Saving money on a day to day basis

[emc2]

I have a stash of plastic bottles, filled with water, in my freezer, so I can use them at home, or take them with me. It gets so hot here!

[Amy_jellybean]

I only ever used to drink bottled water (I dont like the taste of tap water), and it was costing me a fortune. For xmas last year my mum and dad bought me a Brita water filter but its one that sits on your bench and refrigerates the water and everything (they cost about $180 I think). I have saved so much money by not nuying bottled water!!!

We have down lights in our house so I am very consious of turning them off when we arent in the room.

DH works away so I try and allocate one Sunday a week where I do a massive cook up and make about 10 different dishes. I then seperate them into tupperware containers and load them into the freezer. This saves me from impulse buying on fast food when i've had a bad day at work and CBF cooking.

Ive just cleaned out my wardrobe (as we are going backpacking for 9 months in March and I dont want to pack everything). I had sooooo many clothes in my cupboard that dont fit or I dont wear anymore and I have been hoarding them. I have so them all online and made around $500

I also find that when DH and I have a lot of money in the bank - we spend more. When we are broke, we spend next to nothing. I have opened a bank account that we cant transfer money out of online, we both have to go into the bank and sign for it, which stops us taking money out for stupid things.

This year I will save money on food as ill be a backpacker and wont be able to afford to eat!!!! Hahaha just kidding!

[Feijoa Mum]

Getting the shopping under control is a biggie in this house. I have a 6 week menu plan that gets rotated and I try to shop fortnightly for it.
Obviously fresh fruit/vege milk and bread are an exception but I really notice the difference by doing it this way.

My pie maker is my god send. I save all leftovers even just a couple of teaspoons sometimes. Snap lock bag them and chuck em in the freezer. Once a week or what ever I pull them out and make up "surprise pies" throw on a bag of frozen chips and dinner is sorted for very little.
You would be amazed at how what kids will eat wrapped up in pastry
Using your microwave to cook too is alot cheaper than the oven or cook top.

I am a member of a savings forum and have found little things like halving the amount of washing powder you use and even cutting dishwasher tablets in half make a difference. My clothes and dishes are still cleaned just as well for half the product.

Vinegar and baking soda is an awesome cleaner and much cheaper than commercial cleaners.

My kids are older but they all call me the lights nazi. If they leave their bedrooms lights on when they arent in there they get 3 chances in one week. If they use all their chances, they lose their bulbs for a week. That one didnt take long to learn

I have found it the little things that add up so start small and you will see results.

(now to take my own advice after falling off the saving money wagon )

[Just Me]

My pie maker is my god send. I save all leftovers even just a couple of teaspoons sometimes. Snap lock bag them and chuck em in the freezer. Once a week or what ever I pull them out and make up "surprise pies" throw on a bag of frozen chips and dinner is sorted for very little.
You would be amazed at how what kids will eat wrapped up in pastry

That is a great tip!!!

I make snacks and lunch for my kids in the morning after breakfast and put them in the fridge. I have a divided tupperware container for each of them that morning tea goes into - the big section is for fruit, the smaller section usually cheese in one and nutrigrain (or rice biscuits or some other carb) in the other. I have the Tupperware sandwich boxes too and make their sandwiches first thing in the morning too. It means we are prepared for anything. If I need to go out suddenly, it is there and saves me a fortune on morning teas and lunches while out. Also if they don't eat it because they aren't hungry or they fall asleep, I put the lid on it and it goes back into the fridge and they eat it later in the day. I don't throw out as much as I was.

If we are ever out and the kids want a 'treat' - I buy them either a 300ml milk from a supermarket (I always carry a pack of straws in my nappy bag) for 70c each or if I am having coffee, I order them a babycino (usually free with adult coffee). So much better for them than juice or flavoured milk and costs next to nothing. They think either is a really great treat. I also have their packed morning teas with us and they often eat those in cafes and other places so all I end up paying for is a coffee. It is soooo much healthier for them.

Grow your own herbs. There is so much you can do with a herb garden and it really doesn't cost much to set it up. Saves a fortune on herbs and makes food so much more interesting. I use my herb garden mainly for salad dressings - I also planted a lemon tree because citrus is incredibly good for you (helps to decrease your blood sugar levels in your blood) and can be used for soooo many things. Lemon and other kinds of citrus trees are more a long term investment because they take a couple of years but if you need to, pot it so you can take it with you if you ever move. Growing things yourself also provides a lot of enjoyment and entertainment.

Use the library. If you are into books, check out your local library before buying anything. Saves a ton on storage space for books as well. I was surprised by what my local library had. My kids also think the library makes a GREAT outing.

Check out your local council website for all the free activities for kids around the place (surprisingly there are heaps).

Don't underestimate how great a pack of sausages, a loaf of bread and a bowl of salad can be for a picnic or BBQ. So much cheaper than take out and quite enjoyable.

Write a budget. This is probably the one thing that helped us save money the most. We know exactly how much money we have to spend and what we have to spend it on at all times. It has helped us so much. It makes us think about whether we really want something or we just think we want it. Also means that our bills are paid on time and life is very stressfree because we know where we are at rather than just guessing all the time.

[MrsFabuloso]

My kids are older but they all call me the lights nazi. If they leave their bedrooms lights on when they arent in there they get 3 chances in one week. If they use all their chances, they lose their bulbs for a week. That one didnt take long to learn

Bahahaha!!!! That's hilarious!!!! But a great idea for older children (and daddies!!)

[MrsB26]

Start using cash for everything. Make a budget and allocate the cash where needed - into envelopes or jars or whatever. Only spend what cash is available and if you overspend on one thing like the groceries then the money has to come from somewhere else, like the petrol or entertainment. Keep reciepts for everything so you know where your money has gone and make everyone accountable for their spending.

[sasha]

We attempt to use less power for aircon by closing up the windows and blinds early in the day and using fans when we can. Most nights it's cool enough here to be able to turn off the aircon and have just the windows open, and if not, then fans will do the job. (Mind you, I'm really feeling the heat right now, and I have to rely on M to tell me if it's too hot for the children... I'd freeze everyone if it were up to me! What good planning to have my baby at the end of summer!!)

We get our fresh fruit and vegies at the markets - although that does take time and planning and sometimes I just can't get there - and I've stopped being quite so worried about having fresh fruit and vegies everyday... most of the vegies will last out the week (we can supplement about a third of what we eat from our garden) but the fruit goes by about 5 days after I've bought it. Rather than making an extra trip, I just make sure we have tinned fruit (bought on special, or it's more expensive than fresh) and other things to eat until I get to the market again. I also get frozen vegies to tide us over if we run out of vegies.

[Miss.September]

Vegie garden - we started ours this year and have an abundance of vegies that we use each night. This week our fruit/vegie bill was $29 where it can be anywhere up to $60 usually.

Layby - put what you need on layby. You end up spending less because you're aware that you have things coming, so it makes me work on paying them off instead of buying something that we don't need or have the money for. Using $40 each week on four laybies will get you a lot more for less in the end than buying something every week.

Another one who has a water bottle attached at my hip. Done this for years, even when at work. Everyone would shell out money each day, every few hours for drinks, and I'd just refill my bottle.

Make things from scratch - great way to cook using what you have instead of buying ready to go things, like cake mixes and pasta sauces. If you don't have the things you need already, then it'll cost to start, but it's cheaper in the long run.

[Gigi]

this is a good thread, i'm a subscriber to Simply Savings forum too, that has great tips (many of which are in the above posts).

my worst savings faults are
- not menu planning (no matter how many menu planning sheets i download/print out, i just don't get the nuts n bolts of it, to actually make it work)
- going shopping without a list (hopefully this is a symptom of having recently moved house, feeling chaotic, cos when life is going smooth for me, i do use a shopping list).

i've just stopped buying 3 litre bottles of iced coffee, that was my indulgence.

taking water and snacks with me everywhere is something i've adopted in last few years, but most times, i forget to pack something to eat for me.
when stuck out, (snacks have been eaten, or i'm caught short), my make do snacks when out are:
i'm usually in or near a supermarket when it happens, so i go into supermarket
- buy one Twiggy Stick (salami) from Deli section
- buy one slice cheddar cheese from Deli section
- get yogurt tube
- get Apple Yogurt Slice
- banana from fruit section
that sort of thing - to avoid buying junkfood for bilby e.g chips.

I am feeling inspired by Kazbah's suggestion to grow vegies/herbs in styrofoam boxes.