We all know the usual money saving tips that are banded around. Set a budget, cancel unnecessary subscriptions, use cashback websites etc.
However, there are some unconventional money-saving tips that you may not have considered.
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We’ve hunted down 50 of the silliest, most bizarre, obscure, downright stupid, extreme, tongue in cheek and creative ways to save money.
Can you think of any to add?
The “mostly” unconventional money saving tips
1. Two-ply toilet tissue lasts twice as long if you separate the sheets in half.
2. Don’t use bin bags, reuse your old shopping bags for rubbish.
3. Buy calendars in the sale and use them in the future, beating inflation. Keep a 2024 calendar for 2052 and 2080, for instance.
4. Read reviews of bad restaurants on Trip Advisor and eat at them. If the service is bad complain and say you want a discount.
5. Charge your phone at work saving your electricity at home.
6. Only take a shower at the gym. Although you could always cancel the gym membership to save even more money…!
7. Make your own after-dinner party mints.
8. Get condiments from fast food restaurants to use at home.
9. Squash the toilet roll so it can’t roll quickly. No more Andrex puppy moments.
10. Freeze your credit card in a block of ice.
11. Don’t buy binoculars, just stand closer to the thing you want to see.
12. Return all presents.
13. Brush your teeth while showering to cut down on water use.
14. Use your doctor’s or dentist’s office as a library to borrow magazines.
15. Only wash clothes when they are very dirty, not every time you wear them.
16. After using paper towels, hang them out to dry and reuse them again.
17. Serve road kill for dinner.
18. Save money on your phone bill by calling and hanging up, in the hope they will call you back.
19. Rub pine needles under your armpits instead of deodorant.
20. Turn every plug and light off in the house and tell the children you’re having a game of hide and seek in the dark.
21. Have an iPhone? Head to the iStore to charge your phone instead of doing it at home.
22. Use your dog or cat bed as a draft excluder for your doors.
23. Spend your Saturday afternoon browsing in electrical stores so you can watch football for free.
24. When you go out, to save on your electric bills turn your doorbell off as you won’t hear it anyway.
25. Park facing forward as reversing uses more fuel.
26. Tell everyone you’re abroad during Christmas then buy any presents in the New Year sale.
27. If it’s yellow, let it mellow.
28. Cut back on buying dog food by teaching your dog to beg for food from others.
29. Cut your own hair, or just shave it off.
30. Make your own clothes out of your old clothes – jeans become shorts, socks become fingerless gloves.
31. Head to a customer service desk at a shopping centre or library and tell them you’ve lost a black umbrella. They must have loads.
32. Send all birthday, Christmas, celebration and occasion cards via Facebook saving on the cost of a card and stamp.
33. Buy kid’s toys that don’t need batteries, so you’ll never need to replace them.
34. Forget to take your money when you go out with friends.
35. Leave the car at home and just walk.
36. Reduce your weekly food bill by reducing your portion size and eating less.
37. Sleepover at an airport instead of checking into a hotel – yes, people really do this.
38. Buy the next size up in children’s clothes and it’ll last twice as long.
39. Spend £20 on printer ink to print out a 20p coupon.
40. Use duct tape to fix, well, everything.
41. Turn your oven off and bake cookies in your car.
42. Keep a jug of water in the fridge instead of running the tap for cold water.
43. Reuse tea bags.
44. Use paper plates so you don’t need to buy washing-up liquid or heat water.
45. Buy clothes, keep the labels in, then return them.
46. Make your own cleaning products.
47. Make use of cafés and pubs with free WiFi and just order water.
48. Get an early morning newspaper round, earn money and read the papers for free.
49. Go to the IMDb website and read up on the film to find out what happens – you never need to go to the cinema or buy a DVD again.
50. You don’t need to buy an expensive console. Take your children to a video game store and let them play the sample consoles for entertainment.
Disclaimer
I cannot endorse any of the above and have not tried all the money saving tips mentioned.
However, some I have.
I will leave you to guess which.
Ricky Willis is the original Skint Dad. A money-making enthusiast, father, and husband to Naomi. He is always looking for unique ways to earn a little extra.
