Penny Pinching

This year is set to be one expensive what-name, so I need to find some ways to pinch some pennies and not spend! This is definitely hard for a self admitted shopaholic, but if I want that lovely apartment with the boy I need to get serious - goodbye shopping! So here are my top tips and scrimping those coins!

Sell sell sell
Not necessarily through eBay or Amazon, although this is a good idea I found it a bit of a nightmare to have to send and to be honest, Amazon give you hardly anything for postage so you do loose out on a bit of money there. I've not tried eBay so I can't comment, but like I said, going to the post office to send things can be a hassle... So! I went and had a visit with musicmagpie.com and although they don't give you as much as you might get on the other two, you still get quite a bit. I sold them 45 items (a mix of DVD's, CD's and DS games) and made over £60, all I had to do was type them in, stick them in a box and hand it over the free courier on my selected date. Easy peasy and hello £60!

Girls Night Out? No thanks, I'd rather stay in...
I have so much wine left over from Christmas - I think my relatives think I'm an alcoholic, so instead of heading out to a bar where I'd have to shell out a ridiculous amount for wine and then a taxi home, I am instead choosing to invite the girls round for wine, a little dinner cooked by me, and catching up. Maybe even a Disney film or two. So it's not a club and you don't get all dressed up, but you do still get your girls night and you can definitely still take drunken pictures!

Shop your stash
I don't know about you, but since clearing out my room/bathroom I have found so much I didn't know I had... Like an Estee Lauder lipstick that is the perfect mix of nude and pink and cleansers I used for a month to review and then forgot about... Who needs to shop? Just raid your own supplies and I bet you find a hell of a lot of stuff you forgot you had that is still usable.

Clothes swap
Not for always, but if you do end up going on a night out and you feel like you need a new dress, just pop round your girlfriends house and ask to borrow or swap for the night. Or if you want to look nice for any occassion and you've seen something of your friends, ask nicely to borrow. The chances are if they trust you, and like you, they'd be happy to lend. Just don't destroy it or you'll never be allowed again!

Competition crazy
I know I know, you get the whole "but I never win anything" frame of mind. I used to have this, then I won tickets to London Fashion Weekend, Babyliss hair rollers and numerous other products. Twitter competitions are easy peasy to enter - you usually just need to follow and retweet, and don't be afraid of blog comps either.
Not only that, but why not enter This Mornings comps - they have huge prizes and if you enter online it doesn't cost you a penny - no harm in entering and you never know, you might win!

A free gym
Gym's are expensive and pricey, and I don't know about you but I don't have the money every month to spend out on the member fees and the petrol to get there and back. Plus, I just never go! So I've decided there are a couple of things I can do this year to get fit without the pricetag including running (no cost required), playing on the Wii Fit which we already have so not cost... All of which I can do without paying a penny. Score!

What are you penny saving tips for this year?