Mums share their best cost-saving tips for shopping, energy bills and water

From "heat the person, not the home" to nifty leftover food tricks that'll save you hundreds. 

A mum in the Markdown Addicts Facebook group has declared that it's time for all members to pool their collective wisdom and share their best tips and tricks to navigate the escalating cost of living.

The woman wrote, "Hi guys, I need everyone’s help! The cost of living is through the roof so I’m doing some research on cost-efficient and sustainable solutions to, well, everything!

"It can be anything that pops in your head. We need to start looking after each other and do our part as a community to find solutions."

The post quickly gained traction and now has over 400 comments with suggestions, from frugal meal ideas to nifty water-saving methods. 

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Water-saving tips you need to know 

One commenter gave this handy water-saving tip, "Keep a bucket in the shower to collect the water while you wait for the hot water to arrive. I have a five-litre bucket and use it to water the plants."

Another chimed in with these tricks, "Do not have full baths, short showers are better, turn the tap off when brushing your teeth, peel veggies in a bowl of water, wash the car on the grass and turn the hose off when not in use and always do a full wash of clothes."

Then this person claimed, "Put something heavy on the cistern of your toilets that way it will use less water to fill. Also, install a small rainwater tank to water the garden if you can."

Image: Facebook

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Handy shopping tips to save at the supermarket

In terms of shopping tips, lots of users suggested eating before heading to the supermarket.

"It stops binge buying," one person said. Another added, "No impulse purchases!"

According to group members, Click-and-collect and online shopping also help to reduce impulse purchases. 

Someone else suggested, "Grow veggies and swap with someone for something else you need," while another advised, "Join a community garden if you don’t have much garden space at home, people often share their produce for things they are not growing."

Then this super smart tip received a lot of likes: "When I do my shopping, I create a shopping list with both the Woolies app and the Coles app. That way I can compare prices and specials at the time between both and usually I won't buy things unless they're on special."

"For fruit and veggies, I love Box Divvy. It's only in NSW but you get fresh produce locally and super fresh for about 20-40% cheaper than Coles/Woolies and it's all spray-free, Australian grown and they pay farmers much fairer than supermarkets," one user shared. 

Meanwhile, this woman commented, "Only buy heavily marked down meat and meal plan around what stock-piled discounted meats you have in the freezer. For example, last night I had an oyster blade roast I got marked down from $27 to $6.55. I slowly braised it and had it with cauliflower ($1.35 for half a head) potatoes, herbs and pumpkin all homegrown in our veggie patch with gravy from pan juices. All up cost about $9 for a huge delicious meal that served four with leftovers we used for lunches today."

A different user contributed, "Buying items like deodorant, laundry pods, dishwasher tablets and body wash in bulk when it's half price saves a lot in retrospect."

Then this person added, "Join Woolworths Extras and buy your big grocery bill once a month then just top up when needed because you get 10% off and double points! You also get one 10% off shop at Big W a month too."

And someone else shared this oldie but a goodie: "Bulk out meals like spag bol with carrot and zucchini to make the meat go further. Or even grated mushrooms."

Then finally, this woman explained her nifty leftover tip, saying, "If we have a full portion of dinner left over, rather than taking it for lunch I freeze it. When we have quite a few, we will have a 'choose-your-own dinner' night and it saves on a dinner and for some reason the kids love it."

Image: Facebook

How to cut down your home bills and car costs

One person had a great mantra to keep your energy bills low, especially in winter. They said, "Heat the person, not the house." They added, "Purchase cheap Oodies from Kmart or heated throws. Saves heaps of money."

"Double curtain the windows," said someone else. "We have roller blinds and then block out curtains up to retain heat and cool in the different seasons."

"Use a hot water bottle in your bed instead of electric blankets," suggested a different group member. 

"Go through your streaming services/bills and find the right offer. I cancelled services and swapped others and saved over $80- a month from doing this alone," shared one mum.

"Use the 7/11 app - it shows you where the cheapest fuel is nearby!" revealed another savvy woman. 

"I bought an electric vehicle last year and have saved $7800 by not buying fuel," read a different comment, with lots of shocked emoji replies. 

This woman then shared this unique hack, saying, "I charge my work laptop, work phone and personal phone at work."

Another helpful tip came from this commenter, who said, "One of the biggest power chewers is your oven so time it to see how long it actually takes to heat up. The first step in recipes is often to turn the oven on, but don’t put it on before preparing the dish. Mine takes five to 10 minutes to heat up so I just put it on in the final stages of preparing rather than having it run for 20+ minutes with nothing in it."

"I have cheaper electricity rates from 10 am-3 pm so I utilise this time to use my dishwasher and washer and dryer and sterilise my baby bottles in the microwave," revealed one new mum.

Image: Facebook

Other helpful cost-saving tips 

"I don't get my hair dyed, haven't for 15 years! Saved thousands," one woman shared, saying that she also opts to go makeup-free to cut down on cosmetic products. 

Then this person shared her rule to avoid overconsumption, "One in one out. I don't buy anything unless it's replacing something."

"For clothes and miscellaneous items,  I use lots of 'pass it on' and 'pay it forward ' local Facebook pages," said another woman. "That way if you need clothes for the kids, toys, books or anything really, you just keep an eye out or ask your neighbours and generally you can get what you need easily, plus you get to share and gift your unneeded stuff too and it's sustainable."

"Check out Target, they also have heavily discounted kids' clothes and shoes," replied a different woman.

"I bought a lot of cheap clothes for myself and my son from Cotton On after Christmas last year. I also always go for a larger size so my son can wear them in the next two years. Cotton On always has 30-70% off after Christmas too," read one comment. 

Then this user added, "Don’t celebrate all the occasions. Eg. If you’re going all out for Halloween don’t go all out for Christmas and explain this to the kids. Also, plan holidays in school time (before exams) so that it’s off-peak and cheaper."

Finally, this woman shared, "Ask for memberships for presents. I asked for an aquarium membership for my son's birthday (technically the voucher is for me as the paying person, as children under four are free). So we can go to the aquarium as much as we want and it is a great outing."

Originally published as Mums share their best cost-saving tips for shopping, energy bills and water