At work Invest in a flask to stop you having to call at coffee shops where a cup of coffee could end up costing you around £2 a cup! Get organised and make your own packed lunches for work, this will save you pounds against going out every day to buy your lunch.

Do you throw away food? Its a scandal when there are people starving in the world. Try not to buy too much in the first place and plan ahead.

Saving on groceries Consider shopping at night if you can as supermarkets often reduce the price of food such as ready meals, bread, milk or cakes at the end of the day to ensure they sell it. When doing your weekly shop, consider your chosen supermarkets "economy range" as often the products are the same just in different packaging and are very much cheaper. Check sell by dates on the food you buy and check if it is freezable. Otherwise you risk buying too much food which cannot be eaten before it is out of date. Try to avoid ready meals as overall they will cost you more, if you are not a whizz in the kitchen then look up some easy recipes online and start simple. You will find that it won't take too much time and will even save you money. Buy British-grown foods in season. As well as being cheaper, you are helping local farmers and protecting the environment.

Eating out Plan your eating out and takeaway meals better. We all like to get dressed up and go out for a good meal or enjoy the lazy option of ordering in, but be careful that you have budgeted for these little treats so that the costs don't get out of hand. Look for restaurants which have reasonably priced drinks, pub/restaurants can be good for this as they tend to have bar prices rather than restaurant prices, or look for restaurants which allow you to take your own alcohol.

Instead of getting together with friends for meals out set yourselves a rota where some weeks you do go out but others you take it in turns to have dinner parties at one another's houses. That way not just one couple has all the work and cleaning to do and you could even set themes which would liven the party up and set you all in good spirits!