With the colder weather fully upon us all, we have come up with some great money-saving winter warming tips.

With the colder weather fully upon us all, Work’n’Care has searched the savings vault at www.simplesavings.com for some of their members’ best money-saving winter warming tips.

• Thermal layers transform summer wardrobe to winter

I recently created an entire winter wardrobe for the price of four thermal tops and an all-purpose coat - all purchased from Target on sale. I moved from NT to NSW but did not have any winter clothes (they're not needed in NT) and could not afford to buy them. Then I noticed that the season's fashion was all about layering, so I bought the thermal tops which I wore under all my summer clothes and voila, I had an entire winter wardrobe! I cannot calculate the exact saving, but it would be at least several hundred dollars.

• Cut down your heating bill

Our electricity bill after winter used to be quite high ($268 for two people) because the heater was used most days in winter.

However, last year my husband and I reduced our winter bill by $100 with three simple steps:

1. Layering our clothing. Air heats up between layers of clothing thus keeping you warm.
2. Having a spare blanket near the sofa to snuggle under (quite romantic).
3. Reducing heater usage. We only used it when we had guests over.

• Two winter doonas for the price of one

I saved as much as $70 on top quality winter bedding for my kids! I just waited for the specials to come around at the shops, I bought a king sized duck down doona. I cut this in half to make two singles and now both my sons have gorgeous warm doonas!

• Do you really need it? Ask before you buy.

I am spending less simply by asking myself ‘I didn't need this yesterday, so do I really need it today?’ For example, there are lots of tempting winter clothes in the shops at the moment but I got through last winter properly clothed with the ones I already have, so do I really need new ones? When I see that lovely ornament, picture, dinner-set, quilt cover etc, I ask ‘will it really change my life for the better?’ I only have to look around the house and add up in my head what all my impulse buys have cost me to realise they were not necessary!

• Cheap winter feed for ponies

It costs just $0.54 per day to feed our two ponies well in the winter months. Winter is a really hard time for animals as they tend to lose weight. My girls both have ponies and the cost of horse food is astronomical, averaging anything from $20 - $60 per bag.

Luckily a suggestion was given to me to purchase a 35kg bag of barley for $19 and boil about 500g for the horses each day. This way, at night the ponies have the bonus of a warm feed along with their chaff and I feel great because it hasn't cost the earth and the ponies are able to maintain their weight during the cold weather!

• Warm kitchen in winter with oven

If your kitchen is the main living area of your house, to warm it on cold winter nights, bake a main meal, scones or bread at night. But do NOT under any circumstances, turn on your oven just to warm your house as not only would this be inefficient, but it could well be dangerous. For example, if it were a gas oven, you could poison the air with carbon monoxide which could be lethal.

In summer, if your kitchen is too warm, have a barbecue outside so that you don't have to further heat up your house. Just put a table outside and eat dinner in your back yard.

• Minimise rooms to keep warm and save

Our efforts to reduce our winter power bills have resulted in a huge increase in cosy, quality times for our family! Our old, large, four bedroom home has a very old, ineffective and expensive ducted electric heating system. We needed to reduce our winter electricity bills which started off with $1,300 for our first winter in the house - with a new baby! So we decided to minimise the amount of rooms we needed to keep warm. We 'purchased' a free TV using FlyBuys for the master bedroom. Once the kids are in bed and the chores are done for the evening, the heater is turned off, and my husband and I spend our TV watching time in bed, warm as toast with the electric blanket and the doona. We started this last winter and have continued into this winter. In comparing the peak winter period of June to August, last year we saved $332, reducing our bill from $947 to $615. The previous quarter an additional $102 was saved. These bills also include maintaining an oil bar heater in the baby's room overnight.

This might not suit everyone's evening habits, however, you could choose to do it a few nights a week and still benefit. We have found it quite a nice way to spend some quiet time together (as once you are in bed you don't really want to go out into the cold house) and now we can save for a more effective and cheaper heater.

• Hunt down the source of draughts

Cold air sneaking in under your doors can dramatically add to your cost of heating, so make draught stoppers out of an old rolled up towel and plug those gaps. However, if you use un-flued gas heating, you MUST provide adequate fresh air, so you will need to leave a window a little ajar.

• Cover your windows

Big glass windows act like cold radiators on a cold night. They must be kept insulated with curtains if you want to retain the heat. If you can’t afford heavy curtains, get some second-hand ones from an op shop, or use old blankets. Not very pretty – but it will save you money!

• Get a sleeping bag for the kids

Old sleeping bags – purchased from an op shop or made from heavy flannelette material, help to keep the kids warm at night. We made simple rectangular sleeping bags with loose elastic in the top and the kids love them. Make them at least as long as the bed – short ones just don’t work as you can’t snuggle down into them.

• Wear a woollen beanie to bed

Not very glam but hey – if you have cold room, the most body heat will be lost from your head – so cover it up!

• Don’t forget your hottie

If you haven’t got a human heater to cuddle up with, try an old-fashioned hot water bottle or even two. They are still the cheapest and most sustainable way to get your toes warm in bed at night.