Miss Thrifty

How to get free handwash from Asda

Palmolive recently sent me details of a coupon, which can be downloaded from its website here. It’s a coupon to buy a bottle of Palmolive Hygiene Plus handwash for £1. Palmolive Hygiene Plus has a full retail price of around … Continue reading →

So we got the loft insulated for free…

We recently had our loft insulated for free by EDF Energy. Did you know about this scheme? I heard about it a while ago, but held back at first. This was partly because it sounded too good to be true … Continue reading →

How to clean copper with tomato ketchup

I was pleased to discover that tomato ketchup can be used to clean copper. I don’t like using those relatively expensive, stinky, finger-burny cleaners. I usually rub copper with lemon halves dipped in salt to remove tarnish, but it’s sticky … Continue reading →

Shiply: a cheap and green way to move furniture

Shiply describes itself as “an online marketplace for transporting goods”. Users list the items they need to move, plus the final destinations, receive “bids” from various transport companies and take their pick. It’s rather like eBay for couriers and delivery … Continue reading →

Duttons for Buttons: one of my favourite shops

Duttons for Buttons is a shop that sells… well, can you guess? This weekend we braved the blizzards to get to our local TK Maxx, in search of a costume for my husband’s gig next weekend (don’t ask). Anyway, while … Continue reading →

BARGAIN: get an XBox 360 for just £10

Want an XBox 360? Turns out that you can get an XBox 360 from Orange for just £10, if you buy Orange broadband at the same time. The 4GB XBox 360 costs £149.99 from Argos (and at the time of … Continue reading →

10 Stephen King hardbacks for £8

Yes: this box of brand new Stephen King hardback editions costs just £8.00, including postage. With Christmas looming, I’ll be featuring a variety of gift ideas over the coming weeks – and this book deal from Books Direct Bargains seemed … Continue reading →

Reader tip: free jars for homemade pickles

Thanks to Miss Thrifty reader Sharon, who sent this tip in. It’s short and sweet and I’m reprinting it in full. If you can’t find decent-sized jars for pickled onions or other pickled food items, nip to your local chippy … Continue reading →

Shopping for fruit and veg: six money saving tips

1. Avocados. I love avocados, so I take care to avoid the duff ones. You know the ones I mean: they feel nice and soft, but turn out to be bruised and manky on the inside. Take your soft avocado … Continue reading →

How to save money on delicious home-cooked dinners

This is a new way to save money on the dinners that you cook at home. And no: it doesn’t have anything to do with my tips and tricks for filling your supermarket trolley for £30 or less. Nor am … Continue reading →

A doorstep delivery from Farmer Christmas

This is one (well, six) of the nice things about moving out of the city. At my husband’s workshop, one of his regular customers is a local farmer, who tips in eggs: The eggs always appear mysteriously, as the day … Continue reading →

Thrifty birthday presents for your boyfriend – for less than £40

Looking for a top (but thrifty) present for a boyfriend or husband? I’ve been looking too, after receiving this plea for help from Miss Thrifty reader Anna: Hi Miss Thrifty I wanted to make a nice present for my boyfriend’s … Continue reading →

Six top tips from Yorkshire’s thriftiest grannies

How to fill your Morrisons trolley for £30

So what can you get with a £30 Morrisons voucher? The Sun newspaper’s social media agency got in touch to say that they would bestow a voucher for this very sum upon me, if I told y’all what I’d spend … Continue reading →

With tinted Vaseline, who needs to splash out on lip gloss?

What can I tell you about tinted Vaseline, aka Vaseline Rosy Lips? Just like regular Vaseline, it makes a bargain lip balm. In the tin, the Vaseline is a rather alarming shade of hot pink (it’s pretty toned down in … Continue reading →

Eight thrifty tips for a VAT-free shopping basket

UK readers will know that VAT is due to rise from January 2011, from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent. (For non-VATable readers from elsewhere: VAT is short for Value Added Tax and it is like U.S. sales tax, … Continue reading →