My Top 5 Thrifty Tips
I’m sure by now you must have realised that, although we love going out and enjoying ourselves, we also like saving our pennies as much as we can. I am teaching little man to look after his money from a young age, I’ve shared a blog post on Little Man’s Pocket Money.
I could be here writing all day my top money saving tips, but I tried to condense the main tips into only 5!
Tip 1: Is it Necessary?
Ask yourself if you really need before buying anything. It has to be the first tip, because getting something on sale is not a bargain if you actually don’t need it. If you already have 5 black dresses, do you really need another one even though it is on half price at the sales? Think again!
The same principle applies for food, if you are not too keen on a particular sauce, why buy it if it is on “Buy One Get One Free”? It makes no sense! So thinking carefully before making purchases, no matter how big or small, is a top tip for anyone that wants to be thrifty!
Tip 2: Grocery Shopping
Before, most of our budget would go on the monthly grocery shopping, however we managed to reduce it substantially by making simple changes, such as swapping branded products for supermarket own brand and value/basics products. Hubby wasn’t too sure at first if it was a good idea, but a blind test proved that value pasta and branded dry pasta taste exactly the same, actually he said the value one tasted nicer!
Always look out for deal during the grocery shopping and stock up on cupboard essentials by making the most of the “Buy One Get One Free” and “3 for 2” Deals. Always check the reduce section while shopping and pick up any items that you usually buy, they are usually a fraction of the normal price and perfect for freezing on the day of purchase and defrosting when needed.
Tip 3: Vouchers and Coupons
Always look for vouchers and coupons before leaving the house, whether you are going to a restaurant or day-out, there are lots of money saving websites such as Money Supermarket for discount vouchers on family days out and restaurants.
Going to the cinema? Check out when it is the cheaper deal, most cinemas usually have a discounted day during the week, or if you are taking the children, go to the kids session on weekends and holidays instead as they only cost around £1 per child.
Tip 4: Entertainment at Home
Of course going out is great, but we always try and get entertained at home as much as possible. Whether it is having some Gardening Fun: Planting Seeds with Children or Top 5 Tips for Baking with Kids., we find different ways to keep ourselves occupied at home, by baking, crafting and gardening.
Not only you will have fun, baked cakes and cupcakes taste lovely, they are a pleasure to make and they are much cheaper than bakery-bought goods. You can also put any vegetables that are about to go off into a lovely soup and make nice Banana and Chocolate Mini-muffins with any bruised banana.
Banana and Chocolate Mini-Muffins (serves 15)
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups of self-raising flour
- 0.5 cup of sugar
- 0.5 cup of brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon of Fairtrade Cinnamon
- 3 Fairtrade Bananas
- 0.25 cup of sunflower oil
- 100g of Faitrade Fruit and Nut Dark Chocolate
Pre-heat the oven at 180C. Mash the bananas and add the cinnamon to the mixture, reserve. Mix the flour, sugar, brown sugar and baking powder, followed by the eggs and sunflower oil. Add the banana and cinnamon paste to the mixture.
Break most of the chocolate bar in small pieces, but reserve a few squares to melt and drizzle once the mini-muffins are ready. Add the chocolate pieces in the mixture. Spoon the cake mixture into muffin cases and then bake for around 15 minutes (or as long as it takes to get brown and rise).
Once the mini-muffins are out of the oven, melt the remaining squares of chocolate and drizzle on top of the mini-muffins. If you prefer, you can use the whole bar in the cake mixture , I just like to drizzle the chocolate on top to add a bit of colour.
Tip 5: Compare
I know it is more comfortable and convenient to stick with one provider, but comparing deals is the key to make the most of your hard-earned money. Whether you are looking for insurance renewals or energy suppliers, start checking the deals available with different provider before your current policy is due to renewal.
Make sure you call your current provider and try and negotiate a cheaper fee matching the quotations found elsewhere, don’t simply auto-renew your policies without trying to get a better deal. I always shop around for life, car, home and travel insurance, gas, electricity and phone bills, it does take me a day or two to sort it out, but I will be saving for the rest of the year, so it is well worth it!
What are your Top Thrifty Tips?