17 Mouthy readers share their top savings tips

@JrTerror08:

• “Don’t let your yearnings exceed your earnings. Here endeth the lesson. Haha.”

Hannah Louise Bishop:

• “Never buy anything online straight away companies will notice you have the item in your basket but haven’t bought it yet and will offer incentives like free delivery or money off to encourage you to buy. This could take a few days so be patient and plan your purchases. ?”

Julija Zubrickienė:

• “Get the money tin, and even envelopes, keep the money for a week/month whatever it’s needed, so you don’t over spend by using bank card. Less temptations when you have set budget for something. And it makes you to see it and plan it.”

Daniel Jones:

• “Number 1. Track what you spend.”

Andy O’Brien:

• “wombling asda receipts and going to the asda Price guarantee site and getting up to 10 quid free money when you put in a code and one of the other big shops does an item cheaper they refund you the money…. and it doesn’t need to be your receipt. google it. I’ve made about 100 pounds from it and can use all of it in Asda. it’s called ‘wombling’.”

Vicki Orford:

• “Baking soda and distilled white vinegar to clean washers and dishwashers is massively cheaper than the chemical laden pre-prepared bottles, and also works better imo! Better for the environment too. Win win win! :-)”

Hannah Ellis:

• “Coupons for your shopping and cash back apps like Shopitize.
• If you have a credit card with an outstanding balance, do a balance transfer to a credit card that has 0% interest for X amount of months.
• Remember that loyalty doesn’t pay! Shop around for the best utility and insurance deals- some websites offer cash back on these when it’s renewal time when you set up with a new provider.
• If you’re married, see if you are eligible for the marriage tax allowance; it could save you and your spouse approx £212 a year.
• Get a bank account that gives you cash back, and pays credit interest.
• Set your direct debits to go out on your payday – the leftover in your account will be your spends for the rest of the month.
• Set up a standing order to a separate savings account for a set amount each month or weekly- if you did £50 a month, in a year you would have £600!”

Charlie Cooke:

• “Have 2 accounts. One for savings/holidays/birthdays etc
  And one for your household utilities, petrol and food. If you have children setting up trust funds means you can put money away for your children and relatives can also pay in money for birthdays etc.
  
• Also see if your bank account can offer you holiday/gadget insurance or life insurance at a better cost than other companies. ?”

Amy Jane Beckett:

• “Always check for discount codes or cashback before you buy products online.”

Vicky Griffiths:

• “Always plan ur meals and then go shopping! If u have a list and a plan u won’t be tempted to buy everything and anything!! Buy a large chicken or joint of meat cook it up and make meals from it!! Like from a chicken u could make a nice chicken curry.. a roast chicken dinner.. chicken pasta bake and chicken sandwiches…. loads of ideas!! And it’s cheaper than breasts!! “

Rebecca Norris-Clarke:

• “Biggest summer irritant- flies! Don’t buy waste of money fly killer spray it rarely works just use shower cleaner or window cleaner it kills flies instantly and cleans your windows at the same time!”

Frances Farrington:

• “Take time to review your finances regularly and change providers I saved hundreds by doing this.”

Pamela Wren:

• “Never start a new week with old money, If you have a weekly budget any left no matter how small save in a tin it soon adds up to spend on something special.”

Dawn Facey:

• I go to my local tesco at 7pm and they bring a trolley full of reduced fruit and veg, I save myself a fortune bad it still lasts for the rest of the week.

Kalie-Dee Jones:

• “Best money saving tip is put all lose change in a pot. I do this every couple of days from my purse into my terramundi pot. That way I can’t get into it. Have savings, am more careful about what I spend and benefit at the end of the year/full jar when I take it to the bank.
  
• Sign up to sites to get freebies/vouchers etc. That way i can try stuff for free/cheap to see if I like it before spending the full amount on something that might go to waste. Competitions are a great way to do it to. I have loyalty cards with stores and save all the points up. So if an unexpected bill comes etc but I needed essentials the saved rewards can buy it.
• Budget for the week/month dependimg when you get paid. Say if you make 800 a month. Have 500 on bills and 100 on food/essentials. That’s 200 extra for anything else you might need. Put 1/5 straight into savings and budget the rest. Any of the “extra” left after the minth throw into savings too.
• Use january sales and blue cross sales – any sales actually – to buy next years christmas and birthday gifts. You’ll get a chunk of it sorted so you’re not buying extra stuff (make a list so you know what is for whom!) Or having to find more cash than you make.
• Cut out one luxury a week. Say you buy coffee every weekday. Skip it one day. That’s £3 you’ve saved. Or £156 a year.
• Taking packed lunch to work or making ut for the kids instead of buying it will save a small fortune.”

Jane Willis:

• “Lots of us save small change, but getting it swapped for larger coins can be a nuisance. Banks don’t like to do it and those coin sorting machines in supermarkets take a whopping amount of commission – usually almost 10p in every pound. However if you use your small change to pay at the self service checkout at the same supermarket, the machine does all the counting for you at no charge! Simply tip your coins into the coin tray and it counts them all up – and if you’ve put too much money in it even gives you change in larger denomination coins. And no commission! Doing it this way can save you 10p out of every pound you’ve saved up.”

If you have a cracking savings tip of your own, why not enter our competition, too. See here for more details.