30 Ways to Save £1

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the humble one pound coin, Money Supermarket

are aiming to gather one thousand money saving tips from bloggers. Each blogger is invited to list up to thirty of their money saving tips, and the first five hundred bloggers to enter are to be given a pound for each tip. Every person who enters will be entered in to a prize draw with the chance to win £1000, and if they reach 1000 tips the prize will rise to £2000.

Well, as a girl living in an expensive county on a very tight budget, I have quite a few money saving tips up my sleeves, so I thought this was the perfect time to share them with you! Here goes...

Shopping Online

1. Always look for a discount code when shopping online. I always do a quick search each time I shop, and I usually find one. Even a code for free delivery or 10% off will save you a few pounds. Just type "[insert brand name here] discount code" in to a search engine, and you should find a few suitable websites.

2. Sign up for newsletters from brands you shop with. Most will offer a discount code for joining, and some even give you a discount code on your birthday. It's also a way to hear about all the latest sales and promotions that company is running.

3. If you shop online, sign up to a cash back website such as Quidco who will give you a percentage of your shopping bill back for shopping through them. You can shop with hundreds of well known brands through them, and can save a few pounds each time you shop, so it's a no brainer, really.

4. Choose the 'standard delivery' option, instead of the 'next day' or 'nominated day' delivery options. Your order may take a few extra days to reach you, but it's worth it to save a couple of pounds.

5. Use money off vouchers from magazines, leaflets, and coupons etc. There's no shame in doing so.

6. Sign up for loyalty cards which collect points each time you shop. (Boots Advantage Card, Nectar Card, Tesco Clubcard etc). Such cards are usually free to use, and when the points begin to add up, you're provided with shopping vouchers or a value to spend in store.

7. Take advantage of buy one get one free, and 3 for 2 offers... but only if they're on the products you really need and will use. The deal may seem great, but in reality the brand wants us to think that so we'll spend more money. In reality, we usually only need the one item, and settle on two more products to get the deal.

8. Shop around for the best price. The price of the same exact item can vary from store to store, so it always worth doing a little research before you buy. For example, I always compare prices between Amazon, Play, and HMV when buying books, DVDs, and CDs online.

9. If you're looking to buy a particular product, try to hold off until sale time when it may be much cheaper.

10. Always return unwanted and unsuitable purchases. Don't bury them in a wardrobe or cupboard where they'll just be forgotten and sold on eBay for a couple of quid a year later. Get your money back!

11. Never pay only the minimum amount due on your store cards... if you only ever pay the minimum due each month, you'll owe far more to clear it then what the original products cost you. I personally don't recommend store cards at all.

12. Save your loose change in a money box or even an old jar. It's amazing how quickly the pennies can mount up, which can then be turned in to the more convenient pound coins and notes at the bank, or poured in to a change machine at the supermarket to exchange for shopping vouchers.

Sell sell sell!

13. Sell old, neglected mobile phones to mobile phone recycling websites like mazumamobile.com. The amount you'll receive will depend on the model of the phone, and the condition. I received £17 for trading an old Samsung Tocco Light a year or so ago, which was £17 I was able to put towards other things!

14. Have a clear out of all your unwanted things, and list them on eBay. You could potentially make yourself a small fortune, and if you list on zero insertion weekends, then you'll save more valuable pennies. Aim for the listing to end on a Sunday evening when most people are at home and online.

15. Alternatively, sell your unwanted possessions at a boot sale. It'll only cost a few pounds to rent a pitch for the morning/afternoon, and it can be so satisfying when the bargain shoppers start snapping up your wares, and the pounds start adding up.

Make Do and Mend

16. Always mend your clothes. A button can easily be sewn back on, and split seams and hems easily stitched back together again. Buttons and thread cost far less than a new dress or cardigan will cost you.

17. Dye faded clothes and give them a new lease of life instead of throwing them away. Again, this is far cheaper than shelling out for a brand new garment.

Entertainment and Electricity

18. Like to read? Borrow books from your local library instead of paying for a book you'll read once, and never read again. Since most full price books retail for £8 or more, using the library instead could save you a small fortune if you read a lot!

19. Also buy cut price books from the supermarket, charity shop, boot sale, or from Amazon for a fraction of the RRP.

20. Turn off appliances and light switches when they're not in use.  Don't leave the TV on standby, and unplug your mobile charger when you've finished charging your phone.

21. Borrow new CDs, books, and DVDs from close friends and family. Perhaps set up a lending system between yourselves, so you lend things back and forth. This could potentially save you  all a tidy sum.

22. Going to see a show in London? Don't order tickets before hand. There are many ticket booths who sell cut price tickets for all the big name shows on the day. I've taken advantage of these sellers a few times in the past.

Travel

23. Buy a rail card if you travel by train a lot, and are able to have one. They usually save you a third on your ticket fairs. Before I turned twenty-six and became an old hag, I had a young person's rail card which literally saved me hundreds of pounds on travel, as I regularly travelled off to go to concerts, visit friends and family, and spend the day in London. I miss that rail card!

24. Walk instead of taking the bus or cab, where possible. It's free, and good exercise, too.

25. Exercise outside for free instead of spending hundreds of pounds on gym membership. 

Beauty

26. Save free samples of shampoos, and conditioners from magazines you read, and from beauty counters. They'll save you precious pounds when travelling, as travel sized toiletries tend to be quite expensive.

27. Ask for a "wet cut" instead of a "cut and blow dry" next time you get your hair cut. A wet cut is £10 cheaper than a cut and blow dry at my local hairdressers, and they always dry my hair for me, anyway! If your local hair dressers doesn't dry your hair after a wet cut, you can always dry your own hair at home for free afterwards!!

28. Pluck your own eyebrows at home for free. Depending on whether you like to have your brows waxed or threaded, and by whom, you could be saving anywhere from £5-£15!

Food/Drink

29. Refill water bottles with tap water instead of buying new bottles of mineral water every time you're thirsty.

30. Do a food shop with a friend or relative for those items on promotion. We don't always want or need two of the same product, so teaming up to buy the "buy one get one frees" with somebody else and splitting the bill is a brilliant way to save a few pounds!


I know that thirty tips is the limit for this challenge, but I came up with a few more, so I want to share them anyway...

And Ten Extras

31. Freeze left over portions of food. They can be defrosted and heated up another day for another meal.

32. Buy loose fruit and veg at the supermarket instead of the pre-packaged. They're almost always much cheaper loose.

33. Looking to buy something in particular? Head to eBay. You'll find almost anything you can think of listed there, and more often than not, for a much cheaper price than you'd find elsewhere.

34. Shop at outlet villages. If you're looking for something in particular, it's often far cheaper to buy from an outlet village.

35. Take advantage of Orange Wednesdays 2 for 1 cinema tickets if you're on the mobile phone network Orange.

36. Similarly, take advantage of Happy Hour, and 2 for 1 meal deals in pubs, bars, and restaurants when eating out/drinking. The deals are usually available on quieter days of the week, or quieter periods of the day.

37. If you're on iTunes, and are willing to share your Apple ID with friends/family, authorise their computers, and have them do the same for you so you can share downloads between you. I only recommend doing this with people you truly trust.

38. Give yourself a manicure at home, or better still ask a friend to do your nails during a girls night in.

39. Don't throw away gloopy nail polishes; you can revive them with a few drops of nail polish remover!

40. Wash your car at home instead of paying to take it through the car wash.

So those are my 30 ways to save £1 ... and ten more, because I'm generous, like that!

What are your money saving tips?