Thrifty Ways for Modern Days: Tonight, Friday 16th October
Published:
Friday, 16 October 2009, 4:41PM
Thrifty Ways for Modern Days.
Can we learn lessons from the war generation? With help from his army of thrifty tipsters across the country Tonight’s money saving expert Martin Lewis presents new, old and extreme ways to save money and ‘Green Granny’ Barbara tries to use a war-time austerity mentality to help a family who’ve been hit by redundancy.
Here’s how to be thrifty quickly.
Step 1. Do a budget
There’s nothing more important than doing a proper budget. By this I don’t mean just looking at a month’s expenditure I mean sitting down and going through a whole year’s spending and working out whether you spend more than you earn or earn more than you spend.
So prepare the paperwork, get your bank statements together and go for it. Don’t forget things like Christmas or Summer holidays though.
Free Budget Planner: Martin’s full automatic tool to take you through it step by step
www.moneysavingexpert.com/budget
Step 2. Listen to the Thrifty Tipsters…
To help put together the thrifty tips, we pulled in old style money savers, people who focus on reusing, making do and making things last. These are their top tips
• Putting lemon skins into the dishwasher with the cutlery will make them smell nice, much cheaper than buying dishwasher freshener.
• Once you’ve used the last of the breakfast cereal, re-use the inner-liner as a sandwich bag.
• Instead of throwing out the old microwave plate, try using it as a TV swivel.
• Use value bubble bath from the supermarket. Extremely cheap and they fill up to 4 empty containers of hand wash.
• Keeping chickens will provide you with free eggs, but they can also be good for getting rid of junk mail. You can shred it and use it for chicken bedding. Once used you can compost it and put it on the garden
• Grow your own fruit and veg.
• Don’t pull the plug on a hot bath once you’ve washed. Let the water cool and the heat will dissipate around the house, saving money.
• Try buying or making a water butt to collect rain water. You can then use the contents to water the garden.
• Host a clothes swap party with friends. Everyone can bring a black bin liner full of old and unwanted clothes ready to swap with other people. Less waste and saves on costs.
• You can wipe the radiator with diluted essential oils to give off a lovely smell as an alternative to expensive air freshener.
• To create less water waste, collect the water from the shower as it heats up. You can later use it to flush the toilet..
• Once your toothpaste feels used up. Cut the sides – there will always be a little left that you can’t get at.
• White vinegar can be used for all kinds of cleaning around the house. Mix it with water, stick it in a water sprayer and you can use it on kitchen and bathroom surfaces.
Listen to granny
Barbara Walmsley is Oxfam’s Green Granny, here are some of her suggestions...
• Ditch pricey cleaning products for white vinegar. Probably the number one old thrifty tip; cheap and cheerful it can be used for everything from unblocking sinks &removing limescale to cleaning work tops. You can even use it as a fabric conditioner. Just add a few drops of lavender oil to mask lingering smells.
• Write menu plans. First do an audit of what you already have in your cupboard, use up as much of it as you can in your plans. Then shop from a list rather than randomly throwing things into your basket. Base meals around staples like rice, pasta and potatoes which are filling and cheap.
• Re-use & recycle! Remember recycling starts before you even hit the recycling banks. Before you bin things, think about whether it can be re-used. Plastic carrier bags can be used as bin liners, old cereal packets for wrapping packed lunches, baked bean tins for kids’ pencil holders and margarine tubs make great freezer containers for leftovers.
• Get some pet chickens! Keeping chickens is a major old style pastime; nothing beats fresh eggs in the morning. You can pick up a bird for under a tenner and upkeep is cheap; just feed them scraps and leftovers.
• Grow your own fruit & veg. It can be cheaper and easier to buy unhealthy food rather than stock up on fruit and veg. But grow your own and can you eat healthily without making a dent in your bank balance. Start with the basics and if you don’t have much space simply use an old salad container on your window sill. Seeds can be picked up for under a quid.
• Have a black bag night. Set aside a night for a group of friends to meet at someone’s house. Get everyone to bring along a black bin of old clothes, shoes, books and CDs. Pile them into the middle of the room and have fun picking out treasures from other people’s tat!
Step 3: Give yourself a Money Makeover
While old style money saving is about cutting back, new style money saving is all about cutting your bills without cutting back.
On Thrift:
On Sorting Out Your Finances:
