On another thread, there hs been some discussion about the cost of living in the UK. In the last few months I've personally noticed costs getting higher (especially that darn gas bill). Now Severn bloody Trent want loads off me too. So, I'm in economising mode.
If anyone has tips, please do share them.

To start with, I'm going to start bathing in the mornings so I can heat the water before 7am (off peak, I think). Same goes for using the washing machine.

I've drawn up a monthy budget in Excel and will try to record all outgoings, especially on the little things like coffee and muffins.

Finally, I'm trying at last to clear my credit card debt, cos that's costing me loads in interest each month too.

(curses on fat cat shareholders driivng my bloody bills up)

When I have been desperate to ecomomise the best solution has been to usea a cash only budget and set a daily or weekly limit.

At the moment - using a proper freezer is working well to minimise food wastage - also cheaper to cook larger portions and freeze.

I am also the queen of charity shopping and jumble sales.

I don't use credit cards - ever.

Aldi is far cheaper than the big 4 Supermarkets when it comes to food.

I've started bringing in my lunch from home instead of buying food at the canteen/student union shop everyday. In a month, i have saved about 100 pounds.

God its terrible! My biggest problem has been the massive hike in food prices. I live in central London, meaning that a) food was always more expensive than anywhere else in the country b) there are really only small shops (like Sainsbury's local - certianly no Aldis etc) within a couple of miles, which are a lot more expensive anyway. I'm actually frightened by the amount of money food is costing me. I'm sure everyone appreciates it when I say, I would love to be able to walk the couple of miles to the local larger supermarket, but don't have the time or the energy several times a week! Grrrr. Not good!

Aldi, Lidl, Netto. And suddenly the weekly food bill is less than £28. If I have to go to TESCO & Co once in a while, I make sure I only buy from the bottom shelves, that's where the cheaper, less easy-to-reach articles are. For example, TESCO brand toothpaste for 17p, TESCO brand shampoo (1litre) for 19p instead of £2.29 for the brand names.

Oh, and I stopped buying water from the shops. The tap water where I live doesn't taste very nice but after a while I got used to it. Sometimes I flavour with various tea bags, so it tastes better.

For those unsure where there nearest one is...

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/store_locator.htm

You really will save a few quid. Sounds like I have shares in them doesn't it .

Thanks everyone. I've set myself 25 quid a week for food (inclusive of coffees at uni, etc). I've been buying a lot of tinned chickpeas, and dried lentils. Home-made Indian food seems to be quite economical; I've got some recipes from colleagues for daals and so on.

I tey to get fruit and vegetables at the market, where it's cheaper, but they don't seem to last as long as supermarket vegetables.

Dahl and rice is one of my trusty stand-bys. You can chuck in a tin of spinach if you want to up the green veg content.

During my 20s half my food intake came in the form of half a tin of tomatoes on toast with chilli sauce. I still have it occaisionally.

Keep an eye out for the reduced items at the end of the day. I got some raspberries for 10p and also some fried potato things for 10p.If you have a freezer then it doesn't matter about use by dates as long as you freeze stuff on that day and eat the same day you defrost.

I really like tomato puree on toast, with a few olives or just a green salad. It's really cheap (less than 30p in Asda).

Spinach and sweetcorn is nice, cooked with fried onions and mustard seeds.

Do you have a garden? Only I manage to grow a few veg myself. It's a pretty relaxing pursuit too.