Money Saving Advice

Money Saving Tips

Energy savings in the home

At a time when fuel cost seem to be rising each month, we can save money when it comes to household bills, so let’s take a look at some simple measure we can all adopt.

Many energy-saving tips are the most obvious, for example:

• Only heat rooms that you use.
• Switch off appliances at the wall when not in use.
• Turn down heating and water thermostats.
• Draught-proof windows and doors.
• Lag hot water tanks and pipes.
• Insulate pipe work in places where pipes may freeze: lofts, under floorboards, outside water taps and so on.
• Use energy-saving light bulbs.
• A dimmer switch cuts electricity costs by up to 75% and prolongs the life of standard bulbs.
• Radiator shelves reflect more heat back into the room.
• Put special insulation sheets behind radiators to reflect the heat.
• Tumble dryers use a lot of electricity; use an airer or clothes line instead.
• Cut 10% on running costs by defrosting a freezer twice a year.
• Save up to 30% by changing from an old water boiler to a modern system e.g. an energy- efficient gas-condensing boiler.
• Use a shower; it uses a fifth of the water compared to a bath.
• Tumble-drying is very expensive; line drying is free.
• Check energy ratings on new appliances.

Cutting car fuel costs

If a car is a necessity, then there are some ways to make sure that you do all that you can to save money, for example:
• Don’t pay over the odds for fuel. Find your cheapest local petrol station using www.petrolprices.com.
• Avoid filling up on the motorway as service stations can have higher prices.
• Check tyre pressures regularly; poorly inflated tyres make the engine work harder and use more fuel.
• Keep to the car maintenance schedules: it pays in the long run.
• Keep windows and sunroof closed: there’s less ‘drag’ and less fuel is used.
• Save 30%: remove a roof rack when not in use.
• Remove any unnecessary weight that you may be carrying around.
• Drive smoothly and less aggressively; every 5 mph you drive over 65 mph represents a 7% decrease in fuel economy.
• Check emission levels, mpg and running costs when buying a car.

Saving on phone charges

We all need to keep in touch with people and we’d like to save money at the same time.
There are a number of ways to cut your bills, for example:

• Mobile phone tariffs vary greatly; check that you’re getting the best deal, and don’t sign up for long contracts as new and better packages are coming out all the time.
• Shop around before buying and make sure that you’re getting the best deal. Check out: www.moneyexpert.com.
• Save by combining your phone line and broadband and TV package - called a 'bundle' package.
• Look for cheap rates. Specialist phone providers (override providers) can offer cheap rates for calls to mobiles and international calls by dialling a prefix number.
• For international calls, check out Alpha Telecom, OneTel and 1899 for low rates. Some line providers block the use of these prefixes so confirm this before you sign up.
• Another way to save is to check sites such as www.call-checker.com before dialling your number. There’s no need to sign up, you just dial and take advantage of the cheap rate.
• Phone via the Internet. You can save by using services such as Skype for international calls to other Skype users. See http://www.skype.com/intl/en-gb/.

Reducing the shopping bill

Everyone is feeling the effect of rising food prices, especially when they check the supermarket receipt. You can cut down bills by trying some different stores and changing your buying habits, for example:

• Shop for basics at the cheaper supermarkets such as Lidl, KwikSave, Netto and Aldi. However, other supermarkets may be better value for items such as: tea and coffee, household cleaning and laundry products.
• Buy ‘own-brand’ products; they’re much cheaper than branded goods and the quality can be excellent. Check out www.supermarketownbrandguide.co.uk for comparisons of ‘own-brands’ vs. ‘branded’ products.
• Don’t buy pre-packaged products whenever possible – you’re paying for all that packaging.
• Avoid ready-made meals; they’re less healthy and far more expensive than if you made the meal yourself.
• Watch out for ‘speciality’ products such as dried herbs, spices, seeds, and nuts that can have a large mark-up when packaged in small quantities: better to buy in bulk.
• Try local markets and farm shops, where you can often buy in bulk.
• Watch out for the supermarket trick at the tills – toffees and crisps are placed there for a reason!

General Buying advice

Here are some basic principles to help you save money:

• Try to bargain or ‘haggle’. You’ll be surprised at how often you can get prices reduced on goods and services.
• If you’re buying a major item such as a car, television, fridge-freezer, furniture, video camera, and so on, then check out price comparison sites and independent organisations such as Which? www.which.co.uk that provide information on a wide range of products and services.
• Check out the end of the aisles in supermarkets for discounted goods.
•Try Factory and Discount shops that sell major labels at low prices.
• Go shopping just before the shop closes as they’ll reduce prices for foodstuffs that are due to go out-of-date.
• Try to avoid 'interest free credit' offers if you can; you’ll be paying for the loan in one way or another.
• Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry!