Saving money on a day to day basis

[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.