You’ll have to run like a cheetah

9:45am Monday 4th August 2008

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By Helen Mead »

BEAT the credit crunch? No problem. I reckon I’ve got it beaten.

All it takes is a little tweaking, introducing a few subtle changes to your lifestyle.

You’ll notice the difference in no time – I’m well on my way to putting enough by to pay outright for fish and chips on our annual holiday in Whitby.

Normally, I’d be looking at a short-term loan with massive interest.

A little thought, that’s all you need.

It would be mean to keep my life-changing, credit-crunching, tips to myself, so here they are, along with the downside, because in my life, every cloud has a black lining.

* Emptying the fridge before shopping One of my worst, money-wasting crimes is to only use whatever is visible at the front of the fridge.

I’m not as bad as my sister, whose giant fridge looks like the deli at Harrods, yet half is never seen and sits there until it rots, now I’m insisting the very last, limp lettuce leaf is eaten before I go back to Tesco.

Downside: If the children have friends round for tea, I sometimes forget the fridge rule. One even asked: “Is your fridge new?” as she stared at the empty shelves.

* Late-night supermarket shop I have discovered that some supermarkets drastically reduce items like bread and yoghurt at certain times. Our local store, for instance, often sells bread at 10p per loaf at around 9pm on a Saturday. My car looks like a branch of Greggs as I drive home, squashed in among the loaves.

Downside: If you’re not near the bread counter when the announcement is made you have to run like a cheetah or you’ll be left with only a sad-looking croissant. You also need power to your elbow – people turn vicious over a cut price seeded Warburtons.

* Cutting down on baths Unlike when I was a child – when, as I recall, all children hated bath night – my daughters like to have a long soak every night. They used to share a bath, then they went solo but used the same water. Now they want their own baths. I can understand why, but I’ve restricted this to three nights a week – same as me (my husband has a quick daily shower).

Downside: They try to get as grubby and sweaty as possible every night – but I stand firm. I’ve also insisted everyone uses cold water for hand washing, although my husband reacted as if I’d asked him to use next door’s pond.

* Cooking up leftovers I love the sense of achievement in serving up a meal made from scraps languishing in the vegetable rack or in the bottom of the fridge.

Downside: Often it looks like pig swill and I have to starve the children for five days beforehand or they won’t touch it.

* Taking the train to work I’m sure the major oil companies have noticed my absence from the filling stations. Not having to fork out for petrol so regularly is wonderful, and it is more relaxing on the train.

Downside: It is still ludicrously expensive – I could fly to Alicante for less than a return journey to work. In fact I probably spend more, so I really should delete this – but it helps lower the carbon footprint.