40 Money-Saving Tricks You Might Not Have Tried


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Money is tight! I think that’s true for most of us. We’re a family of 4 on a single income and we’re certainly feeling the pinch! I’m always on the look out for money-saving tips and I know that lots of you are in the same boat so I thought I’d pass on the things that our family does to keep costs down.

Money-saving when you’re shopping

  • Don’t buy anything online until you’ve done a quick google search for discount codes
  • Search charity shops – our girls love buying handbags and jewellery from charity shops AND you’re doing a good deed too!
  • Spread the cost – buy Christmas / birthday presents all year round so it doesn’t all come out of the same pay packet
  • Pound shops – these are great for stocking fillers and it’s surprising what you can get!
  • If you’re purchasing an item that will last a while (e.g. kids’ bike or sleeping bag), get unisex so it can be passed on to younger siblings
  • Set a budget and stick to it, whether it’s a night out or a shopping spree

money-saving tips copper coins

Money-saving entertainment

  • Stick to the free tv channels – you can always supplement with YouTube, catch up TV, and DVDs
  • Have a think about free kids activities that you can do. Here are some of our ideas:

Bike ride

Scooter park

Playground

Library

Mini Disco

Paddling pool

Beach

Den building

Cutting & sticking old magazines

Dressing up (use parents’ clothes if you haven’t got any)

  • Free events – check library / museum / council websites and see what free events are on near you
  • Taster classes / free trials – try out a taster session (but you need to be disciplined and not sign up for more!)

Money-saving scooter trip

Money-saving in the home

  • Use draft excluders to stop cold air cooling the house down
  • Wear warm clothes (I wear my dressing gown permanently!)
  • Turn lights off when you leave the room
  • Dry washing on the line instead of the tumble drier
  • Only set the washing machine / dishwasher going when it’s full
  • Cut the kids hair yourself (this is a risky one but simple haircuts are achieveable)
  • Replace your boiler*
  • Swap to LED bulbs (we’re gradually doing this as each old bulb needs replacing)
  • Do some DIY (anyone can paint a fence and it’s much cheaper than getting someone in to do it)
  • Use comparison websites for your utility bills

*HomeServe have just released a 5 minute quiz to calculate how much you could save by replacing your boiler. And they quantify in language that you can understand – apparently, I could save the equivalent of 291 chocolate bars a year if I updated mine! Find out how much you could save with the HomeServe Heating tool.

Money-saving tips washing hanging outside

Money-saving when you’re eating

  • Do your supermarket shop online – you get a running total and can adjust accordingly AND you aren’t bombarded by offers on food you don’t usually buy
  • Buy supermarket own brand items – things like crisps / chocolate bars / frozen pizzas are often just as nice but a lot cheaper
  • Plan the meals for each day so you only buy the food you need – Ticklebuds is a great resource for this
  • Set the slower cooker going or make a picnic before you head out – then you can’t decide to go out for food!
  • Save any leftovers and reuse them the next day
  • Buy wonky veg – lots of supermarkets have this option now and it is cheaper
  • Buy a supermarket takeaway – we’ve finally admitted that buying a takeaway on a Saturday night is inevitable, but we can fool ourselves if we have a supermarket takeaway in stock

Money-Saving Picnic On the Beach

 

Money-saving outfits

  • Go shopping when the sales are on – I buy the next-size-up clothes through the year so that I’m ready when they finally outgrown their current size
  • Accept hand-me-downs!
  • Save clothes from older siblings
  • Only buy school uniform when it’s needed (not because it’s the start of term)
  • Fix clothes where possible – sewing buttons back on and fixing popped seams is just about within my capabilities
  • Take buttons / decorations off old clothes and use them to customise other outfits

Jake School Shoes Doing Some Writing

 

Money-saving travel

  • Fuel costs money – walk or cycle if you can (check out my tips to get kids walking)
  • Instead of staying in a hotel or cottage, try camping – we borrowed a tent from a friend to keep the cost down even more!
  • Go and stay with friends for a change of scenery instead of paying for accommodation
  • Do a house swap with friends for a week, or house sit for them while they’re away
  • Try a staycation – stay at home but go out for day trips, saving money on accommodation and travel
  • Go on holiday with friends / family – this spreads the cost of the accommodation between more people
  • Visit attractions at off-peak times because it’s often cheaper

Money-saving rainy walk off-peak

So those are a few of our top money-saving tips. Which ones did you like best? What are your best money-saving tips? Did you have a go at the HomeServe quiz – how much did it say you’d save?

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by HeatServe. All opinions are my own. For more information, please check out my disclosure policy.

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32 Comments

Add yours
  1. 1
    The Squirmy Popple

    Some great tips here – I really need to get better about saving money. Since I cut down my hours at work we’re squeezed tighter than we used to be, but we still have the same spending habits. I just hate even thinking about money! #dreamteam

  2. 2
    Rhyming with Wine

    We’ve saved an absolute fortune each month by meal planning and ordering our shopping online. My basket is always way over budget but then I can go back and adjust to suit as you say. Not so easy when you’re presented with a scary total at the checkout! Brilliant tips and 291 chocolate bars is definitely motivation for me haha. Thanks for linking to #DreamTeam x

  3. 5
    kerry

    Great tips we are wanting to try the camping one very soon! Not had a holiday for three years as we are saving for florida so we are trying camping so that we can still have a little treat away! #triumphanttales

  4. 6
    Lisa Pomerantz

    Oh this couldn’t have come at a better time! I am trying to figure out our littles Birthday party and havent a cent, or a clue… Thank you dear Lucy! Operation Implementation! #TriumphantTales #DreamTeam

  5. 8
    Lydia C. Lee

    We got rid of our gas heater and got ducted airconditioning and as a result I never have the heater on as it takes way too long to warm the house~! HA! #Stayclassymama (so I def do the dress warm one)

  6. 10
    Jason

    Lovely tips. I went through and replaced all the lights in my house with LED bulbs recently, as they were half price at our local supermarket at the time. Thanks for sharing. #ablogginggoodtime

  7. 16
    Aleena

    These are great tips. I always take food out with us because otherwise you can be looking at quite a hefty spend to feed everyone, plus I’m less likely to make a healthy choice if we eat out. #stayclassymama

  8. 19
    Mrs Mummy Harris

    These are some brilliant tips for saving money. We cut most of our sky packages and it’s made a difference, although we now have youtube on so much more as we have limited music channels and we all love to dance in the Harris Household.
    Thank you for sharing this with us at #TriumphantTales. I hope to see you back next week!

  9. 20
    Muffin top mummy

    I love these tips – some are things I hadn’t really thought of but could be so useful! One I was just considering was to actually meal plan for the week before I went shopping…I waste so much money buying random food that we never eat! #dreamteam

  10. 21
    Laura - Autumn's Mummy

    There are some great tips here and some I want to try out too! One thing I’ve started doing more of recently is buying clothes for my daughter from boot fairs and preloved groups on Facebook. It saves a lot of money and often the items haven’t even been worn or have only had a couple of wears! #mg

  11. 22
    Pen

    Loads of ideas thanks. I’ve just had my heating system replaced and I’m hoping to see my bills come down. I’ve also just bought a dishwasher which will be costly. I’ve recently started selling stuff on email. It was amazing to get some money for my old fridge, cooker and microwave rather than having to pay someone to take them away. Pen x #mg

  12. 23
    Mackenzie Glanville

    So many great tips, I love that you covered lots of areas too, we were spending too much and so making a budget really helped us, as did staying away from shops when we don’t actually need things. It is too tempting to by things just because we see them. Making lunches and saving left overs really helps too. Thanks for sharing all these fab ideas on #mg xx

  13. 26
    Becca Farrelly

    Some really great ideas! I love having a browse in poundshops to pick up small bits and pieces for stocking fillers and treats for Mia. We also like looking at free things to do around where we live as we have done lots of things i would never have known about before! 🙂

    #brillblogposts

  14. 27
    Helena

    You’ve got a wonderful collection of money saving tricks here. Like you I like to shop in charity shops and we treat ourselves to a dvd rather than head to the cinema. #mg

  15. 28
    Wendy

    Amazing tips, we’ve just moved house so need to cut back the bills wherever we can. I actually really love a stwycation and it’s so much cheaper than going abroad. No way am I brave enough to cut the kids hair though xx #mg

  16. 29
    Katrina Bruni

    I do love a money saving tip blog post – I have written a few myself. I especially liked the look for discount codes online – it’s always the first thing I do. I’d be too scared to cut my own childrens hair, but thankfully one of my best friends is a hairdresser so she does the twins hair. Great post will take a look into the others for sure.

  17. 30
    The Mum Project

    Ah yes I need to get better at shopping online and finding discounts. It ends up being much cheaper because you can see what you’re putting into your basket. Really great tips thanks for sharing with #StayClassyMama!

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