So as Mr Cheryl and I are both teaching assistants, we don't exactly bring in a hefty sum of money each month (I can't even pay off my student loan but maybe that is a good thing?) However we make enough to get by and whilst right now we cannot afford to rent our own place (when a London flat costs £300-£400 a week can you blame us), we are happy living at home with my mum. We have been living together for many a year now and I in particular have grown to be rather a frugal and thrifty young lady. Michael loves the deals but lets face it, us girls know how to find a bargain and save money. Whilst I make enough money each month to pay rent and bills and treat myself to a few nice things (hello weekly takeaway) I still have to be very economical when it comes to every day living and I thought over the next few weeks I would share with you all the ways in which I save money in every day life. Before you know it you will be as frightfully frugal as I am.....
ONLINE GROCERY SHOPPING IS A BEAUTIFUL THING ...
Buying your food shop online is a beautiful thing and I don't know what I did before it was invented all those years ago (erm, went to the shop?) and whilst it may be considered lazy, it also has major plus points where saving money is concerned. Before I decide who to shop with (Michael and I do our food shop fortnightly plus a few mini shops) I browse around the main 3 supermarkets and see which has the best deals that week. Shopping online means that you can see the deals instantly without having to trawl through shelves-the computer can do it all for you! Another benefit of shopping online apart from the obvious removal of lugging and sweating is that you don't get tempted by all the pretty things that supermarkets carefully place in your eye view...things that are nice but you DON'T REALLY NEED. Most supermarket websites now have a 'favourites tab' so you can just buy what you normally buy without browsing too much and gettting tempted. The only thing Michael and I don't buy online (we do buy veg and don't normally have a problem) is meat such as chicken and beef as you can never fully guarantee its freshness unless you see it yourself. We buy bulk meals such as ingredients to make a two day pasta and only what we really need. Lastly, before buying my shop I ALWAYS check to see if there is a voucher code I can use and more often than not I can get some money off (every little helps, sorry had to).
THE CINEMA IS A WASTE OF WONGA UNLESS IT'S A SPECIAL OCCASION
Ask anyone who knows me and they will say what a cinema buff I used to be. Hell, I used to own a Cineworld Unlimited card back in the days when it cost £11 a year and when I was a student I would visit at least once a week, even if it was a crappy film. However these were the days when going to the cinema was borderline expensive but just about justifiable. Now, in an age where it costs £10+ to see a film I just REFUSE to do it. Why? Because more often than not, you are stuck with a big head in your view and someone with their smelly feet up behind you and it ruins the whole experience. Now, I only go unless it's a film I REALLY REALLY want to see (American Pie for example) and I can get a discount ticket. Nowadays, with it taking less than 4 months for a DVD to be released, I really do recommend waiting just to save some cash. Often I can get the Blu-Ray of a film for less than the ticket entrance price. I can watch that DVD over and over, from the comfort of my sofa, with my own food and no disruptions. I also often buy cheap DVDS on amazon.co.uk or play.com from markerplace sellers for a fraction of the cost. I also often use a company called Zoverstocks where they sell films for such a tiny amount it's ridiculous and whilst the delivery is quite slow, the copies are almost always good and I have saved serious cash.
EBAY THE LIFE OUT OF EVERYTHING
Don't get me wrong, I have had some horrible Ebay experiences in the past. Dresses with pieces of material hanging off, smelly clothes, broken items...the lot. However that is only a handful of times from almost 10 years of usage. I would probably recommend as a money saver to ALWAYS LOOK ON EBAY for almost anything...except for something like a phone/camera. I buy lots of my clothes on Ebay, it is a risk there is no denying but I have had many great experiences of getting a dress that is £40 in the shops for just 99p. The key is looking and researching-search for common mis-spellings and you would be suprised at what you find...for example searching 'vintaeg' instead of 'vintage' and so on. I get gifts on Ebay as well as clothes...cards, accessories, DVD's...my rules are, the person must have strong positive feedback and that has to be spread across a reasonable amount of time. Also, I always pay with Paypal for protection. If you stick to this and you bid carefully (my key time is 30 seconds before, my most maximum bid) then you could really save on retail prices.
xoxo
More in a few days...hope you are busy getting frugal my lovelies!!
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment