30 WAYS TO SAVE £1

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A money saving post today and one I hope you will all enjoy as well as find super helpful. Recently I've been really trying to cut back on my spending. I'm doing well so far. I've learned the hard way that bills and debts need to be paid first on Pay Day and usually that doesn't leave a lot for me when it comes to little treats. To make my money go further I've come up with some neat little ways to cut costs that, hopefully - whether you're broke like me or simply want to put more money towards something more special - will help you out.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the £1 coin Money Supermarket are running a competition and giving bloggers the opportunity to share their money-saving advice - 30 tips to be exact. To be in with a chance to win £1,000 simply look at their website here for the rules, terms and conditions. Simple as that. Now let's get started...

1) PENNIES MAKE POUNDS

I hate hate hate change in my purse. I have an aversion to it. It really annoys me. Instead of simply throwing it in the bottom of my bag or giving it away I put it all in a jar and let it mount up. I use an old whisky box but you could really use anything you liked. It quickly mounts up and when it's full I can often have £10 sat there in copper and small silver coins.

2) DON'T BUY EXPENSIVE CANDLES - BUY WAX TARLETS INSTEAD

I love the Yankee Candle collections but the candles are just a little too pricey to be buying them on a regular basis. I invested £5 in a tartlet burner and burn Yankee Candle tarlets instead now. I could burn whatever tarlets I liked from various different companies if I chose to though. They're more highly scented, last a lot longer than candles do and still look really good in the home.

3) CUSTOMIZE YOUR CLOTHES

I love designer looking clothes. Who doesn't? The more beads and studs and ribbons the better. It's all in the detail. Clothes like this though can be really expensive - especially if you want a designer look. Provided you're well practiced with a needle and thread customize plain clothes or clothes you already own with your own beads and ribbons and studs which can be bought for pence at haberdasheries and markets.

4) REALLY LOOK AFTER WHAT YOU OWN

This may seem obvious but so many people really don't look after their belongings. If you look after your clothes, make-up, accessories and everything else properly then they will last a hell of a lot longer and look just as good as the day you first purchased them. This will save you a lot of money in the long run because they won't wear and tear as quickly as they would if you simply slat them about and abused them.

5) DRY CUT VERSUS BLOW DRY

I used to be one of those girls that simply had to have their hair washed every time they went to the hairdresser for a trim. I could be having a milimetre taken off my fringe and I would still ask for a wash and blow dry. Not any more. Washing my hair at home not only saves me time as I can simply go into the salon and come back out again without faffing about but a dry cut costs a heck of a lot less than a wash and blow. The difference can be as much as £15 - including the tip.

6) DO YOU REALLY NEED THAT PHONE UPGRADE?

This is a serious question to ask yourself. Do you really need the latest all-singing-all-dancing gadget? Especially when the phone you use is good as it is - if not great. With upgrades, especially for the more popular phones, usually comes a price increase in the contract you're signing up to. Try sticking with the phone you already own on a lower tariff contract for six months to a year and you will save so much money.

7) CUT UP BOTTLES AND TUBES TO GET ALL THE PRODUCT OUT

A lot of the time, especially in squeezy tubes, when the product seems empty there is another load of product inside around the edges or sitting at the bottom that you can't get at or won't come out. This is such a waste. Cut the bottle or tube open and get to the product that's inside that way instead. I've managed to get another 7 uses out of my foot cream by cutting it open like this.

8) OWN BRANDS ARE USUALLY JUST AS GOOD AS TOP BRANDS

When I was younger I worked in a cheese factory. It wasn't my finest moment but it taught me a lot. The one major thing I picked up was that a lot of the time the fancy stuff is EXACTLY the same as the basic own-brand stuff. The customer is simply paying for the difference in packaging. Now I buy a lot of stuff from own-brand labels - Morrisons Savers, Sainsbury's Basics, Wilko's Own - purely because I know there is no point in paying more money for something that looks nicer in the fridge.

9) GROW YOUR OWN

With summer almost upon it it's fast becoming salad season. Have you seen how much salad items are in the supermarket? Rocket, for example, has a flare for turning up in posh salads and lovely garnishes whilst costly a small fortune for a tiny bag. Buy some seeds and plant your own. It's so easy to grow and once you start picking the leaves it grows back even more. Tomatoes are really easy to grow, as are spring onions and potatoes. Cucumbers are probably best left to those that know what they're doing (not me - that's for sure).

10) ENTERTAIN CHILDREN CHEAPLY

Entertaining kids can be expensive. This is an inescapable fact of life. If you're looking for cheap alternatives  to theme parks and shopping trips look into your surrounding area and see what's going on. Summer is rife with village fetes, events in local parks and there's always the option of going to feed the ducks or play on the play area after a family stroll. Take a picnic with you and enjoy the scenery and calm.

11) PUT CONDITIONER IN THE WASHING MACHINE

Sounds weird right? Let me explain. You know that tiny bit of hair conditioner that just won't come out of the bottle no matter how hard you shake and squeeze and bang it about? Take the lid off the bottle and shove it in the washing machine with your delicates. It'll soften your clothes and leave them smelling fresh and you won't have wasted any money.

12) SAVE AND FREEZE YOUR LEFT OVERS

I always make far too much food. It's a bad habit that was costing me a small fortune. Now what I do is leave the food to cool and then place it in a freezable tub so that I can shove it in the freezer. It's great for when I'm busy and don't have time to cook anything from scratch and also means that I'm not chucking anything away.

13) DON'T THROW AWAY YOUR SAMPLES

If I receive a sample from a beauty box or a counter that I know I'm not going to use or won't suit me I won't throw it away. I save them in a box and then, when it comes to someone's birthday and I don't have the money that I would like to spend on them I make them up a small goody bag from the samples I have. I get to giveaway the samples that I won't use and save money in the process and they get to try new things that they wouldn't necessarily have picked out for themselves.

14) SAVE WRAPPING PAPER AND GIFT BAGS

My whole family know that I save and recycle my gift bags and wrapping paper. I don't tear my wrapping paper so it looks relatively good and if it has any creases then I iron it until it's flat and put it away for when I can use it on someone else's gift. Bags usually have their tags removed but apart from that they can reused too and it saves me a fortune on wrapping.

15) WASH OUT YOUR CANDLE JARS AND USE THEM AS STORAGE

This practice is really popular with bloggers as I've seen loads of people store their make-up brushes and cotton pads etc this way. They don't have to be pretty candle jars though - they can just be plain. I have numerous washed out candle jars dotted about because they're great for storing things like earrings, studs and rings.

16) PLAN OUT YOUR MEALS

This really sounds spontaneity killing, doesn't it? But it does save you loads of money in the long run. I know that if I have a meal plan I'll be less tempted to bimble through the shop and pick up things that I don't need, won't use again and will ultimately just throw out when it goes mouldy in the fridge.

17) DO YOUR RESEARCH 

I used to pick things up, beauty products in particular, buy them, get them home and never use them because they just didn't suit me/look right/smell good/taste great. In short, I have spent a lot of money on stuff that I just have lying around and haven't ever bothered with past the first swatch. Now I really research the items I have my eyes on and then really really really think about whether I'll use them or not. Nine times out of ten I know that I won't so I don't buy them.

18) SET UP PAYMENT PLANS WITH YOUR DEBTORS

When you have debts, and I have many, it's really easy to bury your head in the sand and allow the letters to pile through the door as the interest mounts up. Eventually you'll be faced with County Court Judgements and Baliffs knocking at the door and you really don't want that. If you know that you won't be able to make repayments then contact your debtor and explain the situation. Many will be happy to hear from you and understand your situation. You can work out the best method of repayment to suit you, a lot of the time with their help, and hopefully this will stop the interest on your cards mounting up to the point where you will stand no chance of repaying them at all. In some instances your Debtors may even stop your interest completely (although his may affect your credit rating so be aware of that fact).

19) HANG LAUNDRY OUT TO DRY

Even if the sun isn't shining, as long as there isn't an imminent threat of rain, hanging laundry on the line to air dry will save you pounds on your gas or heating bills. Gas prices are on the rise so the less money you can spend on bills - the better. In my opinion there is nothing better than the scent of clothes that have been dried on the line.

20) MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE MARKET STALL HOLDERS

If you shop at local food markets you'll be saving money on your food bills anyway but make sure you're friendly when you see the stall holders. The more that they get to know you, the more likely they are to do you deals and knock money off when you buy things from them.

21) BUY PLAIN COLOURS NOT PATTERNS

As much as the new season in the fashion world is filled with goregous prints and patterns a more sound investment and way to spend your money would be to buy clothes that are in block colours and classic cuts. You will get more wear out of clothes like these than the latest fashions. You can always add accessories to keep you on trend.

22) DIY YOUR OWN BEAUTY TREATMENTS

As much as everyone enjoys a Spa Day they can be ridiculously expensive for only a couple of every-day treatments that you can perform yourself at home. There are plenty of websites that tell you how you can get the spa feeling for less at home. I have a series coming up myself about it.

23) STAYCATION

If I could jet off on an all-inclusive Carribbean holiday then wild horses wouldn't be able to stop me but as I want to save my money I'm taking a Staycation this year and on my day's off I'll be exploring what England has to offer. My home is the best hotel I could wish to stay in and there are a wealth of places only a day-trip away that will cost me a lot less to visit than Jamaica would.

24) BOILING WATER + SALT = WEED KILLER

Don't spend loads of money on expensive weed killers for the garden. Boil the kettle, pour some table salt over the offending plant and then drench it in your boiling water. It will shrivel up, go brown and die. You can dig it out only an hour or two after you've killed it. Very penny pinching indeed.

25) SIGN UP FOR POINTS CARDS

Cards like the Boots Advantage Points card and Nectar cards are so useful for collecting points when you purchase things from selected stores. Cards like this ultimately lead to you getting money off your shopping or free little treats when you have enough points to buy items outright. I have a points card for almost everything: Nectar, Boots, Superdrug, Costa, Co-Op... The list goes on.

26) YOU DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF 'DEALS'

A lot of deals, especially in supermarkets, are designed to tempt you into spending more money than you need to. Buy One Get One Free - on the more expensive enchilada kit than you usually buy? Two for £6 on the yoghurts you'll probably let go out of date before you've eaten your way through the first twelve pack included in the offer? Don't succumb to offers unless they are too good to pass up - and those types of deals only really happen once in a blue moon.

27) FREEZE 'FRESH' BEAUTY PRODUCTS

Lush and other organic companies that make fresh products don't give you much of a life-span when it comes to their products. The use-by date is usually only a week to ten days after the date you've purchased the item. You can portion things like their face-masks off and freeze them to make them last longer. Freezing fresh beauty products means you get a longer life span out of them and use them up when you want to - not when you're told you have to.

28) MAKE NOTES NOT WASTE

I always have a 'to do' list on the go somewhere which means that I get through a lot of paper. Instead of buying new notepads every month I now cut up old boxes and packets into notelets and write on the blank sides of them. It's a lot cheaper than spending out on loads of stationary and is also a lot kinder to the environment.

29) CUT DOWN ON UNHEALTHY HABITS

Smoking, drinking, shopping, dining out - so you don't have to cut all of these out (although I would recommend completely stopping smoking) but cutting down on what you spend on them will obviously be better for your bank balance. Usually have three glasses of wine with your meal out? Just have two or have a smaller size or something a little cheaper. Like to shop and impulse purchase? Stay at home on Saturday and ignore the call of the shops that week. Love a good takeaway? Instead of having a rice each share one instead or try lots of small cheaper starters instead of your usual massive individual dish.

30) TRY TO FIX IT YOURSELF

So many people nowadays give up when something seems to break. They throw perfectly good appliances out because they automatically assume if it's not working then it can't be fixed. I've had a hoover that cost me £15 for five years now. Why? Because I've cellotaped it together when it's fallen apart, changed the fuse when that stopped working, cleaned it out properly when it's become clogged up. It may look like it's on it's last legs but it's still going strong and it's better than any top-of-the-range item you can get on the market. Sure it'll fall apart eventually but why throw something out if you can fix it?

So, they were my 30 tips to help you save up your pounds. Each one is guaranteed to save you at least £1 in the long run, if not automatically. They're simple but effective and I know that they all work because they work for me on a regular, if not daily, basis.