Give me your best money saving tip for around the home :)

[lilima]

So much great advice. I went around and turned a whole lot of stuff off at the wall.
I am goin g to try to use all our tinned goods.
Also I am going to try and meal plan.

[sneakysparkle]

use bi-carb, lemons and white vinegar instead of fancy cleaning products

[catherinemoses]

do the grocery shopping with cash. I did this recently and found it particularly helpful. I am a sucker for buy 2 and save...even thought I don't really need it It helped me to stay away from things I didn't really need.
Also shopping at Aldi saves us quite a bit. As does the fruit shop rather than the supermarket

[feeb]

I buy meat at butchers.

Fruit and veg at green grocers.

and always seem to get more for money and better quality products.

[DoubleK]

i have started to smarten up around the house-

-ive been turning off appliances at the wall.
-using vinegar for cleaning! (i posted about this not long ago, i wrote down all the tips the ladies gave me and stuck it to the laundry wall and it has helped me so much!)
-go through your pantry/fridge/freezer before you make a meal plan & shopping list! i do this the night before i go shopping when dd is in bed.
- go through kids toys & books.. is there anything you can sell on ebay? and then use that money to buy replacement 2nd hand toys/books. i was doing this till dd #2 was on the way.. now i just pack away the things dd#1 is too big for to use again, but i will sell again when dd#1 no longer uses stuff.

hmm thats all i can think of at the moment!

[Nelle]

I shop online. It's $9 for delivery but I'd easily spend more than that in impulse buys.
When I did go in person, I used to have a limit of allowed impulse buys - 3 or so. That allowed for the thing I knew I needed but had forgotten to put on the list.

With hobbies like video games (probably can be applied to other things) - you can't buy something without selling something. If you want a video game, you have to sell one you already have to offset the cost.

Budget in pocket money for everyone. For everything. Even a clothes budget separate to personal pocket money. When we have pocket money, we think 'okay only 2 more weeks til I can get that', as opposed to thinking 'hmm haven't gotten anything in awhile, I think I'm due for something', but losing track of what you've bought in the past. Works really well.

[echidna]

Use vinegar instead of fabric softener. It works really well on towels and nappies, and I use it for everything. Add a couple of drops of Eucalyptus oil or Lavendar oil to the wash for scent.

Wash bigger loads less often than washing every day. Put a bucket or the plug in the tub when you shower and use the water to put on the garden, or save it for the loo (but don't do what my ex did and have 8 buckets in the ensuite).

Open the curtains on the west side of the house to make use of the warm sun.

Iron as you need rather than doing it all at once, clothes can crease in the wardrobe.

Use a plug in heater only when its really cold, use blankets more often than a reverse cycle AC. Close up all the rooms you aren't in to keep one room warmest.

Make sure the vacuum is always empty when you use it, it uses less power than when full.