» 16 More Money Saving Tips

Here are some more ideas to help you make savings on household expenses:

1. Find cheaper alternatives to replace some products. Lemon juice is great for descaling kettles, and also good for removing stains from clothing and crockery, and smells from your hands. Vinegar is also good for descaling, and cleaning glass without leaving smears. These years old methods still work despite having been replaced by newer products.

Tip 12 explains how to avoid throwing away plastic containers that still have some contents

2. Be sensible about ‘use by’ dates. There is always some leeway built into these. If a product is a day or so over it’s date, it should still be perfectly okay to use. If you feel you must follow the dates strictly, make sure you only buy what you know you will use.

3. Don’t squeeze washing up liquid bottles so hard. Dribble the liquid out under a running tap and you’ll still get a good head of foam but use less. When the bottle seems empty, rinse it out with a little water before you discard it, and this will give you another measure.

4. Cook enough for 2 meals and freeze it. This works especially well with casseroles, pasta sauces and similar. You don’t necessarily need to use twice as much of every ingredient to make twice as much quantity. Use proportionally less meat and more vegetables.

5. Containers that use pump action to deliver their contents usually have a gap between the end of the tube and the bottom of the container. This means you’ll never get all the contents out through the pump, and as the amount left gets to the critical point, you’ll struggle more and more. If the container is plastic, cut it across and scoop out the remainder.

6. Forget the ‘usage’ guidelines. The television advertisement may show someone loading their toothbrush with paste, but in reality you don’t need that much to do the job properly. Use less and it will last longer. The same applies to wash powder and liquid cleaning products – don’t fill the measure right up to the recommended level. Chances are you won’t notice the difference.

7. Buy in bulk and decant into smaller containers. Shampoo, shower gel, liquid soap, coffee, tinned foods, pasta, rice, herbs and spices etc. can often be bought in large or ‘catering’ sizes which work out cheaper in the long run. If you find the larger size cumbersome, decant into smaller containers for everyday use.

8. Don’t buy things packaged in plastic if there is a glass alternative. Plastic may be convenient, but it’s difficult to see if you’ve actually used all the contents, and not always easy to get the last bits out.

9. Add more clothing. Make sure you aren’t wasting money on heating because you’re skimping on clothing. Don extra sweaters and socks before you turn the heating up. Don’t wander round without indoors something warm on your feet.

10. Don’t buy things in oddly shaped containers. You’re paying for the additional production costs and you may not be able to get all the contents out that easily.

11. Packet soup mixed with a little less water than stated can be used for pasta sauces. Just saute onions, peppers etc. then add the soup mix and cook gently. Try mushroom or onion.

12. If you buy products in plastic containers, cut into the containers to make sure you use all the contents. Whether this means snipping the end off your toothpaste or cream cheese tube, or slicing across more solid containers, it’s worth it. Plastic containers are made in all sorts of shapes, some of which don’t lend themselves to easy emptying without your assistance.

13. Drop your thermostats. Whether it’s central heating, hot water or washing machine temperatures you’ll not notice if you drop a few degrees.

14. Don’t give up on plastic bottles that have seemingly immovable caps. Use a wrench to remove these so you can get all the contents out, or to refill them from larger containers.

15. Choose containers for shampoo, shower gel etc that have flat tops so you can up-end them and get to all the product.

16. Just pay once for that fancy original containers. Look for refills that are packaged more simply – and cheaply.