Please give me your quick money saving tips?

Here is one that doesn’t seem to appear on other peoples lists – Don’t buy a perfectly good Porsche 911, cut off the front and then build a new one out of horrendously expensive carbon fibre.

I reuse aeropress filters probably about 20 times. I estimate that over the last 15 years ago I have saved just over £20. I think i’ll just retire now.

Keep an eye out for bank switching deals which pay you to switch banks. I made about £1k last year by doing this.

That seems like a massive pain. I know the switching service is meant to be seamless for direct debits and things but is it really? And there’s loads of other stuff linked to it, salaries, PayPal accounts, etc which would need manually changing each time. At £100 per swap you must be changing almost every month, can you do that?

Or do you have a day to day account for actually using and a different one with just a nominal amount of stuff going through to make it look legit and keep that one for changing as often as you can?

Walk or ride to the shops. You’ll buy only the stuff you need if you have to carry it home rather than chucking a trolley full into the boot of your car.

Cook at home. No food deliveries. Save eating out for special occasions.

That seems like a massive pain. I know the switching service is meant to be seamless for direct debits and things but is it really?

My wife and kids switched bank last year and yes, pretty much. The only issue they had is having to learn their way around the new bank’s app (Barclay to First Direct)

reuse aeropress filters probably about 20 times. I estimate that over the last 15 years ago I have saved just over £20. I think i’ll just retire now.

I spent 6 quid on a 2 stage metal filter. Suspect that it’ll outlast the body of the aeropress

We split out ‘needs’ into a different bank account then bundle that amount plus a little bit at the start of the month. Then got into the habit of setting up a new fixed rate saver direct debit now and again. They work great for saving towards Christmas or holidays.

Also took on board the ‘pay yourself first’ manta a while back and set up a 10% of earnings savings schedule at the start of each month (60% stocks/shares ISA – 40% mortgage overpayment). I’ve found that has been great for building up a bit of a cushion, and it means we know we can spend what we have left over without worrying. Took some adjustment at first but the pain quickly dissipates.

I appreciate that for many it is not that simple, perhaps it boils down to knowing how much you need, and being disciplined with everything over and above that, assuming you have it.

Pay yourself first is a really good habit to get into.

If you like apps, Monzo make it very easy to:

1. Create pots for different savings. We have pots for bills, car, bikes, holidays etc.
2. Automatically sweep salary into said pots.
3. Automatically take direct debits for bills from the bills pot.

Not sure if any other bank can do that yet (maybe Starling?) but it’s brilliant.

If your situation is even a little bit complicated, and you aren’t a spreadsheet person, FCA approved apps like Moneyhub, Lumio, Snoop, Emma etc can aggregate your household accounts (mortgage, property, credit cards, loans, isas etc) into one place, automatically categorise your transactions, and help you see where it all goes.

If you have children at home stand on the toilet roll to ovalise it before putting it in the holder.  It stops them giving it a good spin

Discourage any children you have from taking an interest horses.

I spent 6 quid on a 2 stage metal filter. Suspect that it’ll outlast the body of the aeropress

Now I think about it I spent a tenner on a metal filter, wasn’t 2 stage tho I don’t think and it let a bit of grit through. So thats half my saving gone- back to work then

Something I do that hasn’t so far been mentioned here, are personal cashflow projections.

I pay myself first, so most of the money disappears from my current account on the first day of the month, some to my ISA, some to my rainy day account, which I am in the process of building back up, and some to my “budgeting” account.

The rainy day account is a cash buffer to stop me from having to access my ISA unnecessarily. In order to maximise my return on it, build it up as quickly as possible, and minimise dipping into it I do cashflow projections of my “budgeting” account so that I don’t have unnecessary money sitting in it for longer than it needs to, but so that when my credit card becomes due, every month there is enough money in the budgeting account to pay it off.

It’s also quite useful for seeing if I can afford something. If the cashflow prediction doesn’t drop below the number then I can, if it does then I cannot.

Discourage any children you have from taking an interest horses.

My pal describes horse riding as an open book sport. Cheque book that is.

My pal describes horse riding as an open book sport. Cheque book that is.

I was discussing the costs of mountain biking with my mum who used to keep a horse. There really is no comparison, even for very spendy bikes.

personal cashflow projections

MoneyDashboard used to be great for this but they’ve sadly closed. Anyone got any suggestions for other apps that have an equally good cashflow tool?

Before you buy a consumable, Google to see if you can make it relatively quickly. There’s a lot of stuff out there that’s dead simple to make, Even if you’re time poor. Eg bars of soap. 6 quid gets you a massive block of neutral glycerin based stuff that you can just melt down in the microwave, add whatever coloring/scent oil you want, let it solidify, then cut to size. Lasts years! Same with shampoo bars.

@bearGrease

MoneyDashboard used to be great for this but they’ve sadly closed. Anyone got any suggestions for other apps that have an equally good cashflow tool?

I just use a spreadsheet, but then I’m now at the stage of keeping a spreadsheet of all my spending to see where it goes.

Align all your electronics/digitial/utility renewal bills to coincide with Black Friday/Cyber Monday and do it at least every two years.  You can save thousands.

ALWAYS use a comparisson site for insurance renewals even if only for cashback.

ALWAYS use TopCashback and Quidco when making ANY online purchase – you can save hundreds of pounds per year.

If you tend to shop for groceries at a single place, check for membership dicounts and eny discounts available through your work.  For instance, I use Clubcard plus – yes, it costs £9 a month, but I save around £45 a month.  I also buy a reloadable card through work which saves around 4-5% annually.  We spend £7k a year on groceries.  the combined saving is almost £1000.

Don’t buy batteries, dishwasher tabs, laundry detergent at the supermarket.  Buy a years worth in advance from somewhere like ebay ona  discount weekend, you’ll save 50%.

NEVER buy stuff from BnQ.  Screwfix is ALWAYS just around the corner and is usually 50% less.

Try not to pay for inner city parking, there’s usually somewhere within a mile of the city centre that you can park for free and walk in.  That’s a free lunch.

Get a better paid job

Buy everything on a credit card that gives you cashback or points etc. Research which is best for you.

@Daffy

Align all your electronics/digitial/utility renewal bills to coincide with Black Friday/Cyber Monday and do it at least every two years.  You can save thousands.

Could you give more detail about this?

Could you give more detail about this?

On BF/CM, almost everyone that’s offering a service will have both their biggest discounts, best terms and best cashback offerings.

At the end of our BT deal we were paying £36 for BB and were paying Sky £45 for TV and Disney £80 a year for TV.  combined Sky BB and TV was ordered at £39 a month fixed for 18m and with £195 cashback, so actually closer to £28 a month across the 18m.  Disney was renewed at £49 a year with 18% cashback, so £40 a year.  In essence we went from £90/m to £32 a month saving almost £700 in the first year and closer to £1000 over 18m.  If you do mobile contracts, xbox, PSN, etc, there are always similar convolutions that allow for massive combined discounts.  Just remember for things like Sky, you’ll need to be cancelled on the 1st week of October to be sure you’re ready for the renewal.

@Daffy, thanks, that’s gold!

Align all your electronics/digitial/utility renewal bills to coincide with Black Friday/Cyber Monday and do it at least every two years.

That is a stupid thing to do IMO as we all know that Black Friday etc isnt always the best deals

“Have a “holding area” list for things you fancy buying – you may well not feel like buying it after a couple of days or a week.”

I do this with Amazon. Often use the save for later button to take stuff out the basket. Sometimes I buy them other times I don’t.

Join the library!

Free books, free internet, free warm place to sit and work, and in our local ones, free jigsaws, free events, free seed library and free use of sewing machines to repair the clothes and rucksack you ripped in your last crash.  In addition, virtually free 3D printer, large format poster printer, use of computer with full Photoshop, laser etcher, 3D scanner etc etc.

Buy a heated gillet.  Heat the person not the space, 10’c is comfortable in the evenings if your core is being warmed.  I charge mine at work during the day…

Farmfoods is really cheap, subscribe to weekly email you get vouchers for 30 quid spend.  I’ve just been to buy magnums, cart d or ice cream and boxes of flakes.  Honey was cheap last month, rowse in 1.3kg jars.

Heron Foods are cheap as well, but my heron doesn’t eat that much anyway.

NEVER buy stuff from BnQ. Screwfix is ALWAYS just around the corner and is usually 50% less.

Yes and no. B&Q are generally fairly cheap for tools, but very expensive for hardware, plumbing, timber etc.

But then B&Q might sell five widgets for five pounds and Screwfix sell a hundred for twenty quid, so Screwfix are cheaper, but if you only need three then a higher unit price at B&Q is better🤷.

.

One not mentioned yet is learn basic car mechanics, even just changing oil or brake pads, fairly simple jobs most people on here could do if we follow a YouTube video (most of us fix our own bikes, it’s not that different) A decent chunk of most garage bills is labour

Only ever poo at work

That is a stupid thing to do IMO as we all know that Black Friday etc isnt always the best deals

Have you done it?  Have you checked?  I’ve been doing this for 4-5 years and can assure you that when considered in respect of cashback/deal and timing, it does work.

I admit that it doesn’t always work for goods, but for services, it does.  I’m only talking about services.  Service providers aren’t trying to get rid of services they don’t want at the end of the year, now, are they?

Always ask for a discount in a shop, especially if you’re buying more than one item.

Sell your car and use a bike or public transport. More hassle but way cheaper.

Look for extra work, especially flexible stuff. E.g. I had a job assembling plastic parts. Go to the factory, get 1000 parts and make 500 finished items at home. Get paid per item. Very flexible.

Find out what you’re good at and work in that (do a psychometric test) instead of just being paid for your time as a grunt. The more value you add to a company, the more you can demand in wages. Or do some skill courses related to your job, if you can’t change it.

Said this on here before a few times, but I’ve made literal thousands from switching current accounts and hoovering up the joining bonuses. It’s easy, free money. Not many around at the minute (First Direct is the only one, but they’re offering £175), but it’s likely to come around again. Switching itself tends to be pretty hassle-free – 10-15 minutes filling out an on-line form.

Also, stoozing – do all your spending on a 0% interest credit card, paying off the minimum each month and put the equivalent sum into a high interest savings account. Pay off the credit card at the end of the interest free period and pocket the interest you’ve earned. You need to be on top of it (e.g. diarising giving notice to withdraw if your savings account isn’t instant access), but with modern banking apps and the number of decent savings rates available, it’s never been easier.

NEVER buy stuff from BnQ. Screwfix is ALWAYS just around the corner and is usually 50% less.

And Toolstation is usually cheaper still and just around the next corner 🙂

TBH, it’s worth comparing prices at BnQ, Wickes, Screwy and TS – they all have some things priced better than the others.

I’ve been considering stoozing again now the interest rates are higher. Had around £40k on cards prior to 2007, I still use 0% cards for big purchases and drip feed the payments.

Keep an eye out for bank switching deals which pay you to switch banks. I made about £1k last year by doing this.

That seems like a massive pain. I know the switching service is meant to be seamless for direct debits and things but is it really? And there’s loads of other stuff linked to it, salaries, PayPal accounts, etc which would need manually changing each time. At £100 per swap you must be changing almost every month, can you do that?

Or do you have a day to day account for actually using and a different one with just a nominal amount of stuff going through to make it look legit and keep that one for changing as often as you can?

Typical bonuses are generally more than £100 (highest I ever got was £250). I’ve whored my way through most of the high street banks, so fewer deals now open to me (still made over £500 last year) as most will stipulate a minimum period since they last gave you a bonus. Therefore, there’s very little hassle in just changing your actual main current account. No noticeable downside in terms of credit rating, but you might be best holding off if planning on applying for a mortgage in the next 6 months (I didn’t have any problems with this myself).

Requires a wee bit of admin for changing over subscriptions (Patreon, streaming services, etc.), but I don’t find that this takes long, nor does it have to be done immediately. Ditto my salary, but we’ve got a pretty good self-service HR portal. However, on this last point, the switching service works very well – if your wages still get directed to your old account for whatever reason, it’ll just bounce to your new one. Transfer of direct debits and standing orders is, almost without exception, seamless.

Seriously, if a chimpanzee like me can do it, you’ll be grand.

restrict coke n hookers to twice a week

Stick to Möet

check the butlers trouser pockets for change

Re library post above, join pressreader app via local library, all newspapers and music free.

+1 on choose your partner wisely, and not just for financial reasons.

+1 spend less.

coffee etc when you’re out and about adds up really quickly.