Super scrimping ideas

[monkey boy]

I thought I would start this thread for people like myself that like to scrimp and save money on everything.
So what ideas do you use to save money in the world of bushcraft or in general life?

Iv started making my own leather stamping tool from large nails

 

[mountainm]

Unsubcribing from this forum would save me a fortune.

 

[Kepis]

Well your MB Stove is a winner for a start, im the same though, i make and mend as much as i can these days, mainly because it enjoy it, not because i have to, i suppose my biggest "bushie" money saver recently, was the under quilt i made, the duck down filling came from an old duvet and the rip stop was less than a tenner and i still have a ton of rip stop left for other projects, just don't know what at the moment.

 

[wicca]

I think part of the solution is overcoming a natural desire to own 'nice' things and to close your mind to quite proper reasoning..Like.. "and why not?.. I can afford it "

My pension goes a lot further if, when I see a shiney bit of kit I ask myself.."Will that really do the job any better than my old..mess tin..stove..jacket?" If the answer is yes but not to the tune of an extra £20 £30 etc: Then I resist..

The result is I've got a load of old, slightly tatty and well used kit...that works really well... and I 'aint skint...

 

[dwardo]

I make my own bows from wood

 

[DaveWL]

Not bushy - and sounds like an odd one - but even if working in an office carry a full water bottle at all times.

Since I started (to try to stay better hydrated) it's meant I've not been tempted to nip out from work for a ridiculously expensive tea or coffee. Means I don't feel as hungry either so don't go off to buy any snacky stuff before or after my packed lunch

Dave's Bank Account 1
Extra Costa / Tesco Profits 0

 

[Elen Sentier]

Good thread . I make my own jams and preserves from hedgerow fruits and stuff I grow myself. Tastes grand and saves me a quid or so a pot. I also make my own woolen gear from fleeces often given to me. I cost to get the original gear to prepare and spin the wool but now it's saving me lots of money and making me really good gear.

I'm hoping I can learn to make more of my own bushie stuff with help from you lot here.

 

[Dreadhead]

do all my own leatherwork and make my girlfriend gifts for birthdays and xmas etc saves a fortune! Really want to get into knife making and beer brewing but simply dont have the space on the boat so have simply stopped drinking beer to save some pennies

 

[British Red]

1) Make your own booze. Its mind blowingly cheaper than buying it - most of what you spend on Beer or Wine is tax. Buy the ingredients - even in kit form - and you save 75% of the price. Get a bit cleverer and you save 95%. I just made 30 bottles or really very nice "port" for about £2.

2) Make your own toiletries and soaps. You can make stuff just as nice as Lush or Body shop for pennies

3) Make you own bread. Price it up. Flour, yeast etc. is way cheaper than shop bought bread....madly so. Plus bread smells great

.....plenty more where that came from if it helps

 

[mountainm]

1) Make your own booze. Its mind blowingly cheaper than buying it - most of what you spend on Beer or Wine is tax. Buy the ingredients - even in kit form - and you save 75% of the price. Get a bit cleverer and you save 95%. I just made 30 bottles or really very nice "port" for about £2.

2) Make your own toiletries and soaps. You can make stuff just as nice as Lush or Body shop for pennies

3) Make you own bread. Price it up. Flour, yeast etc. is way cheaper than shop bought bread....madly so. Plus bread smells great

.....plenty more where that came from if it helps

But as time==money. Would be interested to know how many man hours these things take you. Overall is there a saving if you costed your time, at say minimum wage?

 

[Dougster]

Make our own bread, make leather stuff, shoot own meat, keep chickens and fix what I can, just repaired some neoprene lined wellies with leather and silicone, better than new. My mum has just knitted me some great fingerless gloves today too.

I agree with the waterbootle idea - makes a huge difference and makes you feel a ton better at the end of the day too.

 

[British Red]

But as time==money. Would be interested to know how many man hours these things take you. Overall is there a saving if you costed your time, at say minimum wage?

Making thirty bottles of port ...about three hours

Making a batch of soap...six months worth....two hours

Making bread with a bread maker ...two minutes.

I don't really see a lot of this as "instead of work". I see it as "preferable and more enjoyable than the idiot box"

 

[monkey boy]

There is some great stuff on here guys, it inspiring really, I've leant that I enjoy the stuff I make or repair much better than the stuff I buy. I've started making leather bit, carving, knife making and anything els I can find. Here something I would like to Share with you all and I hope it has some meaning.
(If you can creat something from nothing, that skill and knowledge is more valuable than anything you can buy)
An example of this is if you can make a meal for free (foraging)it's probably more healthier than the meal you bought at KFC.

Thank you for your post everyone I hope to see more on here

 

[salan]

We make our own jams, marmalades, pickles,chutneys etc. Bread also. Suzanna turns collars and cuffs on shirts so that I can get a lot more usage out of a shirt.(an old friend of ours showed her and it's so simple). We dehydrate a lot so it can be stored without using electricity. We try to use the premis of reuse rather then recycle, recycle rather then replace.
Alan
Forgot to add, with the jams, marmalades, for example we look on the reduced shelf at the super market and buy fruit there for jams etc. As an example I made six jars of grapefruit marmalade with four grapefruits that were reduced to 37p for four. By the time you add in the sugar etc, it works out at 37p per one pound jar.
Alan

 

[British Red]

There is another aspect to living cheaply - never buy things when you need them. Lets ignore the growing and making aspect - and look to the fact that most people have to buy. Don't buy coffee when you need coffe - or washing up liquid when you need that. Buy it when its cheap - and buy a lot. We buy coffee six months worth at a time. There are often offers, so we buy it when its "buy one get one free" - and we buy a couple of trays. That lasts six months. When we get low, we look for another offer. Dishwasher liquid - we bought 5 x 20 litre drums - probably two years worth - but it was less than a quarter of the price per litre of a single supermarket bottle. It does take some storage space (but most of us have cupboards under the stairs etc. - even a small spare bedroom) - but it does save a heck of a lot of cash. This is the UK version of "couponing" as practiced in the US - don't be tempted by offers to buy things you don't normally use - but really stock up when things that are not perishable are half price or better. If you can find the space, it saves a heck of a lot of money. Start small, re-invest the savings. Use catering firms, bulk suppliers etc. I buy all my herbs and spices from catering and wholesale outlets. I can get between 10 and 50 times as much spices than supermarket packets for the same price. Buy whole spices - not ground - and grind as needed - it stays fresher that way.

This is no different than any other investment - any stock trader will tell you to buy and sell shares when the conditions are right - not when you need the money. So shop when the conditions are right - not when you need the product. Shopping for consumables is one of the major expenses in a household - so use some savvy

 

[BeerHunter]

+1 for making your own booze. I've been in to home wine making for about 3 years now, and I can't see myself ever giving it up.

A bottle of very nice white can be made for about 30 pence. As for the time it takes - neglibible, compared to the end result, and the cost saving. The hardest thing I found, when starting out, was leaving it alone.

 

[g4ghb]

Using the heat from our wood burner to cook meals - the burner is working twice as hard for its keep and is free to feed in any case, more than you can say for the cooker/ electricity meter.

 

[AndyJDickson]

+1 for making your own booze. I've been in to home wine making for about 3 years now, and I can't see myself ever giving it up

like the wine idea beerhunter - any recipes?

Also just to weigh in from my pov I usually plan meals and menus of a week/fortnight period which means on a shop I only buy what is needed. Also I like to buy from farm shops/straight from the supplier which (as said above) means the food will stay fresher for longer cause its not waiting on being stock on shelves. I also take care about storing foods ie cooking before it goes bad and freezing it cooked, Store in a larder/ cool room instead of at room temp using better advice on used by dates etc and finally cutting down on waste ie making stock from animal bones/fat, using brocoli stalks in stirfrys etc etc. I keep a notebook if these tips to remind me to waste as little as I can

 

[salan]

Using the heat from our wood burner to cook meals - the burner is working twice as hard for its keep and is free to feed in any case, more than you can say for the cooker/ electricity meter.

When we got a multi fuel stove put in the lounge, a requirement of the installation was that I could boil a kettle on it! Everyone thought I was mad, but it is just so relaxing to have a kettle on the top just gently boiling away. It also mean we can cook on it if need be.
Alan

 

[BeerHunter]

like the wine idea beerhunter - any recipes?

What's the deal on posting links to other sites, on BCUK? Providing I'm not breaching any rules, I can provide a link to a basic winemaking tutorial on a homebrew website.

The home winemakers' bible is "First Steps In Winemaking", by CJJ Berry. However, having been written a few years ago, the amount of sugar Mr Berry suggests needs reducing (as the refining process seems to have improved).

As for recipes - the world is your oyster. A personal fave of mine is made from cartons of strawberry and banana smoothie from the supermarket (bought when on special offer, naturally!). During the warmer months, we're out foraging. Plums, damsons, elderberries, they've all been used. I've found what looks to be a great source for rosehips, so I shall be giving that a go later this year.