Tips for living frugally - One liner tips

Bodhi Pitiful Radiology wrote: »

Why not just boil enough water for a cup of tea/whatever you need the water for - saves on buying a thermos flask.

Yeah fair point, was just figuring if you drink a good whack of tea / coffee then it would save time, also I'm a lazy git :P

I stock up on basics, such as tins of beans and tomatoes from Aldi, so I always have the store cupboard basics.

Try to meal plan in advance, bring a SHOPPING LIST to the supermarket so you know what you want to buy and don't a)spend more money b)buy things you don't need c)end up with food waste in the fridge at the end of the week

I'd go food shopping twice a week rather than once, so I'm more likely to find whats on offer in food etc, and don't have to commit to buying loads all at once - which is especially useful if you don't have the use of a car

jc77 wrote: »

This tip won't save you much, however...

Keep an eye on post coming through the door. Envelopes with stamps on them that haven't been marked by the Post Office routing staff, can be removed & reused (with the help of Pritt Stick).

Has saved me a fiver today! Sprinkle a bit of water and microwave for about 20 secs to peel off stamps.

One which my friend told me about, if you're considering quitting smoking. The higher strength patches are just bigger than the lower strength ones. He kept buying the high strength ones and cutting them to size.

I've been quitting by switching to e-cigarettes. I would have spent £125 on cigarettes since I switched but have only spent £15 on e-liquid in that time (which are still going). The cost of the e-cigarette was about £30, so a saving of £80 in 5 weeks. I'm expecting to save over£1000 a year.

Old phone directories make ideal address books... just cross out the names you don't want.

wolfpawnat wrote: »

I never have anything plugged in unless it is in use at the time. I also plug the phone onto the computer so both can charge together while I am using the computer.

A solar powered USB charger like this (http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-BP-SC6000-Capacity-Charging-EcoPanel/dp/B00CHQI57A/ref=pd_cp_e_2) would be sweet, not sure if it can be adapted to charge laptops but would assume that it's possible.

aligator_am wrote: »

A solar powered USB charger like this (http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-BP-SC6000-Capacity-Charging-EcoPanel/dp/B00CHQI57A/ref=pd_cp_e_2) would be sweet, not sure if it can be adapted to charge laptops but would assume that it's possible.

The reviews aren't great, it takes too long to power from the sun. Also, it supplies power on USB which is 5V, which is nowhere near enough for a laptop.

The_Mask wrote: »

Give up smoking!

Or if you find this impossible like me, switch to an e-cig, one 30 Euro starter pack and now I only fork out a tenner every 5-6 months and I still get to have a drag with everyone else after my cup of tea at work which is the main thing that made me fail whenever I tried to quit before, just too hard to go back to my station when everyone else was heading out for a smoke and an extra 10 minutes break, plus a year later Im not a gasping sweaty mess when I do 10k on the bike anymore.

We have a vaping Board if anyone wants to know how to switch:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1497

Cycling every journey less than 10km adds up to a fortune over time and its way more enjoyable than driving but Im guessing anyone who frequents a frugal board already knows that. Big boost to your energy reserves and burns a lot of fat aswell...

Bodhi Pitiful Radiology wrote: »

Yeah I think its recommended to wash bed sheets at 60 degrees or over to kill bed bugs/dust mites.

and bath towels and hand towels -

I hate it when hubby washes - everything at 30 - nothing gets bright white clean!

MYOB wrote: »

You do need to actually run a washing machine at a high temperature from time to time to kill bacterial buildup amongst other things.

30 degrees constantly will shorten the life of the machine, false economy.

The first statement you say makes a lot of sense.

Your second one doesn't. Any chance of a bit of further information.

They seem to suggest that low temperature washing is ok if you perform one maintenance wash a month.

A service (or maintenance) wash involves putting the washing machine on the hottest wash with only the detergent inside - and no laundry.

brian_t wrote: »

They seem to suggest that low temperature washing is ok if you perform one maintenance wash a month.

A service (or maintenance) wash involves putting the washing machine on the hottest wash with only the detergent inside - and no laundry.

To add to the washing machine advice use powder rather than liquid detergent. Powder contains more bleach than liquid which will help with keeping the pipes clean and kill bacteria, and extend machine life (or at least stop that horrible musty smell that can develop from a buildup of sludge in the pipes). Apparently Ariel is good for this. As already mentioned, do a maintenance wash (no laundry, add powder detergent, 90deg cycle) once a month to clean your machine. I just did one this morning.

make the most of the cheap veg in aldi & lidl - I bought several bags of carrots and potatoes to make soup, carrot cake, I par boiled a load of carrots and frose them ready for dinner, the same can be done with the sprouts and have your veg prepped for dinners,

Thargor wrote: »

But its not a good idea, heat doesnt "die". If your oven uses €5 worth of electricity or gas or whatever then €5 worth of heat has entered your house, it couldnt work any other way.

What I think most of us are saying is that we open the door in the oven when finished with it - to get a quick blast of air - we know we have paid for the oven to get hot! it is still a good idea for some of us - well in my ignorance personally I think its a good idea and while you think otherwise is unfortunate

Still I think its all about getting to know what other people are doing and how they are saving money - I have gotten a lot from this thread and its good to see the different opinions,

MurdyWurdy wrote: »

I actually have no idea what you are talking about - heat entering your house? Heat dying?

I think it is a good idea because it lets the heat out of the oven to warm you up for a minute instead of the heat slowly getting cooler in your oven.

You just answered your own question, heat doesnt "cool" (die) in your oven, it is released into the kitchen whether the door is open or not, where do you think it goes if you leave the door shut? The oven will have given up all its heat after you turn it off no matter what position you put the door in, its ridiculous to think otherwise or post it in a thread about money saving tips.

It seems to be a confused version of the old tip to leave the plug in the bath or shower until the water has gone cold in winter as this will let the water release all its heat into the house before it is dumped into the sewer pipes, thats an actual money saving tip as otherwise the heat will be dumped outside, in the case of the oven it doesnt matter in the slightest.

Okay, this is my contribution. My dad has Sky Sports and Movies and multiroom. Having multiroom means you can upgrade this account to Sky Go extra meaning you can use up to 4 separate internet streaming devices. I have two in my place and gave two to my friend, my dad wouldn't have a notion how this type of thing works anyway. We essentially both have Sky Sports and Movies for free now, the stream quality is really fine. As a thank you my friend gave me his Netflix details (can use up to 6 devices). This is probably gonna come off as a boast rather than a tip but Netflix and Sky Sports on my tv for a total cost of $0.00.

Cling film and freezer bags are good friends of mine. I live alone half the week and the other half with my small girl, that means cooking for 1 or 1 and a half.
Cook a full chicken, let it rest, then cut and shred all of the meat off the carcass there and then, cover the meat with cling film on a plate, anything will last at least 3 days with cling film.
Once you have an onion, some oil, butter, a few stock cubes, salt and pepper you can use any veg that's in the fridge to make soup, there's never an excuse to let veg go off in the fridge. It freezes great and you can make so many portions from one batch.

Check what electricity plan you're on. I have a cheaper night time rate than day time rate. That means washing machine goes on at night, phone and laptop gets charged and slow cooker can go on.

Check what mobile plan you are on. If you're on an unlimited plan or a pay as you go plan good for you. I'm with eMobile bill pay on a relatively cheap package but the important thing for me that I'm with them is that you get unlimited free landline calls anytime on top of your minutes and texts. That means a heck of a lot of free talk to me for a low cost. I think this mightn't suit many people but it does for me.

brian_t wrote: »

They seem to suggest that low temperature washing is ok if you perform one maintenance wash a month.

A service (or maintenance) wash involves putting the washing machine on the hottest wash with only the detergent inside - and no laundry.

When you are going to do a maintenance wash, also invest in a few cheap bottles of vinegar from aldi or lidl - (~30 cent and it does not matter if its the malt or white vinegar) and empty a full bottle of it into the drum before your run the maintenance wash. The acidity of the vinegar breaks down any limescale deposits from hard water in your machine just the same as the expensive colgan tablets would.

Same with your kettle... empty out the water... place in enough vinegar to cover the bottom/element and leave overnight to soak. Rinse out with water thoroughly next morning and it will leave your kettle sparkling and no more scummy looking tea!

After doing both of these there is no left over smell of vinegar or anything like that. It works very well and will save you in the long run.

Does anybody know when Extreme Cheapstakes is back on the television - Lifetime Channel I think?