Forum Game: Money-Saving Tips from A to Z (no advertising)

Dear users, dear authors,

Everyone is always talking about how they need to save money. This new forum game is designed to inspire you to get creative with saving. Everyone is welcome to share their ideas. Maybe you’ll even discover a new tip or two.
Have fun and let your imagination run wild!

Thank you so much for participating!

Choose to leave the car at home more often and ride your bike. It’s much healthier in summer, saves gas, and is better for the environment.

Pay in cash. When paying by card, you often lose track of your spending. But in your wallet, you notice right away when it’s running low.

Craft your own Christmas tree ornaments 

Cancel season ticket subscriptions you don’t use often enough

Pancakes are always worth making in a big batch. They freeze really well for the next lunch. You can eat them cold or warm. In summer, we like to make herb pancakes with all the fresh herbs we have. Fresh homemade herb quark goes well with them.

Since it’s strawberry season now—go pick your own.
It’s cheaper, it’s fun, and you get to decide for yourself which strawberries go into your basket.

Fruit on sale / special offer—for jam and freezing to make ice cream 

A fun trio = me, ice cream, a lounge chair 😁

cheaper than an ice cream shop (should be added here)

Buy bulk packs if they are cheaper compared to smaller packages. Portion them at home according to your own needs. 

I = Read magazines online—it saves paper and is probably cheaper.

H = Handicrafts save money on expensive designer clothes and gifts.

Well, Monika just wanted to skip a few letters. So now we’ll continue with:

J = Prepare your own snacks

So make your own food and drinks for outings and take them with you in a cooler bag. No need to buy anything expensive. Little meatballs, small salads, muffins… and pieces of fruit. It’s also much more fun to have a picnic with them than to buy something expensive at a stand somewhere.

Next up is K.

Cold showers—save energy and feel refreshed!

Walking instead of driving. 

It takes some getting used to at first, but you get used to it. 

Exercise, fresh air, and you save on gas — oh yes, and it’s better for the environment too.

Make your own jam.
It’s not always cheaper, but it tastes better.

Never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry. Otherwise, you’ll easily end up buying more than you need. 

Eat fruit—nice and chilled—it’s a great way to cool off in this heat and quench your thirst.

Best regards, Inge

Cardboard from notepads, calendars, etc. can be reused. For example, as a sole insert for crocheted figures or to stabilize the base of crocheted or knitted items (storage baskets)

Fry leftover pasta or potatoes with onions, leftover roast meat, and scrambled eggs in a pan, and serve with a salad. Lunch is ready.
Maria

My money-saving tips for the garden:
of course, set up rain barrels wherever possible and collect rainwater
use grass clippings from mowing the lawn for mulching, so the soil stays moist longer
make your own fertilizer… either from stinging nettles, i.e. make a nettle brew, or from horsetail
propagate plants yourself from cuttings… there are plenty of instructions online for that
propagate plants by digging them up and dividing them
collect your own flower seeds
start the vegetable garden from seeds and not from bought 🪴 plants 
turn sunny gardens into shade gardens, so you need less water.
clean the house with effective microorganisms, then you can also use the cleaning water for watering
Best wishes from the Bavarian Forest, Petra Perle

Thanks, Petra Perle—those are really great tips for all gardeners.

Let’s just skip the alphabet thing. This isn’t really a topic for a forum game, but more of a collection of ideas. And that’s valuable. You just have to take the tips into account.

Here’s another tip from me:
Our neighbor has large conifers that produce lots of pine cones. He always collects them and gives them to us. We let them dry over the summer and then use them to help get the fire started in the fireplace or on the grill.

Best regards, Ina

Chamomile jelly—it only costs the amount of sugar needed to set the jelly.
Chamomile is growing everywhere right now.

You can also make jelly from daisies.
I haven’t tried it yet, though.

Our chimney sweep says that the pine cones—specifically, the resin inside them—can cause chimney flues to get clogged… So it’s probably best not to use them in a tiled stove… at least that’s what our chimney sweep says.

Have you heard of bokashi buckets? They’re a great way to make your own plant fertilizer from kitchen scraps.

Food sharing. That’s what we do here in the neighborhood. Two neighbors drive around to different stores on different days—stores they’ve arranged food sharing with—and set the food up at their homes for anyone who wants it. People are notified via a WhatsApp group. You can then go there and simply take what you need.
There are fruit and vegetable days, and on other days, fresh baked goods. I think it’s really great. 

Wow, this is an amazing collection of money-saving ideas.

I do what Petra-Perle does, too. And Veronika’s tip about the bokashi bucket as well. The fertilizer that comes out at the bottom as liquid is very effective, and you only need a little bit of it. Here’s another tip on what else you can do with the bokashi liquid: it’s a brilliant drain cleaner. Just pour a splash down the drains every now and then and let it sit for a while—half an hour, for example. Then rinse thoroughly. We’ve already unclogged drains this way. It’s best to use it as a preventative measure.

Mel, your food-sharing initiative with the neighbors is just brilliant. That’s how I imagine our future—sharing what we have. Then nothing gets wasted or thrown away, and everyone has enough. Awesome!

Ina, I think your tip with the lemon is absolutely brilliant! I’m going to do that too from now on.

Fruit that’s “not quite as nice anymore”—for us, that’s often bananas or, right now, strawberries, melon, etc.—cut it into small pieces and pop it in the freezer, mixed together if you like.... Then, when you need some, put a portion of it in a blender, add milk, and blend it thoroughly. You’ll have a wonderful, healthy refreshment....  

In the morning in the bathroom, we catch the first warm water in a bucket and use that “batch” to flush the toilet. You can also use it to water plants. This saves a huge amount of water over the course of a year. It actually takes a while for really warm water to come out of the faucet, and that water usually just goes down the drain. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Saving gasoline/diesel:
A car uses the most fuel when starting up. That’s why, when shopping at multiple stores, we often park in a central location and then visit the stores one by one. Of course, this only works if you’re not buying a full carload of groceries. 

It’s easy to bake your own rolls and bread. If that’s not possible, buy a larger quantity at the bakery (preferably from the day before) and reheat it yourself every day. This saves a lot of trips and is faster. If the bakery is in town, ride your bike there instead of driving.

You’re amazing! Brilliant money-saving ideas.

I just made a greeting card myself. I’ll show it to you in a new thread.
That only costs a little time and personal effort. In our shop, greeting cards cost from 3.50 euros and up. I do think that’s very expensive. And you know what they say, “Every little bit helps.” And a
homemade greeting card like that is always something special, and simply much more personal than one bought from a store.

I also find the thing with the Bokashi bucket very interesting. And the fact that you can even use it to clean pipes
(probably because of the living bacteria in it that break down all organic matter) is just brilliant. I’ll have to look into that more thoroughly. Our organic waste always ends up
on the compost heap. The soil organisms then turn it into compost or humus over the year. We’ll need that next spring.

@Steffi, we also process overripe fruit at our place. It usually has a lot of sugar in it because it’s so ripe. So I purée it and freeze it. My ice cream maker then turns it into creamy ice cream in 2 minutes. Today, 6 overripe bananas have to go that route.

@Petra, our chimney sweep said that if the cones are properly dried out, we can use them to light our fireplace. He comes regularly to sweep anyway and would have said something if there were any residue. He’s very meticulous. We also showed him the rather small dried cones so he knows what we’re talking about.

Best, Ina

Washing dishes by hand works just as well with cold water.
Just make sure the dish soap is suitable for cold water.

Cold water works just as well for laundry, too.
It doesn’t always have to be 30° C or higher.

Saving water while showering… Or rather, using water more efficiently: I put a bucket in the shower until the water gets warm. I then use that water to flush the toilet… This works really well for us, since the shower is right next to a toilet… I do this very consistently and got €20 back from the water utility last year!

Saving water is one of those things I’m still pretty unsure about. For years, we were told that we use too little water and that it’s not good for the pipes, which could get clogged due to a lack of proper flow. And now? Does that not matter anymore? Or was it a lie all along?
We’re saving a lot of water right now because we haven’t been able to use one of the bathrooms for two weeks—there’s a burst pipe in the house, but we can’t find a plumber who’s available.... Luckily, we have two bathrooms.

A burst pipe… very unpleasant… and once again, the problem with the contractors. My son works as an electrician, and his boss asks “all around” about every 14 days who might be available on Saturdays… With so few people, they just can’t keep up with the jobs 🤷😕
We save water when we shower—we have this “attachment” on the showerhead that swirls the water, and it actually does save water. We “only” have 30 liters of hot water, so the time you can spend showering with warm water is limited anyway 😂
It’s been raining steadily here the last few days, and my two 1,000-liter water tanks are full again. If it stays dry for a while, I’ll at least be able to water the garden beds a little.
I’m always surprised—or rather, I’m pretty baffled—by all the swimming pools that are still being advertised everywhere, and I’m not talking about toddler wading pools—no, I mean those pretty big ones....
A few days ago, there was a report on the radio about a farmer from Hanover who’s now growing figs—apparently they cope better with the drought.... But the fact is, the fig tree has two types of roots: one “anchors” the plant in the soil, while the other grows deep into the ground as a taproot—up to 120 meters!!!!—until it reaches the groundwater.... So now I’m wondering—does it really matter whether farmers water from above or whether the plant draws water “uncontrollably” from the groundwater? Isn’t the result the same? Or is it? ??? 

All this government advice on saving money is really getting on my nerves by now. I don’t even listen to it anymore. Everything that was right yesterday is wrong today. I only do things that I personally think are right. Here in arid Brandenburg, for example, Tesla is using up our precious groundwater—they just keep getting new permits—and I, as a regular person, am supposed to limit my shower water?—no way, you just have to shake your head.

But still, we’re all paying the price. Our water rates have skyrocketed. That’s why I only do laundry now when the washing machine is really full. I’ll just have to wait longer for my favorite clothes, or wash them—like in the old days—by hand in the sink.

I’d love to use bathwater to flush the toilet, too, but then you’d have to keep bringing buckets of water over there. Won’t that be a hassle? I think I’ll give it a try. Maybe I’ll just use two watering cans? Whether I walk around the garden with them or leave them next to the toilet. Yes, it’s decided! I’ll give it a try. Thanks again for the nudge.

Love, Ina

Yes, dear Ina, I agree with you. Letting the warm (initial) water run into a bucket or a watering can first really saves a huge amount of water! We’ve been doing it this way for a long time. When you consider that 5–10 liters of water are used for each dish cycle, it’s definitely worth it. Alternatively, you can use it to water plants in the summer. Bathwater is another good idea. However, we rarely take baths.

There should be a solution for every household that allows graywater to be used for flushing the toilet.
The fact that drinking water is used for this is just beyond words.

For some people, the whole idea of saving money is a joke—they simply have no more potential for savings.

I see saving as a challenge and a game… when I was younger, I lived in an apartment for three years without a water connection… it’s possible… it was just a matter of organization… I learned a lot from that… now that I’m older, I want to waste as few resources as possible 🌸 

I have another idea for saving water—I just noticed it in our household. We have these attachments on our faucets—I think they’re called aerators (?). They mix water with air and let much less water through. I highly recommend them, especially in the kitchen, since otherwise way too much water flows just from a quick rinse. 

Luckily, we hardly throw away any food anymore because our chickens get it when it’s no longer edible for us but isn’t moldy yet (stale bread, old cheese [a favorite of the chickens], lettuce that’s turned brown, cucumbers that have gone soft, overripe bananas that I don’t want to use for banana bread or banana milk anymore…apple cores, brown spots on apples that the kids find gross 🫣😉…we even crush the eggshells and put them back in the feed [my father-in-law uses them as fertilizer]…)
This also saves money, since I don’t have to buy any additional “special feed” on top of the so-called layer feed as a “treat.”
Plus, it cuts down on waste disposal costs.
If you have the space: a greenhouse may cost money up front, but it saves plenty of money later on by providing fresh vegetables.
Soap in a soap pouch—we’ve already touched on this topic recently—this way, our kids can hold it easily, and it lathers up faster, so they use less of it.
Laundry: Now in the summer (and whenever possible, in the spring and fall too), we usually don’t use the dryer. Since I do at least 7 (large!) full loads of laundry every week, that really adds up.
Lighting: LEDs instead of other light bulbs. We also make an effort not to leave any lights on unnecessarily.

Well…and the “universally beloved” 😂 passing down clothes from older siblings, reusing bikes, and child seats (which is why Quentin will probably be riding in pink-and-purple child seats until around his 6th birthday…)…

Dear Nina, you’re really on top of your game when it comes to saving. But of course—you have a large household, so you see things from a different perspective. Just getting clothes for the kids in their sizes is a challenge in itself.

As the third daughter, I always have to wear my sisters’ hand-me-downs. Well, that’s just something you have to deal with as a kid. On the other hand, “well-worn bikes” aren’t the worst thing. The new dents aren’t as noticeable. You can always say they were already there.

We also have LED bulbs everywhere. These days, they actually look pretty decent.

And we have five chickens, too. That’s really handy. But it’s also a lot of work. If my husband didn’t take care of them, I wouldn’t have any. In any case, it’s great that we always have fresh eggs.

We also have a greenhouse. We’re growing lots of cucumbers in it right now. That’s why we’re having a lot of cucumber salad these days—we’re even sharing some with our elderly neighbors. As fall approaches, I’ll be canning cucumber salad again for the winter. We really enjoyed that last year. It’s always a nice side dish for a hearty lunch.

Love, Ina