- Use loyalty vouchers. It isn't worth buying just for the vouchers but it is a shame to let them go to waste. These are often useful for days out.
- Shop the house. There may be something already in the house that can be used for the art project/wrapping paper.
- Grow your own. It is worth working out the saving for different crops. We have found that there are major savings on salad leaves and herbs along with fruit but that, for us, tomatoes can be expensive to grow.
- Buy from discounters. We tend to stock up every few weeks on items which are particularly good value. We have found that Lidl is particularly useful for passata, washing powder, coffee, chocolate, fruit and vegetables. Our local farmers' market is an expensive place except for the vegetable stall which is excellent value.
- Cook from scratch. This is particularly relevant for larger families. We particularly save when making soup, bread and pasta sauce.
- Eat less meat. Meat is expensive so having some vegetarian meals and making the meat in a casserole go further by adding pulses makes economic sense.
- Avoid wasting food. I find that often waste comes by putting too much on a child's plate. The answer is obvious! Left over vegetables can often be added to a soup or casserole. Mashed potatoes can be shallow fried in patties. I coat these with flour or cornmeal.
- Pass on used children's clothes and gratefully accept, and use, clothes passed on to you.
- Shop around for insurance. The Moneysaving Expert has useful guides.
- Change utility company. This has produced large savings for us whilst maintaining the same level of use. This has been a win:win for us. Again, the Moneysaving Expert has guides and search engines as has the Daily Telegraph comparison site.
Please do add your tips!
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These are all good ideas- I think accepting hand-me-down clothes makes a huge difference. We also don't eat a huge amount of meat, but what we do buy, I get from the reduced section at our local Co-op, then just freeze it all immediately. I have also just made my first batch of homemade laundry liquid following the recipe on the Free Homeschool Deals website, but substituting soap flakes for their soap bar. It seems to wash our clothes fine, and was very cheap to make, so hopefully it will last a long time!
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