Frugal Living In The Home

MFlack2012

Small Tips For Saving Cash around the home.

Just some small things I do to save the pennies, any other tips are welcome.

*Invest in a bag of 100 Plastic mini bags in Euro store or dealz for €1-€2.* and A chest freezer!

We buy a lot of fruit and veg in Aldi and Lidl every week, but never use them all so any peppers, scallions, carrots, tomatoes, brocolli etc, I chop up and freeze. Even if they've gone bad, cut the bad bits off and freeze the rest. They're great for Stir fry, chicken bake, pies, Shepard's pie, curry etc.

Ready-to-go-stale bread or bread heels can be used to make breadcrumbs. Store in freezer and use for stuffing for chickens, Christmas turkey, salads, crunchy topping for your pies/bakes.

Potato skins, carrot skins etc can be used to feed animals on your trip to the farm or mountains. We have a small farm/Kindergarten across the street from us and the little ones love feeding the donkey and ducks.

Toothpastes, shampoo, salad creams (anything that comes in squeezy tubes) can be cut up and the remainder used. You'll be surprised how much is actually left in the tube and is being thrown away.

Keep those scraps of soap in a dish. Use for cleaning smaller items or melt all down and re-shape as new bar of soap.

When it comes to deodorants/moisturisers/toothpaste/mouthwash/toothbrushes etc or anything you use daily, bulk buying is well worth your while. You are unlikely to not need these items or unlikely just to buy because they're on sale. Stock up ONLY on the products you use daily (Not ones that you wouldn't consider using if not on sale).

Make-Up Bag:
If you buy Crème Puffs/ Face Powder, don't throw away the puffs, keep them wash with scrap soaps and re-use. Make sure to keep clean and dry well before use on Powder or it will make the powder oily/Stiff.

Use a baby wipe on mascara brush before putting back into mascara tube after use to keep mascara getting clumpy.

Again you can cut up any squeezy tube of foundation, scoop out and put in little pot (Buy in Euro shop for €1 pack) to keep fresh.

Gilma2010

Budget 101.com is a great site to get money saving ideas. It covers all topics and a really interesting read, there are lots of things I'd never thought of before.

Caroleia

The freezer is definitely your friend. One pot meals are great. When I cook them I fill up a couple of plastic containers (the smaller ones that hold enough for one meal) and freeze. Be sure to sticker them with whats inside. Then every so often you can have a no-cook day and its also 'free' dinner. Doesn't really matter if everyones getting something different!
Also I freeze things like ginger, just peel and freeze small pieces in plastic freezer bags, also chillies can be frozen whole and they can be chopped from frozen. If you buy pots of fresh herbs eg basil and don't use them all just add whats leftover to a tin of tomatoes and freeze, can be added to bolognaise etc the next time you're making it..

SeaFields

Spare change! What to do with spare change?! Anyone any ideas. It takes up jars and bowls in every house. I used to use it to pay at pay parking kiosks but dont pay for parking any more by and large. Also I know people use them in self service till in Tesco. But we don't ever shop there. How does every one else make use of it?

MFlack2012

SeaFields wrote: »

Spare change! What to do with spare change?! Anyone any ideas. It takes up jars and bowls in every house. I used to use it to pay at pay parking kiosks but dont pay for parking any more by and large. Also I know people use them in self service till in Tesco. But we don't ever shop there. How does every one else make use of it?

If you bank with AIB, as long as you have it sorted properly in bags, they'll accept it to add to your account and won't charge. I store it in a big jar, then ask the bank for cash bags, let the kids count it out (keeps them busy for hours!) then take the bags to your bank and ask to lodge it to your account.

There's also those coins to cash machines in supermarkets etc but they charge 12.5% or higher to count it, so I tend to just go for the banking option.

raveni

MFlack2012 wrote: »

If you bank with AIB, as long as you have it sorted properly in bags, they'll accept it to add to your account and won't charge.

I've done this with Ulster Bank too, I think most banks will do this.

MFlack2012

raveni wrote: »

I've done this with Ulster Bank too, I think most banks will do this.

Thanks for that! I'm sure if you're lodging it to your own account, they won't charge anyway.

rubadub

SeaFields wrote: »

Spare change! What to do with spare change?! Anyone any ideas.

I heard some bank is doing free change exchanges, and you do not have to do the counting into bags, I think you fire in a bucket like the supermarket rip off ones.

I have had manys the rant over this. Hoarded coins mean more coins have to be minted, the central bank could save a fortune if they had a good fast coin counting machine.

I think it was bank of ireland doing the free one, it may have only been 1 place, baggot street is in my mind.

Tesco is NOT free, the wording is very misleading, there have been numerous threads about it. They offer you money or a voucher to use in store on their products. Many think the voucher is the full value becuase of the way its worded, also people must be asking "why the hell would I want a voucher instead of cash", so that further leads them to believe its full value.

I am shocked some supermarket does not give full value vouchers, these machines would be a goldmine. I remember in the 80's mcdonalds gave free chips, and superquinn gave free donuts if you brought in something like £5 in coppers.

Corvus Libros

MFlack2012 wrote: »

Potato skins, carrot skins etc can be used to feed animals on your trip to the farm or mountains. We have a small farm/Kindergarten across the street from us and the little ones love feeding the donkey and ducks.

If you don't have animals to feed, you can store up the vegetable scraps in the freezer and add them to the pot when you make stock. I use an ice-cream tub and add any onion skins, carrot tops, etc. instead of putting them in the compost. Then whenever we have a roast chicken, boil up the carcass with the veg scraps.

The stock can be frozen in usable portions and really improves a cheap rice- or noodle-based meal.

Aislinn.B

Cycle a bike

Whispered

Tesco do a powdered pizza base for 75c which lasts in the cupboard for ages. If you have a couple of them, you always have a way of making a cheap and tasty dinner out of leftovers. You can throw anything on the base and it's delicious!

et101

You can so a similar thing to the pizza with the parbaked ciabatta from Aldi (aprox 79c). I slice it horizontally into three long pieces. Cover it in a thin layer of tomato paste shred two packs of mozarella (aprox 59c) sprinkle over some dry herbs and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven for about 10/15 minutes. Its delicious and cheap and all my kids love it.

mirrorwall14

SeaFields wrote: »

Spare change! What to do with spare change?! Anyone any ideas. It takes up jars and bowls in every house. I used to use it to pay at pay parking kiosks but dont pay for parking any more by and large. Also I know people use them in self service till in Tesco. But we don't ever shop there. How does every one else make use of it?

If you have nephews/nieces then it makes a brilliant Christmas gift. We used to get a massive jar of coins between us every Christmas from a relation (in the 90s) and it was always great craic sorting it. Kids spend small coins so it works well in that our parents never had to lodge it for us

rubadub

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Kids spend small coins so it works well in that our parents never had to lodge it for us

In another thread I was recommending people to pay kids to count them into bags. People were saying they used the 10% commission machines as they valued their time too much to be counting -so I would sooner pay a friends kid to do it.

Kids do love coins, I remember seeing a kid given a fiver and being pleased enough, and then getting less money in coins and being delighted, they have less concept of what it is and just see it as loads of money, and enjoy stacking them up & counting. I remember 1 friends kid going around the pub at a christening and everyone digging into their pockets and giving him all the smaller coins they had, he cleaned up and was delighted.

mirrorwall14

rubadub wrote: »

In another thread I was recommending people to pay kids to count them into bags. People were saying they used the 10% commission machines as they valued their time too much to be counting -so I would sooner pay a friends kid to do it.

Kids do love coins, I remember seeing a kid given a fiver and being pleased enough, and then getting less money in coins and being delighted, they have less concept of what it is and just see it as loads of money, and enjoy stacking them up & counting. I remember 1 friends kid going around the pub at a christening and everyone digging into their pockets and giving him all the smaller coins they had, he cleaned up and was delighted.

Yes, exactly. And if you are tight on money-it does look so much better and is more fun that 5e in a card! Those relations were not well off at all so it worked very well for them and excited us!

rainbowtrout

SeaFields wrote: »

Spare change! What to do with spare change?! Anyone any ideas. It takes up jars and bowls in every house. I used to use it to pay at pay parking kiosks but dont pay for parking any more by and large. Also I know people use them in self service till in Tesco. But we don't ever shop there. How does every one else make use of it?

I get one of those money boxes every year in the pound shop, the type that are sealed and have to be opened with a can opener. I throw all the shrapnel into it as it builds up in my pockets or wallet. I usually only keep back €2, €1 and 50c coins, unless I have loads of them, I might throw a few of them in too. I open it at the end of the year and usually have about €200. I usually bag it and lodge it to my bank account. Odd change that i can't bag will go back in the new can, usually only a couple of euro worth at most or is spent.

deelite

Looking for a few tips for drying clothes (during rainy winter weather). Have a clothes horse but can only go into the sitting room (but it is in the way plus the clothes take at least a full day to get a bit dry), no hope at all of going into any of the bedrooms. Any tips?

et101

This isnt a cheap solution but I invested in a dehumidifier last year (I think it cost around €200) and it has proved to be the best buy. Put the clothes on the clothes horse in a room with the dehumidifier on overnight and they are dry. Have not seen my electricity bill rocket either. It's big bucks but defo worth it and also no streaming windows from the wet clothes

sue97

The self serve till in Tesco take unsorted coins. I go with the kids and we buy treats for a movie night and use the coins to pay. As long as it's not a busy time, the machine will sort them free of charge.

rubadub

sue97 wrote: »

As long as it's not a busy time, the machine will sort them free of charge.

I do this at night time, I grab a fist full of small change from my pot.

Its good since you can pay the balance with your credit card if you want.

L1011

Most tesco branches have fitted a slot which makes that much slower than it was unfortunately

B0jangles

For bagging coins - if you have an electronic weighing scales you can speed up the process a great deal. All you need to do is hand-count 1 bag of each coin denomination and weigh it. Once you have that number, you can just shovel coins into the bags and use the scales to check they are the correct weight. Even 1 cent coins weigh about 2 grams so even a crappy kitchen scales should be accurate enough.

masculinist

deelite wrote: »

Looking for a few tips for drying clothes (during rainy winter weather). Have a clothes horse but can only go into the sitting room (but it is in the way plus the clothes take at least a full day to get a bit dry), no hope at all of going into any of the bedrooms. Any tips?

et101 wrote: »

This isnt a cheap solution but I invested in a dehumidifier last year (I think it cost around €200) and it has proved to be the best buy. Put the clothes on the clothes horse in a room with the dehumidifier on overnight and they are dry. Have not seen my electricity bill rocket either. It's big bucks but defo worth it and also no streaming windows from the wet clothes

I have a dehumidifier too but my power bills rocketed a lot lately and am not sure why. I switched to LED lights to see if that might solve some of the problem. I bought a clothes horse which stores all the clothes vertically instead of horizontally. This one is fact: http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8505590/Trail/searchtext%3ECLOTHES+HORSE.htm

I leave it outdoors sometimes but take it inside when it rains. I leave it standing in the bathtub with a window open. Alternatively I leave it in the spare room with the window of that room open and let the breezes dry it while avoiding any light intermittent rain outside.

Soilse

Washing clothes: I add a tablespoon of breadsoda to detergent tray seems to be better at removing smells from clothes as only use a hot wash every now and then on towel and bedsheets. Also I use vinegar instead of fabric softener

Soilse

Goes without saying turn off hte lights in rooms your not using. Also switch the sockets plugs to off and same for other electrical stuff rather than just turning off, it makes a difference. Heating doesnt need to be on in kitchen when cooking. Just have heat on downstairs as heat goes up but I like a cold bedroom anyway and have dual switch for when its really cold so an hour before going to bed I would turn it on upstairs. heating goes on every 15mins rather than constant and have thermostat down low but and wear a jumper when cold.

TallGlass

MYOB wrote: »

Most tesco branches have fitted a slot which makes that much slower than it was unfortunately

This wasn't to stop people doing what you mentioned, merely down to the fact the machines couldn't handle the amount of coins people where putting in at once. It was causing the machines to jam on the inside, causing it either to stop counting or giving out incorrect change. Tesco love having loose change saves them having to order it in.

L1011

TallGlass wrote: »

This wasn't to stop people doing what you mentioned, merely down to the fact the machines couldn't handle the amount of coins people where putting in at once. It was causing the machines to jam on the inside, causing it either to stop counting or giving out incorrect change. Tesco love having loose change saves them having to order it in.

I didn't say it was

messrs

deelite wrote: »

Looking for a few tips for drying clothes (during rainy winter weather). Have a clothes horse but can only go into the sitting room (but it is in the way plus the clothes take at least a full day to get a bit dry), no hope at all of going into any of the bedrooms. Any tips?

Do you have a bath? you could put your clothes dryer over the bath and let them dry in there.

or if it has to go in the sitting room, could you have the wash done and ready to hang just before you go to bed, that way its not in the way as your gone to bed and then has all the next day while your in work to finish drying?

messrs

sue97 wrote: »

The self serve till in Tesco take unsorted coins. I go with the kids and we buy treats for a movie night and use the coins to pay. As long as it's not a busy time, the machine will sort them free of charge.

would always do this early on a sat morning, never really anyone around, went in one sat and think spent about €15 and had it all in small coins - anything from 1cent to 50 cents - TG there was no one behind me waiting to use the till!!

messrs

if you have left over gravy after dinner, instead of throwing it out, pour into ice cube trays and freeze, perfect for stock cubes

jaqian

Use a Burco boiler instead of a kettle, keeps the water at a constant temp so no need to keep reboiling, which is where you water money on electricity

MFlack2012

messrs wrote: »

if you have left over gravy after dinner, instead of throwing it out, pour into ice cube trays and freeze, perfect for stock cubes

Never thought of this and always have loads leftover! Started freezing last night, many thanks

L1011

jaqian wrote: »

Use a Burco boiler instead of a kettle, keeps the water at a constant temp so no need to keep reboiling, which is where you water money on electricity

Unless you use a HUGE amount of hot water this does not work out more efficient in the long run and will otherwise cost you money - you are still using energy to maintain the temperature at all times.

masculinist

jaqian wrote: »

Use a Burco boiler instead of a kettle, keeps the water at a constant temp so no need to keep reboiling, which is where you water money on electricity

MYOB wrote: »

Unless you use a HUGE amount of hot water this does not work out more efficient in the long run and will otherwise cost you money - you are still using energy to maintain the temperature at all times.

Use your imagination lads

Boil a kettle anywhere you want so long as someone else is picking up the tab.. e.g an empty classroom, public bathroom , airport , any public socket point... pour it into a large Thermos and you have hot water for most of the day

The stinginess gets better ...

On cold days , walk into a pub, university , public bathroom anywhere etc and fill up your hot water bottle straight from the tap... bonus points if unseen in disabled toilets

actually theres a stingy thread somwhere this would suit perfectly



ps ...I never did anything like this but it sounds good if you are bankrupt

rubadub

MYOB wrote: »

Unless you use a HUGE amount of hot water this does not work out more efficient

Even when using lots is arguably less efficient. It depends on how you use it, most people use kettles quite inefficiently, e.g. pouring in far more water than they need to use.

The only truth in the argument is if you have a kettle which continues to boil after it has reached boiling point, it is supplying energy which is going to waste as it is now vapourising the water (though excess heat can heat your room and so cause a thermostatically controlled heater to turn off sooner). Some kettles have poor temp regulation and so continue to boil. When I hear my kettle coming to near boiling point I manually turn it off. Some newer kettles have different temperature settings.

This wastage also happens in cooking too, people needlessly boiling water in a pot on full power when it can not rise in temperature any more, all they are doing is vapourising water. It can be on full power at the start, but once boiling its more efficient to turn it down. Now if you then dump in cold rice or pasta it will reduce the temp and so high power may be advisable again.