General Chat

thought it might be a nice idea if we share our money saving tips.

a few to start off

1. paint rooms/hallways same colour-buy less paint and you'll always have same colour to touch up!

2.make your own cards-recycle old ones into new-save pounds

3.recycle unwanted/unsuitable gifts into a gift for someone else-just make sure you don't give it back!

4.eat less meat-less fat and fruit and veg go further and cost less

5. when out with kids-always take own drinks and snacks-to avoid being ripped off.


please add your own and we'll all help each other...

Smoke your own cigarettes and never buy a round in the pub :-))

For any cleaning job (apart from clothes - to be honest i've only tried it on floorcloths- got them clean - but probably not too gentle!!) use t*sco's biological laundry liquid 26p a litre!
First used in desperation to clean an unglazed pottery garlic pot, so I asume it would be good on discoloured plant pots.
Great for the cooker, and better than washing up liquid for loosening wallpaper when stripping, if, like me, you don't get a steamer!
Fantastic on plastic venetian blinds as well!

Susan - smoke, or roll & smoke?

Ask non-smoking friends who go on holiday abroad to bring you back baccy!

just re paint ( all I do at the moment)

Don't buy 'cheap' it's a false economy... you use twice as much to get half as good a result ( I recommend the brand with the dog especially the 'satinwood' for woodwork ;))

funny that maggie-I just ordered this on my shopping to try it out! -will try it on my wallpaper LOL

smoke of course!.....tsk! tuther way is sooooooooo common....besides. I no longer smoke and it is not good for you and anyone who smokes is so not cool and should be ashamed of themselves...

sheesh...did you have to mention smoking? It has been a year now and I don't think I can last much longer!

Vinegar for washing windows and also rinsing hair.....brilliant shine...gets rid of the nits too lol

Stop buying / using / wearing / throwing out garbage.

We don't need plastic wrap or tin foil or any of that when we have bread bags and margarine/yogourt containers that we can't avoid getting unless we're unspeakably pure.

We don't need hand soap in plastic pump bottles. (Good lord, we saw a commercial last night for one that has an obviously battery operated *motion sensor and dispensing function* so you never have to touch the thing ... because you know, germs live on your soap bottle ...)

We don't need 18 different varieties of cleaning products ... that all come in plastic bottles. Or of items to use them with (paper towels, for one -- nasty manufacturing process that involves vile chemicals, just more waste generated at the end.) We aren't going to die of the germs in the kitchen or on our dishcloths. In fact, they're probably good for us. As long as we wipe our surfaces down and wash our hands with some good old soap when we should and sneeze in our sleeves, we're just not likely to die of bubonic plague.

We don't need new clothes when we have a closet full -- most made by people working in sweatshops for wages they can't eat on.

We just don't *need* so much of the stuff we go out hunting and gathering at the mall for and fill our houses with and dump in the trash sooner or later.

Best cleaning agents around...

White vinegar and Bicarbonate of Soda

very versatile!

Allan

Eat *before* you go food shopping - you're more likely to stick to the list........which you should have made before you went.

*We don't need hand soap in plastic pump bottles*

Yes we do Janey....well I do lol. The other way is unhygienic...all those mucky hands using the same soap...yuk!


Lol Det....you never said a truer word.....I waste so much food by shopping when I am hungry.

Food shop on line.

£5 for delivery but shop from my list, no impulse buys and NO petrol.

I shop every 2 weeks, saves me on average £20 each time.

SylviaG

I do a big shop every 6 to 8 weeks, make lists of what I have used, buy in bulk and always stick to the list. Do not impulse buy, if it is something you really want, you will still want it in 6-8 weeks and put it on that shopping list. 9 times out of 10 you no longer want it anyway. We do need to buy milk and bread every few days, do not impulse buy when doing this, get only what is needed.

Clothing, check out the second hand shops, I have picked up some great pieces of clothing. Also when cleaning out you wardrobe for items that have shrunk in the wash (they no longer fit) donate to second hand shops or a charity. I also donate good clean jars with lids, for jam making etc, they go out the door very fast. Baby clothes are also very cheap and usually near new, just a wash and an iron, babies grow so fast this is a great saving. Daughter picked up some beautiful hand knitted cardigans, booties and shawls for grandson, even picked up some items with the price tags still attached.

Buy washable nappies not disposable can save you thousands of dollars a year.

I have stopped using wrapping paper for presents and use paper bags with handles instead, I have noticed these get recycled repeatedly through the family. Even at times have purchased reusable shopping bags for this purpose, as they can be used over and over and at 99 cents a pop much cheaper here than wrapping paper. You can tie the handles together with some ribbon, also recyclable.

Gail

omg your only here once spend all you have and have a good time, you can't take it with you, enjoy all them cream cakes etc etc.
if you fancy something buy it.

Remember, carpet is measured in square metres, not linear!!!

n

Now you read it here folks!!!

Running Bear has given me permission to SPEND SPEND SPEND and SPEND some more....
I just read it ...
Better copy and paste it quick.. ha ha ha

Tricia LWD xxx

You have witnesses Tricia, so Running Bear you better run run run, you are in deep deep trouble.

Gail

lol, nowt left i already spent it all

Thanks Gail my number one witness LOL.

I feel a new kitchen coming on. la lala la la dum de dum dum whistle whistle


OOH sorry fairlyfatfairy didn't mean to hijack your thead..bad habit. lol