Money Saving and Thrift Ideas

Caveat said:
It's amazing the amount of people that will go around switching off lights and hunting for the cheapest loaves of bread while stubbornly maintaining the above lifestyle.
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:D

Unfortunately I'm one of them!!
 
cole said:
Hypermile. Basically it's about driving your car more economically (gliding/cruising in neutral as often as possible etc). I now get 50 mpg around town instead of 32mpg.
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I could be wrong, but isn't gliding as you call it - (or coasting) considered wrong?
 
ninsaga said:
I could be wrong, but isn't gliding as you call it - (or coasting) considered wrong?
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As in illegal? I'm not sure.
There are other ways of driving more economically apart from that such as accelerating slowly from a stop, making sure your tyre pressures are correct, don't have the windows down and so forth.
 
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As mentioned elsewhere, "essentials" that arent essential at all are probably the worst money waster.

There is a certain value in "deferred enjoyment" (I cant think of the right word.. its early) but basically you dont borrow to buy what you cant afford now, you wait until you've saved up for it so you're spending money you have. By the time you've saved up if you still want it then its probably a reasonable purchase. I've also eventually wised up that the purchase that you thought would make so much difference to you has a very fleeting effect - a week or a month later it doesnt do too much for you.

Other things:
  • always shop around - the 3 quote rule
  • do stuff yourself - cleaners?, nannies? - sounds like the last days of the Roman empire !! Elbow grease is free (you generally dont have to subsitute earning opportunities to provide elbow grease) - paint your house yourself, change the oil in your car yourself etc. etc.
  • F*** the Jones' - as long as you're doing the best for your family does it really matter what year or size your car is?
  • Buy a car at least a year old (2 years old is better).
  • Avoid the snobbery of designers labels & steer well clear of the likes of BT's.
  • Wait until the 2nd or 3rd generation of electronic gizmo's have come out, the price always drops dramatically.
  • Have a spending spree after Christmas in the sales, get suited & booted for the year.
  • Consider house swaps for holidays (my plan for 2009), plenty of room for a family, free apart from the flights (most swop cars as well).
  • shop in Lidl & Aldi etc.
As regards turning off the lights, eating scraps and wearing jumpers in the cold etc., I'm sure it all helps (& is environmentllay friendly) but no-one ever got rich on that stuff, and unless you're in dire straits I wouldnt obsess about it or think its going to make a material difference.
 
Betsy Og said:
As regards turning off the lights, eating scraps and wearing jumpers in the cold etc., I'm sure it all helps (& is environmentllay friendly) but no-one ever got rich on that stuff, and unless you're in dire straits I wouldnt obsess about it or think its going to make a material difference.
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Oh no!
That was my medium term plan!
(only slightly joking too :eek:)
 
TreeTiger said:
From environment-agency.gov.uk
Dishwashers now use between 12 and 18 litres to wash 12 place settings and Which? estimates that washing the same crockery by hand would use 40 litres of hot water. So if you dislike washing up then a dishwasher is easily justified, but avoid rinsing items before putting them in the machine and make sure it is full before switching it on. However, if you want to save cash and kitchen space, then careful washing up by hand using water heated by gas or solar and modest amounts of washing up liquid is probably the greenest option.
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Better still, wash the dishes in the bath, while you are taking a bath ....


Another one. Take up knitting instead of going to pub/restaurant. You'll save the costs of buying expensive jumpers and also be able to save heating costs if you wear it around the house.
 
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Betsy Og said:
There is a certain value in "deferred enjoyment" (I cant think of the right word.. its early)
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Were you thinking of delayed gratification maybe?

Your example sounds like a 'business speak' version :)

Good post BTW.
 
Following on from Betsy Og's post, I think many Irish people are in the lucky position that they don't have to give up all their treats, but they probably need to cut back on some of them. I think it helps psychologically if you don't see it as "giving up" things but instead as "choosing between" things.

For example, say you are in the lucky position that you can afford to upgrade your car OR go on a big holiday, but not both. You could decide:
- Driving a snazzier and more reliable vehicle is important to me than a 2-week break.
OR
- Having an amazing travel experience is more important to me than a slightly newer car.

Strange as it may seem, the process of evaluating what you really want may help you to enjoy the car/holiday/sky-plus box/gym membership/Christmas parties/time with the family/etc. much more.
 
Apart from the rises in fuel and food , there won't be a huge increase in my costs. I never went nuts anyway with spending and I will continue with my treats. For people who are experiencing difficulty with money , all these tips are great but there is a danger in this type of behaviour becoming too common.
What I mean is, many people have good jobs and if we all buy the cheapest product source from God only knows where, with loads of air miles on it, what happens the people producing it here........the dole.That doesn't exactly help the economy does it?
I will continue to try to buy Irish food even if its a bit dearer. I prefer that my meat and veg are from Ireland.I also try to buy other goods from within the EU. I don't like supporting the Chinese , mainly because of their very questionable activities in Africa etc.
Yeah , sure its an open market, however we need to mind our own industries, not much good making sure that we save the last dollar and in the process destroy the jobs of Irish workers.
I am not for a moment saying that everyone can afford this, but really reading some of these forums, you'd think we were all debt ridden.
Sure cut back on the silly stuff, but if you can afford it, by having your affordable treat, whether it be retail, restaurant, cinema , book or whatever, you are helping to keep someone else in a job and that helps the economy.
 
Get all the family married off quickly then you'll have no bags of washing, long showers, mobile phones charging all over the place, no taxi runs to the pubs when they need a few beers and the furniture will last longer with less bodies stretched in front of the tv !!!!
 
Vanilla said:
Am I the only one who read this completely the wrong way?
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Sure you know I wouldnt say anything rude !!:D

The point I was making was that there are savings to be made by making the effort to do things ourselves. The country seemed to manage without house cleaners in the past so why are they a "necessity" now. Painting is a simple task, anyone could do it, so why pay a painter.

Car washing is another example - a bucket and a brush (if you dont have a hose) plus and €10 for a carton of car shampoo/wax that lasts for years. Same for car valeting - doesnt everyone have a hoover and a few jay cloths or cleaning wipes.
 
Betsy Og said:
Car washing is another example - a bucket and a brush (if you dont have a hose) plus and €10 for a carton of car shampoo/wax that lasts for years. Same for car valeting - doesnt everyone have a hoover and a few jay cloths or cleaning wipes.
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Totally agree - you'll do a much better job yourself too, and it's a bit of exercise :)

Zip wash/wax combination is good IMO - a little goes a long way.
 
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