I know there are books out there about ways to save money but these books cost money and imo buying such a book would defeat the object of trying to save money...

So... who has some good tried and tested ways to save money on everyday living expenses/groceries?

Best days to shop for certain things?... Good cheap home brands?...

I recently discovered rainchecks for when sale items have sold out... so you can go back and get the goods at the same sale price when they're back in stock after the sale is over.

Do everything yourself: plastering, bricklaying, electrical, plumbing, grass cutting, glazing etc etc.

Mostly illegal now and here but it saves a bundle.

Thanks for the tip, but with the exception of the grass cutting we'd probably devalue the house if we tried any of that type of handy work!!

Sell the kids.You will save that much money you wont know what to do with it.

instead of joining the gym, just run around the neighbourhood and buy some weights from BigW

Buy in bulk and only when discounts are on. I buy trays of veggies and fruit that are reduced- $2.99 for a tray of stuff that would cost $10 or more. Then I plan my meals round that, and make pickles,chutneys and jams/preserved fruits. Ditto with finding out when shops reduce their bread/meat and again filling the freezer.
I grow my own herbs too.

Cycle to work, buy everthing from abroad and buy a bottle of something everytime you come through duty free which for me at the moment is once a week. That's about all I do.

If you have a mortgage make overpayments if you can manage to. That's the best money saving advise I have.

I agree!!

Find out when the local supermarket marks down its meat/bread etc.

I know exactly when our local marks down all the meat, cause my sons mate worked there

Last week got Turkey leg roast, 2kg chicken, 1kg sausages, premium mince, and dog bones for $22.

Bread is marked down late at night, if we are going past, we buy up 6/8 loaves of the grain stuff that is really expensive usually for about $1 a loaf.

When pantry items/cleaning stuff etc is on special, I stock up, so you always have a spare and never pay full price.

Without these sort of tactics we could easily spend double what we do on food, teen boys are very very expensive to feed

If you peg your slices of ham to the washing line you can use a razor blade to slice them in half and make them twice as thin. You know when you've got it right because you can almost see through them.

Just be careful you take the right things off the line to eat............

Only ever replace your ironing cover when you absolutely have to- at the last minute.

Another useful hint is to keep your finger and toe nails clipped: the extra weight will increase your calorie requirement if you don't.

Haircuts are more problematical if you pay for them.

Thanks for that brilliant tip
I now have a backyard full of flies.