FASHION
See www.cantbarsed.com/fashion.htm
for hundreds of discount vouchers and promotional codes for top high street
brands.
Swap your clothes at websites such as www.bigwardrobe.com
or www.whatsmineisyours.com -
you can swap and barter to update your wardrobe without spending a penny.
And it isn't just fashion; try www.swapitshop.com
for books, DVDs, games and toys.
Call out the Dress Doctor (www.thedressdoctor.co.uk).
She will remodel and remake any clothes for a modest fee. You can end up
with a new-feeling wardrobe, without buying one new item: Click here
to see our article.
Make your own clothes. You will have unique items tailored to your style, and
make big savings: a pair of basic trousers, with zips and fastenings, will
cost about £4 - and it's also an enjoyable hobby.
Refresh outfits with new accessories: a belt, necklace or scarf can give the
impression of trend-following at a fraction of the price of a new outfit.
Share clothes with your other half. It sounds ridiculous, but boyfriend jeans
are still everywhere - and what with all the flannel shirts and polo shirts,
this is easier than it sounds.
Make money out of your old clothes. Turn old favourites into cash on eBay -
you can even get an agent such as flogit4u (stores.ebay.co.uk/Flogit4u/)
to sell them for you.
Thrift shopping in charity shops, on eBay and at markets can yield great
bargains.
ENTERTAINMENT: Going out
Galleries
Many of our national museums and galleries are free and the UK has some of the
best collections in the world. Bypass special exhibitions and head straight
for the works permanently on display. The UK has some of the finest in the
world. Visit www.culture.gov.uk/
images/publications/uk-free-museums-and_galleries.pdf
Visiting commercial galleries is always free. Ignore any stuffiness - if they
ask whether they can help you, just say firmly that you're here to look at
the art, and ask for any reading material that they have on the show. White
Cube in London is particularly good at providing crib sheets (though the
staff are a bit too cool for school), but most larger commercial galleries
will have them. Alternatively, just ask them to tell you about the show -
they're meant to know about it, after all.
Art passes
Various organisations offer passes that enable holders to visit attractions at
discount prices. Those who intend to visit an area for long enough can buy
one of these rather than forking out the full admission prices at each
location. Examples include:
The Edinburgh Pass: 30 attractions included with passes for adults (£24 for 1
day, £36 for 2 days, £48 for 3 days) and children (£16; £24; £32) (www.edinburgh.org/pass)
The London Pass: includes various attractions and can include free Zones 1-6
travel. Attractions that are free with the card include the Wimbledon Lawn
Tennis Museum, RAF Museum, Maritime Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Tate
Modern/Britain (Adults: £36-£79, Children £22-£55 - more if travel is
included) (www.londonpass.com)
Also take a look at www.yorkpass.com and www.britishheritagepass.com
Film locations
Children have vivid imaginations, so a visit to a film location can be a fun -
and cheap - day out. Gloucester Cathedral, for instance, may not be abuzz
with wizardry but bits of it will be recognisable as parts of Hogwarts
school.
Cinema
Cineworld cinemas offer unlimited-use membership cards for £11.99 a month (www.cineworld.co.uk),
or in London join the Prince Charles Cinema in the West End for £10 a year
and get tickets for as little as £1.50.
Theatre
National Youth Theatre productions are often superb, and tickets amazingly
cheap. Visit www.nyt.org.uk for
information.
Performance Rehearsals
Arts organisations all over London are throwing open their doors this weekend.
Highlights include the Royal Ballet, Royal Opera, the Young Vic and the Old
Vic. See www.openrehearsal.co.uk.
Lectures
Universities often host free lectures, with food and drink provided. There are
also productions and shows by students, for a small entrance fee - check
your local university's website or noticeboard.
Free TV audience tickets
Several organisations offer free tickets to pre-recorded TV shows. They
include www.beonscreen.com ;
www.sroaudiences.com (Mock the Week, The Charlotte Church Show,
Countdown); www.tvrecordings.com
(8 Out Of 10 Cats, Al Murray's Happy Hour) and www.lostintv.com
(Paul O'Grady, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire).
Eating out
For the best places doing money-off deals on eating out, see the money-saving
website www.moneysavingexpert.com/tipnote/cheap-restaurant-deals
- for example, two-for-one meals at Zizzi, and 75 per cent off at Pizza Hut
if using Tesco Clubcard points.
Print out discount vouchers from Toptable.co.uk
for other two-for-one offers and freebies at various high street chains.
For reduced prices in many restaurants, go early - many places have cheaper
early evening/post-theatre menus.
Plenty of non-chain restaurants allow customers to bring their own wine, if
you know where to look. An incomplete list, ordered by region, is available
at wine-pages.com/food/byoblist
Urban walks
The Ramblers' Association has compiled a list of urban walks in Britain,
linking to sites with detailed route descriptions and advice on where to buy
cheap maps (www.ramblers.org.uk/INFO/urbanwalks).
ENTERTAINMENT: Staying in
Discover radio. Invest in a digital radio and discover stations such as BBC 7
for comedy, Smooth FM for classic hits and Absolute Classic Rock for, well,
exactly what it says.
Ditch your TV and licence payments and watch online (you don't need a licence
to watch the BBC iPlayer, etc).
The price of DVD rental is coming down all the time, with some companies now
going as low as £3 a month or even offering “pay as you go” options that can
make each film as cheap as £1.76. Most also offer “free trials”, so if you
are vigilant about cancelling the direct debit once the trial period is
over, you can enjoy a few films for free.
Books: Bookcrossing.com allows users to exchange books for free. Users deposit
books in public places or at designated book-swapping points: you pick up a
book for free and leave one for someone else to find: www.bookcrossing.com
Buy second-hand books.
SEX
Surely the cheapest entertainment of them all. Thrifty lovers can reduce costs
further by using other tips on this page: entertain your lover beforehand at
a free art gallery, impress him or her with home cooking, and snuggle up
close to save on heating.
The hidden costs of sex may, of course, emerge nine months after the act - at
budget-busting expense. Pharmacists this week reported a surge in sales of
sexual health products, attributing this to couples “making their own
entertainment” but wishing to avoid unexpected future outlay.
To beat pregnancy on a budget, visit your local family planning clinic, which
will have limited supplies of free condoms (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk),
as well as offering the Pill on prescription.
TRANSPORT
Some supermarkets operate a free shuttlebus to and from their store. Go to
their websites to find out more.
Cross the Channel for free by sharing a lift. Lorry drivers have free tickets
for co-drivers, which also includes a free lunch for that passenger.
If travelling by train or coach, book in advance for the cheapest fares.
Megatrain and Megabus offer their cheapest advance fares from £1, and £5
“fun fares” are available with various train companies.
Travel off-peak and look for alternative routes that, for example, go around
the city centre rather than through it. Alight before getting to the most
expensive zone and walk the rest of your journey.
Travel by bus rather than train.
Petrol
Before you go to fill up, type your postcode into www.petrolprices.com
to find out where the cheapest petrol is being sold in your area.
It is possible to drive the same distance in the same time, yet use
considerably less fuel. You can trim fuel costs by up to 60 per cent without
cutting your top speed. It's simply about driving more smoothly to boost
efficiency:
-Accelerate gradually; don't over-rev.
-Speed up smoothly; when you press harder on the pedal, more fuel flows but
you could get to the same speed using much less power - a good rule is to
stay under 3,000 revs.
-Drive in the correct gear.
-Always drive in the highest gear possible without labouring the engine.
LEISURE AND SPORT
Local authority gyms are much better value for money than private ones so, if
you are going fewer than four times a week, consider switching.
Cheap or even free membership is possible at some gyms if you take out health
insurance from Pruhealth. Fill out some health declarations online, visit
the gym frequently and after a few months, under the terms of the plan you
can pay as little as £8 a month at Virgin Active gyms or nothing at all for
Cannons and LA Fitness gyms outside the M25. You still pay for health
insurance, but the total cost can be much less than just a gym membership.
SHOPPING
Stock up on basics such as pasta, washing powder and tins at your local Aldi
or Lidl.
Visit pound shops.
Buy supermarket meat.
Never go shopping hungry.
Reduce your time in the shop by making a list in advance and sticking to it -
or do the same online.
Bear in mind that supermarkets will always put the most expensive version of a
product at eye level, so take a moment to look at the shelves above and
below for cheaper alternatives.
Get into the habit of comparing items by their price per kilogram. This way
you're not fooled by any of the offers that the supermarket is trying to
push, and won't end up with three things you don't want just because one of
them was free.
Try out different versions of your customary items - some bottom-of-the-range
products will be to your taste, some won't, but you won't find out unless
you try them.
Buy frozen chicken drumsticks and pork chops in bulk from Iceland, then split
them up into meal-size packages in your freezer.
Below are the maximum times you can safely freeze for:
Beef and lamb: 12 months
Chicken and pork: six months
Vegetables: six months
Seafood: three months
Scientific tests have shown that frozen vegetables have the same amount of
nutrients as fresh ones, and sometimes more. Modern “snap-freezing”
techniques mean that you can now buy frozen without any guilt.
Supermarkets discount fresh produce at the end of the day, so find out where
their discount shelves are and what time they start to cut prices.
Fruit and vegetables at market stalls and ethnic food shops are often a lot
cheaper than those in supermarkets, as well as tasting better.
CAR BOOT SALES
These are great places for cheap clothes (£1-£4); books and CDs (50p-£1);
videos (five for £1); kitchen implements (new corkscrew £3) and tools
(£1-£3). Never pay more than £5 for anything - and always haggle.
BEAUTY
Rinse your razor in ice-cold water to keep it sharp for longer.
Always use a brush to apply lipstick or gloss. You won't have to blot (which
wastes product), and can get right down to the bottom when it has nearly run
out.
To make your perfume last longer, moisturise the skin before spraying it on -
it will last much longer. Also, consider spraying your hair instead of your
skin - it holds the fragrance better.
Make your own toiletries. Buy the concentrated perfume oil of your favourite
fragrance, then mix it into a generic unscented shower cream, moisturiser or
body lotion. A small bottle of concentrated oil costs about £2.50, and since
you need only add 1 per cent of the total volume you are mixing, you make
enough to last for months very cheaply.
Make your tan last longer by exfoliating regularly and keeping skin
moisturised.
Before washing up, apply hand cream and put on rubber gloves. The warm water
will make your skin absorb the cream better, so you can apply it less often.
Bargain basement cosmetics that the experts say are just as good:
Iseree Anti-Wrinkle Day Cream Q10 - £1.89 from Lidl; All About Face Waterproof
Mascara - £1.88 from Lidl; All About Face Waterproof Mascara - £3.45 from
Aldi; Barbara Daly's Full On Mascara - £5 from Tesco; The ‘2 True' range at
Superdrug - all their products are £2.
Hair
Find out when you local hairdresser's “model cuts” day is. Most salons cut
hair free or very cheaply one day a week, when the less experienced stylists
get to practise with guidance from the top. The downside is that it takes
longer (1-3 hours) and they may want to cut a particular style.
Instead of using an expensive shine serum, mix vinegar with an equal amount of
cold water to add lustre to your locks.
Make your own hairspray - just add two tablespoons of sugar to a 12oz spray
bottle filled with water. Shake until the sugar dissolves and you have a
natural spray that has no unpleasant odour and contains no alcohol to dry
out your hair. If you need a firmer hold, simply add more sugar.
AND THE REST...
Holidays
For long-haul travel, book well in advance. Trailfinders suggests that 11
months before you travel is the best time - companies release tickets early
and they get more expensive as the date nears.
Your house might be somebody else's ideal holiday home - so why not swap
houses with a visitor? Look at www.homxchangevacation.com;
www.homelink.org.uk and www.homeexchange.com
Book late for rock-bottom prices on package holidays. Look on Teletext for
phone numbers of individual travel agents. A few days before you intend to
leave, call and ask for their best offers. Be prepared to be flexible on
where you go and exact departure times for the best deals. The later you
leave it, the better.
Do nothing, earn money
Take part in experiments conducted by university students. Check the notice
board at your local university.
Take a lodger - or rent out your spare room on a night-by-night basis by
posting ads on sites such as Gumtree.com.
If car parking spaces are at a premium in your area, rent out your driveway or
garage to a driver who needs it more than you. www.yourparkingspace.co.uk
or www.letmepark.com match drivers
and spaces; www.parklet.co.uk is good for smaller towns.
Things you only think you need
Impulse buys. Do the “walking out of the shop” test - you'll know an hour
later if you really need it.
Taxis. Don't take them
Fruit juices. Tap water is healthier.
A car.
A babysitter - get friends and relatives to do it instead.
Pets
Consider rehoming an animal from a rescue centre. This can be without a fee,
or for a donation.
Get free pet food: Franks Pro Gold and Vitalin are among companies currently
offering free samples. Check the list at www.forfreezone.com/pet.html
Free stuff
Homeprideuk.com will send you free
household cleaning products if you review a product by joining the team of
samplers.
Two free SIM cards and 20 per cent off your supermarket bill are among offers
available from www.free-stuff.co.uk.
For some offers you must register for mailing lists or complete an online
survey. Choose free DVDs at www.free-dvd-club.com
by completing an online survey.
Gumtree.com has a freebies section. Items
listed include fridges, TVs, beds, computers, dishwashers, bikes and sofas.
Join your local exchange community at Freecycle.co.uk.
Request any item you need in an advert, and get it for free.
A thrifty weekday
Cycle or walk to work, or at least to the railway station. If you must drive,
type your postcode into www.petrolprices.com to find out where to get the
cheapest petrol in your area. Cost:nothing
Get your caffeine fix for less - step away from that overpriced latte. A
packet of teabags or coffee at your desk will cost about £2.50 and last you
for weeks. Cost:20p
Spend 30 minutes online and bag yourself free pet food (www.forfreezone.com/pet.html),
free household cleaning products (www.Homeprideuk.com)
and free furniture (www.freecycle.co.uk)
Cost: nothing
Catch up with your American cousins or chat to your friend on her travels
around India, on Skype. Cost:
nothing
Cut food costs and go vegetarian for dinner. Try throwing tomatoes, courgettes
and olives on to frozen pizza bases. Cost:£3.50 for two.
Total outlay: £3.70
A frugal Saturday
Have a gym session at a local authority fitness centre. Cost: £2
Treat your children to a Saturday morning film. Vue, Odeon and Cineworld all
run weekend money-saving schemes for families. Cost: £1.50 for an adult and
child
Shop and swap for clothes at markets, thrift shops and online. You'll find
great new clothes and can sell your old ones at the same time. Cost: nothing
See world-class art for free. Most of our galleries and museums have no
entrance fee. Cost: nothing
Eat out on the cheap, using vouchers and money-off schemes from websites. Try
two classic burgers at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen for £5.75 (until Thursday
at moneysavingexpert.com)
Total outlay: £9.25
