Live off your neighbours!

Emma Roberts reveals how being friends with your neighbours could help your funds go further.

Everybody needs good neighbours. Oh, if life was really like sunny Ramsay Street then we’d all happily get along with the strangers that dwell in the close proximity to our homes.

But the fact is, us Brits rarely even know the names of our neighbours, never mind throwing some shrimps on the BBQ with them.

Well, with David Cameron encouraging us to all become one, big happy community, it might be time that you take over some muffins to the people next door and get to know them.

After all, being pals with your neighbours could end up saving you money.

Make your food go further

As you probably know, here at lovemoney we strongly encourage people to grow their own fruit and vegetables in their gardens. So if you haven’t already, check out this article on gardening bargains.

If your neighbours are happy to jump on the green-fingered garden wagon, then you could all grow your own produce and swap with each other.

Growing your own produce is cheap and easy and you could even split the cost of renting out an allotment patch with your neighbour so you can have more space to grow more. If you’re friendly with more of your neighbours, then you could all chip in to rent a bigger allotment and share the work and produce.

If the smell of freshly baked cakes often wafts through your window from a neighbour’s house, why not suggest that you pay a little money for some. If your neighbour is a keen baker, they’ll be more than happy to make you some baked goods if you give them some cash.

It’ll be cheaper than the supermarket and you could always offer to swap something for their sweet treats.

In return, if you have some time on your hands you could bake some bread, make fresh juice or even brew your own beer and sell or swap your produce with your neighbours.

Save on entertainment

Being mates with your neighbours can also save you a lot of money in other areas. If you get on well with the folks next door, then you could consider sharing a wireless internet connection.

As long as you split the bill equally and both know the password, you can all enjoy broadband for a cheaper price.

You can also save some cash by swapping items instead of buying them. Try swapping DVDs, games, books and even clothes with your neighbours.

This is a great way of saving money when it comes to kids, as you could take it in turns to swap computer games and toys instead all buying all of them.

On the subject of kids, if you completely trust your neighbour (and this is totally your decision) then you could save a bundle on child care if you let your neighbours babysit.

You could take it in turns to look after each other’s kids, and if you’re animal lovers, you could also look after each other’s pets. If your neighbour has a dog and is out during the day and you’re at home, you could offer to take it for walks for a little cash.

There are also lots of fun ways that you and your neighbours could save money. If only one of you has Sky or Cable TV, why not throw a film night where you all chip in money to rent a movie off the box office.

On the same note, one of you could join up to a film rental site, such as lovefilm and you could all split the costs and share the DVDs between you.

Many of us enjoy being pampered with luxurious beauty treatments but can’t always afford to splash out on spa visits.

You could arrange a regular pamper party night with your neighbours, where you all bring your own products and indulge in beauty treatments. This is a fun and cost effective way of relaxing in beauty bliss whilst catching up with the latest gossip.

Practical Pals

If you all have children and they go to the same school, you should consider taking it in turns for the school runs. This will save you a lot of cash in petrol costs and help the environment.

Similarly, if you and any of your neighbours work in the same area, you could always share a car pool and split the cost of the petrol.

Related blog post

• Rachel Wait writes:

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If you’ve heard of the website, Swapaskill, then you’ll know that swapping a skill with someone is a great way of saving money.

For instance, if one of your neighbours is a hairdresser, offer to swap something for a haircut.

You could also offer to help out with a neighbour’s gardening, ironing or cleaning to earn a little extra money.

So the bottom line is, there are loads of ways to save cash through your neighbours and I’ve only just managed to scratch the surface.

All you have to do is use your imagination and if any lovemoney readers have any other ideas on how to save money through their neighbours, we’d love to hear them. Please share your thoughts using the comments box below!

More: Save money by going green | Cut the cost of your commute today|