Page 1 of 5 12345 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 92

Thread: "Credit Crunch"

  1. #1
    Registered User Easily Led's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    hiding under logs,
    Posts
    453
    Rep Power
    9

    "Credit Crunch"

    Along with the term "journey", hardly a hour goes by without someone mentioning the threating situation which has this tasty sound bite name: "Credit Crunch". Well this summer economic laxity has bitten me too. Since I am frivolous by nature and have developed a very bad dance dependency (alongside the mysterious need for expensive new shoes), I need to tighten things up in a few areas and am in a position of having to put on a few pounds (financially) a month. My nearest "adviser" has suggested that if I could spend just £25 less per month , I would, like Mr Micawber, be able to live within my means. I wonder if anyone has any "fun" suggestions of ways to save money besides the inevitable "spend less"? (Especially dance related savings).

    Today I visited "Aldi" s supermarket for the main weekly shop .... (instead of Waitrose / Tesco).

    Are "Admit Ones" worth the initial expense?

  2. #2
    Basically lazy robd's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Nr Cambridge
    Posts
    3,696
    Rep Power
    12

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Quote Originally Posted by Easily Led View Post
    I wonder if anyone has any "fun" suggestions of ways to save money besides the inevitable "spend less"? (Especially dance related savings).

    Today I visited "Aldi" s supermarket for the main weekly shop .... (instead of Waitrose / Tesco).
    There was a suggestion in the paper I was reading yesterday that many people are going to the likes of Aldi rather than Tesco, etc and this has prompted in part the 'Milk Price War' currently underway.

    I saved between 500 and 600 pounds during July - I had a big car bill after Southport and also chose to buy the parts for a new PC in June so I needed to recoup some of this expenditure. My main cutbacks were dancing (and especially the fuel getting there) - I only went dancing twice in the month -and making lunches instead of buying them. I also bought multipacks of things like crisps and choc bars at the supermarket rather than buying them singly. Pretty dull and not really what you were asking for but I was still suprised at how much I managed to save.

  3. #3
    Registered User Feelingpink's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Greenwich, UK
    Posts
    1,782
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Quote Originally Posted by Easily Led View Post
    ... My nearest "adviser" has suggested that if I could spend just £25 less per month , I would, like Mr Micawber, be able to live within my means. I wonder if anyone has any "fun" suggestions of ways to save money besides the inevitable "spend less"? (Especially dance related savings).

    Today I visited "Aldi" s supermarket for the main weekly shop .... (instead of Waitrose / Tesco).

    Are "Admit Ones" worth the initial expense?
    My suggestion would be to look at Money Saving Expert: Consumer Revenge - Credit Cards, Shopping, Bank Charges, Cheap Flights and more for ideas. The founder, Martin Lewis, goes through a number of things that don't 'hurt' your quality of life, such as checking that you're on the cheapest electricity tariff, cheapest credit card interest etc ... then trying things like you've just done with Aldi. There's also a fantastic thing called the demotivator, where you key in something you spend money on that you don't really need, say a Starbucks latte, and it can tell you how much money you will save per month if you give it up.

    If you haven't done any of these cost- cutting exercises before, I would have thought that you could easily save £25 a month.

  4. #4
    Papa Smurf
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Planet Scathe
    Posts
    12,528
    Blog Entries
    6
    Rep Power
    18

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    An easy way to save money is to buy food etc... cheaper. Here are some supermarket reviews. Part of the problem is people can be slightly snobbish about some supermarkets and do tend to believe at least some of the hype . We vary our shop between Lidl's for organic milk, lunch meat etc..., Aldi have some great sauces...farmfoods for pure fruit ice lollies (at less than half the price of tescos for the SAME brand), tesco still gets the bulk of our shop money but we avoid the (occasional) pre-packaged stuff and get that instead from M&S(well ok, thats not generally a money saver).

  5. #5
    Registered User Chicklet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Glasgow
    Posts
    2,555
    Blog Entries
    1
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Loads of obvious ones here, have been on my own case these last few months to try and find pennies for a big hol in Jan.

    In no particular order:

    ....watch out for the famous two for threes etc when buying perishables...might look like a bargain but if you went in for one, will you really eat / drink the second and the third before they are rank?
    I employ the sniff test instead of the sell / use by date nonsense but still try to think twice about whether a bargain really is a bargain, espec on fruit.

    Eat up the freezer and the back of the cupboards before starting again.
    Lots of people have emergency cans for when there's a war on - eat that soup up.

    Ditto with cleaning products (except don't eat them), get everything out of the cupboard under the sink to see what you've got. If you use a dishwasher every day / other day see if you can squeeze an extra day out of the routine by making sure everything is packed in tidy.

    Make sure you have a pair of scissors handy to get another three days out of the corners of the moisturiser / hand cream / deep heat tube.

    Make sure you USE your Boots advantage points card and their two fors and three fors for anything that you use religiously that won't be wasted but before that, check the cupboards for half used shampoos etc and use em up.
    Old face moisturisers that give you spots won't give you spots on your feet, use them as body lotion.

    Don't buy branded loo or kitchen roll. Does your arse really need to be caressed by puppy dog fur? Use a loo roll instead of tissues.

    Do dogs and cats really need branded food? Put them on a diet lol.

    This is the hardest one for me - check your own shelves regularly to remind yourself how many books / DVDs you have unread / unwatched so you can WALK ON BY Watersones and Borders or if you must have it check e-bay, Amazon used and Abe books for a second hand copy.

    Have you got a gym membership? Do you really use it? If so, do they have an off peak tarrif and would that work?

    What have you got on your shelves or in your wardrobe that you don't use or wear? Does it all REALLY fit?? Could a night of putting things up on e-bay be worth £100? I still amaze myself what people will buy. (13 x used 32 DD bras anyone?? I got £26 from a 99p start for them )

    Take everything out of your wardrobe one rainy night and make up some new outfits instead of buying new clothes.

    Grown ups DON'T NEED Heat magazine every Tuesday (maybe every other Tuesday just)

    You can get two cups of tea out of every bag if you squeeze hard with a spoon.

    If your tap water is drinkable don't buy any, remember to fill a bottle for out and about.

    I'm also trying the switch off at the wall thing for leccy, don't know that me bill was / is high enough anyway for that to be a noticeable diff but it's a double whammy cos you get green points too

    Cut beauty shop facials, pedis and reflexology to every six weeks rather than once a month.

    Now where did I put that jumper I'm unravelling to re-knit?????

  6. #6
    Basically lazy robd's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Nr Cambridge
    Posts
    3,696
    Rep Power
    12

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Quote Originally Posted by Chicklet View Post
    I still amaze myself what people will buy. (13 x used 32 DD bras anyone??
    You're amazed that people buy used underwear? Welcome to the Internet

  7. #7
    Registered User Chicklet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Glasgow
    Posts
    2,555
    Blog Entries
    1
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Quote Originally Posted by robd View Post
    You're amazed that people buy used underwear? Welcome to the Internet
    you're not wrong!
    I do wonder sometimes if I'm now on some kind of government list as a "supplier"

  8. #8
    Basically lazy robd's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Nr Cambridge
    Posts
    3,696
    Rep Power
    12

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Mind you we could go some way towards solving the housing shortage in the UK if only a few of the more amply endowed female forumites put some of their old bras up for sale in this way

  9. #9
    Registered User Easily Led's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    hiding under logs,
    Posts
    453
    Rep Power
    9

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Unfortunately my old bras are not that big but I have taken to re-wiring them!

    BTW - thanks for the tips especially the really detailed ones!!

  10. #10
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Welling
    Posts
    964
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Quote Originally Posted by Chicklet View Post

    This is the hardest one for me - check your own shelves regularly to remind yourself how many books / DVDs you have unread / unwatched so you can WALK ON BY Watersones and Borders or if you must have it check e-bay, Amazon used and Abe books for a second hand copy.

    Hi Chicklet,

    Sounds like you have a similar problem to me, I just can't resist the new book thing! I have just started looking at book swapping as a way to get new books without paying out too much money (except for posting) and making sure my old books get some more use! I belong to a book forum and you can advertise books that you want to swap with others! If you've got anything you fancy swapping let me know by PM!

    Easily Led, hope the money saving is going well. When I need to save money I try and walk rather than drive where possible. With the current price of petrol this could be quite good!

    Also the economy brand stuff, food wise, is not always so bad. Asda Smart price smoked salmon is just the off cuts of the more expensive salmon from Youngs that was the wrong size for Youngs!

  11. #11
    Registered User ~*~Saligal~*~'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
    Posts
    575
    Rep Power
    9

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Avoid using a clothes dryer if you can... they eat up a lot of power.
    Also, turning off appliances rather than leaving them on stand-by mode can save a little too.

  12. #12
    Registered User SteveK's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Cairns, Australia
    Posts
    365
    Rep Power
    9

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    I'm trying to avoid the temptation to do some Viz style top tips, and will instead suggest something sensible.....

    Is it time to borrow a dieting tip, and write down that you spend money on. The old saying of "bother about the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves" is a bit rubbish - work out what your over priced discretionary spends are, and try to reduce/eliminate them. They might include:
    Less takeaways/eating out/drinking out - very quick to get expensive.
    Take a packed lunch into the office, and don't buy takeaway coffee. 4 pounds a day for takeaway coffee & sandwiches doesn't sound a lot, but this could be almost 1000 pounds a year. Bread keeps well in the freezer - buy the nice quality ham and salad from supermarket, and you'll have tastier lunches and save yourself lots of money. (It also means that you don't have to worry about someone with typhoid sneezing all over your prawn sandwich before they drop it on the factory floor, and then scoop into the plastic container for sending to the shops)

  13. #13
    Papa Smurf
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Planet Scathe
    Posts
    12,528
    Blog Entries
    6
    Rep Power
    18

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Quote Originally Posted by ~*~Saligal~*~ View Post
    Avoid using a clothes dryer if you can... they eat up a lot of power.
    I assume you mean a tumble dryer? you and your strange Australian terms A clothes dryer is just another term for a clothes horse, which uses no power at all (but does not get towels soft).

    Also, turning off appliances rather than leaving them on stand-by mode can save a little too.

    I've got one of those wireless electric displays that shows exactly how much electricity you are using. So if you turn on your lights you'll see exactly how much that costs. We are replacing our 50w halogen lights with the LED equivalent that use 0.9w - yes the light is less, but who needs bright lights in a hallway ?

    Quote Originally Posted by SteveK View Post
    The old saying of "bother about the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves" is a bit rubbish
    no it isn't, it's brilliant. Slightly outdated of course, from a day when a 4 bed house would cost you a few hundred pounds, but the meaning is to look at the money you fritter away, not the large purchases.

  14. #14
    An Eclectic Toaster
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Glasgow
    Posts
    2,042
    Rep Power
    12

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Cycle to work if at all viable. Saves me £36 quid a month anyway.

    Oh, and burn down all coffee outlets within the vicinity of your workplace.

  15. #15
    Registered User Daisy Chain's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    By the stage
    Posts
    955
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Quote Originally Posted by Chicklet View Post

    This is the hardest one for me - check your own shelves regularly to remind yourself how many books / DVDs you have unread / unwatched so you can WALK ON BY Watersones and Borders or if you must have it check e-bay, Amazon used and Abe books for a second hand copy.

    Join the library. Books are free. I've been a member since early childhood when my parents couldn't afford to feed my bookish habit.

    Daisy

    (A Well-Read Little Flower)

  16. #16
    Registered User Chicklet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Glasgow
    Posts
    2,555
    Blog Entries
    1
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Quote Originally Posted by Daisy Chain View Post
    Join the library. Books are free. I've been a member since early childhood when my parents couldn't afford to feed my bookish habit.

    Daisy

    (A Well-Read Little Flower)
    Absolutely !

    One of my downstairs rooms actually IS a library, two whole walls of books and a coal fire, fab for the winter. Unfortunately my two local ones cater much more for the Catherine Cookson and John Grisham crowd than for my colonial history and travelog habits! But I am down there for story tapes every couple of weeks.

  17. #17
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Northampton
    Posts
    1,432
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Oh, money saving - my favourite!! (Hence looong post - forgive me, or skip over, as you wish …)

    A few of years ago, after Marc and I had set up our first home together, we were at maximum overdraft on 2 bank accounts every single month. After the bank kindly let me know that I really ought to clear my overdrafts by taking out one of their extortionate loans, I did a complete overhaul of the finances and now - even with Marc's extravagances of gadgets (cunningly disguised as essential dj equipment) - we manage to put away few hundred a month into savings.

    It’s absolutely amazing where you find money leakages, once you start looking. But you really do have to write down everything to see where it's all going and where you can make savings.

    A few of the things I did (and you can probably tell I'm a 'moneysavingexpert' fan) ….

    Remortgage!!! Mortgage is obviously the biggest expense for most people and it seems that a surprising number of people simply slide straight over to the bank's SVR when their fixed rate is up. Or go straight for the lowest interest mortgage possible without considering the fees, tie-in period, redemption costs, etc.

    I use the fee-free brokers London and Country (after doing a bit of my own research, obviously, so as to know what's out there) and they've always been brilliant. Using a broker of course, not only helps find the best deal, but also makes the whole process much simpler, as they deal with so much of the paperwork for you. London and Country can also find you really good rates on life and critical illness cover.

    Consider overpaying on the mortgage if the mortgage rate is higher than your net savings account interest; or seeing if offsetting is worth it for you - there are loads of internet tools which can compare overall cost of the mortgage when offset or when overpayments are made.

    Along the lines of housing and that - I always query house/buildings insurance quotes, etc, and never accept the amount shown in the standard renewal letter. You only ever need to begin to say - 'I was just making comparisons and ESure quoted me …' before they lop £50 straight off the price.

    Wherever you can, pay for things in full if the alternative is an extra charge for paying by installment or monthly direct debit - such as paying your car tax for the full year, rather than 6 months. A 0% interest credit card is great for these kind of things (e.g. for big expenses like car insurance), so you don't actually need to pay any of it off for 12 months or so. (Needless to say, you have to make sure that you have the equivalent amount safely tucked away in a good interest paying savings account, to avoid getting a shock when the 12 months is up!)

    Never pay for what you don't need - e.g. that purchase insurance thing - PPI; or travel insurance if you're already covered by your credit card; or breakdown cover if this is offered for free with your car insurance policy ...

    Compare gas, electricity, phone companies etc for the best deals … USwitch seems a popular site, although I haven't used them myself. And always make use of all rewards, cashback and freebies that the companies offer - such as Southern Electric's Argos or Airmiles rewards; free energy-saving lightbulbs, etc. You can also get good package deals for things like broadband, tv and phone, at the moment.

    A lucrative and relatively new thing for me are the cashback sites: Quidco, Topcashback, RPoints, … I tend to buy everything over the internet anyway - mostly due to lack of time for 'real' shopping. So I'll use a price comparison site to find the cheapest offer, then see what cashback I can get through Quidco with that retailer, then check the discount/voucher code sites for even more money off. And, of course, always pay using a cashback credit card or a card offering 0% on purchases for a year. Honestly, you can get hundreds of pounds back from the cashback sites just buying the things you would have bought anyway.

    The current climate is great for consumers in so many ways, as you never seem to have to pay full price for anything. Also, personally, I would buy Tesco Value everything if it was up to me. I can be a real tight arse when I want to be … I certainly agree with advice like never buying coffee from the work vending machines - at ours, it's 45p a cup, when I can bring in my own Tesco Value coffee (it's fine - it really is!) for 35p a jar.

    And clothes always come from either the internet, if there is a huge discount on offer, or from second-hand shops, or from the last reduction rails - never, ever full price. (There are some great left over items on the sales rails which are minimal cost because they're size 22. Which is fine if you've got a sewing machine and can do a bit of nip and tucking.)

    As you can guess I'm a complete credit card tart - I couldn't even tell you how many I have opened just for the 0% deals on balance transfers or purchases. Just be very very careful never to mix the two, and with your administration of the payments, so as never to pay interest. I stooze as many cards as I can to get cash to put into ISAs and savings accounts and then, when the card's special rate is up, simply transfer the debt onto the next 0% card.

    Likewise savings accounts - I open more of these every year than I care to think, just for the new customer rewards or bonuses. So many accounts offer £50/£75/£100 if you keep an amount in for just a few months. Of course, once you've got the bonus, you close the account and move elsewhere. Often you can go through the cashback sites to get extra money just for opening the accounts - like £15 for opening the Post Office instant saver (not a great interest rate, though, so you wouldn't actually want to use it, just open it).

    If there are 2 of you, open an account each to get double the rewards, rather than a joint account. Or recommend your partner as a friend to bag an extra £25. As regular savings accounts usually have the best overall rates, I tend to stick the maximum I can in on the first month, so that can earn the highest interest for the full 12 months, and then pay the minimum monthly amount thereafter, if that's all I can afford.

    Loyalty, it seems, is rarely rewarded, but lost or potential new customers very keenly fought after. The Moneysavingexpert forums are great for finding out the best savings deals quickly, so you can get your application in fast before they become oversubscribed and withdrawn.

    For my money, I have set direct debits going out of my bank, straight from my salary into savings - so you don't even notice it's gone. I'm aiming for 15% saving of our net incomes, but whatever - even £10 a month adds up nicely with good interest rates. It's really incredible how the odd bonus here, cashback there, reward vouchers and compounded savings interest … all add up.

    And after all that, you have your spending money. Knowing that you've spent and saved responsibly so far, you can then be as frivolous as you want with the left-over cash. It's still a good idea to prioritise, however - is such-and-such a purchase worth more to you than an extra night out dancing every week?

    Of course, we're lucky in that our favourite hobby is also Marc's work, so it's usually not only free but paid for!! But we don't tend to spend money on anything much else (apart from Marc's lighting and my wine addiction) - no holidays, meals out, cinema, expensive cars, small house & mortgage. And I really am a skinflint - I love spending on other people but can't do if for myself - I agonised for 2 years before spending £60 on a chair I really wanted for the house. But the important thing is that our house & cars are more than adequate for us, and we have a lifestyle that I wouldn't change for the world!

    Good luck with your moneysaving, Easily Led! And if you manage to save enough for an extra night out dancing, another lovely dance dress, or those shoes that you just have to have, then I'd say it's well deserved.

    Rachel x

  18. #18
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Northampton
    Posts
    1,432
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Quote Originally Posted by Easily Led View Post
    ...I wonder if anyone has any "fun" suggestions of ways to save money ...
    Ooops I just noticed the word "fun" in your question. Sorry for my rather over-serious response!! I enjoy it though...


    Yes, I am a wannabe accountant ...

  19. #19
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    St. Albans
    Posts
    2,388
    Rep Power
    9

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Quote Originally Posted by Rachel View Post
    Oh, money saving - my favourite!! (Hence looong post - forgive me, or skip over, as you wish …)

    {snip...}

    Rachel x


    Full of great ideas! Particularly about the savings accounts - which I hadn't really 'twigged'.

  20. #20
    Forum Bombshell - Our Queen! Lory's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    North London
    Posts
    9,918
    Blog Entries
    2
    Rep Power
    17

    Re: "Credit Crunch"

    Quote Originally Posted by Rachel View Post
    never accept the amount shown in the standard renewal letter. You only ever need to begin to say - 'I was just making comparisons and ESure quoted me …' before they lop £50 straight off the price.
    The same thing applies to Mobile phone companies. I've learnt, if you don't ask, you don't get and, as you say, 'loyalty' mean nothing to them, until you say, 'I'm going to go else where'.

    They immediately put you onto 'someone who might help you' and each time i've asked, i've got more minutes, for less money.

    Do it today, I promise, you'll end up with a better deal than you have now!

    You have to be prepared to be quite firm, that you wish to leave, unless they offer you a better deal though!
    MODERATOR AT YOUR SERVICE
    "If you're going to do something tonight, that you know you'll be sorry for in the morning, plan a lie in." Lorraine

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •