How do you economise?

J0Al1 · World Chat Champion Joined: 25 Nov 2006 Karma :

Most of us are broke at this time of year. Or, if your luck is as bad as mine, some bastard has just ripped you off too.

What do you do to enconimise? I'm sure we could all benefit from eachothers ideas!

It has to be said, this is not one of my best skills . . . . .

Here is how I 'do' economise . . .

.

WildGoose · White Van Man Joined: 21 Mar 2002 Karma :

been experimenting myself recently, pissed off with always managing to spend everything i earn each month

in december i wrote down everything i spent in a simple spreadsheet, day, item, amount makes for scary reading and helps to see where your money goes

i need to stop buying my lunch at petrol stations whilst on the road at work, its convenient but hurts your wallet big time
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JodieWodie · Reflective Banana Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Karma :

We don't economise at all
AT ALL

We live life like we are big kids
We earn money, then spend it on junk

Three quarters of OHs wages go on DDs such as mortgage, sky plus, telephones, blah blah... we like our luxuries Thumbs Up

All of my wages go on shopping, junk stuff and whatever we see and want to buy

For example just before Xmas we had a few spare quid, not much, but a bit, so we bought ourselves an Xbox360.
"Do you think this is a good idea Jo"? "Dunno, lets just buy it and see" Mr. Green

When we go food shopping, we hardly ever look at prices. If we want it/need it/see it then we chuck it in the trolley. We go in with a 'sort of' idea how much we want to spend, and try not to go too mad

At the end of each month we seem to just about manage, and has always been that way. We get paid in one weeks time at the mo, and we have enough until then, so it is a good month Thumbs Up

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Mudskipper · World Chat Champion Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Karma :

karen_moomin · World Chat Champion Joined: 11 Apr 2004 Karma :

Buying lunch at work is possibly where I fritter away a lot of money. We are all as bad as each other at work. We have a choice of oatcakes, McD's, KFC, bagettes, pies, fish & chips from local shops....the choice is endless (and not too healthy either!!). My boss even called to get pizza delivered on Friday lunchtime, that was when we realised it had gone too far!

I try to economise when I do the food shopping, we mostly by supermarket own brands (certainly cat food and cleaning products, for example).

We have started to take baths instead of showers (our water rates are fixed, and the water is heated from when we have the heating on anyway).

We have savings accounts set up for things like Christmas, things that need doing to the house etc, so when we need to buy stuff it doesn't eat into our wages as such. This makes a huge difference and doesn't leave you broke in January. Thumbs Up

Moneypie - Thanks for the tip about the Tesco Value cleanser, I will be trying that!!

JodieWodie · Reflective Banana Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Karma :

McJamweasel · BCF Junkie Joined: 22 Mar 2002 Karma :

Ace Money might help you - its basically a fancy spreadsheet that lets you track what you are doing with your money and where it will be going in the next few weeks.

https://www.mechcad.net/products/acemoney/

If you pay for it you can have multiple accounts set up, so you can have your credit card and savings on there.
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Sparks! · Sir Tart-a-lot Joined: 30 Aug 2003 Karma :

Last year I used to buy lunches and so on from shops when at work, it was costing like.. £10 a day sometimes.. thats £40/£50 a week depending on how much I spend, sometimes less.. it was fucking ridiculous and I don't know why I done it to be honest. Just lunch stuff can be so expensive.. up to £3/4 for a fuckin sandwich??

So far this year (1 week back) I've spent less than £10 for the whole week.. I now make lunches to take to work, the £10 I spent was mostly from the first day back when I had to buy lunch as I didn't have anything at home.. after that I've only spent about £1.50 a couple of days on some drinks.. even cheaper if I get the drinks at start of week from tesco in bulk. its saving a lot of money, my bank statements usualy have about 25/30 outgoings per week Laughing

now its about 5.. if that.. definetly going to save a lot of money if I keep this up... and its probably healthier.

So i think lunches and food at work is where most money can be saved..

Other than that.. tesco/asda own brand everything does the trick Laughing

don't drive if you can walk or cycle just as quick.. saves on some petrol/diesel.

Another big expense can be magazines, if you buy a lot, do you really need/want to ? I don't really buy any these days, maybe the odd one, but thats about it.. used to buy about 6 per month...

Dvd rentals? go online, www.lovefilm.com a lot cheaper than going to blockbusters every week and a lot less hassle too.. and you dont get tetmpted to buy sweets/drinks as you dont have to go into the stores....

just some ideas really.... im gonna be trying to save as much money on stuff for a while now due to not having much at the minute Laughing

so far so good Wink

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Villers · World Chat Champion Joined: 13 Sep 2004 Karma :

My biggest problem is getting paid once a month and then living like a ten bob millionaire for the week. Mostly going out/ebay shite/clothes/takeaways

This year Im limiting my self to one proper night on the beer a week, instead of the usual thurs/fri/sat/sun (not every week obviously), not drinking so much in the house (nightly trips to tesco for x amount of cans + petrol adds up), less dinners at work 4-6 quid a day.

Likes been said it all adds up very quckly! Thumbs Up

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TomR6 · World Chat Champion Joined: 25 Dec 2006 Karma :

Im terrible for these things:

Leaving doors open

Leaving lights on

Leaving TV + Computer on

Spending money on shite I dont need

Although do save some money by:

Buying at HMV using student card, even though I havent been a student for a couple of months

restrict myslef to a 'sub of the day' even though I want that chicken tikka one Mr. Green

Try to buy bus tickets in advance to save money

Mudskipper · World Chat Champion Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Karma :

I'm hopeless at budgeting.

However, I have learnt a few things:

Supermarket 'economy' versions can be good choices for some things. Teabags are NOT one of these! Sick

Always put washing on last thing at night, it's cheaper (same as the bath concept i guess). And NEVER use a tumble drier!!

NEVER food shop on an empty stomach.

If you're popping to the shops for milk and bread, take enough cash for milk and bread. And no debit/credit cards.

I'm a bit of a saddo in that I will often tot up how much my shopping costs as I'm pushing the trolley around. You need to concentrate, but when you've got up to 20 quid and all you see in there is fruit, veg and a pack of mince it makes you think about what you could do without buying! I also set an amount for that trip, and take that much cash with me. If I'm nearly at limit with things still to get, I have to reassess what's in there.

Yes, I probably spend to long in the supermarket!! Razz

But the other reason for my trolley vigilance is that I can only buy what my panniers and rucksack (and cargo net, at a push) can hold!! Laughing

I would say to NEVER sacrifice your little pleasures/luxuries (steak/honey/wine/shampoo), but perhaps to make yourself 'earn' them by making do in other areas.

Like, for example, make dull crappy sandwiches for a week (if you usually buy expensive shop sandwiches day-to-day), and think 'right, that's saved me 20 quid, so i will bloody well use that for a nice weekend steak & bottle of wine/takeaway & crate of beer!' You'll have looked forward to it, so it'll be even more enjoyable. Thumbs Up

Mudskipper Mr. Green

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shonajoy · Nitrous Nuisance Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Karma :

I was frugal till recently, when I started working. I worked out I was spending about £20 a week on Beanscene coffee, and about the same on lunches, so now take my own.

I save on parking cos of the bike now and my ptrol costs have droppd hugely so that's me economising.Oh and ebay-we buy loads of stuff from ther, evrything from a woodburning stove to kids clothes.
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J0Al1 · World Chat Champion Joined: 25 Nov 2006 Karma :

Handsome · World Chat Champion Joined: 30 Dec 2005 Karma :

Badly...Next Question...
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TheShaggyDA · Repost Police Joined: 14 Jun 2004 Karma :

I'm a fan of simple living, and although it's not for everyone does lend itself to focussing on frugality and budgeting. This is one of my favourite sites :-

https://www.december.com/simple/live/

Another good site is Motley Fool, which is a good place to start when looking at your finances :-

https://www.fool.co.uk/money-saving-tips/money-saving-tips.aspx

Here's some more from my favourites, and although a lot are Americentric, do have good information on watching where the money goes.

https://www.stretcher.com/index.cfm
https://jmooneyham.com/poor.html
https://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/index.php
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stinkwheel · Bovine Proctologist Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

I can't believe how hot a lot of peoples houses are.

I economise by keeping the heating set at what I call a 'comfort minimum'. If it gets a bit chilly, I put on another jumper, sometimes even a hat.

So, I have the heating on for an hour twice a day at this time of year. When the GF was up last, I had it on for 12 hours before she arrived and she still whinged about being cold Rolling Eyes

.

I also switch the lights out when I leave a room, which is something I notice a lot of people don't do.

Harold_Shand · World Chat Champion Joined: 07 Jun 2004 Karma :

Breakfast, lunch and dinners for 2 people for 6 days for £13.89. If anyone can beat that, I'll be fucked.

I had to make bread and pizza dough, omlettes and buy frighteningly cheap mince (not too bad if you crumble half a beef stock cube in with it).
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angryjonny · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 Sep 2006 Karma :

Switching lights out is one way of economising, but that'll save pennies a day. Whereas if I take my lunch to work rather than buying it there I save about £20 a week. That's like having an extra 1000 quid on my salary - after tax! I cut my travel expenses in half by riding into work, rather than going by tube. That is somewhat offset by the cost of buying and insuring a bike - but I'd be doing that anyway.

I'm not good at economising though. I have a thirsty car, a single-glazed gaff and expensive taste in beer.

TheShaggyDA · Repost Police Joined: 14 Jun 2004 Karma :

stinkwheel · Bovine Proctologist Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

zaknafien · Joined: 25 Mar 2002 Karma :

strawberry · Scooby Slapper Joined: 30 Aug 2004 Karma :

McGee · O RLY? Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Karma :

Soon my dad will be going to Germany for 6 weeks and I get the house to my self.

That means nothing will be turned off. Laughing

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J0Al1 · World Chat Champion Joined: 25 Nov 2006 Karma :

The problem with supermarker 'own' brands is that alot of them are much higher in bad things like salt/fat. Thats why I don't nesc use them.

My next thing is going to be my broadband provider. Im switching.

queen of string · World Chat Champion Joined: 13 Jul 2005 Karma :

Buying fresh not processed improved how we eat and cut the food bill significantly. I still throw too much food in the bin but am working on that. I shut doors and turn off lights but I refuse to be cold thats being mean to me, which I wont do. I like the fact that, by being careful in some areas I canuse the surplus created for fun stuff.
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