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We've all been counting the pennies a bit more lately and the credit crunch seems like it's here to stay, so Louisa and her team have put their heads together and come up with their best money saving tips to help the people of Oxfordshire tighten their belts - a penny saved is a penny earned!

If you know a great way to save money that you want to share, then email us your idea and you can even send us a picture!

• A Note(pad)-worthy tip! - If you make a mistake when you're doing some printing, save the bits of paper, cut them into quarters, staple them together with the blank sides all facing the same way and you have a little notepad that costs you nothing!

• "Stocks" and shares - After roasting a chicken, keep the bones and boil them up to make stock for soup or a stew. You can freeze it in an ice-cube tray and just take it out a bit at a time.

• Don't throw money away! - Why spend money on bin bags!? use plastic carrier bags for rubbish instead.

• Scrub up well - If you've got just one plate to wash up by hand, soap up the cutlery, put it in an old plastic container (ice cream or yoghurt tub) and when rinsing the china, let the water that comes out of the tap wash the plate first and then run over the cutlery.

• Cheap chic - Keep old jam jars, soak the labels off and use them as tea-light holders for dinner parties and in the garden in the summer.

• Save pennies and pounds! - Don't waste money on expensive, unhealthy ready-meals. Just make an extra portion of your meal and freeze it for when you're too tired to cook - it saves on gas too!

• Shiney happy windows - Vinegar is an excellent window cleaner. Just wipe it on with some kitchen towel and buff it dry with some newspaper - your windows will be the shiniest they've ever been!