Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Thrifty tips, ideas, news & experiences on anything around the home to shopping to re-cycling etc.
Clucky Carol
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Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by Clucky Carol »

Dear All,
I have so enjoyed browsing on this site, chickens settled in this year and enjoying a great life in Exmoor. I love reflecting over the past year, what went well, and planning what I might want to do differently in 2014! I wondered if you had a top up cycling or frugal living tip, what would it be?

Mine would be using all the ends of the candles to make new ones, which has worked brilliantly, especially as we needed them with the power cuts through the storms.

So, what would your top tip be? We might end up with a different one for every day of the year that would be amazing!

)x( Clucky Carol. Xxx
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boosmummy
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by boosmummy »

I think mine would be, if you grow your own veg etc.... Really think about what you use when planning. Honestly I never needed 12 Brussels sprout plants and there's only so much you can do with a glut of courgettes!!!

Also, make do and mend!!!! Though I hate constantly having to stitch up another hole in my running leggings, I can't justify buying another pair at £14 when the ones I have are scrabby but fine!
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Just make sure my think works are wound extra tight, and I will formulate a plan!
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perchy
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by perchy »

Check all renewals for insurances, I have saved a total of £789 on car, house and bike insurance by looking around the comparesites )t'

Check freezers once a month you would be surprised at how many free meals you can make with stuff you have forgotten about )x6(
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Stef
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by Stef »

I'm stretching Frugal Feb throughout the year. I will save more than we spend, I will, I will.

So I am reading back through the Frugal Diaries and taking notes :-D

1. White board by freezer: what went in?

But I suspect I'll do as Perchy does and freeze my fingers once a month :?
1 dumbo rat still without a name; 2 top eared rats Octavia and Ursula
1 Rhode Rock, 1 Sussex Star, 1 Blue Ranger - The New Monochrome Set

My crafty blog, it's Frugal too http://relovedremnants.blogspot.co.uk/
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lancashire lass
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by lancashire lass »

boosmummy wrote:if you grow your own veg etc.... Really think about what you use when planning. Honestly I never needed 12 Brussels sprout plants and there's only so much you can do with a glut of courgettes!!!


Ah, but can you not use your glut to barter for something? I only swapped my own grown garlic for some more garlic, but it saved me about £10 from having to buy the other garlic. Courgettes - well, how about letting some mature to marrows and this should slow down the inevitable glut from regular cropping, AND for those with chickens, slice up pieces and they will love pecking the flesh and especially enjoy the seeds. The marrows will store longer than courgettes too and can be used in late autumn/early winter.

I tend to shift my gyo to winter produce or storage rather than freshly picked in summer - there's something very comforting as winter approaches knowing that I've got a stash of potatoes, squash, onions, garlic and a load of fresh stuff like cabbage and sprouts to pick when I need them and not having to worry too much about food when the fuel bills are rolling in, plus, with Christmas just round the corner and a load of other expenses.

perchy wrote:Check all renewals for insurances, I have saved a total of £789 on car, house and bike insurance by looking around the comparesites )


This year, not only did I switch car insurance but I also changed the garage where I normally take my car for MOT & service - somewhere more local (so no need for bus fares to collect the car) and a lot cheaper too so I was especially pleased about the £300 in total that I had saved )t'

If you have a mortgage, see if it is worth looking at any deals while rates are low - I have just agreed to a new deal which saves me a £100 a month. Ideally I'd like to put that aside to pay the mortgage off earlier but with rising costs, I am just grateful for the extra cash.

If you have a credit card bill that has got out of hand, see if it is worth doing a 0% balance transfer (there have been some 2 year deals that would save a lot in interest) Whatever you do, do not spend on that card or you will accrue interest on the purchases until the original transfer has been paid off.
tortzblue
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by tortzblue »

Two wood burner tips for the cold nights.
1 - I have collected some very large flat stones from the beach. Every day I pop them on top of the wood burner. By bed time they are super hot to use to warm the beds. Put them in an old sock to prevent burnt toes.
2 - If you can fit a kettle on top of your burner too (see posts below) before you retire, fill up a large thermos with the boiling water - great for early coffee in the morning.
Scrambled
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by Scrambled »

For those reliant on oil for home heating, check out the web based oil supplier...WEB(based)OIL. We only buy 1000 litres at a time because our tank is quite small, but the price difference even with the most competitive alternative supplier was a £70 saving on a full tank.

If you fit in with their scheduled delivery rounds, that's when you get the best deals.

I'm going to be better organised with food - I don't want to throw anything away in 2014, and am vowing to be more inventive with left overs. Jack Monroe (website A Girl Called Jack) has a book of her recipes coming out next month and I think I might treat myself to that, get some more frugal food ideas.

I want to try to live on as little money as possible in 2014 )t'
Clucky Carol
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by Clucky Carol »

)app( Keep them coming team DL, inspiring, I would never have thought about the heated stone ... Brilliant .... And the oil tip, Hubby very keen to explore that, we do use a comparison website. I definitely want to use all my odds and ends and freeze properly, and I bartered with my courgette glut and swapped doe broccoli. We had a glut of blackcurrants so have really enjoyed blackcurrant gin this Christmas, and blackcurrant and mint sorbet ... Lovely.

Looking forward to more ideas ... And agree with spending as little as possible ... )wav(
Clucky Carol
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HedgeHugger
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by HedgeHugger »

Make your own laundry gloop.
I first read of it on here and decided to give it a go. Very easy and very cheap compared to regular/concentrated liquids etc. I haven't bought any liquid for around 2 years now and have spent about £2.50 on soda crystals and soap :)

Use soap instead of shower gels. I realised that most of my shower gel was shooting straight down me into the plughole. So switched back to soap. Even luxury soaps are cheap compared to shower gel.

When I make soup, or gravy for a cooked dinner, I make enough for 3 goes and freeze 2.
Cook once, eat 3 times :)
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Chicken drumstick
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by Chicken drumstick »

Some good tips )t'

I wasted an awful lot of money on buying lunch at work instead of taking my own this year
I also tend to spend money when i am bored on bits of rubbish as well .

This New year i intend to never buy lunches at work and stick to a budget on my spends and shop about more for bargains .
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Chicken drumstick
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by Chicken drumstick »

Forgot about the free cavity wall insulation :oops:


Some info here...

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilit ... n#topinsul


If your house is of a certain age you can get FREE cavity wall and loft insulation . The low income and being unemployed etc as stated on the link is wrong in my case , i am self employed and earn more than the minimum stated on the link and didnt even get asked .

Had the survey done and just waiting for the instalation . I didnt even have to call an energy company a company knocked on the door .

All legit as i checked them out
davina112
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by davina112 »

We are having loft and cavity wall insulation done 9/1/2014, no cost to us )t'
I too am aiming to not buy food at work, it is so expensive.
[center][/center]Davina
Scrambled
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by Scrambled »

Just reading HedgeHugger's fab tips has also reminded me to share with you my 'recipe' for giving the bathtub and sink a good scrub. I have an old netting shower scrub and use it with an eggcup or two of dry washing powder. Chuck the powder round the bath and sink, use the damp net thing to gently scrub and you'll hear a kind of whooshing noise (which is all the soap residue etc being sloughed away). When the whooshing stops, you know the residue has gone, so just rinse with water - and talk about shiny bathtub and sink :-D I just use the cheapest box of washing powder available and it lasts forever - literally....I'm still on the same box I've been using for a couple of years {rofwl}

Also, I don't buy any kind of kitchen or bathroom cleaners - I use a 50/50 mix of water and white vinegar for cleaning tiles, windows....brilliant shine. I use a mix of washing up liquid, bicarb, vinegar and water for mopping floor tiles which gets them lovely and clean, although I'm still working on getting a bit more shine on the floor tiles.

I also do not use furniture polish - I use two clothes, one very slightly damp and one bone dry. Damp for wiping dust off, dry for buffing to a shine.

Fascinating to read everyone's tips - we really are a wise bunch, aren't we :-D )t'

Great thread, Clucky Carol )t'
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Richard
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by Richard »

Great idea for a thread Clucky Carol

I go by.....

'If you can't go to the ATM and draw sufficient cash to buy whatever it is you're thinking about.......forget it'.


Richard )t'
New Member? Get more from the Forum and join in 'Members Chat' - you're very welcome
Clucky Carol
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Re: Best tip of 2013 for 2014?

Post by Clucky Carol »

Hi Richard, I was thinking about you today. I wanted to say thank you for enriching my life, and many others, through the website. I have really enjoyed, and benefitted from, the friendly advice and helpful hints and tips. Our move to Exmoor was a dream, and having chickens and starting my veggie patches has been a joy, but this site has helped me so much.

So as we face the next year I, for one, would like to say a heartfelt thank you for the difference you have made with the site - a very happy and peaceful (or peasful in our case!) New Year. I will raise my glass to you.

Kind Regards, Clucky Carol xx >veg< )app(
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