinners out of it (plus stuffing for sambos!). And I'm a vegetarian
    If you have a few slices of bread at the end of a loaf that are about to go stale, chuck them in the food mixer, make breadcrumbs and bung them in the freezer. Very hand for the aforementioned stuffing if you need it in a hurry.

    I'm obviously obsessed with stuffing, but one of my favourite and very 'el cheapo' dinners is stuffed peppers. Make whatever stuffing you would make for a chicken, add in a few slivers of cooked ham for the carnivores or some beans/chick peas for the veggies, bake in the oven and, voila, dinner!

    If you are turning on your oven to do a chicken or whatever, do roast potatoes as well to use the oven heat. Also, who would say no to roasties?!!?!

    Get right in at your cupboards and to a big search every time you write your shopping list. You'd be amazed what can be lurking back there.

    Bring your own lunch to work. We have a microwave in our kitchenette and I always bring a container with some leftover dinner from the night before. Cheap, and much better for you.
    I've only recently started bringing lunch in and I'm going to save a few bob! Heretofore have been allowing myself the luxury of getting a take-out ciabbata sambo and soup at a local deli (a really nice one I might add, right Vanya?) but I'm been forking out about €6.50 a day So, I'll be saving €30 a week - €120 a month - just on lunches. Makes sense.


    My hubby gets home from work quite late some nights, so I always leave a dinner that he can just bung in the microwave. He is usually starving at that stage and, left to his own devices, will stop and get a takeaway on the way home. But if he knows there's something he can heat up very quickly at home (and I don't mean ME!!!) he will have that instead.

    Aldi/LIDL both do Tortilla wraps (flat in packet) some are garlic&coriander, some plain..really yummy. They also do fab chicken slices (96% meat) with herbs on them. These slices with mayo and lettuce and tomatoes, etc wrapped in the wrap are FAB. DH swears they taste much better than the OBriens version and cost a fraction of the price. The wraps freeze well (flat) just remember to defrost the night before!!

    Aldi also do 100% squeezed orange juice in a 1L carton for 1.69 or therabouts, its not from concentrate and really lovely

    how often people bake, and it occurred to me that it is relevant to this thread too because isn't it more economical to bake than to purchase, breads, scones etc and they freeze well. Cakes too.

    The day before we are due to do our 'big' shop every week can often be a day of, well let's say creative cooking. A situation I really hate is when I have one onion, one carrot, a few mushrooms etc - not enough to actually do anything with - and the temptation to run out to the shops is huge. So what I do now is chop them all up, drizzle on some oil and Worcestershire sauce, or similar, and roast them in the oven.


    Also - When I get a take-away (yes, I know, defeating the purpose of saving.. but anyway..) I keep the plastic dishes they have the food in (not the metal ones). I wash them and keep them for when I do bulk cooking, to store the food and freeze. I find that the plastic gets stained with sauces and at least this way you can throw these out... a great excuse for getting take-away

    Better still (as most cheap breads have the hydrogenated veg. oils), make your own bread. It's so cheap and great to be able to put exactly what you want in and omit what you don't. We sometimes buy bread for toasting, as dd is not a real fan of my bread, but I could not survive without my homemade bread - if I don't have it in the morning, I'm hungry by 10.00 am. So, I save on snacks too.

    My BIGGest tip is always make a list of the meals you plan to make for the week write the list for the supermarket and only bring enough cash to pay for what you have on the list. Try to make theme weeks like Italian week so you can reuse a lot of the ingredients.
    eg when i buy fresh basil i always get too much so I make minestrone soup and make loads, blend whats left over and freeze.
    The next day have spag bolognese using similar ingredients then homemade pizza the following day and so on.
    Then I do an Indian and Chinese week where I can use Coriander, beansprouts and stir fry veg in various differnt dishes.

    Just wondering if any of you have a bread making machine and if so is it any good? Am thinking of getting one instead of buying bread so just wondering!

    Yes and more yes. It's a Panasonic (sd-251) and I (oh so generously) adopted it from Gloopypud *waves* Every evening I'll chuck in the ingredients for a fruit loaf and walk away from it - and it'll beep at me when it's finished - but you can guess that from the lovely smell it makes whilst baking. It is SO easy to use - honestly, I used to be SCARED of yeast cooking and it mixes it, rises it, and bakes it all by itself. We haven't bought a fruit loaf (or a wholemeal loaf...or a ciabatta) since it came to live with us. DH brags at work about his sandwiches and the children's teachers have me down as Nigella Lawson judging by what's said back in the yard But who's complaining?!

    have a breadmaking machine aswell but only use it for making special breads, not every day bread. Find it very hard to cut a normal loaf for sandwiches.
    Workingmum, Ditto on the breadmaker. I'd suggest anyone thinking of buying one to try and borrow one from someone for a week or two first. I found the bread had to be eaten the same day, it went stale very quickly. Also the smell of the freshly baked bread was too tempting - we were eating the loaf between us with lashings of butter - not very good for the waistline ! The bread wasn't really suitable for sandwichs, etc. It joins the food processor, George Foreman, two juicers, etc. taking up valuable press space !

    Comment


    • #3
      Energy bills
      TURN ALL THE LIGHTS OFF WHEN NOT NEEDED
      make sure absolutely everything is turned off before I leave the house
      Always turn off the TV, never leave it on Standby cause this uses up I think it is around 30% of the power.

      Plug out EVERYTHING when not in use. Massive ESB saving
      Use jug/cup to measure water so you only boil only what you need.
      My parents-in-law boil the kettle, make a pot of tea and put it in a thermos jug. Much cheaper than reboiling the kettle every time you want a cup of tea. I always mean to do the same thing

      Install energy saving bulbs in places like hall, kids bedrooms etc. Tesco selling these very cheaply at the moment.
      And for those of you with a high ESB bill I got the night saver and its definitely saving me money
      Do the ironing in one big load rather than ironing items when you need them - heating up the element alone is the equilvant of 3 hours TV - 2 hours ironing is same as 8 hours TV.

      when the heating is on I make sure clothes are put on rad, in hotpress to dry rather than using the dryer
      Put your clothes on a clothes horse at night before tumble drying them - they'll be nearly dry by morning and it saves a fortune.
      If you have a condensor dryer leave the doors open into the rooms near it and it will heat the rooms as well as dry the clothes.
      I bought a clothes horse within the last couple of weeks - makes a huge difference to the amount of time clothes spend in the drier. Also working on where to put up a huge clothes line for the better weather. Aiming to ditch the drier!


      I have reset the timer on the central heating, I am having a timer fit to the emersion & am being good about turning off the TV & lights when we are not using them.

      If you are cold - don't put on the heat - put on an extra layer of clothing!

      Turning the thermostat down by 1 degree can also help save on fuel costs. If its really cold We tend to light the fire the old fashioned way have saved a fortune with having an open fire compared to the gas one we had plus its a lot warmer too.
      Wear more clothes in the house to save on heating - when most of us were kids we wore big heavy clothes in the winter, because lots of us didn't have central heating. Now that we do, we want to wear summer clothes all year. (I'm not saying go around like Nora Batty, but honestly if you wear a jumper or fleece it'll make a huge difference to your heating costs!).

      Nearly melted myself last night as I was cold & rather than put on the heating I put on a fleece. Couldn't figure out later on why I was sweating dewdrops - doh!!

      Check out power of one ~ Home also, Ive just ordered my Pack from them with lots of energy saving tips in it! Hope its good now!


      Car running and petrol
      Buy petrol in Tesco – cheaper than lots of places and clubcard points too
      Another money saving tip that can make a fair bit of difference is make sure that your tyres on your car are pumped up to the correct pressure. Not only will this save you money on fuel but it will also make your tyres last longer.

      Try to organise trips to save on petrol such as do bank, PO, shopping, recycling all in the one day.

      Shop around for petrol - in my area it ranges from 105.5 to 120.9 - go figure! (Note: This was a year or more ago – it’s now dropping slightly from €1.35.9 per litre to 125.9-127.9 per litre).

      Petrol at €1.25 for a litre of super is also shocking, so I find myself walking much more too.



      Other bills, including bins
      Every time I am in the P/O i buy a tv licience stamp - dont miss €4 now and again but makes a big dint in the big bill
      I pay for my TV licence monthly by DD to my CC


      Invest in the bin-packer tool - I only put my bin out every 3 weeks it compresses the waste to make room for more? got mine in Roches, and I've seen it in other shops like Atlantic HC, Dunnes etc. The bin packer is a green tool that fits on edge of the bins and compresses the load down... theres another name for it - but I call it the bin packer

      If you can’t get a bin packer tool, plunk the kids in to squash down the bags – especially in the recycling bins. If the main bin, put a plastic bag over their shoes first, just in case.

      Comment


      • #4
        Nappies, baby products
        The cloth nappies have defo made a huge difference to the bin charges as well as cost of buying nappies and I make my own wipes from cut terries and own solution from baby wash and water

        Baby wipes go through the wash really well... I put them in a mesh bag and wash them with the nappies use them for cleaning bubsy's bum with my witches brew as DH calls it (mug camomile tea, spoon of vegetable oil, few drops tea tree and lavender lasts about four day, either soak the baby wipes in it or put in a soap dispenser and squirt to use, prevents nappy rash too I swear by it!!).So I don't buy cotton wool or baby wipes until they get tattered.

        have a bowl & an x number of face cloths used specially for cleaning baby's bum - a clean one each day - saves on baby wipes. I save the wipes for going out only.

        Use washable nappies
        For those of you that use disposables.... register on pampers.com for €8.00 of vouchers for nappies... can't remember if huggies do it too, I don't use them but logged on to get the vouchers for someone that does.

        now considering changing DD's nappies from disposables to the washable ones, so if anyone has any ideas on how to decide which ones etc please help!! I figure we've still got at least a year left with them and at the moment we go through the pack of 46 in 2 weeks which works out at about €350 per year, also going to buy loads of face cloths and use them instead of wipes at home!

        Instead of buying facecloths buy a pk of terries nappies and cut them up (think I got 8 out of each nappy) and they make great wipes (just sew the edges to stop them fraying) as they are the right size and slim at the same time, in the meantime wash your wipes and they can be re-used!!- as they come out of the machine lovely and soft.

        Personal Hygiene & Beauty
        I water down handwash which I make from Ecover washing up liquid & tea tree oil

        Save on fancy make-up remover, fancy face wipes or night creams - rub in baby lotion/cold cream and use a hot wet face cloth to wipe clean - your skin will feel soft and moisurised.

        Toiletries and make up I tend to buy from Avon, much much cheaper than in supermarkets

        If you wear tinted moisturiser buy a shade darker than you wear and mix with moisturiser

        Always buy mosituriser from Avon as they do great special offers.

        Hairdressers - worth a try to ask if they need models as they often have training and need work on it - you can either get it for free of heap of discount if they put colouring or highlights. Ring your local hairdressers or try Toni and Guy -someone i know got free haircut in toni and guy .

        On the haircut front, other than Laura's suggestion of marrying your hairdresser (which is certainly very effective, but perhaps a bit extreme for most of us!!!), has anyone tried the training schools in town? Saw in the new Independent Directory yesterday that they do shampoo / cut / blowdry for €20 in both David Marshall & Robert Chambers. The directory has a €5 off voucher for both places, bringing it to €15.

        Cleaning products
        Washing soda and vinger are just as good as those industrial cleaners. Better still invest in a jet steam cleaner and buff dry afterwards - your tiles, mirrors and shower doors will sparkle and it's more eco-friendly too. If you have to use bleach - a tiny drop is just as effiective as generous squirt from the bottle - just let it soak longer.

        And would someone please tell my DH that it's not necessary to draw pictures with the Fairy Liquid - "just a squirt ...."

        always use one washing tablet and water down fabric softener (an instruction that came with my present washing machine)
        On the washing front, half the amount of powder you use, the newer machines are much mor efficient and don't need as much detergent.

        Use half the stated dose of washing powder/liquid, you really DONT need the amount they say.
        4. Always wash at 40oC unless really dirty clothes are going in.

        Invest in one of those furry window/glass cleaning things (like sheepskin) - that, hot water and a small squirt of washing up liquid is all you need for washing your windows.

        water down the fairy liquid (hate the smell of it when it's full strength - can always smell it on the dishes even though they have been rinsed), and use one of those sink sponges (less than e1 in lidl for a pack of 6).
        they work up a big lather using a very tiny amount of washing up liquid.

        also, to amke your washing powder, or liquid go further, use soda crystals (about e1.50 in most supermarkets) in the wash, about half a cup.
        you then can use much muss less of your regular detergent (don't use on clothes likely to colour run though.
        what i do is use the crystals in the prewash, and 1/4 my detergent in the mainwash, and do it on a quick wash.
        clothes come out brill everytime.

        also, instead of buying those whitening products for clothes that have gone grey.
        use dishwasher powder, if you have any, instead of your detergent. it brings the clothes up lovely and bright


        For washing powder, I've been using the Lidl non Bio big pack for years and have to be very careful with washing powders as DD has excema (any time I've ever changed it her skin has flared up!) but its very reasonable compared to fairy etc...approx 6 euro or so for 5.4kg which lasts ages!

        Comment


        • #5
          Financial management - Credit cards
          Its not really a cost saving thing as such but having recently cut up the credit card, I discovered that the Ulster Bank has a new product out a Zinc credit card that gives 0% interest on balance transfers for 9 months. (This info may be out of date – but the general point of checking for interest free balance transfers still holds.)

          Eddie Hobbs has a great credit card thing, not that I've done it, you disable your card by cutting horizontally under the magnetic strip, keeping the number, so you can't shop with it but can use it to book flights etc.

          If you have savings enough to cover the credit card bill then just pay it! You will never earn 12.9% on your savings but you will get charged that interest on your Credit card debt!! Think about it €129 a year on every €1000 owed.... tut tut tut girls!!! Thats a good bit of shopping!!
          It has made DH sit up and realise that we need to look at what we are spending... I pitched the "earning 3.25% in the Credit Union won't pay off the 18% Credit Card interest"!! and we are now going to clear the bills with savings.

          Haven't read through the thread so apologies if someone else has mentioned this - I switched to the Tesco visa card last year & the clubcard points alone have been phenomenal. My mum got €8.50 in vouchers last week; I got €63. In my mind that's free groceries / tshirts for Andrew etc.


          Financial Management – Insurance
          shop around every year for insurance- mortgage protection, home, motor etc... it varies year on year...we saved 100's last year..manypeople juststay with same 4 ease. also threaten 2 cxl bank ac unless they cxl charges-or change to free account
          Do an expenses spreadsheet and look to see where you are spending your money... This is quite sad but I recently did a list of the products we regularly use and am in the process of pricing them in the shops that we go to, to see which is the cheapest.... SHOP AROUND..
          I rang around yesterday about my car insurance... my renewal quote is €515 (would be €545 WITHOUT DH on the policy)... the best quote I could get was €514 but I would have to post them the certificate of no claims which would cost 48c + an envelope (and they would have to print the proposal and send it to me) so there would be a 52c saving and a significant environmental impact... so I am sticking with AllianzDirect!
          This is of course a terrible thing I'm going to suggest but it worked for me last year, DH's insurance was up for renewal last year and when I rang round all the insurance co's they were only slightly cheaper but I rang his insurance company anyway and told them I'd got a quote that was €80 cheaper than the renewal and they matched it without asking for proof!!!
          Also, some companies have discount if you have 2 or more insurance with them, e.g. house and car. Just in case if you haven' thought of it.
          Re car insurance. If you get a quote on the web, print it off and take it to your existing company. In 2004, I got a quote from 123.ie Cheap Home insurance, House, Car, Motor, Travel Insurance in Ireland that was €60 cheaper than my renewal quote from AXA but I showed them the print-out of it when I went in to them (they have an office near where I work) and they matched it.

          Financial Management – Other

          Also save the Dunnes savings stamps(2 euro), have been getting 2 or 3 with my shopping since Christmas and already have 30 euro on the card, hoping to have two cards completed by next Christmas (that's 200 euro).
          have saved 1euro Tesco stamps all year and have 150.00euro now for my Christmas shopping. I just get 1 or 2 when I leaving the shop, if I have a couple of euro coins on me. you have to put 49euro of stamps on the card and you get 50euro off as you get one free one for every full card.


          Put all your coppers in a jar at end of day - I had almost €75 before Xmas!
          Also save all my loose change in jars have them all categorised.. euro jar, 50c and 20c jar then a coppers jar! All adds up!
          Also teaches kids to save, kind of.

          Give up something you won't miss too much - great if you're on a diet - and use that money for yourself as a treat. So give up your bar of chocolate or your cappuccino in the morning, put it in a jar and every couple of weeks go and get yourself something you couldn't justify buying otherwise. It'll make you feel better about being on a budget.

          Yeah we took a holdiay from paying the mortgage! Just pay the interest insurance for 3mths. Arranged it over the phone

          Change to a bank that doesn't charge you for transactions, direct debits and standing orders... See Ulster bank and NIB they don't charge so long as you are in credit... NIB also offer interest on your current account balance.
          I dont have a credit card but I do have a 3v card if I want to buy on line.So if I want something I have to save for it.Kills me at times but worth it

          Improving credit rating - We did that over a couple of years Realta, got small loans and paid them back within a few weeks! Just be sure where ever you get the loan that there's no penalty for early repayment(got caught by GE money on that one), but it definitely helped our credit ratings!!!!
          if you get a variable rate loan, you won't have any early repayment penalties. Its the fixed rate ones that charge you the early repayment fee. With variable you just pay the exact amount outstanding on the day you are clearing it and thats it.


          Leave the Credit card and laser card at home. Shop with cash.

          Comment


          • #6
            Other advice
            Join your local library - they have a more recent collection than you think! Likewise they have a copy of all the newspapers! And accessing the internet is free there!

            I recycled all my Xmas/Birthday cards and ribbons into gift tag-cum-cards for following year all you need is a hole puncher!

            Sell everything you don't want on eBay... (okay not a money saver - but a money maker!)

            Use PC at work

            Just thought of another - buy a thermos mug so that you can get to drink that cuppa you made just before ds/dd/dh started whinging and you don't have to make another one!!!


            If you buy a paper every day, be aware that sometimes it's as cheap to get a cup of tea in a coffee shop and read the paper in there! (Well, not AS cheap but you're getting out as well!!!). When I do the shopping I always get a coffee and I make sure it's in a place where there's a spare paper - because we stopped buying the daily papers to save money.

            Have a look in the fashion shops to see what you like and then see if Penneys has something similar...
            have lovely kids stuff too.

            Buy on the sales for the next winter or summer for kids clothes

            Sell unwanted items on Ebay and make some cash.

            I have changed DH's mobile tariff and have dropped the kids & music channels from Sky... that will save me €5 a month! €5 is better in my hand than in theirs.
            you only have to have 2 or 4 of the Sky mixes if you want so if you drop the kids channels you'll have to drop another one with it, e.g. music, news, variety, knowledge or style... you'll have to keep a minimum of two choices to stay with Sky - they go in options of 2, 4 or 6 mixes.

            Went to buy a book from Play.com (UK): DVDs, Music CDs, MP3s, Video Games, Books, Electronics & Gadgets - Free Delivery - the stg price is £5.99, click the euro option and it's €9.99. But at todays rate if i pay in stg (and the cc converts it) it's only €8.86. Easy way to save a euro eh?

            Another tip: when we want to book something online like travel, car hire, holiday. we enter discount code and the say "car hire" if it for that into google and get onto a website where discount codes are offered to get more money off the price.

            Also if we want to buy anything else ie: electrical, mattress, books, cds, toys, etc etc we look around in the shops, decide on the one we want, then shop around on the internet. We just bought a mattress this way. Argos sel it for nearly 800 euro with delivery charge on top. Got it from the uk from a supplier that buys last years stock of MFI (a retailer in the uk). mattress cost us 350 (for a good sprung names one 5ft). he sent it for delivery at just a cost of 30. we had if 3 days later!



            Occasions – Birthdays, Christmas etc
            I also keep a list of names, dates of birth and ages the kids will be in my bag and if I see toys/clothes/books/dvd's etc reduced I check the list see who it would be suitable for and buy.
            I already have a few for feb and may (5 alltogether) that I got in the christmas sales
            Just bought most of DS Santa stuff for next year on the sales for less than half the price it would have cost me later in the year and used my boots card points to get the Christmas presents for next year for about half the people I have to get presents for. (Had loads of points from all the baby stuff).

            7. Buy all the €1 items tesco are selling and also kids toys very cheap this time of year..stock up for parties throughout the year

            The other main one is, that I buy pressies for people throughout the year or as I see them. That means they push up the weekly shop higher than it should, but it significantly reduces the Christmas or birthday spend. In our family, we give pressies to all the adults, for birthdays and Christmas and by picking up the right gift for the right person at the right time and price, I find it's a huge saving!!
            I apply the same to the kids clothes.. bought some lovely summer clothes for DD in tesco the other day.

            For the last few years, I have bought all the kids clothes for the following year in the next sale. Find them better wearing than Pennys so they will do both boys.



            Kids Outings
            If the kids had their own way I probably would have spend more, they wanted to go to Mc Vomits or get Sambos, even though they were starving I just counldnt justify spening €20 on a few sambos, no way!!! I got them a bun to keep them going till they got home, scabby Mummy
            How do you manage to go out with kids and keep your money in your pocket????

            don't bring them most of the time Roz. But I also tend to say 'well you can have McDonalds now but I'm NOT making dinner when we go home if you do!' That generally puts them off.. they don't class McD's as dinner!

            Generally go to playgrounds too, or to visit their friends. Or if we do go to a shopping centre we go into Smyths for a 'look' they enjoy it and don't really ask for anything so long as they can investigate the toys they like for future reference

            second leaving kids at home when out shopping! I spend on average €20-30 extra when they are around - even baby is expensive, she needs feeding, necessating a place to sit, heat up food AND serve a cup of coffee and a cream cake for mammy! My! Debs you must serve great dinners If I use that excuse my DS will AGREE to McD's over dinner any day! McDs/BK and Eddies are reserved for 'very special occassions'. Instead I will offer €1 for the 'tattoo print machine' or an ice-pop before we head back to car, rather lose €1 than €5!

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