Add enough little things together and they start to make a big difference. Here’s a bunch of miniscule money saving tips I’ve discovered recently.
- cheap tins of tomatoes are NOT a bargain – they’re mostly water, and making stuff like spaghetti Bolognese and chilli with them is a watery nightmare. Premium tinned tomatoes go a lot further
- cheap mascara isn’t a bargain either. I’ve battled with the dratted stuff for years, trying not to make clumps and blobs. But I spend £17 on YSL mascara a couple of weeks ago and it’s brilliant… all those years of clumpy eyelashes are suddenly at an end. Wish I’d discovered that one earlier, having wasted £££s on the crap stuff!
- I can cut the cost of a big night out dramatically by alternating drinks with water or juice
- chilled tap water tastes just as good, if not better, than mineral water and you don’t litter the planet with plastic bottles
- if you diary to check for the cheapest mobile phone contract every six months, your bills keep coming down
- you can make a beautiful mini wildlife pond in the garden by sinking a cheap black plastic storage box into the ground and planting/turfing/putting rocks around the edge. The cost? £2.99
- nettle soup is totally delicious (I’ll post a recipe tomorrow)
- if you’re an obsessive type, a pedometer is an excellent way to cut down on car use. Once you get into counting your steps and achieve your first 10,000 step day, you’re hooked
- you can buy amazing original oil paintings for next to nothing on Ebay
- Primark’s basic cotton/Lycra tops last for absolutely ages and they’re surprisingly good quality
- Lipcote lipstick sealer saves a fortune on lipstick because it fixes the colour to your lips all day, even after eating. Fantastic stuff
- a dab of honey soothes spots, cuts, grazes and minor infections in no time and a single small jar lasts for years in your medicine cabinet
- it’s always a bad idea to go food shopping when you’re hungry, because you spend a bomb on weird foods you wonder why you bought once you’ve had a buttie and calmed down!
- when you mix fake tan 3:1 with cheap moisturiser, it’s much more difficult to over-do things and end up bright orange
- you can create stunning table decorations and flower arrangements with leaves, branches, stems, seeds, flowers and dried stuff from the garden or roadside
- my doctor recommends plain old olive oil to clear ear wax, rather than proprietary off the shelf ear drops
- cheap shampoo is a bargain, as is cheap conditioner. I can’t tell any difference in performance and my hair usually looks and feels better when I steer clear of conditioner altogether. Once a week seems to do the trick, otherwise my locks just end up limp
[...] @ The Discount Coder Blog writes 17 little money saving tips that make a big difference – Making small savings here and there really do start to add up to a serious chunk of cash! [...]