homeopathic remedies are almost free
out of the tap.
(apeloverage committed the vile act of onanism on, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 9:06, 2 replies)

Tablets
Another of the ‘Own Brand items’

Hayfever Tablets – Claritin, Piriton etc: Go ahead and spend upwards of £5 on a pack of tablets or just buy the supermarket own brand. The active ingredients is the same - Loratadine… should set you back about 70p for 12 tablets as opposed to a fiver for 6.

Same goes with Cold and flu tablets – (paracetamol and decongestant)
Same goes with Antacids – Zantac - £4 for 6 or Asda’s Ranitidine - £1 for 12 – it’s the same thing!!

Next time you need to buy your Beechams or Claritin, look on the side of the box for active ingredient and then look on the cheaper packets for the same ingredient. Then ask yourself what you’d prefer to buy.

Have a look in Boots for an example of how badly you can get ripped off for stuff like this….
(Pat mustard, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 8:53, 8 replies)

Get yourself on a water meter
Unless you use a hose to water your garden and wash the car every week then you'll save money than if you pay the fixed rate.
Even with 5 people in our household it was cheaper
(wehttamman via B3ta for microwave, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 6:19, 7 replies)

don't pay "the man" from the council to dispose of those unwanted items
fly tip.

and use your imagination, don't use the cliched country lane -
get inventive.

got a dildo you no longer require the use of?
simply throw it on top of a bus shelter on Goldhawk Road.
( nightbuffalo needs more duct tape, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 3:56, 4 replies)

Save money and learn at the same time
10 years ago I bought a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee (yeah, I'm destroying the planet and killing off dinosaurs - piss off!). At the time, I knew it needed a new exhaust system, and brakes. So, I reasearched, invested in floor jacks and a lift, bought the parts online and did it over a long weekend. I made many wrong turns and it took a while, but I did it.

I've also done the air system, installed a cd changer, upgraded lights, cabin air filters, etc. I have no official training, but from.simple things like changing oil and filter to new rotors and pads, it has saved a lot over the years .... all from being willing to try and sticking with it.

My girl started driving this year, so I allow her to drive it. I know she's safe in the snow and won't be flattenedlike a bug if she's in an accident.
( BrokenCoccyx doesn't mind if you grope on, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 3:50, 16 replies)

I save heaps
when picking up kids in my ice cream van, by not buying ice cream. The siren gets them everytime. In fact i've saved so much on ice cream i bought myself a set of vanity plates. KDFDLR. Feeling very smug.
(yourmumonastickwithmintsauce, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 1:25, 10 replies)

Get your shopping delivered by Ocado
Seriously.

I pay £10 a month for as many deliveries as I want so long as I spend £40 a time.
I get one delivery a week at the moment and generally don't go over £40 a week. This is my total shop. Very rarely do I go anywhere between deliveries, except the market for some vegetables, where I spend about £3. That does the two of us for the week.

Because I don't go to a supermarket I am not distracted by offers I don't need. As I can shop through the week I add items to my basket as I use them. Because I am at home when I shop I am never find that I buy something because I am not sure if I have run out or not.

If you think you are going to spend over £70 and you time it right then you can get free delivery in some slots. (not that I need to as I pay for delivery in advance)

Also they price match Tesco.

And you haven't had to drive or get the bus to a supermarket.
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Sun 13 Nov 2011, 23:30, 20 replies)

Pro tip for cosmetics
A friend of mine is the head of branding for one of the world's largest cosmetics companies. I pass on to you her advice when looking for a bargain.

Premium products cost a fortune to research, test, bring to market and then promote. Once this point is passed, however, the marginal cost of making any more is practically nil; however, the exclusivity in the destination market must be maintained in order to secure the price premium.

However, as we all know, we live in globalised times. These surplus product lines are often hastily re-badged for new markets and sold off as own brand or even discount tat in order to keep production lines running at optimum efficiency.

The key to benefiting from this is gold. Apparently, a small amount of gold (or to a lesser degree silver) detailing on a cosmetics bottle costs a relative fortune to include in the production process and is restricted to only the premium lines where sufficient profit is expected. However, due to the aforementioned marginal costs of overproduction, it costs less to keep it when knocking out an extra million units than it does to retool the print run.

So (finally getting to the point) if you see dirt cheap or own brand cosmetics with gold or silver detailing on the packaging, it is likely to a premium product which someone somewhere else (possibly the same shop but more likely a different country) has been bullied into spending many times the price for; whether you choose to accept that it is therefore a 'better' product is down to you.

I assume this logic transfers over to other industries but have not been able to confirm.
(pounana Slept well, and dreamed of large women, on, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 22:39, 7 replies)

Mind your pennies
and let someone else take care of your pounds.
(the other guy not the one that gave you coochie warts, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 19:36, 6 replies)

Choose your spouses carefully
The value equation is inverse. The worse they are the more they cost.
(the other guy not the one that gave you coochie warts, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 19:33, Reply)

Two words
Poundland & Wilkinson. In Luton, conveniently located next door to each other and the nearest shops to where I park. Only go to Wilkinson if you can't find it in Poundland.
(AgeingGeek Father of Two, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:12, 11 replies)

Gambling addicts - don't throw money away on the lottery or at the bookies
invite your mates round for a game of poker instead, whoever wins gets the drinks in next time, nobody loses.
( Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:11, 9 replies)

Comparing supermarket prices (real advices)
When comparing prices, don't look at the actual cost, look at the small print below which tells you £ per kilo or litre or whatever. This will of course give you the best idea of value. Supermarkets will often use the marked price to hide their better value stuff. This is especially the case with loose veg, which is almost always cheaper than veg in a packet. For example, packaged courgettes at my local co-op are £1.60, which the small print says is £4 per kilo, whereas loose courgettes are only £1.85 per kilo - less than half the price, but the numbers in large print imply that the loose ones are more expensive.

This can be a bit of a tricky game with alcohol, because it will be listed as £x per litre, and it's no point having a bottle of something that's good value for volume liquid if the stuff inside is weak as cat's piss. You can of course be really obsessive about getting the most alcohol to the pound and bring a calculator with you. Of course, one of the bonuses of saving money on food is you can be a bit more reckless with your alcohol budget.

Another trick supermarkets will use is to list one thing as £ per kg and another as £ per 100g, so the numbers may look very different at a glance.

Don't be afraid of supermarket's own stuff. It is nearly always the best value, although it tends to have a bad reputation as people assume it's poorer quality. It is however nearly always identical to one of the leading brands, and I mean literally identical. After all there isn't some Tescos factory somewhere producing all this stuff, so what the supermarkets will do is strike a deal with a manufacturer and buy a certain amount of product to be labelled as their own (the Kellogg's motto "We don't make cereal for anyone else" is a reference to the fact that they are one company that actually don't do this). You can usually work out where the product is actually from by comparing packaging and ingredients lists.

Special offers are great, but it's worth doing a bit of maths, because sometimes very highly-priced products are still worse value even when on offer. Also, don't get carried away and try and only buy what you are realistically going to eat. If you buy two items that were on BOGOF then throw one of them away cos it goes out of date, you haven't really saved any money at all. This is especially a problem because it tends to be stuff that is about to go out of date that gets put on special offer.

Next week: Yummy recipes.
( Photoshop Bitch 2014 edition, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 17:58, 13 replies)

Hipsters.
Lose your job and get yourself onto income support. That way you'll be able to get vouchers for those wanky NHS frame glasses rather than shelling out hundreds of pounds on them.
( Amorous Badger NAKED BEA ARTHUR PHOTOS 4U, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 17:40, 4 replies)

Simple little things.
Buying things like toilet roll, cling film, herbs/spices, flour, diluting juice, apple/orange juice etc. Switch to the shops own brand (I don't mean the "budget brands", simply their own ones. A lot of the times the difference in quality is negligible and the difference in price can really stack up.
Unless you go through tons of the stuff ignore BOGOF or Buy 3 for 2 etc offers. I once bought 3 jars of coffee (for the price of 2) at £6.50 each. Realising once I got home that I rarely drink coffee and it would take me months to get through these but I'd spent more than double than I needed to. Same with cereal, biscuits etc where I end up forgetting about them and binning them months later.
Instead go for ones with a bit of money off them, get what you really want or something close to it, for less than you would be paying.

Try to cut down on takeaways or eating out, some nights I've seen me have nothing in the house and get a takeaway for £8/9 that I could've used for shopping and fed myself twice over.

Cook stuff and freeze the extra etc.
( Maffers I flow kinda strange like Spina Bifida footprints, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 16:14, 6 replies)

Never buy cheap binbags
It is a false economy, you always end up using more than intended because they split.
(pooster found out how long a piece of string was on, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 15:35, 3 replies)

Children in Need
Tell them they can stay in need. Charity begins at home.
(ThatNiceMan thought he was being funny, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 15:19, 1 reply)

Workers
Lose your jobs.
I did and I've saved literally thousands of pounds by not eating out and buying stuff over the last year.
( P-MONKE We're all fucked, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 12:00, Reply)

Fashion victims
Instead of spending £80 on army 'style' boots, with a zip - a bloody zip! - down the side, why not go to an Army surplus store and buy a 'real' pair for £25...my last pair lasted 18 years...

Don't believe the adverts, any of them. It's all lies. Every single company out here wants your cash and don't care how they get it...
(Beklet is inexplicably angry, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 9:54, 23 replies)

Genetically engineer a super-plague to which you are immune.

Give it a couple of weeks and everything will be free.
( Larry Death Anger Pain Fear Aggression, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 9:36, 1 reply)

Women,
Semen contains 15 calories. Around 133 blowjobs a day will make sure you meet your daily calorie intake.
If you're on a diet just give less blowjobs.
No need to buy food and you'll meet new friends.

Gentlemen thank me later.
( Mr Nerdy-Speccy-FuckNuts Ouchy ouchy wa wa!, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 6:23, 12 replies)

Only buy a banana,
if you plan to eat it. Or use it for sexual pleasure.
If not, don't buy a banana.
( Mr Nerdy-Speccy-FuckNuts Ouchy ouchy wa wa!, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 6:17, 6 replies)

My Master Plan Of Saving Money
Since I work at poundland, I don't really get much money. £6 a day won't cut it. What I usually do is try no to use electronics as much as I have the past week, and eat tat foods, even if it involves spotted dick in a thermos cup. Yeah, my life pretty much sucks.
(supk9lvr RAWRF., Sun 13 Nov 2011, 4:05, 4 replies)

so times are hard, true. lets just makes sure prudent doesnt become mean
pea on the topic of mean fuckers

I'll try not to rant (much). I have a problem with meanness. Not your Mr Trebus types who have known real suffering then spend the rest of their lives so damaged they're unable to throw anything away. www.guardian.co.uk/news/2002/oct/05/guardianobituaries Neither would I dare criticise anyone on a slender budget trying to eke their funds out appropriately – God (and the bank manager) only know I could do with some of that thriftiness. I’m the first to admit I am as my sister puts it a ‘scatter cash’. I earn a good living, to some, a small fortune - all of which I invest in having a bloody good time with my wife and child. I know I’m rubbish with money but at least I know how to enjoy myself. Boom and Bust – ‘no pockets in a shroud’ ‘you’re a long time dead’ says I.

Tightwads? I hate the pettiness of it all - often causing embarrassment or offence over a few coppers. In fact (and this WILL annoy the tight arsed fuckers) if I’m tidying around I often chuck coppers in the bin. I hate the smelly pointless things – what’s worth buying that costs 1p? You're right – fuck all! No one is duped by 4.99 - it’s a bloody fiver. I hate copper coins. If it weren’t for the fact I’d look like an arrogant prick, I’d refuse them in my change. Those ‘leave a penny’ trays in garages are brilliant. As are charity tins. I know I’m not going to take the damn things back out of the house and the time it takes to count and bag a tenner’s worth of those fetid little buttons is time that frankly I am not prepared to waste.

Personally I can’t be arsed with designer trappings and all that crap, but I eat and drink well and enjoy a comfortable standard of living. I like cars for the driving pleasure "Oh! its only got two seats - its not very practical is it?" It’s my money why shouldn’t I? Isn’t that the reason we all slog away in jobs when we’d rather be sitting on a beach somewhere pleasantly expensive?

My real issue is with people who are simply mean just for the sake of it and really relish the miserable self-denying drudgery of it all - like this bloke who posted on his petrol penny pinching (literally). What is the point of a supposedly money saving activity that takes up more precious time and resource than the meager fiscal reward it generates? Gloating over a tenner saved annually by consistently fiddling 2p from every trip to the petrol station just singles you out as plain sad www.b3ta.com/questions/tightwads/post286023 hovering over the pump pissing off the queue behind just to get just that extra 2p for free. Life is actually too damn short. I simply can’t understand the attitude of those who scrimp their dull little lives away, swathed in Rigsbyesque knitwear shuffling around gloomy damp homes only to leave the loot to some bunch of crass distant relatives who immediately spunk it on UPVC faux Georgian conservatories and trips to Torremolinos – which no doubt would have the (newly) poor old stiff whirling in their laminate 'budget' coffin grave had they known what would happen to their carefully accrued funds.

But they are NOT harmless old goats. For example - people who don’t tip appropriately don’t deserve to eat out. I live [edit] used to live in Dubai, it’s a real eye-opener – it seems to bring out the worst in people. There are rich people here sure, but its the tightwads that would love it. Labour is dirt cheap. There is also a very apparent class structure (people can also be quite openly racist). But the penny pinching abuse of those who can be abused is staggering. There are people here who subsist on truly appalling wages – I leave, what to them, seems like huge tips because I am lucky enough to be able to afford to. I do it quietly and anonymously where ever possible. I have had to bite my lip in disgust at the attitude of people over here. “fuck em – he’s only and Indian, bung him a Dirham” (about 65p) a fucking Dirham! for waiting all night on a bunch of braying obnoxious drunken ex pats paying more for a pint than they earn a day? Is that the world the Tightwads want? I had some poor Indian bloke shuffle up to me recently and spin me some yarn he had been injured on a building site – he then proceeded to lift his shirt to display some alarming cobbled together chest drain and bandage tomfoolery while clutching an empty pack of medication for good measure. I guessed at the time it was a scam, but fuck it, I gave him the money anyway – if his life is so shite he has to stoop to that then as far as I am concerned he can have the cash regardless - I cant see him using it to refurbish his yacht.

There are many sorry tales on here of tea bag recyclers, those who drive miles to save a few pence on fuel and those who have inflicted their tightfisted misery on their families to the extend of driving them apart.

If you must fritter your life away worrying you may have recklessly squandered the odd penny or half pint of sour milk – at least do it at your own expense (or lack of it). Don’t inflict your embarassing tight-fisted gloom on friends and family. You’ll end up wealthy miserable and alone.

Sorry for the rant. Flame away – probably the only heat you get.
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 1:53, 34 replies)

Learn to fish.
I spent $80 on a rod, $7 on a filleting knife and $5 on a lure three weeks ago and any time i see a bunch of birds near the shore i run out and throw my line in. I've since eaten very well. I've used the old charcoal bbq as a smoker and had a surprising variety of dishes. Its amazing how many things you can do with fish, and if you're feeling lazy you can just run some fillets down to the local chippie and get them to batter it for next to nothing.
(yourmumonastickwithmintsauce, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 1:39, 1 reply)

Don't buy branded generics
I wonder what the fuck is going on in the minds of people who buy any of the following:

Domestos / Harpic Bleach
Advil / Nurofen / Panadol pain killers
Hovis bread
Charmin / Andrex toilet paper
Heinz / Batchelors beans
Kellogs cornflakes / frosties / rice crispies or Weetabix
Mazola / Crisp and Dry cooking oil
Schwartz herbs
etc.

The extra money that the branded versions charge pays for advertising, not better quality. In some cases the branded production may cost 2-3x as much as the generic which may as well be money pissed down the drain.
(MagicMoose, Sat 12 Nov 2011, 23:41, 45 replies)

Don't play the lottery.
That is all.
(Vigilante Man weeps because you're stupid., Sat 12 Nov 2011, 22:14, 12 replies)

Cancel Christmas
telling everyone that Santa hates them will save you a small fortune on presents.
( sutit only the crumbliest, flakiest posts, Sat 12 Nov 2011, 17:46, 1 reply)