Your 18 stingiest money-saving tips

by Alison Hunt on 19 June 2009  |  30 comments
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Thought you knew them all? Well think again as lovemoney.com readers get their say on the 18 stingiest money-saving tips - EVER!

One thing we all love to do here at lovemoney.com is to save money. And there's nothing better than freebies!

But it seems even die hard money-savers like us can still learn a thing or to about frugality, as we discovered from your comments after publishing Seven Seriously Stingy Money Saving Tips earlier this year.

So if you're up for some serious (and some not-so-serious!) advice, here are a few of the stingiest moneysaving tips as submitted by you, our trusty readers.

Food & Drink

Well, you've all heard that the best time to go shopping is when the supermarkets are about to close (around 5pm on a Monday is recommended by many readers).

Reduced meat and bread can be snapped for the freezer. And cheap fruits and vegetables could be made into soups, sauces and pies, and frozen for later consumption.

But lovemoney.com reader povertypot recommends also stocking up on double or whipping cream. She uses it to make butter, which she reckons tastes far superior to the shop-bought stuff.

Fancy trying for yourself? Grab yourself a jam-jar, follow this Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall butter recipe and give it a go (I will!).

Growing your own fruit and vegetables is also a very popular way to save money - simply buy a few packets of seeds (Aldi's and Lidl's are particularly good value) and you can grow enough beans, peas, carrots and tomatoes to last a whole summer.

And many of you extol the virtues of making your own wine. Mike10613 reckons you don't even need a kit - simply arm yourself with some grape (or apple) juice, a 25l fermenter, a Harris filter, sugar, isinglass and wine yeast and you could be making bottles for as little as 20 pence (for more tips check out this cheap winemaking website).

If you're really keen you could become a freegan and only eat food you can get for free. Or better yet, one aptly named reader - hungary - advocates sending the kids round to play at friends' houses around dinnertime. Apparently, it works best if you help them practice acting hungry first.

And how about this, for a change? One seriously stingy reader, smudgebutt, particularly recommends this recipe book to frugal money-lovers: The Roadkill Cookbook.

He says: "I particularly like the bit on how to identify which species of snake you might be picking up (so you could avoid the venomous ones), and at what point it was suggested you don't bother - either due to excessive flatness or length of time it had been baking in the sun."

A bargain at £4.99, I'm sure...

Home

A number of readers have also mentioned easy ways to save money if you have a water meter (incidentally, if you have more bedrooms than people, a water meter will probably save you money). Check out Waterwise for loads of useful tips.

If you've got a printer, many of you advocate taking out the cartridge and giving it a shake when it's running low (I've done this with HP cartridges and it works a treat).

And if you use tumble dryer sheets, cut them in half or thirds - they are just as effective, says jumpexchange.

If you're concerned about the cost (and content) of the cleaning products you use in your home why not try making your own? White wine vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and lemon juice can be used to make all manner of cleaning products for very little - check out Kim & Aggie's top natural cleaning tips.

But what about cleaning yourself? Aliciaf100 recommends diluting down shampoo and conditioner with water before applying - you use much less.

Then again, perhaps Owyouknowitme has a superior method: immersing an almost empty shaving foam container in hot water will apparently help extract all the remnants.

And as a mum who has often found loo roll trailing out of the bathroom and all around the house I am keen to try Braniac5000's tip - squash each roll in the middle to prevent kids unrolling a 6ft long strip each time...

Finally, check out this tip from RosemaryPettit about the inside of a banana skin: "It's very good for shoe nourishment so rub it on your shoes." She adds: "You have to rub up the shoes a bit to remove fruity bits - but it really works and is especially useful if you're on holiday." 

Work

Redsaz recommends charging mobile phones in the office, and thus reducing your electricity bill.

But why stop there - invest in a discreet rucksack and you could cart all manner of equipment in - camera, laptop, video camera, electric toothbrush, kids' toys...?

Another tip that caused a lot of controversy was: Scour the office for the humble penny. Yes, office pen-holders are be a great place to find those coppers, but before you start rooting around your co-workers' desks - please be sure to ask them first.

Restaurants

Aliciaf100 has a top tip that most of us would probably agree with - always ask for a jug of tap water when dining out - not only is it free, it's environmentally friendlier than bottled water, too (just let that snooty waiter dare make a fuss).

And always check Frugal Friday before dining out for the latest 2-for-1 restaurant vouchers - you could save a packet.

And finally, Kitxp123 suggests we should:

1. All become naturists to save money on clothes

2. Carry out a 24-hour fast - you save on food while raising money for charity

3. Visit friends and family more - you'll use their heating/electricity, not your own!

If you have more super-stingy moneysaving tips to share, why not add them below - we'd love to hear them!

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More: Seven seriously stingy moneysaving tips | 17 things you can get for free