Money saving tips from our readers

Sorry these tips are not in any clever order (just the order they were sent in). They are a mixture of good and bad, funny and serious, weird and clever. They have though been given a 'back of an envelop' saving rating as follows:

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• Thanks to the withdrawal of the 'block exemption agreement', motorists do not now have to have their cars serviced with a branded dealer. I now use a local garage and can save between 20% to 80% of service and repairs costs £££
   
• I recently started taking a packed lunch to work. I have calculated that this has saved me about £3.5 per day or around £800 per year ££££
   
• I make a shopping list so that I’m not so tempted by all the other things that the supermarket wants to sell me £££
   
• Dont buy books, just visit the library where they all seem to be free (dont know how they make a profit!) ££
   
• Dont fall for marketing guff about anti-aging creams £
   
• Look for 'reduced for quick sale' items especially meat, fish and bread £££
   
• Eat the seasons. The supermarket air-freighted items will always be expensive as well as harming the planet £££
   
• Work out how much you spend on food shopping per week and set yourself a target of trying to save 20% - they work out how much this will save you in a year! £££
   
• Visit you local market stall. They don’t have supermarket overheads and are often much cheaper (especially fruit and veg,)  ££
   
• Dont buy ready meals. Cook you own. This is much cheaper, healthier and far more tasty  ££
   
• I stopped wasting money on designer labels a long time ago ££
   
• Spend time looking round charity shops. Can be very good for finding dirt cheap designer labels £££
   
• Before you buy anything, check out the online
   
• Guys, save a fortune, avoid getting divorced (or married!)£££££
   
• Organise a car share, visit www.liftshare.org £££
   
• On a long car journey buy food/drinks/petrol in advance thereby avoiding the opportunity for a motorway service station to commit highway robbery £
   
• Booking things at the last minute can save money. I don’t just mean holidays and flights, but what about theme parks, theatre tickets and car hire £££
   
• Walk or cycle to the station or your place of work and give up your expensive gym membership!  ££££
   
• Give up smoking. This could save you over £1500 per year - www.gosmokefree.co.uk  £££££
   
• Dont buy lottery tickets, the odds are against you winning  ££
   
• Make sure you claim any benefits that you are owed. These include Working tax credit, Child benefit, Child tax Credit and other employee-related tax benefits  ££££
   
• Before I buy anything I check the price online or on Ebay  £££
   
• Dont buy an ipod. Buy a standard MP3 player for maybe 1/3 of the price ££
   
• I stopped drinking bottled water 1 year ago. This has probably saved me £200 and I believe tap water is less likely to have bacteria in it £££
   
• Avoid buying glasses from high street shops. You can buy them online for as little as £20 if you know your prescription ££
   
• Grow your own food. Salad, fruit and veg are all easy to grow. Punish the supermarkets for their ridiculous air miles that most produce seems to travel… you can’t even buy UK apples in the height of the apple season… £££
   
• There are quite a lot of things that are cheaper if you pay by direct debit... worth looking out for ££

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