So, to save my sanity I was going to buy 3 more normal watering cans (at about a tenner each!). Then I found this pin on Pinterest. Now I have as many watering cans as I want all for free.
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Reduce reuse Recycle:watering cans from plastic milk containers
Having bitten the bullet and planted some seeds my kids are getting interested in gardening again! One source of tension though is the lack of kid sized watering cans. What is so radically different about kid sized (proper) watering cans that makes them twice the price?
Packed Lunches
If, like me,you have to provide lunches during the week you know they can be more expensive than a hot lunch at home. But a packed lunch you make at home can be substantially cheaper than one that you get on the run.
For example:
Sandwiches at Tesco (according to the website) range from about £1.00 to £2.50 just for one round of sandwiches. If, like my husband, you like 2 rounds of sandwiches that could be £5
An apple will cost about 25p
A single packet of ready salted crisps is 49p
A carton of juice or water (if you buy them singly as 500ml bottles) can be between £0.48 and £1.48
so a single lunch on the run of just 2 rounds of sandwiches, an apple, crisps and a drink could set you back £7.22. That's over £36 a week (or £1696.70 a year!)
If we cost the same meal made at home: (all costed from Tescos website)
Bread =£1.20 a loaf for a nice seeded loaf (800g) assuming there are about 18 slices of bread in a loaf (800g loaf / 44 g slice) four slices of bread will set us back 28p
Margarine - something like "I can't believe it's not butter" is £1.24 for 500 g, Even if we assume we use a generous half a tub per week for sandwiches that's 12.4 p per day
Assume we use 1 tomato per round of sandwiches and that they cost about 14p each (organic tomatoes on the vine that is...) 28p
sandwich meat - roast beef or pork OH will not eat just normal sandwich ham:( £2 for 100 g; that's about 4 slices so about half a pack per day £1
apple 25p
value ready salted crisps are 68p for 12 (about 5p each) but even if we buy the premium ones at £2.89 for 20 that is only 15p each
mineral water is about £2 for 6 (prices vary by quite a lot) so 33p per bottle (or 15p per carton if we choose the value orange juice cartons as in this example here)
Total =£2.41 per day (or £2.25 if using fruit juice cartons)
We could downsize this even more by using the supermarkets own brand, value where possible, and using home grown veg and cheaper meat it could probably be below £2 easily.
to summarise:
on the go £7.22/ day £36.10/week £1696.7/year for a 47 week working year
made at home £2.41/ day £12.07/week £567.29/year
potential annual saving =1696.70 - 567.29 = £1129.41/year
From this you can see that the cooked meat is the most expensive part of the whole thing. Due to this we tried something new this bank holiday weekend. As usual we had a roast dinner (roast pork this time) and instead of using the leftovers for main meals we sliced them up ready for sandwiches. With 505 g of meat left over this should last us the entire week for OH (school holidays). Pork joints for roasting are £5.49 per kilo. Cooked sandwich roast pork is £2 for 132 g. - yes I did have to cook it but I would have used the oven anyway so the fuel is, in this case, free. We use 4 packs of sandwich meat per week (DS1 doesn't like the texture, autism thing, so he has sausage rolls instead) If I could bear to do this across the entire year =(4*£2)*47 = £376 per year v. (4*0.132)*47*£5.49= £136.24 = another potential annual saving of £239.76
"Ah yes" I hear you cry "But I'm extremely busy and I don't have time" (yep this was me folks!) In reality it takes me approximately 5 minutes to make 2 rounds of sandwiches. If you stop and think about it you couldn't have made to order sandwich bars if it took longer than this. Or, in other words, it takes about the amount of time it takes to make a hot drink in the morning. How long does it take you to "pop out for lunch"? I bet its longer than this too!
So, saving both money and time, bring back the sandwich box!
For example:
Sandwiches at Tesco (according to the website) range from about £1.00 to £2.50 just for one round of sandwiches. If, like my husband, you like 2 rounds of sandwiches that could be £5
An apple will cost about 25p
A single packet of ready salted crisps is 49p
A carton of juice or water (if you buy them singly as 500ml bottles) can be between £0.48 and £1.48
so a single lunch on the run of just 2 rounds of sandwiches, an apple, crisps and a drink could set you back £7.22. That's over £36 a week (or £1696.70 a year!)
If we cost the same meal made at home: (all costed from Tescos website)
Bread =£1.20 a loaf for a nice seeded loaf (800g) assuming there are about 18 slices of bread in a loaf (800g loaf / 44 g slice) four slices of bread will set us back 28p
Margarine - something like "I can't believe it's not butter" is £1.24 for 500 g, Even if we assume we use a generous half a tub per week for sandwiches that's 12.4 p per day
Assume we use 1 tomato per round of sandwiches and that they cost about 14p each (organic tomatoes on the vine that is...) 28p
sandwich meat - roast beef or pork OH will not eat just normal sandwich ham:( £2 for 100 g; that's about 4 slices so about half a pack per day £1
apple 25p
value ready salted crisps are 68p for 12 (about 5p each) but even if we buy the premium ones at £2.89 for 20 that is only 15p each
mineral water is about £2 for 6 (prices vary by quite a lot) so 33p per bottle (or 15p per carton if we choose the value orange juice cartons as in this example here)
Total =£2.41 per day (or £2.25 if using fruit juice cartons)
We could downsize this even more by using the supermarkets own brand, value where possible, and using home grown veg and cheaper meat it could probably be below £2 easily.
to summarise:
on the go £7.22/ day £36.10/week £1696.7/year for a 47 week working year
made at home £2.41/ day £12.07/week £567.29/year
potential annual saving =1696.70 - 567.29 = £1129.41/year
From this you can see that the cooked meat is the most expensive part of the whole thing. Due to this we tried something new this bank holiday weekend. As usual we had a roast dinner (roast pork this time) and instead of using the leftovers for main meals we sliced them up ready for sandwiches. With 505 g of meat left over this should last us the entire week for OH (school holidays). Pork joints for roasting are £5.49 per kilo. Cooked sandwich roast pork is £2 for 132 g. - yes I did have to cook it but I would have used the oven anyway so the fuel is, in this case, free. We use 4 packs of sandwich meat per week (DS1 doesn't like the texture, autism thing, so he has sausage rolls instead) If I could bear to do this across the entire year =(4*£2)*47 = £376 per year v. (4*0.132)*47*£5.49= £136.24 = another potential annual saving of £239.76
"Ah yes" I hear you cry "But I'm extremely busy and I don't have time" (yep this was me folks!) In reality it takes me approximately 5 minutes to make 2 rounds of sandwiches. If you stop and think about it you couldn't have made to order sandwich bars if it took longer than this. Or, in other words, it takes about the amount of time it takes to make a hot drink in the morning. How long does it take you to "pop out for lunch"? I bet its longer than this too!
So, saving both money and time, bring back the sandwich box!
Sunday, 8 April 2012
More Music Magpie...
Another £7.47 for the pot from http://www.musicmagpie.co.uk/
Savings to date=£504.85+£7.47=£512.32
0.73% of total.
Savings to date=£504.85+£7.47=£512.32
0.73% of total.
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Decluttering and making money with Music Magpie
If you need some extra room on your shelves then you can sell your old CD's DVD's and games at http://www.musicmagpie.co.uk. Easier than listing on E-bay or Amazon (although you may get less money in the end) you enter the barcode on the packaging and a price they will pay you comes up on screen. They even give you a FREEPOST label to send the stuff to them. I listed some items that didn't shift at the car boot - the minimum was 30p each.
One box down and £7.12 back (reviews say they do pay up but it takes a while).
Right, off to find more boxes to fill...
Savings to date = £497.73 + 7.12 = £504.85
One box down and £7.12 back (reviews say they do pay up but it takes a while).
Right, off to find more boxes to fill...
Savings to date = £497.73 + 7.12 = £504.85
Friday, 30 March 2012
Movies for £1 per person
Going to the cinema is something that we like doing BUT these days it is normally confined to someones birthday or other special occasion. With 5 people in our immediate family it can cost over £40 to go and see the latest release. Luckily these days most cinemas offer deals (usually midweek) when you can have a reduced rate.
Our local cinema (part of the Cineworld chain) has a good deal every Saturday where they show one or two children's films for £1 per person. They are not always the latest of releases but for us that doesn't matter so much. Today they are reshowing Puss In Boots (part of the Shrek series) and A is desperate to go. In the past we have taken the whole of the R and A's class (about 18 people it was a tiny village school) for a cheaper alternative to somewhere like a soft play place for a birthday party; we then took everyone to a pizza place (they let us bring our own birthday cake) and it was still less than booking a soft play.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ often has details of this kind of "days out" deal, along with lots of other good money saving advice and it is free. The forum is also packed with lots of different boards and literally millions of tips and whatever your situation everyone is very supportive so take a look and subscribe to the email for the latest deals right to your inbox.
Our local cinema (part of the Cineworld chain) has a good deal every Saturday where they show one or two children's films for £1 per person. They are not always the latest of releases but for us that doesn't matter so much. Today they are reshowing Puss In Boots (part of the Shrek series) and A is desperate to go. In the past we have taken the whole of the R and A's class (about 18 people it was a tiny village school) for a cheaper alternative to somewhere like a soft play place for a birthday party; we then took everyone to a pizza place (they let us bring our own birthday cake) and it was still less than booking a soft play.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ often has details of this kind of "days out" deal, along with lots of other good money saving advice and it is free. The forum is also packed with lots of different boards and literally millions of tips and whatever your situation everyone is very supportive so take a look and subscribe to the email for the latest deals right to your inbox.
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Growing your own
Having a notoriously black thumb (despite having an honours degree in Biology!) this is one area where in the past I have spent money out and had virtually nothing in return. However, in the spirit of if you don't try you'll never learn how we decided to give it a go in pots in the back garden again this year.
So far I have spent:
£10 (mini plastic greenhouse from Wilko)
£4 seeds from Wilko (buy 2 get third free)
£1 seeds from Lidl (about 30p a pack)
approx £15
One of the ones I am curious about are salad leaves seed mats from Wilko. These are a pack of 2 mats which look like coffee filters with seeds stuck in between the two layers. In theory all you go is put these in an 8 inch pot already filled with compost and sprinkle a little more soil on top. All you have to do then is water and wait. Leaves can be picked when the plants are about 2 inches tall and you can take up to 4 harvests from each plant. The cost of the packet (without the offer) was £1.48 which is about what you can pay for bagged salad at the supermarket anyway. Should be good for OH's sandwiches instead of greenhouse tomatoes. We shall see what happens...
So far I have spent:
£10 (mini plastic greenhouse from Wilko)
£4 seeds from Wilko (buy 2 get third free)
£1 seeds from Lidl (about 30p a pack)
approx £15
One of the ones I am curious about are salad leaves seed mats from Wilko. These are a pack of 2 mats which look like coffee filters with seeds stuck in between the two layers. In theory all you go is put these in an 8 inch pot already filled with compost and sprinkle a little more soil on top. All you have to do then is water and wait. Leaves can be picked when the plants are about 2 inches tall and you can take up to 4 harvests from each plant. The cost of the packet (without the offer) was £1.48 which is about what you can pay for bagged salad at the supermarket anyway. Should be good for OH's sandwiches instead of greenhouse tomatoes. We shall see what happens...
Check your interest rates on your savings!
It is easy to assume that if you are putting your savings into an ISA then you are getting the best interest rate you can BUT it is always worth checking to see if 1) your ISA is the best rate and 2) there is not another saving account paying better interest.
This year we have swapped to an online ISA (giving us 1% more ) but I have found that I can get a 12 month deal (as a new customer) with ING that gets me 3.03% - that's 0.78% more than my online ISA. True after this the rate is pants but I can use next years ISA allowance at the end of next March if another deal does not present itself!
So, is it difficult to compare all these savings accounts - nope; moneysupermarket.com is free and presents the info in tabular form for ease of use. Click here to go to the savings part of the site and check how many other pennies you could be getting on your hard earned savings.
This year we have swapped to an online ISA (giving us 1% more ) but I have found that I can get a 12 month deal (as a new customer) with ING that gets me 3.03% - that's 0.78% more than my online ISA. True after this the rate is pants but I can use next years ISA allowance at the end of next March if another deal does not present itself!
So, is it difficult to compare all these savings accounts - nope; moneysupermarket.com is free and presents the info in tabular form for ease of use. Click here to go to the savings part of the site and check how many other pennies you could be getting on your hard earned savings.
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