As we cut back on spending and try to reduce our monthly budget, we’re reverting back to some of our grandmothers household hints for quick, easy and cheap solutions to cleaning, repairing and re-using around the house.

In fact sales of haberdashery (fabric, buttons, cotton and wool) have increased dramatically this year.

I think it’s a great idea to spread the word and start using these ideas as they’re a brilliant alternative to our current throwaway attitude, and will help families in some way during the recession.

Read on to find out more…

We’ve forgotten some of these age old titbits that can save us time and money, Yet this old fashioned advice still has its use in todays 21st century house, and traditional skills are becoming more popular again.

Cleaning

• Rubbing a raw potato on scuffed leather shows can give them a new lease of life
• Polish shoes with the inside of a banana skin, dry and buff with a soft cloth for a brilliant shine
• White wine vinegar is great for removing limescale build up from taps, sinks and plugs
• Lemon juice is a great odour eliminator. Rub half a cut lemon on chopping boards to replace pongy odours, or place in a bowl of water in your microwave on low for 2 minutes to remove nasty smells
• Bicarbonate of Soda is a brilliant way of getting work surfaces spotless. Just add onto a damp cloth and rub away.

Clothes

• Take up knitting and sewing. Making and mending clothes is very satisfying, but remember to wash clothes before repairing them to stop pulls and tears becoming worse
• Add a few drops of lavender oil on kitchen paper and leave in the back of your wardrobe for sweet smelling clothes and a moth deterrent
• Sprinkling Bicarbonate of Soda in smelly shoes and trainers is great for getting rid of odours. A cheap and chemical free deodrant!
• Start a new trend and sew patches onto holes in your favourite skirts, trousers and jumpers - that way they’ll last a few more years.
• Got an ink stain from that biro at work? Squirt with hairspray and work a mix of water/white vinegar onto it till its gone. wash as normal (not advised for delicates or silk ties though)

General

• Flowers last longer if you use a 50:50 water/lemonade mixture. If you don’t have lemonade then add sugar to the water instead
• Rubbing toothpaste on a watch face or fragile glassware can get rid of fine scratches and marks
• Keep all your old toothbrushes as they’re great for cleaning those hard to reach places like around taps and corners
• Don’t throw away hot fat. Let it cool and solidfy then mix with cheap oatmeal to make a tasty treat for birds
• Car wax is a great way of adding a brilliant shine to your white goods, such as washing machines and fridges

(Image from chefranden on Flickr)

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The word of the year has to be ‘Staycation’. Apparently it’s the only way to have a holiday this year as we’re all so cash strapped during the credit crunch. But what is a staycation?

Read on to find out more…

Essentially it’s a holiday at home. Simple as that.

However, it can be so much more. It’s always useful to have a few ideas and handy hints to ensure your holiday at home is as enjoyable as possible. So I’ve compiled my Top 10 ideas for making the most of your staycation, whether its a weekend, a week or a fortnight.

Top Ten Tips For Making The Most Of Your Staycation

1. Unplug The Phone

That’s right - switch off your mobile, unplug your landline and hide your laptop. Truly get away from it all for the ultimate relaxing break away from work and your normal life. This is a time for no interruptions.

2. Food & Drink

There’s no need to spend a fortune if you can’t or don’t want to. Keep it simple.

• Think European chic - a baguette, some scrummy camembert and a bottle of red vino and you have a succulent lunch.
• Think Mediterranean - the Italians have it nailed. A simple spaghetti dish with prawns, garlic and chilli oil and a tricolore salad with parmesan shavings makes a tasty tea.
• Have a BBQ in the garden, take a picnic to the park or buy fish and chips at the beach.
• Find all the recipes you need on the BBC Food website
• Stock up on food before your staycation to avoid shopping, or if you have to shop do it online and get it delivered straight to your fridge door!
• If you do want to splash out, treat yourself to a takeaway or splurge on a nice bottle of wine rather than the cheapest one going.

3. Dogs and other pets

If you have a dog, it seems unfair (and expensive) to cart them off to a kennel but why not get a pet sitter to walk your dog every day and give you a break? Alternatively use this time as an opportunity to spend more time with your family pet; long walks in the country, swimming in the sea etc…

If you have smaller caged pets you can always see if a friend will look after your hamster or budgie for the week.

4. Household Chores and Bills

Avoid at all costs! You can survive for a fortnight without washing or hoovering when you holiday away from home, so why not when you holiday at home.

• Pay your bills before you go so it’s one less thing to worry about.
• Have a thorough tidy up before your holiday is due to start - it’ll last all week then and save you dusting, scrubbing and hoovering.
• Pack your clothes into a suitcase as you would for a normal holiday and just use these and avoid washing any clothes.

5. Day Trips and Meals Out

The Money Saving Expert forum offers the perfect opportunity to find some great deals which helps you pay less for day trips and eating out.

All the information you need is at your fingertips on UK Holidays, Days Out & Entertainments and is regularly updated.

6. Evenings

Don’t get stuck into the routine of plonking in front of the TV and watching what you’d normally watch. Make the effort to do any of the following.

• Go to the cinema
• Have a meal in your favourite restaurant or go to one you’ve always wanted to try
• Enjoy a long romantic walk whilst the sun sets
• Play tennis in the evening at your local park or fitness centre

7. Indulge

• Find your local health spa and spend a day lounging in the jacuzzi, sitting in the steam room or sauna or swimming in the pool.
• End your day with a steaming hot bubble bath, light some candles and pop open a bottle of bubbly wine whilst you read a good book.

8. Relax

• If you’re lucky enough to have the sun out, do some sunbathing in the garden, a local country park or head along to the nearest beach with a good book. Don’t forget the sunscreen though!
• Do as the Spanish do and have a siesta

9. Explore

Investigate your local area. Our doorstep is often the one place we don’t get to see in all its glory, so use this time to visit those interesting places.

A good place to start is your Tourist Information Centre, or try The National Trust or English Heritage for interesting places to visit. If you plan on visiting a few, it could be cheaper to invest in an annual membership card.

10. Learn A New Skill

Take this opportunity to discover a new hobby or learn a new skill. Suggestions include:

• Try a Yoga or Tai Chi class.
• Learn how to bake bread, fresh pasta or make a cake.
• Have a go at playing a new sport at your local leisure centre such as badminton, tennis or trampolining.
• Try your hand at photography (everyone has a camera) or painting a favourite scene.

A few last words…

Plan your staycation so you make the most of your time. You’d do this on a holiday away - treat this exactly the same. Plus it helps make your holiday at home a stress-free occasion.

Set a budget. Remember this is one of the reasons you’re doing a staycation, to save money. Without a budget to stick to you’re likely to overspend and defeat the whole objective of holidaying cheaply.

Take lots of pictures! You’ll look back on your holiday snaps in the future with a smile on your face and lots of happy memories.

(Image from m o d e on Flickr)

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Have you heard of www.approvedfood.co.uk?

I’ve known about this site for a while after reading about it on a Money Saving Expert newsletter I received in my email inbox a few months ago.

Read on to find out more…

I had a quick look at it but then swiftly forgot about it until I had an email from them reminding me of some brilliant offers they had on site, so I made sure I had a browse there and then.

If you don’t know anything about them, ApprovedFood.co.uk is an online seller of food and drink that’s sold cheaply because it’s clearance stock, short dated or out of date (it’s ‘best before’ but not ‘use by’ which is different).

They sell a wide range of tinned and packet food, health food, pet food, snacks, sweets and beverages along with non-food items such as furniture, household goods and toiletries.

What’s The Difference Between The Best Before Date And The Use By Date?

A products ‘best before’ date relates to the quality of the item and is often not at its optimum, however this is not normally an issue with dried, packet, jarred or tinned foodstuffs. In my experience the food looks, smells and tastes perfectly fine.

Foods past their ‘use by’ date can carry serious health risks and are not sold.

Read more about Best Before Dates

Read more about Use By Dates

How To Pay

You can pay with your credit card via Google Checkout which is quick and easy (you do need a google account to do this, but its free and easy to set up). Google Checkout are no longer accepting Maestro cards which may be a tad inconvenient to many of Approved Foods customers, so they are setting up a PayPal account as we speak to rectify this problem.

How To Get Your Food

• You can collect direct if you happen to be close to their wholesale store in Worksop, Nottinghamshire (See Map).

Or

• They’ll deliver to an address of your choosing either by a national courier company or through an alternative courier which is cheaper for those ordering over 28kg worth of stuff.

Delivery Costs

For a standard delivery of less than 28kg it’ll cost you £5.25. 28kg is a huge amount of food so it’s unlikely you’ll pay more than this for a standard family size delivery, at the same time it’s worth making sure you have a decent sized order to justify the cost. There’s no point in ordering £5 worth of food and drink if you have to pay £5.25 to receive it.

Read more about their delivery charges.

I was really pleased with my first order and now go online and order from them at least once a month. Give them a try!

(Image from sue-bailey on Flickr)

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• Cheap Valentine Day Gifts (0)

Obviously the cheapest way of cutting down on health care is to stay healthy by eating a good diet, keeping hydrated, getting regular exercise and plenty of sleep.

Some people aren’t so lucky though. So if you need to take medicines as a one-off or on a regular basis, here’re the Top 5 ways to save money on your medicines and health care.

Top 5 Ways To Reduce Your Medicine Costs

1. Buy Generic Drugs

Generic drugs are essentially the same as brand name products and contain the same active ingredient. They work out cheaper because the companies haven’t had to pay the marketing and advertising costs involved with branded products.

Example: You can buy 48 Ibuprofen 200mg tablets for 99p, rather than £1.25 for 16 Nurofen 200mg tablets.

2. Buy Online

There are several online pharmacies that offer real value for money. I recently paid £7.10 (now £7.20 since 1st April 2009) for a prescription for some antibiotics. I could have bought these online for £3.08 (with free delivery) - a fraction of the cost!

It’s a really simple system. Just select from an NHS or Private prescription, give your delivery information, send your prescription FREEPOST and wait for your medicines to arrive.

2 good ones to try are:

• Chemist Direct

Free 1st class delivery which takes 1-3 days; Option to pay for Next Day Delivery if you’re in a hurry; Your order arrives in discreet and unmarked packaging.

• Pharmacy2U

Same online system as Chemist Direct but search facility not as good; Contact phone number for any enquiries; Free UK Delivery on all NHS Prescriptions; Free UK Delivery for non-prescription orders over £45.

3. Get A Prescription Prepayment Certificate

Are you paying for over 3 prescription items in 3 months, or 14 items in 12 months? Then consider getting a Prescription Prepayment certificate (PPC). It covers the cost of your NHS prescriptions, no matter how may items you need, saving you money.

The charge for a single prescription item is £7.20, but a 3 month PPC will cost you £28.25 and a 12 month PPC costs £104.00. Set up a Direct Debit so you can spread the annual cost evenly with 10 monthly installments of £10.40.

Read the useful information on the NHS website: Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPC).

N.B. Some people are eligible for free prescriptions depending on age, income or medical grounds so make sure you check before buying a PPC.

4. Buy in Bulk

If you’re unfortunate enough to have to take medication on an ongoing basis you could consider buying online in bulk. Your doctor may be able to write you a prescription to cover a longer period. Buying in bulk will cut down on costs long-term.

5. Top-up Fees

As of November 2008 UK residents are allowed to pay for additional medicines and not lose out on NHS treatment. This is great news and means that NHS patients, especially those suffering from terminal illnesses, will have more drugs available to them.

Visit the NHS website where they have a useful Top-up Fee Q&A section.

Health Insurance

If you’re in a position to, you can get Health Insurance for you and your family through companies such as BUPA.

Health Insurance plans cover for those treatments not covered by the NHS such as:

• Prescription charges and certain cancer drugs
• Dental treatment
• Optical treatment
• Emergency treatment when holidaying overseas
• Cosmetic surgery that could be required following an accident

Companies such as WPA offer these Health Top-up Care plans to make sure if you do need treatment, you can get it.

(Image from worak on Flickr)

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Afternoon Tea at the Ritz is a quintessentially British tradition and can be found on many peoples ‘To Do’ list. But if you can’t stretch to the £53 per head price tag why not have a go yourself?

It makes a fabulous Mother’s Day, Birthday or Anniversary gift without breaking the bank.

The Ritz puts on a real spread for its high tea extravaganza which includes:

• A selection of scrummy sandwiches including smoked salmon, cream cheese, cucumber with dill and roast ham
• Home made scones with jam and clotted cream
• A selection of pastries and cream cakes
• Selection of Teas
• Champagne

Why not buy all these goodies online at a supermarket and make it yourself? It’s a budget way to make a gift but the time and effort that goes into it makes much more of an impression.

Want To Earn Money When Buying Online?

Quidco is a cashback co-operative which gives you commission and cashback on over 1200 online retailers who have signed up with them. Register for free at Quidco.com. There is a £5 annual subscription fee but this isn’t charged for it’s simply deducted when you have earned enough to cover it (see How the Membership Works).

In essence this cashback site will earn you a discount (usually 0.5% and 5% of the total cost (ex-VAT) when you shop online with affiliated members. They make payments each month depending on how much you have earned, but it can take 2-3 months from making purchases to receiving your cash.

Read this useful review of Quidco.com.

How Much Will Homemade Tea At The Ritz Cost?

The cost of buying these ingredients at Tesco.com (all items were Tesco brand and prices correct on 23rd March 2009) = £38.42. This is enough for 4 people - that’s just £9.60 per head

At the moment you can get £5 cashback when you register with Tesco.com and make your first grocery order (get 3-7% on other items you may order through Tesco such as electrical goods and DVDs).

Cost of buying the Ritz Tea ingredients at Asda.com (all items were Asda brand and prices correct on 23rd March 2009) = £28.34. This is enough for 4 people - that’s just £7.08 per head

Asda.com are also doing a £5 cashback incentive for your first grocery shop online and up to 5% on other items.

If you have saved up for this teatime treat and want to book then LastMinute.com have an offer to buy Afternoon Tea for Two for £82. Buy Afternoon Tea for Two at the Ritz at Lastminute.com
(correct as of 23rd March 2009).

Or buy direct from The Ritz in London.

(Image from Gaetan Lee on Flickr)

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Did you make a resolution to cut down on your clothes spending this year? Or on buying stuff in general? If so - well done, but it doesn’t mean you can’t go shopping and get your hands on some bargains.

You don’t have to buy ‘brand new’ clothes - second-hand clothing is perfectly acceptable. After all it’s new to your wardrobe!

It’s not just bargains in the clothing department but cars, books, DVDs, wedding dresses and even furniture! 2008 saw an increase in demand for preloved (aka: second hand) items in the UK.

Read on for my 5 tips for buying cheaper…

Top five tips for buying on a budget

1. Charity Shops
2. Preloved.co.uk
3. Ebay.co.uk
4. Online discount codes
5. Freecycle

1. Charity Shops

Charity shops come in at number one and are no longer the ‘jumble sale’ affairs they once were. They have now been replaced by smart looking retail outlets and despite all looking a bit like on another now, at least they no longer have the fusty old carpet smell or the piles of items to sift through. Instead they offer great quality clothes at cheaper prices.

Sure you can probably buy a shirt at Primark for the same price, but you’re not really helping anybody then are you? the benefit of charity shops is that they raise money for good causes and not to line the pockets of wealthy businessmen.

2. Preloved.co.uk

Not only is Preloved.co.uk a great place to buy good quality second hand goods, it’s also a free way of advertising stuff you want to sell - so it can make you money too! My friend recently sold her wedding dress this way and said what a hassle free experience it was. And it’s not just bargains in the clothing department but cars, books, wedding dresses and even furniture.

Signing up is easy and quick, and then chocks away - you can advertise your items for free. Then just renew every few days to keep your adverts at the top, so they can be found quickly and easily by browsers.

3. Ebay.co.uk

Now everyone has heard of Ebay and it’s a cheap place to buy. There have been no end of times I have bagged myself a bargain here - normally clothes and jewellery. It’s a great way to find fancy dress costumes too. Not all of it’s pre-owned either, a lot of the items listed are brand new - just at bargain prices, as it’s much cheaper to run a virtual store than a physical one.

It’s a relatively painless registering process and the rest of the instructions are fairly straight forward. I prefer to use Paypal to buy with though - that way I know I am protected if anything goes wrong.

Ebay is also a great way of generating cash. You can sell single items or even create your own shop. The only drawback is there’ll be a fee taken off for the privilege but it’s minimal and it’s well worth waiting for the 1p or 5p listing days they promote every now and again.

4. Buy online using discount codes

Discount codes have taken over internet shopping and are a great way to buy things from your best-loved shops. It could be something you sepcifically want such as a brand of TV or it could be 10% off clothes from your fave fashion shop. Either way there are plenty to choose from, such as Web Savings World.

But that’s partly where the problem lies, there are too many, and to be honest many of them are rubbish and actually waste your valuable time! However there is a website that seems to do all the hard work for you. Money Saving Expert updates the best discount shopping codes on a daily basis so you can reap the benefits without the hassle.

You always get to discover what freebies and giveaways are on offer too, and you don’t even need to sign up to get the information (however the weekly emailed newsletters are very handy). it’s completely free and on tap.

5. Freecycle

Freecycle’s a non-profit voluntary movement that seems to have taken over the UK - and the world. It’s a great way to advertise for free and get rid of unwanted stuff or get hold of items you’re looking for.

It’s free to join - you simply have to sign up to a Yahoo account (if you don’t have one already). It’s a bit of a faff but only takes a few minutes. Once there you join your local group and place your post; Wanted or Looking For. Then sit back and wait for emails from fellow Freecyclers.

You could potentially find a whole treasure trove of items looking for a good home. All you have to do is collect it yourself and it’ll be completely free of charge. What have you got to lose?

(Image from pinknblack73 on Flickr)

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It’s important to show your partner how much they mean to you, and Valentine’s Day is the traditional date for exchanging cards and gifts.

Only in the 14th century was the feast of St Valentine associated with love and romance and made popular by the writer Geoffrey Chaucer. There’s a great Valentine’s Day article on Wikipedia about its origins.

Even though Valentine’s Day is very commercial (a day created by Mr Hallmark as the joke goes!), I think it’s still important for couples to show each other how much they care. It can be all to easy to take each other for granted.

Although the financial outgoings are much less than Christmas, it’s so easy to go overboard and spend lots of valuable cash you don’t have!

You don’t have to remortgage your house to get a thoughtful, romantic Valentine gift. In fact, it’s often more special when something is handmade, or some thought has gone into buying it.

Read on for my budget Valentine Day Gift ideas…

My motto: The less you have to spend, the more imagination you put into it.

This year St Valentine’s Day lands on Saturday 14th February so I can imagine plenty of restaurants being packed out - make sure you book early if that’s your plan. Don’t forget to use one of the restaurant offers listed on moneysavingexpert.com for a cheaper meal at her favourite venue. It’ll mean you can treat one another and keep within your budget.

Ideas For Cheap Valentine Day Gifts

Candlelit Dinner

Why spend a fortune on a meal out in a restaurant? Spend a bit of time shopping for all your favourite foods and cook your own slap-up dinner for two. Light a few candles, open a nice bottle of wine and play some soft music and you’ve got the perfect Valentine’s night.

Enjoy A Night In And Be Pampered

With our hectic lifestyles we love nothing more than to sit back and relax in the evening. We’re all cutting down on spending so make it a cheap night in. Run a hot bath with lots of bubbles, throw in a few petals from the garden, light a few candles and you have your own spa for two. Enjoy a glass of vino, give each other a back massage or foot rub. Afterwards unplug the phone and snuggle under the duvet on the sofa to watch a film or two.

Love Notes

The simple ideas are often the most effective. Leave love notes throughout the house declaring your undying love for each other. If you’re the creative kind why not devise a funny limerick or romantic poem. The effort you have put in will make it a winning Valentine’s Day gesture.

I.O.U. Tokens

Another effective gesture that works a treat and won’t cost a penny. Just write an I.O.U offering to do something for your partner when requested. It could be something practical such as making her lunch for a week or something sexy such as a massage one weekend. There’s no limit with this Valentine gift idea - just use your imagination.

Create A Photo Collage

Hunt out a collection of your favourite photos of each other. Holiday snaps, Christmas or Birthday parties and make them into a framed collage full of your happiest memories as a couple.

CD Compilation Of Their Favourite Music

A song can say a thousand words. Creating a music list that only means something to you both is both cheap, romantic and shows you remember their favourite songs. This is an old favourite but works everytime. A classic Valentine’s Day gift.

Valentine’s Day Presents For Less

If you’re still looking to buy a Valentine’s present, there’re plenty of ideas

• Find Valentine’s Day gifts for under £10 from sites like GiftChooser.co.uk.
• Cheap Valentine’s flowers and perfume.
• Get 40% off sparkling wine and champagne at Wine Rack, Threshers and Victoria Wine until 14th February 2009 with this 40% off voucher (pdf).

Ideas For Cheap Valentine Day Cards

Even if you can’t afford a present, make an effort to get a card one way or another. Here are some great suggestions.

Buy Cards Online

Not having time to pop to the shops for a card is not a valid excuse to forget a card. Buy your card online from websites such as Moon Pig. It’s quick to do, cheap and can be personalised. If you use Moonpig.co.uk lots its better to prepay and get an extra £5 for free.

Send Cards Online

If your loved one is far away from you, an e-card is the perfect way to send your Valentine a card. There are hundreds of sites that will let you do this - one of the oldest and best is Blue Mountain. If money is a real issue, send an email message and change the text colour to red. Simple!

Homemade Valentine’s Day Cards

The most romantic gesture is the one that takes the most effort. Make your own with card, glitter and glue, use fancy clip art on your computer or print out a Valentine’s Day Card template. Find more ideas at http://familycrafts.about.com.

(Image by ButterflySha on Flickr)

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The mantra is simple: Use less.

By saving water in the home, garden and at work you can save valuable pennies, even pounds over the course of a year!

By changing your habits and routines slightly you can make a huge difference to your annual water bill.

We currently use 50% more water than in the 1980’s. This is partly due to an increase in the number of washing machines and dishwashers in households, primarily because they are much more affordable.

It’s important to reduce the amount of water we waste, not only for environmental issues but also for monetary reasons. Even those on unmetered water should reduce their usage, as water costs will become cheaper for us all.

Read on for my Top 13 tips…

Save Water; Save Money

Top Tips To Remember

1. Turn off the tap whilst brushing your teeth - it’s a waste of water otherwise (in fact it uses up about 5 litres of water/minute!).
2. Don’t be a drip - fix any dripping taps inside (and outside) your house and save yourself up to 4 litres of water a day.
3. Wait till you have a full load of washing. Half load programmes use more water and energy than full loads. The same principle applies to dishwashers.
4. Only boil the amount of water you’ll need in your kettle. Depending on the kettle, it may be cheaper to heat up water in the microwave. You can buy an Ecokettle for £39.95 from Gizoo.co.uk that will let you measure and heat up the correct volume for 1-8 cups of tea or coffee.
Top Tip: Pour any excess hot water you boil into a thermos flask for instant hot water.
5. One toilet flush will use about 9 litres of water. Less so if you’ve a dual flush system and use the half flush. Save loo water by adding a hippo to the cistern which will reduce the amount of water that fills it by up to 33% (saving 3 litres per flush). Buy a Hippo from Ethical Superstore for £1.99, or a cheaper alternative is to put a water filled plastic bottle into the cistern.
6. When waiting for hot water from your taps don’t waste that running water, put a bowl in the sink and use it to water indoor plants, fill vases or your pets water bowl.
7. Getting cold water to drink from taps can take a couple of minutes. Keep a bottle or jug in the fridge for instant cold tap water - refreshing!
8. Fit a normal shower, not a power shower. Use it instead of a bath to save up to 66% of water. If you do have a bath, share with your partner for a romantic treat! Set the mood with these romantic spa bath lights for £4.99 from Play.com with free delivery (just don’t forget to use rechargeable batteries).
9. Wash your fruit and veg in a bowl so you can use the dirty water on houseplants and keep your garden drought-free.
10. Get free rain water by having a water butt in your garden. Collect between 100-700 litres of rain water for watering your garden or washing the car! The cheapest I’ve found online is £19.83 for a 100l one from waterbuttsdirect.co.uk but contact your local council to see if you can buy one at a subsidised rate.
11. Collect the water you drain off after cooking veg and use it to make a tasty base for soups, casseroles and stews. It’s a cheaper way of cooking. Try this delicious recipe for Vegetable Soup.
12. Steam your veg. You don’t need expensive steamers for this, just a saucepan, lid and small amount of water. Other alternatives include chinese style bamboo steamers - £9 from Amazon.co.uk (but cheaper from your local oriental store) or an electric steamer for £19.87 from Amazon.co.uk.
13. Fit a TapMagic device to restrict the water flow from taps and avoid wastage.

Everyone knows how difficult it is to make change but by doing just one of these tips a week and slowly building it up, it’ll feel like second nature before you know it.

Should You Be On A Water Meter?

A water meter records the amount of water you actually use rather than a fixed amount based on the rateable value (RV) of your home.

Being metered could reduce your annual water bill. A majority of homes (even when renting) can have a water meter fitted for free. Contact your water company to find out more.

Find out from uSwitch.com if having a water meter fitted could save you money.

The water regulator Ofwat calculates the average unmetered customer who switches to metered, saves an average of 5-10% on their bill. So if your annual bill was £500, getting a meter could save you £25-50.

The facts and figures about water wastage are pretty scary. At the end of the day it’s your money going down the drain so do something about it today.

Useful Sites For Saving Money And Water

• uSwitch.com helps determine if you could save money on your water bill. It also has a great tool showing you how much water your area uses.
• The Water Guide is a useful resource for everything you need to know about water in the UK.
• For those wanting to find out more about getting hot water economically and using it effectively, read the article Hot Water Simply from Countryside magazine.
• Find your water company for their advice on how to save water at home and get cheaper water bills.
• Find your local council for information on what help is available when trying to save water at home.
• Tesco Direct have this informative Guide to buying Water Butts.

(image by Snap® on Flickr)

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Sounds impossible, but seriously if you think about it there are loads of ways to earn some extra cash during hard times.

By just doing a few of these you can either save money for something you really, really want or simply a way to treat yourself to a box of chocolates at the weekend.

Now I’m not here to tell you what to do or how to do it, just guide you to someone who can.

A fantastic book has been published which is just perfect for times like these. 101 Ways to Make Extra Cash in a Recession is available from Amazon for just £3.99.

Whilst some of the suggestions are a bit outlandish, it does give you the ability to think outside the box and see what can be done to earn extra money - stuff you might never have thought of!

Here are my favourite Top 20 suggestions from this little 101 Guide:

1. Start babysitting
2. Get stuck into carbooting
3. Convert your house to a B&B
4. Make your own beer
5. Comping and quizzing
6. Musical? Have a go at busking or street performing
7. Dog walking - earn money whilst getting fit
8. Sell stuff on eBay
9. Pick your own fruit & veg
10. Become an Extra on TV and films
11. Become a house sitter
12. Get a 2nd job as concert, events or stadium staff as these are often at nights and weekends
13. Make chutney and jam to sell
14. Make the most of credit card cashback
15. Cut people’s grass
16. Nude modeling - if you dare!
17. Rent your spare room to a lodger
18. Professional mourner - apparently this as a bona fide career!
19. Rent your house out and downsize
20. Take in ironing or clean other peoples houses

It even made me come up with a few of my own:

• Find treasure by taking up metal detecting as a hobby - see the National Council for Metal Detecting website for more details
• If you love animals become a petsitter
• Sell your unwanted books at Green Metropolis - you get £3 per book!
• Become an Avon representative
• If you buy online, then sign up to Quidco - an online cooperative that gives you cashback on whatever you spend

The possibilities of earning extra cash are limited only by the size of your imagination.

If you have any other tips or ideas let us know!

In the meantime buy 101 Ways to Make Extra Cash in a Recession from Amazon for just £3.99. Then you can have a competition with your mates to see how much you can earn!

(image by luismi1985 on Flickr)

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Shopping at the supermarket is a dangerous task. Supermarkets are food palaces that have been optimised specifically to get as much cash out of us as possible.

Go shopping with your blinkers on and follow the Golden Rules…

15 Golden Rules to ensure you get more for your money

1. Eat before you go food shopping - as everyone should know by now.
2. Compare supermarket prices beforehand - most people have a choice of a couple of supermarkets to shop at. Now you can choose beforehand which offers you the best deals.
3. Make a shopping list and stick to it!
4. Give yourself a time limit - supermarkets are laid out in such a way to get you to walk around most of it. The longer you are in the store, the more you are likely to spend.
5. Don’t automatically go for the branded products - if you do try using the next brand/price band down. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to taste the difference and it could save you £100’s a year.
6. Find out the best time to go shopping. Really, it’s amazing the bargains you can get just by going a bit later in the evening, as the store will reduce items by up to 70% to get rid of it by the end of the day. Each store varies though.
7. Don’t over buy. We throw away over £9bn of avoidable food waste each year. If you do buy more than you need, make sure you freeze anything that can be eaten another day!
8. Don’t be fooled by the same items being located in different parts of the store. You’ll often find better value nuts and dried fruit selections in homebaking than snacks.
9. Use Grocery coupons from magazines and online. You’ll find plenty of them on the Money Saving Expert Supermarket coupons page.
10. BOGOF Offers - there is a time and a place to use these offers to your advantage. Make sure it’s only on items that won’t go off and that’re already on your shopping list. That way you’re avoiding the ‘impulse buy’ syndrome.
11. Look for the ‘Best Before’ items. Best Before dates mean products are still usable/edible past this date. You can often get loads of cheap offers if you go for short-dated best before items.
12. Buying items that have gone beyond their best before dates are still fine. There are plenty of independent shops on the high street that offer these items or buy them online at www.approvedfood.co.uk
13. Take a calculator and work out the cost per gram on each item - especially when buying your weekly fruit and veg. Supermarkets are adept at making it as difficult as possible to compare but it is do-able.
14. Avoid buying expensive pre-packed veg and fruit. Loose is always much more economical, and there’s less waste packaging!
15. Avoid impulse buys at the tills - they’re usually the sweets and choccies that are never good for that diet you’re just about to start.

(image by ralphbijker on Flickr)

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