Miss Thrifty

A great piece in The Daily Telegraph, called Ten crafty ways to save £5,000 without trying. Some of them are old faves: stop buying lattes, ditch the expensive gym membership. But what I like is the financial value that has been attached to each one. (American readers: £1 is $2, so think of this as ten ways to save $10,000 without trying.)

For example, I save oodles of pocket change by taking my own sandwiches into work every day (farewell, Pret a Manger – I loved you longtime!) but I was delighted to learn just how much I save by doing so:

4. Make your own lunch
Annual saving: £480

Make your own sarnies rather than buying them pre-packed. To cut costs further, save an extra £3 a week by making your own bread

I’m in two minds about making your own bread to save money: I get fresh bread ready-sliced from the discount close-to-expiry shelf and bung it straight in the freezer. I take the slices out in the morning as we need them, and they defrost in the time it takes me to blow-dry my hair and stick some lippy on. Total cost: £0.10 to £0.65 a week – i.e. less than a bag of bread flour. 

However, you can’t argue with £480 a year, can you? You could go to Tunisia for a week on that.

The Daily Telegraph