What are your top tips for being thrifty?

Lots of good ideas on here.I guess the main thing is to buy what you need and not what you want really, or at least have a good think about why you want it.

Sports sock going thin on the toe? Cut the foot off and use the anckle cuff to bridge the gap between gloves and anorak/coal- perfect.

My sister-in-law always asked how I could afford to work Granny23- for all the reasons stated. She made her fortune by 'not working' - using her nose to buy properties, get them done up for her and re-selling with big profits. The first one was bought with a small inheritance, and she made quite a bit on re-sale- and kept going. She is a very well off lady now- and never 'worked' a day in her married life.

Never, ever buy multipacks of anything - especially not food as you say D2E they are just a binge waiting to happen.

And as for multipacks of other things, I'm not sure they do save money as I tend to use them with gay abandon, knowing I've plenty of them

Cheese and onion are my favourite. I am okay until something is opened and then it just seems to call to me ...

By the by, Sainsburys is our nearest store and Wed at 7 is about right for the bargains. Maybe it is company policy to have a bit of a clear out before the onset of the weekend.

Use comparison websites to check you are getting the best deal on gas/electricity, insurances etc. I change suppliers at least annually,
Another tip is to go through a cash back website such as Quidco or Top cash back that pays you for using a comparison site or shopping online. You can also earn money doing online surveys.

Our M & S reduces things in the morning, big supermarket in the evening I am told.

Keep an eye on your local Freecycle/Freegle. We have given loads of stuff away on there and practically furnished DS's flat from there. People are very generous, one person was giving away black shelves and when I told him DS was planning a black and white colour scheme he threw in a TV unit too. I later saw the same one in a charity shop for £47.

I'm keeping an eye on my energy use now that I have a smart meter. Surprising how much electricity my recessed halogen lamps in the kitchen use. I've been using the lighting under the cabinets instead much of the time. Just been to Aldi and saved a small fortune by not going to Waitrose, even taking into account the fact that I had to use the car.

We have a smart meter, but I changed supplier two months ago and most smart meters are supplier specific so many of its features no longer work.

Personally I think they are very over rated. We had an 'Owl' on the wall that measured our power consumption before we had the smart meter. By the end of the first week we had noticed that power consumption rose if we had the DW or WM on and dropped when they switched off, but otherwise was steadily very low - and we didn't need a meter to tell us that! Since we have always been energy conscious, we (sorry, I) -are- am always switching lights off and we do not have vast quantities of electronics or leave anything on standby.

What has saved us most energy, is good insulation, good housekeeping (pulling curtains, lining curtains) and first, replacing incandescent bulbs with long life bulbs and now replacing all those with LEDs.

When making a stew or casserole, bulk the meat up with mushrooms, still a good source of protein and will make the meat go further, perhaps even enough left over to have the next day for lunch with some crusty bread.

Spend some time clearing out cupboards and sell stuff on eBay you don't need/ want.

M0nica, you've just said what I was going to - all that about turning off lights, not keeping things on standby, changing to LED bulbs and closing curtains at dusk. We're still using up our original energy-saving bulbs, so only have one LED so far but we did notice a difference in the bill when we changed to energy-saving ones a long time ago now. We keep the heating on automatic now, rather than on timed, and so it comes on only when it's cold and as we are fortunate enough to have a new, well-insulated house, that has helped to keep the bills down.

I shop in Aldi which costs about 2/3rds of what it would be elsewhere . I very rarely buy new clothes and shop in charity shops . You can get very good quality stuff for a few pounds then return them when you get fed up. I actually prefer to do this now , I just love to get a great bargain.

I pay everything by Direct debit so no nasty surprises , rarely eat out except for special occasions and treat myself to a takeaway about once every few months .

If the bank account is looking a bit skimpy I just stop spending unless I REALLY need something for a few weeks . It is just a matter of changing your mind set and asking yourself if you need not want what you are about to buy.

For a while, at least, write down in a notebook every single payment you make, whether it's an unavoidable bill, a trivial necessity or a treat. It's surprising how much more careful you can be knowing that it will all be there in black and white at a later date.

phoenix mushrooms contain only small amounts of protein, much less than meat. I love mushrooms so I also add them to stews but I add in lentils as well, which have a lot more protein than mushrooms.

I decided to have a frugal few weeks because my freezers are full. In the last 8 days the only money I have spent is to my lovely Portuguese friend who comes in to clean the house. She was a must when I was looking after my elderly mother and makes life so much better for me now so I will never give her up until she decides she cannot work anymore. I am loving devising meals from what I have in the house. I may buys some salad, potatoes, carrots and onions next week but that is all I need. I have decided to continue until I come to England in March and will be able to spend knlowing that I have spent virtually nothing for the previous two months. Thanks for all the good ideas.

If you're not lucky enough to have a Lidle or Aldi nearby, you can still save at the supermarket by shopping down a grade.
If you always buy the top brands, give the store own brands or economy brands a try, you might find there is little difference in taste but you do make savings.

If you splash out on a takeaway each week, try buying a similar menu from the supermarket ready meals, you mght enjoy it even more as you are making a saving.

If you live alone, frozen vegetables can be useful, with no waste. Try frozen mash as a good stand by.

As pp have mentioned, don't waste food. Frittata, toasted sandwiches and pasta bakes are good ways to use up leftovers, also butter beans, chick peas, haricot beans can help sretch soups and casserols.

With MamaCaz on this, if money runs out before end of week/month a check on your daily spending will point out what you don't realy need but want

Never ever do your food shopping when you are hungry you end up loading up with things you just don't need.
If you are considering a take away meal from the supermarket deli-counter make your own rice and share the main course,we do this once a week and it gives us a treat from cooking from scratch.
Slice some meat from the Sunday Roast and freeze for a mid week Roast your veg will still be fresh and can be used up,I also read Martin Lewis's money saving tips the mans a genius.

if you have a Waitrose near you they do amazing markdowns around 6pm, bread (proper stuff) to 40 or50p etc prepacked sandwiches down to sill prices (you couldn't make them for that) however you can't plan for them having what you want so you need to be flaexible

I agree shop at lidl plan your meals although I do occasionally shop online and I must admit this saves money as I only order necessary items no impulse buys cook a chicken for Sunday lunch then have cold or make risotto and use whatever is left in a soup.

Make a habit of looking in charity shops. I've bought many good toys for my granddaughter, for next to nothing. I also look for books, wool and knitting patterns. Yesterday I got a brand new top for myself, and a novelty animal hat and scarf for my granddaughter. Go in with an open mind and you might find treasures!

Must admit I love looking in skips to see if there is something I can up cycle. Yesterday found some timber cut offs that will make some elegant small raised beds for herbs and some posts that will be tree stakes.

Sometimes you have to spend money while you can still afford it in order to save money in retirement.
We had thermostats fitted on most radiators and that seems to be helping - really, only the sitting room needs to be warmer. An extra layer is cheaper - I bought a warm cardigan from Lidl!
An electric steamer is not expensive and a good buy - instead of using multiple pans on the hob, three layers of vegetables can be done at once (and fish, rice etc).
A slow cooker is a great investment, I wish I had bought a larger one for eat one/freeze two!

Rationalise you wardrobe - you won't need suits, skirts and high heels when you retire except on rare occasions (well, I don't). But keep enough for those rare occasions.

Some of our neighbours have invested in solar panels but we haven't. The outlay is just too much for the return for us.

Never buy new furniture. Old furniture from makes like Ercol and G Plan are very fashionable now and can be upcycled. Much better quality than new flat packed imported stuff IMO.

Simply, - don't keep going shopping! How often did I used to pop in a shop or supermarket for one item and come out with six. So stay away from shops until essential, - and online shopping websites these days.