It’s about time we did another random trawl through the wonderful world of penny pinching. Are there are any innovative new money saving tips out there in the wilds of t’internet? Let’s see.
- Pinterest is full of money-saving ideas. Here’s an example board
- Put all your change in a pot, including pound coins, and in no time you’ll have saved up a nice little sum to treat yourself with – if you’re lucky, once a month. Nice
- Leave your credit and debit cards at home. Statistics reveal we spend 30 per cent less when we pay with cash, maybe because it feels much more real than plastic
- If your brown sugar keeps going hard, add a small piece of orange peel to absorb the moisture and keep it dry
- Clean your car with washing up liquid and water instead of using an expensive proprietary cleaner…
- …and use a bucket instead of the hose to save water
- If you love flavoured coffee, add a broken-up cinnamon stick to filter coffee before you brew it. Yum
- Walk every time your destination is less than a mile away to save on fuel and get fit while you’re at it
- Did you know you can freeze cooked rice? There’s no need to waste a single grain
- You can also freeze whipped cream
- More on freezing. When you’re next in the supermarket check out the frozen food section. If they can freeze it, so can you
- Aargh… curtains look awful when they don’t hang properly. Sew a line of heavy metal washers into the bottom hem and they’ll hang much better
- Apparently flies dislike Rosemary, so grow some on your kitchen windowsill to keep them away. Much better than nasty fly sprays
- Dating can be expensive. Instead of a posh dinner, go for a leisurely walk somewhere beautiful
- Use the same water based eggshell paint on your skirting boards as you use on the walls and you won’t need to gloss them ever again. Phew. No more sticky, smelly, expensive gloss paint, and it looks so stylish and contemporary
- ‘Glue’ annoyingly small scraps of soap together with their own lather to make a new, bigger bar
- Stick a spoonful of drinking chocolate in with regular instant coffee to make cheap mocha
- Dead bread? Rather than waste an uncut loaf or roll sprinkle it with water and pop it in the oven until it’s piping hot. As good as new!
- See an insurance broker in person – they’ll find what you need in no time, find the best prices and make sure you only buy the cover you really need. It’ll also save you all sorts of faffing about online comparing prices and benefits
- Going to mainland Europe? Don’t forget to apply for an EHIC, the card that lets you claim free or reduced cost medical treatment in the EU. The card is free but there are plenty of scam sites that charge for EHICs and EHIC renewals. Avoid them at all costs. Get your EHIC free from the official source, the NHS, here