Saving money on a day to day basis

[MummaSue]

Ok, so I want to know what everyone's penny pinching tips are.

What do you do to make savings for yourself?

Eg. saving water, food shopping, etc.

I want to live a more frugal life this year - my main new years resolution. DH and I have put together our savings plan for the year which is exciting but I want to be able to save more.

THANKS!

[MrsFabuloso]

Great thread! I will be watching with interest how to save a few $$ here too! Here are some things I am trying to do...

Remember to turn appliances and things off at the wall or even better, unplug it when not in use.
Don't leave things on like fans/tv/radio ect if you're not in the room
Eat less meat (if you eat meat, it's less expensive and good for the environment!)
Meal plan and write shopping lists and stick to them (we soooo need to do this!)
Don't shop mid week unless you HAVE to, you will usually end up with stuff you don't need, I always do!
Walk where ever you can or use public transport if possible

I will keep on thinking....

[MummaSue]

Thanks Lilias!

I'm pretty good with the meal planning thing - mainly because I love going through my cookbooks to see what delights I can cook for us this week

xxx

[Mum2SweetCs]

This year we need to save as much as possible too:

* well firstly, im going to use up everything in my pantry and fridge and not stock up on "just incase stuff"
I waste so much food it is shameful =(

* unsubscribe to all my online shopping newsletters - I am an online shopping addict

* buy only good quality clothing and not because clothing is cheap and i wont wear

* try to clean out my cupboard and sell whatever i dont need or give to st vinnies

* bake my own bread

[Mum2SweetCs]

oh one tip, my friend always cuts out vouchers and coupons and leaves it in her bag.

[MummaSue]

* well firstly, im going to use up everything in my pantry and fridge and not stock up on "just incase stuff"
I waste so much food it is shameful =(

This is something else I'd thought of too. We have so many tins and stuff in the pantry, I've made my meal plans with this in mind - and that should save a few nights meals in our grocery shopping too for a month or so!

Awesome people, keep them coming!

[Laranna]

Turn off appliances at the wall. Turn off TV when not in the room, I don't have it on for background noise.
Have shorter showers (4 minutes).
Do my clothes washing in cold water. I do a hot wash with some towels once a week just to flush hot water through the machine.
Reduce my car trips. If I need to go to the shop to get more milk or to the library or playgroup, I will walk.
Make phone calls on my mobile because they are all covered under my cap plan.
Do my grocery shopping online because I can see the totals and I can take things off if I need to. It also prevents me from impulse buying and from buying junk food.
Meal plan, eat less red meat and use common ingredients in the weeks meals.

[~clover~]

Op shop is my biggest money saver.
Clothes, toys, furniture. I love op shopping
Something I do, that really adds up is put all spare change in a jar & all extra $$ in the bank into savings. You know how there'll be $36 or something? Well I'll put the $6 out of each account onto savings every week/pay. It adds up to $20 - $30 a week sometimes

[emc2]

I am a fan of op shops too, but it is something you need to set aside time to do..sometimes some items are becoming more expensive at the oppy. But at Xmas I found a large framed map of "the British Isles", for $10, and I gave that to my parents for Xmas. Also the Salvos have regular discounts, like half price on their clothing, but items tagged with a certain colour price tag.

[HotI]

Take a bottle of water with you always, fill it up with tap water whenever you need to. Save $3+ everytime you don't buy a drink when you are out.
(If you are a snacker) Take snacks with you from home so you don't have the urge to buy overpriced ones

[Kazbah]

Use your leftovers!!!! Or cook just a little extra to have for lunches the next day. And put the leftovers away as you serve up, this will stop your DH or kids going back for seconds (which is what my DH does).

Look at the daily recommended serving sizes and follow them - 90g of meat is more than enough for most people a day.

Start a veggie patch - even if you're just using styrofoam boxes, you can plant lettuce, capsicum, eggplant, tomatoes etc. Plus getting kids involved in veggie plants gets them eating veggies

Buy only what's in season in the fruit/veg shop. This will get you fresher produce and saves money.

Put your credit card in a block of ice.

[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.