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AS WE HIT the halfway point of January, many of our bank balances have been completely depleted and lunch meals are made up of leftover Christmas biscuits and tins of tuna.
We’ve promised ourselves to be more savvy from now on so this doesn’t happen before the next cheque comes through the post. Drink less, quit smoking and dust off the bicycle are all on the ‘to-do immediately’ lists.
To get real, we asked TheJournal.ie readers for their most useful money saving tips and they really came up with the goods. Here’s a few that we collected on Saturday and can’t wait to try:
James Kiernan: Commit to using for two weeks (or as long as it takes) any food in your freezer or store cupboard items. You’ll be amazed at what you may have bought, still in a sell by date that can make meals. When that’s done never ever shop on an empty stomach plan the food for the week and make lists when shopping. Stick to it.
Zoe Georgina:
Reuse and find a new use for as much as possible: glass jars are great for lots of things, old wine bottles make lovely water containers instead of plastic jugs in the fridge, put up your white Christmas lights somewhere instead of packing them away. Little touches that don’t cost much but make you less likely to get bored and want to completely redecorate.
Ness Dakota: Buy your birthday or any cards in euro shops. I bought six cards for my nieces and nephews at 59c each. You’d pay over €3 each in general shops!
Zoe Georgina:
Beware of false savings- as in buying cheap shoes, cheap clothes etc. Not saying you need designer gear but “upgrading” shops for your basics can actually save you. I stopped buying jumpers in Penneys and went to Next. I spend double on a jumper but it lasts four times longer.
Fiona Hurley: For the girls: You don’t need fancy pink razors or fluffy makeup removal pads. Buy razors in the men’s aisle and big rolls of cotton wool in the baby section. Also, check out “mooncup” or “diva cup” for time-of-the-month.
Florence Nightingale:
Buy higher quality clothing and shoes but fewer of them. For example, I bought two pairs of branded boots four years ago and I wear them for at least 8 months of each year and they’re still like brand new. I bought them online at a discount so I have two pairs of quality boots that cost me less than €150 all in. And I don’t have to keep buying boots every six months. Invest in a quality overcoat. Good underwear. Buy T-shirts and stuff like that in Penneys. That way you get the most out of the important pieces of clothing while still saving on more “disposable” clothing.Buy unbranded cleaning products in Lidl. They’re just as good as branded goods but cost way less.
Noreen Thompson: Grocery shop in the evening where possible to get some great discounts on foods close to use by date for immediate consumption or freeze them. I used to steer clear of ‘that’ shelf in better times but now it’s the 1st place I check when shopping, how times have changed! Have got some great deals from it though & feel foolish for being snobby about it before. Go on, give it go!
Mary Martin:
Am making my own sourdough bread using a homemade grape starter for yeast. Therapeutic watching it form its bubbles and doing all that kneading!
OU812: Do a food audit every two months of your larder presses & freezer(s). Make a list then go to the like of http://myfridgefood.com.
Enter what you want to use & it’ll give you recipes
Podge:
Cut out fizzy drinks for the kids. Not only will you reduce the shopping bill but you will save a fortune at the dentist later. The taxpayer will also save a fortune in funding on diabetes clinics and healthcare costs further down the line. It bewilders me as to why parents let their loved ones drink cola and the like when it is so toxic to their health.
Paddy Downey: Cutting back from two takeaway coffees per day to just one, saving over €400 per year (which is a bit frightening to realise). No, I won’t be giving up the other one just yet!
Fiona Hurley:
If you have a freezer, use it to buy food in bulk and cook in batches. Good meals for freezing include soups, lasagnas, and quiches. Avoid watery veg like tomatoes or aubergines. Buy a whole chicken instead of individual pieces. Cut down on meat, either by eating a few veggie meals a week or by bulking up the veg content of your meals.
John Carroll: Install a solid fuel stove if you can. We installed one last September and now rarely use oil central heating. I reckon well save about €1,000 this winter.
Florence Nightingale:
Work out how much electric you use each week on average and pay it at the post office each week. (A little inconvenient I know but just take a paper bill in with you and add the money on). That way, when you get the bill, you’ll have little or nothing to pay. If you do this, you’ll have less money to squander on unnecessary things such as take-out coffee or expensive sandwiches.We pay the same whether winter or summer so we always end up with credit during the very cold winter months, which means we can switch an extra electric heater on without fear of a horrible bill coming our way. And with no lump sum of money to find every two months, it’s one less thing to stress about.
Ness Dakota: If your a massive tea/coffee drinker.. Boil a full kettle and put hot water into a flask.. Saves u reboiling the kettle several times in the evening… Kettle is pretty expensive to use!
John Carroll:
Book summer holiday flights now and book accommodation afterwards. You’ll save another €1,000 for a family of five.
Zoe Georgina: If you’re in Dublin get yourself a Cineworld subscription. €20 a month (direct debit) and you can go see as many movies as you want. Perfect for going and “doing something” but not spending tons of money.
Florence Nightingale:
If you like the cinema, go to early bird showings. I saw a showing of Gravity last year that cost me less than a fiver.
John Carroll: Complete tax return and claim everything you can. We average €500 per annum tax rebate.
James Kiernan:
Do your MED 1 to the revenue on medical expenses. Even if you’re lucky enough to have private healthcare you can still do med 1 on the balance not refunded. The revenue will also then do a P21 balancing statement which could refund you more in overpaid taxes. Keep photocopies of any receipts. You don’t even need to send them in. One phone call will do.
Wishie Jatt: If you are renting make sure you are claiming your rent relief back from Revenue every year if eligible. Always amazed at how many people I know don’t do it!
OU812:
Do the 52 week savings challenge.
Put the equivalent amount of euro to correspond to the week number away.
E.G.
Week 1 = €1
Week 2 = €2
The whole way along to
Week 51 = €51
Week 52 = €52It adds up to almost €1,500 & gets you into a savings habit.
Stephanie Crawford (in response): OU812, I’mdgoing this, but backwards. I put in €52 this week, will put in €51 next week etc. I find it’s too hard to find that €51, €52 in December!
Jane Dickson:
Cancel subscription TV and switch to free view.
Will Hourihan (in response): Did this last year! We now receive all the British channels and all the Irish channels in HD without having to pay SKY for the privilege of having a crystal clear picture. We also have the facility to rewind and pause live TV. There are a lot of crap channels but let’s face it SKY had a lot of crap also.
Honest Tom:
Drive to the pub when going out. Then instead of drinking coke or club orange drink cordials. Drive home. Do that say 6 times a month, even 4 times a month and easily save €300.
Emily Elephant: Get a bike. You’d be amazed how much you save in petrol or bus fares alone. If you do it enough, you can cancel the gym membership too. Of course the serious savings start if you can sell the car.
Florence Nightingale: Wash your clothing inside out. It really does prolong the life of the garment.
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1)Dont buy shite you dont need.
2)stop drinking smoking and gambling.
3)set up a direct debit savings account.
4)be grateful for what you already have !
Otherwords live like a peasant nobody
I did most of these things in the last year or so, I really don’t live like a peasant! Actually I’m doing better now than in the boom!
dont knock it till you try it. Did it last year and buying a new car soon.
Disconnect your doorbell from the electricity and check your door every 2 minutes. Substantial savings to be made over the course of a year.
Brilliant, you could also save on gym fees by getting plenty of exercise by doing all that walking back and forth to the door :)
And you won’t have time to watch tv with all the exercising you’ll be doing so sell that on DoneDeal and save a fortune on electricity to boot!
Great idea, then unsubscribe from Sky UPC you won’t get a chance to watch tv, then stick the tv etc on Donedeal for an extra few quid !! I’m off to disconnect the doorbell
Ring your friend and hang up. They see the missed call and ring you back.
Only butter one piece of bread in a sandwich.
Pick cigarette butts up off the ground.
Steal drinks on nights out.
Turn condoms inside out for a second shag.
Give this man a TV show.
I actually had a friend do the missed call thing for years. And always during working hours so that I was definitely not going to answer. Untik one day I was on leave, answered the phone and copped on.
1. Have your butler jump up and down in your waste bin. You can get more in that way.
2. Have your blacksmith shoe your horses every other week.
3. Ask your butcher to cut up road kill you find.
My biggest saving tip is stay away from Penneys, it’s nearly impossible for me to go in there without spending money. The Cineworld ticket is a good idea but avoid the rip off popcorn…Crouching Tiger, Hidden Taytos…
dont sit in front of me making loud rustling noises with your crisps or Ill flick you with my over priced popcorn ;-) . Cinemas are bad at providing savoury foods, if Im of a mind to I bring in a sushi platter as a treat.
Watch T.V through the neighbours window, having a ladder to look through the bedroom window saves the need for the internet. Eat only what nature can provide ie cows, badgers, crows, mushrooms, grass etc. Catch lifts everywhere hanging on to the back of jeeps, buses etc whilst on your skateboard a la Marty Mcfly. Remember what Bosco said “possesion is nine-tenths of the law” so basically thieve what you like. Live in a cave or nice ditch.
Do a “Fiscal Fast” This is not my idea but one I saw on extreme cheapskates. Basically for one week every so often you commit to spending no money or if that’s not possible as little as possible. So you use up what food is in your house. Take packed lunches and flasks or tea or coffee to work. When your petrol runs out walk or use a bike. Don’t eat take aways or eat out . Free entertainment only so no cinemas or pubs or such for a week. You could do your own DVD night with home made snacks. Don’t but clothes make up or visit a hairdresser or a barbers. No newspapers or magazines no wine .
Now some people need to use public transport to get to work so you can’t cut that but anything you can cut to the bone for a week then you need to do it. If you do this even once every two to three months you could be surprised at what you could save. Extreme cheapskates take it too far for my personal tastes but you can still do a fiscal fast without making a holy show if yourself to the outside world.
^^^^ I don’t want to live on this planet anymore ^^^
Shower in work, the gym or on site after foorball if the options are available. Electric Showers are a ‘gas gusselers’
EMIGRATE!
When the water charge comes in I intend showering at the gym every day, though now you say it, it might take the esb bill down if I started that now :)
Check under the price in supermarkets for price per kg. I used to always try to work out if bigger or different brands were better value and this is fool proof.
And make sure the special offers are actually worth it – quite often they aren’t.
The two best pieces of advice so far. It’s not cheaper to go 3 for 2 if you only need one ;)
Yeah once I went to buy the Eco friendly refill pack for the coffee and looked at the price per kg and it worked out dearer. Stupid really. Sometimes there are big whopper jars of stuff that work out dearer than buying 2 smaller ones to the same weight. In Tesco at the moment it works out cheaper to buy 4 chocolate Freddo bars than to buy a pack of four. Usually when u see multi pack you think better value, but you have to be clever because that’s not always the case
put your credit card on DD, only mugs pay them interest
Or better still cancel them and use visa debit, it’s cheaper to book flights ect if you use a debit card instead of visa.
Aldi..haven’t you seen the adverts..
LOL. You wanna be some loser to do that kettle one. Saving hot water in a flask . Sad.
Advising people to drink cordials in a pub instead of fizzy drinks! What about the fella running the pub.
Bought a gadget from one of those cheap home shopping catalogues that was dropped in my door a few years ago.
Its a gadget that compacts all the leftover bits of soap and you end up with a bar of soap.
Voilà.
Hairy soap !.
(Two in one, an exfoliant and soap).
Cut out biscuits
If you can do €50 this week chances are you can do it every week to Christmas and then you will have 2500 by the new year. Stop buying Lotto tickets and if you must have a flutter do it at the bookies. Make your lunch at home and take it to work – last night’s left overs might be enough. Walk don’t drive and buy yourself a granny shopping cart – you can’t buy what you can’t pull and what you can’t pull you don’t need. Brew your own. Bake your own. Cook your own. Baked beans made at home from scratch are cheaper and taste better than anything out of a tin.
if it takes someone a year to save 2500 im sorry but by god that is pathetic
If you look strategically at saving, I should add over-saving, it is bad for business especially small businesses. This will only prolong the recovery period if a lot of people do it. My advice – reduce expensive debts where possible spend i.e. Credit card, and spend wisely and locally, there is plenty of good value out there
It’s killing small business. The solution with all these articles is cutting out a coffee and sambo… There are better ways to save.
You’d wonder the point of living here if you are on permanent student mode?
Poop at work .saves toilet paper ..
Cancel Sky.. But buy a monthly cinema pass? Think the monthly cinema pass will end up costing way more than your Sky sub.. Don’t need to drive or get a bus to my couch and pop corn costs way less at home.
Just get a cheap internet deal which eliminates both those.
1, 2, 3 thejournal.ie just log on and save money…
If you’re fit and healthy, ditch your health insurance. You don’t need it.
People haven’t a clue how little it covers. They’re buying the fluffiest product of all.
The advertisements are getting ever increasingly cynical and desperate: “You don’t love your kids if you forgo insurance” It’s sick!
Thankfully it will be a thing of the past in 3-5 years.
Tescos and a few other shops (not lidl or aldi),have a bargain bin section where they have to sell off meat or fish or fruit veg Etc cheaply cos that particular day is its use by date…. The veg Etc will keep for a few days and the meat/fish can be used that day or frozen ASAP when u get home…. It’s all still perfect but legally they have to sell it off that day or bin it once it approaches the use by…. It’s a cheaper way to get perfectly good food.
Use your debit card wherever possible instead of a credit card. That way you can keep track of what you are spending easier and you can only spend what you can afford. It saves on interest charges on your credit card and surcharges if you are booking online because some websites charge a higher surcharge for using a credit card rather than a debit card.
Yeah – but then you get hit with bank charges for the use of the debit card.
Maybe spend on the credit card and download an app for logging your expenses. Then pay off your credit card in full every month.
You don’t get charged per use of the card, and if you’ve paid it off in full every month, you don’t get charged interest either.
Live out of your freezer for a month
Tried that – was too cold, so we moved back into the house.
€500 p.a. LPT saved.
Tell the Revenue that your Local Property Tax is a “loan”.
You will get it back when the law is repealed.
—————————————————————
$300 p.a. Bin charges saved.
“Give up your ol’ bins”.
Use black bag compressor at your local petrol station for €6/bag.
or find a bin partner with an exemption!
—————————————————————-
€700 p.a. Car Tax saved.
Only €56 p.a. for classic car tax.
Plenty classic cars available in UK because they dont have the daft Irish car tax system. Donedeal ads.
“141 and 142″ are not green jersey anyway … €1.5 billion sent out of our economy every year .. jobs, jobs!
——————————————
€500 saved in oil fill.
Fit a solid fuel stove.
——————————————-
€2500 p.a. saved in no smokes.
No smokes … it wont kill you but will kill the taxman.
—————————————–
€250 p.a. parking charges …
Shop out of town. Free parking.
—————————————–
I always buy Patricks marching season shoes in the sales but I’ve saved on washing powder for the fleg so it balances out in the end
Use a clothes airing rack instead of a tumble drier. One tip to improve cash flow to have a few extra bob for Xmas is to pay the mortgage over 11 months instead of 12. It might save high fees on credit cards.
Emigrate.
This article is 13 days too late.The journal editorial staff could do with a bit of downsizing based on its performance.I suppose they may have decided to reduce the days in January we can apply these savings to be ironic,which is ironic really.
22 red thumbs….the ass licking brigade are out in force today.Sheep…..bbaaaaaa!!!!!!!1
If your breasts are too big try wearing a knapsack. It might not save you any money but at least you won’t fall over.
Or get another job. .
Don’t throw out those old Corn Flake boxes. Fill them with toilet paper and Sellotape them together to make an excellent mattress. Or use empty Flora containers as galoshes for the kids. Save money on cold Winter nights by unplugging the freezer and leaving the contents outside on the doorstep.
And finally, my wife and I saved €20 last Saturday by jogging behind a taxi to our favourite restaurant!
i save on pricey toilet paper by using an old flannel cloth and just give it to my wife to stick in the wash every now and again.
Here is my tip. Most coupon queens or kings are extreme couponers. Yes, you need much time and effort to clip and stack coupons. If saving a lot money, it’s worthwhile. Yet, many turns out to be time-consuming without getting valid coupons. With tons of coupons sites online, I found some of the best like HalfDiscount, HotUKDeals, VoucherCodes.
I despise cheap people they simply have no class
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