Hiya. Do you write a blog? How many money saving tips do you have and would like to share? If you are extremely money savvy this could be for you. I've had an email from the lovely Ben at Moneysupermarket.com
Hi Ilona
I hope you don’t mind me getting in contact with you about this but I thought that 30 Ways to Save £1 could be something that you’d be interested in taking part in (and you could get up to £30 for your effort).
With it being the 30th Anniversary of the £1 coin on the 21st April we thought we’d get the UK’s most creative (and sometimes frugal) bloggers to share the little ways in which they save money. We’d like you to give us up to 30 ways to save those coins. They could be money saving techniques you use on a regular basis or they could be amusing and creative ways that you haven’t necessarily even tried before!
To celebrate the anniversary of our most popular coin we’re going to give every blogger £1 for each money-saving tip they give us (up to £30).
As we’re looking for 1,000 ways to save money in total, one lucky blogger will be chosen at random to win £1,000! Not bad eh? But there’s a twist! If we receive over 1,000 money-saving tips, we’re going to double the prize fund to £2,000! So, once you’ve posted your tips, get as many friends as you can to do the same. We want to get everyone talking about their favourite frugal techniques
Anyway, if you’d like to take part and find out more about this then check out our 30 Ways to Save £1 page here – http://www.moneysupermarket.com/30-ways-to-save-1-pound/
If this is something you’d like to get involved with then make sure to read the Terms and Conditions first to make sure you provide all the details to claim your pounds for your money saving tips.
Have a nice weekend!
Many thanks
Ben
Sounds like easy money to me, think I'll have a go. I went to the site and read up about it, oh dear, I have spotted a slight hitch, I won't be able to recieve any money because I don't have a Paypal account, and that's their only method of payment. Oh ugger, drat and botheration, I've lost out on thirty quid. Never mind, I will post my 30 tips anyway, you can have them for free.
1. Learn to curb your impulse buying. You are not a robot which automatically reaches for the choccy bar at the checkouts, you are human and can say no.
2. If you can't be trusted to use plastic wisely, and pay your statement in total every month, cut the blasted thing up, get rid of it.
3. If you need things for the house, first look for it at car boot sales, then charity shops, and as a last resort go to a proper shop, but look for a bargain.
4. When supermarket shopping don't go down the aisles which have, sweets, crisps, fizzy drinks, biscuits, and cakes. These are not food they are treats, and should only be eaten occasionally.
5. Stop eating meat, it isn't compulsory. You can have a healthy diet without it, and save money.
6. Don't buy fancy cleaners for different jobs around the house. An old squirty bottle filled with diluted cheap wash up liquid will do most jobs.
7. Buy childrens toothbrushes, they are a lot cheaper than adults, and do the job just as well.
8. Stop going to the hairdressers. First try cutting your own hair, or if you can't manage it, ask a friend. Home colour it with a packet off the shelf from a discount store. You can get them for £1.
9. Grow your own vegetables, even if you don't have much room, and can only grow a few. A few is better than none. Don't spend any money on pots, compost, and any of the other paraphenalia you see in the garden centre.
10. Try and make time to do a food shop at night at any of the big supermarkets. Between 7 and 9 is best to get the reduced yellow sticker items. Organise your meals around what you can buy.
11. Save your bath water for flushing the toilet. Leave the water in the bath, have a big jug next to it to transfer it across. Easy if you are a single person household.
12. Make a three day veggie stew in a big pan, eat a portion on day one, put the pan in the fridge when cool. Day two and three, decant a portion into a dish and microwave it. If you have a bit left for a fourth day, add a tin of baked beans to bulk it out. If you don't want to eat the same meal for three days, freeze portions in margarine tubs for use later.
13. Ladies, if you can fit your bum into boys or mens underpants, buy those instead of ladies flimsy knickers which are going to fall to bits after a few washes. Male underwear is a lot better made for some reason, and will last much longer.
14. Limit your toilet paper usage. You don't need reams of the stuff which will block the drains up. It's 2 for a pee, 3 for a poo. Don't forget that.
15. Keep tidying your food cupboards and freezer on a regular basis. Do not buy more food until you know what you already have. Do not push things to the back saying you will use it later, because you probably wont.
16. Do not thrash your car. If you are heavy on the acceleration and braking, you are literally throwing money away. Easy does it, gentle on the pedals, anticipating what's ahead of you, and you won't be thrown into panic mode as you stab the brake. Drive at a steady 55 - 60mph for maximum fuel efficiency.
17. Do not pay to have your car washed. Get some buckets of water and cheap car wash soap, and do it yourself. A bit of elbow grease costs nothing.
18. Buy all childrens clothes and toys at car boot sales. There is an abundance of mums selling stuff that their own children have grown out of. Wash everything when you get home, the nipper won't know it is second hand.
19. Don't buy food out, take a pack-up and drinks from home. A soft drink in a plastic bottle, or a flask if you prefer a hot drink. Sandwiches, home made salad box, boiled eggs, and a banana. The list is endless and will save you pounds.
20. Only get the vacuum cleaner out when you really have to. If you live in a show house it will cost you more in electricity and wear and tear on the appliance, than if you live in a homely home where you can feel comfortable slobbing about in old clothes.
21. Only wash clothes if they smell or if they are visibly dirty. Use the nose test and sniff them.
22. If you use your oven make sure you fill it with several different things. Batch cook or bake. I don't use my oven at all, I never need to make loads of food in advance, and the oven takes too much gass to cook one dish.
23. If the food you are buying is getting too expensive, look for cheaper, just as good, alternatives. For instance you can make fruit juice with a tin of Value fruit, whizzing it in a blender, adding some water, and it will be cheaper than buying a carton of juice. If potatoes are expensive eat carrots instead. If your regular milk is getting expensive, try other alternatives, for instance, Coffee Mate is fine in coffee, get used to it. Be prepared to be flexible with your eating.
24. When you get a letter saying your car breakdown cover is coming up for renewal, get quotes from other companies, then ring yours and tell them you are thinking of leaving them because you have found cheaper. They will offer you a better deal.
25. If someone gives you some horrible smelling bubble bath, don't chuck it or give it away. Dilute it into a squirty bottle and use it to clean your bathroom and toilet.
26. If you buy a bottle of sun cream for your holidays and you have some left, don't push it to the back of your bathroom cabinet and forget about it. Use it as a moisturiser every day untill it has gone.
27. Cherry pick the best bargains from all the supermarkets, but don't waste petrol driving round them all. Look in discount stores for food bargains. Know and remember the prices of the items you buy most frequently. Keep a notebook.
28. Let everyone know that you live frugally, don't be ashamed of accepting free things that people might offer you. They are only being kind, and are gratefull to have found a home for something that they no longer need. Accept freebies where offered. You don't need to ask, they will come your way.
29. Get rid of your television set, stop paying the licence fee. You can watch the programmes you like on the catch up channels on the computer. You pay for your broadband, make the most of it.
30. Never forget that the pennies you save will turn into pounds over the period of a year. Being carefull with your toothpaste will ensure many more applications out of a tube. Being carefull with your wash up liquid and powder will mean you get many more washes out of a box or a bottle. Save a few pennies by not snacking between meals. If the snacks are junk they should be severely limited. Remember a treat is something to be enjoyed occasionally, not every day.
Well there you are. This frugal game is easy isn't it, once you get the hang of it. If you are getting depressed about all the things you need to cut down on, don't think of it as deprivation, think of it as liberation. Not spending money frees you up to do other things. Being satisfied with what little you have is the true definition of a simple life. It's all in the mind you see. The more you have the more you want, and you never have enough. To reach the stage of enoughness is very liberating. I know that if I never have any more than what I have now, I will be happy for the rest of my life.
Toodle pip.
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