Cash-saving tips that will make you cringe

SOME OF THE MOST RIDICULOUS WAYS TO LOOK AFTER THE PENNIES

BEING someone who makes a living by writing about saving money, I come across quite a lot of sites and publications who do very similar things.

To be fair there are some fantastic sites out there with a host of useful information about making the most of your money.

Equally, there is some utter rubbish too.

Let me share some of the most cringeworthy money-saving tips I have found over the years.

I don’t want to name and shame the sites as I know some of them personally but, really guys, some of these are just ridiculous. 1. Make lipstick out of crayons. I don’t use the stuff myself but this just has to be the dumbest thing I have seen in a while – and I just watched Donald Trump make a speech. 2. Leave Tupperware at work to take any free company meals home with you. Just no. If you have a job where meals are provided as part of the job, then you don’t need to stoop so low. If there is leftover food a better thing to do would be to donate it to a homeless charity instead. 3. Get a gym membership so you never have to shower at home. This tip stinks, both in practical and money-saving terms – it simply isn’t logical at all. 4. Separate your toilet roll into its two separate parts to make it last twice as long. The consequences of this one for anyone who tries it are well deserved and can only result in more paper being used. 5. If you want to buy a fancy new TV, get a payday loan. This is the worst tip I have seen in my professional life. The author needs a swift kick up the arse. 6. If it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down. Even the narrative of this one makes me green around the gills. Flush every time and avoid having time off work with dysentery. 7. Use vouchers and discounts on dates…and never marry, as all of your dates will run a mile when they see how cheap you are. You’ll save a fortune on rings and the wedding. 8. Return all gifts you are given and find them cheaper online or in sales. You would have to be a special kind of person to do this. 9. Re-use paper towels. I know some one who actually does this. He hangs them out to dry once he has used them. 10. Stop using taps and collect your own drinking water. Why not shack up in the woods with a pack of wild dogs, too – get a grip.