It’s amazing how tiny things stack up.
Here’s the latest in our series of miniature money saving tips, 2o more ways to save cash.
- defrost your freezer if it’s iced up and you’ll use less electricity
- if you want posh stuff, visit charity shops in posh areas
- go shopping with a plan… and stick to it. If you need jeans, buy jeans. If you need tops, buy tops. Don’t deviate
- use charity shops for fancy dress clothes instead of buying poor quality, often horribly expensive (and boring) ready-made costumes
- keep ancient T shirts, jumpers and jeans for decorating, gardening, cleaning the car, DIY and other mucky stuff so you don’t ruin your good clothes
- use Dylon fabric dye to give new life to natural fabrics
- dye leather shoes if they’re tatty – you can get some beautiful leather dyes specifically for shoes
- learn to sew. I’m a fine one to talk – it’s on my list of things to do but I don’t really have the patience and can’t stand fannying around trying to thread a sewing machine and get the tension right. But if you’re patient and methodical, there are some beautiful patterns around and you can get original vintage patterns on Ebay
- buy offcuts of fabric instead of paying full price
- cut the feet off baby bottoms and use them as shorts instead of chucking them out when your little one’s legs get too long
- fill an old sock with catnip and watch your puss go nuts trying to ‘kill’ it
- stick your hand in an old sock and voila, you’ve created a brilliant polishing ‘tool’
- wind old tights around cheap wire coat hangers to protect your good clothes from going out of shape
- clear out your clutter, hit your local boot fair and sell it off – my friend Claire made £180 last weekend selling off a load of stuff she didn’t want any more
- do you really need to buy it? Or can you borrow it and save yourself a bomb?
- if you need work done use tradesmen recommended by Check-a-Trade and save money by steering clear of cowboys
- tackle basic DIY jobs like leaks and damp patches around the house early, before things go properly pear shaped, so you don’t need to shell out a fortune on emergency call outs
- always get 3 quotes for work you need doing around the house
- use everyday household bleach and a toothbrush to clean the grout in your shower instead of an expensive proprietary cleaner
- remove hideous 1980s bathroom and kitchen tile transfers with a Stanley knife blade. If there’s a sticky residue left behind, nail varnish remover often does the trick