Great advice so far - can't wait to read more excellent ideas! #inspired

I put all the kids pocket money in jars on hooks so they could see the money accumulating! Drove them mental (because it was just out of reach)! But a great way to get them to save.

Back in the day when I needed to save money, it was 10% of the pay cheque into a savings account, the rest into a chequing account, and everything paid for in cash or by cheque. If I used a credit card, it was only for something that I had enough cash to cover. Things got a bit tight towards the end of the month, sometimes, so I just cut back on expenditure until the next pay cheque. Brown bagged it for lunch, walked to work, skipped the fancy shops and restaurants, etc. Never touched the savings account until I took it all out and put a whacking great deposit on my first home.

And then I kept to the same principle, 10% to the savings account, live off what's left. If the money is out of sight, so to speak, it's out of mind, and you live on what you have left.

Nowadays, I don't need to save (house and cars paid off, all bills paid monthly, comfortable cushion in the bank) but I make sure every bill is paid at the end of every month so I'm not sliding slowly into debt or paying interest.

I used to get paid monthly so every month I would divide the pay by 4.5 to get my weekly budget.

This meant that every 6 months I had saved one weeks budget.

Don't have credit cards, only a problem occasionally. Do laybys instead. Stick to themes in my homewares purchasing, cuts the collecting impulse. Don't turn up my nose at second hand. Know how to repair alot of things. Know how to make and grow things. Use common sense. Shop around, ask for multi buy discounts. Don't care what the Joneses think, be patient, save up.

Oh, I forgot one important thing. YOUTUBE! I saved the cost of a plumber ($100+ call out fee plus $80/hr - 1hr minimum) when our bathroom drain got blocked - after watching Youtube, I went down to the hardware store, purchasred a $25 drainsnake and fixed it myself. I've also planned out our drip irrigation set up for our planter boxes as well as learnt all sorts of gardening hacks that have saved us money and learnt how to do Christmas decorating without spending a fortune.

I agree with many of the suggestions from georgi02 and have used Kerrie Langloy 7's idea. Here are a few more ideas that we live by:

1. Get rid of the credit card. We have a debit card - cannot spend what you don't have.

2. If you can't pay cash for it, then you don't really need it (except for a house and car).

3. Work out a menu for the week and then write up a weekly shopping list. This way you have less waste.

4. Never go shopping when you are hungry.

5. If you don't get the supermarket pamphlets in your letterbox - go on line for the specials.

5. Growing your own herbs is great but they are not all available all year round so you can buy tubes of herbs that you can keep in the fridge or freezer.

6. Yes, you should have an emergency fund. But don't leave it in the bank - hide it away at home. Why? If the power goes down, ATMs don't work or are empty and/or banks closed - you are in trouble.

7. The old adage about looking after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves is still true today. All that loose coin in your pocket at the end of the day adds up to a healthy amount if you put it in jars, money banks, etc.

Karen, do you know a car hire company that doesn't require credit cards? We don't use cc s either.

Chookchook - I dont think there's a car rental company around that won't require a credit card of some sort but I think most will accept a Visa or Mastercard debit card provided it has enough money preloaded.

If you tend to splurge when supermarket shopping, its actually better to have home delivery rather than go into the store. By doing this although there is a delivery cost, you never get tempted to buy more than you'd planned to, and therefore stick to your budget.

Meeting friends for a meal and a chat, choose breakfast rather than lunch as breakfasts tend to be cheaper and you still have a great time out.

Thank you, guys, for sharing practical and helpful ideas. I've been on a tight budget for several years and get in a twist when there's an emergency (vet bills, car repair) and just have to lie low. I don't use a credit card but a debit card in the safe knowledge that what I've bought I've already paid for. I've found a good quality op shop where the local community disposes of its clothes after wearing them only a few times! I also recycle clothes I can't wear any more (boo!) and recreate for the new me. I've promised myself this year to avoid supermarkets at all costs and buy local and organic only when I need food and not a "saving time" mission which does not save money. Organic is not cheap so I'm going to try to grow my as but for health reasons I need to keep away from chemicals of all sorts so I'm prepared to buy less and less often and eat quality food. I go to pottery classes and make what I need at home instead of paying out at diy stores. I hope to sell some of my pottery this year to pay for the pottery classes!

Growing your own herbs is a good one. When we moved into our new house in July, I planted two small rosemary plants in the garden and basil, thyme, dill, chives and parsley in pots scattered around the deck. Total cost, about $30 for the plants. Haven't had to buy any supermarket herbs in months. And rosemary is an attractive plant as well.

I like to cook to the amount of serves I need to avoid waste & over eating. If there are left overs, cool, label & freeze. A cheap & healthy alternative to take away food!

If I have random ingredients in the fridge that need to be used, I enter them in google and find a recipe.