Thrifty Tips. What's Yours? Or maybe you're a spendthrift instead?

I donated some older furniture, some of it handmade by DH’s grandfather who was a carpenter, to a charity, which employs recovering addicts to refurbish it. Not all of it is repainted, though that sells well. A bedside cupboard I donated is now looking tidy and polished, on sale on the charity’s website for £275! Great recycling and more.

I'm sure others do this too but I always buy Christmas cards when half-price. This is often after Christmas, but one charity shop that I like to support had theirs reduced in the week before Christmas. I usually have enough for at least one year ahead.

I have admit I’m terrible most of the stuff I buy has got a yellow label reduced on it and I do buy too much which sits in the freezer or cupboard. It’s a habit I've got into it drives OH round the bend, when it gets too much he will have a clear out, then I can carry on!.

My tip, buy on offer, buy in bulk. Less time shopping.

I dislike leaving home to shop. Actually, apart from holidays/ his business trips I dislike leaving home and grounds - full stop.

* Merylstreep * - I am on my daughter’s Netflix account. But I heard that they are going to stop that if you live in a different house. So, I now pay £5pm for Netflix with adverts, which I don’t mind ..

MerylStreep

If you don’t want to pay for Netflix etc but have heard of something you do want to watch, sign up for a free month and binge watch.
A tip. If you’re worried that you might forget to cancel: sign up, make sure you get it, and then cancel. You don’t have to wait until the end of the month.
I have 4 streaming services. 2 I pay for and 2 come free with my daughters account. Disney + ( and no, it’s not cartoons) and Apple TV.

If you have a kindle try to get Kindle unlimited free if you have to start paying choose the maximum amount of books allowed dowload them all then put you kindle in Flight Mode and they books will stay on your kindle . I got three month's free of " Readly " ( downoad the app) which gives you every newspaper and magazine you could ever want ( apart from The Times ) .

Sorry, a word left out ' - then cook less is the simple answer.

Curried parsnip soup is on the menu for later in the week.

I've frozen (bought but not needed) parsnips in bags with honey, olive oil and wholegrain mustard, ready to roast.

Curried parsnip soup is lovely too

If you end up with too many cooked vegetables - then cook is the simple answer or use it in something 'made', like bubble and squeak, or add to a stew. Raw vegetables can just be chopped and frozen.

i dug up the winter crop of parsnips just ebfore Christmas, diced it and froze it. It looks like the identical bags of diced parsnip to be found in any supermarket.

I can’t really add anything I already do all these other lol but the person who wrote about too much veg etc you should cook it off the unused and let it go cold and store in bags in portions for another day and I do soups etc in my ninja soup maker in 20mins so I’m saving electricity can’t remember last time I used my oven since I got my ninja foodie. My kitchen got loads of ninja stuff I’m looking like an advert lol

I know, It is devastating to see beautiful Georgian bow fronted chest-of-drawers being sold for £20, if that.

We have always been 'second-hand roses' and have found old and antique furniture looks just as good in new houses as old. Not all of it is large and bulky. Much of it was made, in its time, to go into little Victoruan terrace houses. Even mill-workers and factory hands had furniture in their houses

Beautiful furniture, that has been around for centuries and, if you go to auctions can be bought for peanuts because people prefer cheap badly made and environementally damaging stuff made from plastic and MDF

Upcycling centres reject older furniture if it is made of dark wood.

If I thought I'd worked my socks off for 52 years and still have to scrimp/economise to the extent some here have to I'd be very very angry.

But we are not talking about scrimping and saving, we are discussing how to make our imprint on this world as light as possible. We know the perils of global warming is caused by our relentless consumption and waste of scarce resources and the Worldlife Fund has shown that we need to reduce our global footprint by two thirds to make it proportionate to the size of the country www.wwf.org.uk/what-we-do/uk-global-footprint

Everything we do that means scarce resources are not wasted, even simple ones like making sure toiletry containers are completel empty, makes a contribution to looking after the planet.

I waste nothing, but it means I can afford to buy meat raised on pasture for life, which as a result has a minimal impact on the planet in emissions and contributes to carbon sequestrating. I can afford organic vegteables.

But it goes beyond that, all our furniture is second hand, or as we would say antique. Beautiful furniture, that has been around for centuries and, if you go to auctions can be bought for peanuts because people prefer cheap badly made and environementally damaging stuff made from plasti and MDF.

Open another bottle of champagne, nannyloveschampagne I am coming to join the party and as you say, lets not waste it.

I don't need to do some of the more time consuming stuff, but as long as I am able I will always squeeze the last out of toothpaste, use the last of the bath foam and shampoo and cut open the lip balm, and cut up raggy absorbent clothing to mop spills up.
Why waste stuff. Any savings help to pay for other things that are a bit more extravagant. If I use the bus pass when I can, I save on petrol and parking costs, and get a taxi from where I am to right where I need to be, if the bus or train is not convenient.

Me too.

Exactly, it's just how I was brought up. I hate waste, so to me it's just common sense to use up every last scrap of something.

No matter how much money one has, Paddy, throwing it away (and in the process wasting natural resources or exacerbating climate change) seem pointless to me. I always have, and always will, save where I can. It’s not ‘scrimping’, it’s being careful.

Use the whole breadloaf, including crusts

I'm guilty, always leave my crusts and throw away the ends of the loaf.
However, the birds enjoy them.

paddyann, no need to sympathise at all, it's because we dislike waste. It also helps save resources and the planet too.

Why throw away what amounts to a quarter of a tube of ointment etc?

Waste not want not
Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves

Then the pounds mount up to spend on something enjoyable.

Nannylovesshopping has the right idea
When we open a bottle or two of champagne, never any left to worry about 😳🤣

paddyann54lifelong, lighthearted scrimper here! Very happily cutting off tops, merrily squeezing and having a jolly time recycling stuff into 'new' projects. Feels right not to waste anything and love hearing what everyone else does

paddyann54 Apart from the eco benefits and saving a little money, these tips mean I don’t have to shop so often and can spend time doing more enjoyable things.
Makes sense to me.

Just got the one really. I found out my same brand eco handwash is dearer than the bodywash so i buy a large bottle of bodywash and tip some in the handwash bottle.

paddyann I believe we should make the best use of all the world’s resources. Each individual may not feel they have much of an impact but added together it most certainly does. Whether it means less toothpaste requiring to be manufactured or less new furniture being built.

paddyann, I don't need to scrimp, but I hate waste of any kind.
Also why pay the full price for something, when you can get 20% off?

If I thought I'd worked my socks off for 52 years and still have to scrimp/economise to the extent some here have to I'd be very very angry.
I'm hoping this is meant to be lighthearted, if not my sympathy goes out to you all....if you have a reasonable income and are still doing these "savings" I think you need help.This is no way to live.