Has anyone got any tips on saving money?
Anything at all! We always seem to save and then something happens, like something goes wrong with the car or something big needs paying for.
We've just transfered MIL a grand to look after so we dont keep dipping in to it
What about ISA'a or saving accounts? Or tricks to cut down a food shop, electric bills....anything helpful please share

You name it my OH does it. I will post some ideas tomorrow when he is not nagging me to get off here. For now check this out
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

Ive saved £10 a month by dropping my mobile contract by one tarriff level and cancelling the insurance (as its covered elsewhere)

Electric
- switch everything off at the plug
- buy energy saving lightbulbs
- if you tumble dry then hang for a while first and finish in drier

Do food shopping online, the £3.50 it costs to deliver is nothing compared to what I spend in store on stuff we dont need!

Ring Sky and say you are leaving (if near contract end) and they might offer you a good deal, same with broadband and mobile!

Drop one brand level and you can save £1000 year on food shopping (according to money saving expert). Obviously there are some things you may prefer eg coca cola, or heinz ketchup... but generally tesco ham is cheaper than a brand, tesco loo roll cheaper than andrex, tesco choc biscuits 1/3 of the price of mc vities, same with cereals. I dont mean buy value, just own brand. Most things you cant tell the difference!

ive done everything that Lisa has mentioned and it has made a BIG difference xx

I also wanted to drop our sky to £21.50 from the full package, cos we pay £52 a month now, but just dropping movies and sports comes down to just over £20 - BUT he says he wants to keep them, well he does pay for it so cant moan too much

just get rid of your telly - no stupid bills and less electricity for us using a weekly meal planner and letting hubby do the food shopping (boo ) saves us heaps

I have a standing order to transfer 150 a month into a savings accoutn and I can only make two withdrawals a year withotu getting charged. I've sort of "forgotten" about it... I'm glad it's there now though that's my baby fund

You could become a member of costco,andd buy things in bulk like nappies, wipes.

I do monthly shops and put milk and bread in freezer. i think it saves us a bit of money. But some people say costs more.

I get £167 of child benefit and tax credit (wont from april tho) i put £50 of that in noahs savings a month. Which will help for christmas and b'days, holidays. Also any money i get for noah off fam + friends i put straight into his saving account.

I am also in a 10 year savings scheme, i have been saving in it for 3 years now. Its only £21 a month, so when i am 30 i will get it all i think its about £3,700 i will get. I cant touch it until then.

Char

We got sent one of those 'smart meters' from Npower for swapping to online billing (its a meter that shows household usage of elec, at exactly that minute and tells you what youve 'spent/accrued' in the last 7 days etc)

It doesnt half make you think where we waste money......if you leave just one light on the little meter goes up by 2p an hour...it doesnt sound a lot, but thats just one light....so you can imagine lots of light left on for ages per day over weeks and months turns into big money!

The drier, kettle, oven & dishwasher make it fly up.....so use these items economically.

I absolutely agree with online shopping if you do it right, the delivery is nowt compared to browsing a store.

See if your household could be entitled to cavity or loft insulation.....supposedly a lot of government funding in this atm if you have kids under 2, or have over 60's in your home with you.

Drop a brand, or go to Aldi......I LOVE Aldi, and can hand on heart say a lot of their products are WAY better than the main supermarkets, and the quality of meats/veggies/cheese/milk etc are fabulous for the money, so even if you just buy your basics their.

No car journeys unless essential.....fuel is a major cost in our house , could you do more walking??