10 ways go out more while spending less money in 2012

 Family Money Saving, Holiday Savings, Money Saving  No Responses »
Feb 212012
 
Spending quality time with your family and friends over the Christmas holidays may have reignited a passion in you for the company of others. This could be the year to explore some new passions in your life, get out the house and spend more time in the company of people that you love. Why not consider a few new hobbies? In the UK we are spoilt for choice for exciting places to visit, art and history to enjoy and delicious food to indulge in. If you’re willing to do a little research, you will find a wealth of cut price options available to you. You don’t need to break the bank to have a good time. Here are ten options that offer great times, adventure or simply entertainment that should suit almost everybody’s budget.

 

photo credit - http://www.flickr.com/photos/revstan/4170152250/

England’s picturesque towns and cities boast world-famous parks and public spaces that are available to anyone. Take a walk through your city and discover it afresh on a cold winters afternoon.
Take in some culture
Most of our great cities offer great galleries. And often these are free, so you can get your cultural fix and have something to discuss with your companions.
Volunteer your time
There is a wide range of volunteering opportunities in the UK allowing you to learn new skills whilst helping those most in need. This could be the year to get stuck in and make a difference.
Start saving those Tesco Club-card points
Great deals on reduced admissions to attractions such as Alton Towers Thorpe Park and the London Zoo can be grabbed via the Tesco’s deals brochure.
Enjoy cinema at off-peak times
Cine world currently offers one pound tickets for selected Saturday morning viewings for both parents and children giving access to Hollywood at a bargain price.
Get your shopping done online
A new internet innovation is the use of shopping vouchers to cut costs on a wide range of goods and services. A great way to treat yourself without breaking the bank.
Free swimming lessons
During school holidays many local leisure centres offer free swimming for under 16′s.
Travel by train
British rail’s ‘four for two’ offer can give stunning savings on rail journeys. If travelling to the capital you ticket can also grab you some great two-for-one deals at attractions. These include and Madame Tussauds and the London Sea Life Aquarium.
Fine dining on the cheap
Restaurant vouchers are a great way to feed yourself in style at a fraction of the typical cost.
Stay away on a budget
Hotels often offer cut priced accommodation for those who are quick enough on the draw. Bag yourself a bargain £19 Travelodge room by signing up their mailing list and awaiting the next offer.
Our country offers a multitude of experiences with which to reinvigorate the life and gain fresh perspectives. Whether you’re looking for a fresh set of challenges for your life, want to contribute to society, are interested in learning new skills 2012 is yours to revamp, re-jig and revitalise your lifestyle.
 Posted by admin at 11:38 am  Tagged with: ,

4 Key Financial Dates not to Forget in 2012

 Family Money Saving  No Responses »
Jan 082012
 

4 Key Financial Dates not to Forget in 2012

If you are sitting down with your ipad, diary, phone or calendar make sure you include these 4 key financial dates for 2012 as there are a few financial changes taking place this year.

1. January Tax Deadline

If you are self employed, or have income coming in from more that one source then you need to complete a tax return online by the 31st of January. It is important to note that even if you don’t owe any tax – but need to complete a tax return you will be fined £100 for not completing it in time. The deadline for completing by paper was back in October so you need to complete it online at the HMRC website.

2. End of Stamp Duty Holiday for First Time Home Buyers

If you are buying your first house you have until late March if you want to avoid paying Stamp Duty Tax.

So if you are looking to make a saving then you need to start looking now. However one of the biggest problems first time buyers face is not finding something in time, it is having a large enough deposit to secure a competitively priced mortgage.

The government has announced that they will be launching a government sponsored 95% mortgage on new build properties. The date is not finalised as yet, but suggested to be 2012.

3. Protecting Your Lifetime Allowance

From 2012 the maximum you can save into a pension will fall from £1.8m to £1.5m, however if you are retiring or near retirement you can protect this benefit by applying to the HMRC by the end of 2012. This change will also affect people on a final salary pension too of £75k or more.

If you don’t apply for this ‘protection’ you will find pension savings above £1.5m are taxed at 55%.

The sting in the tail is that even thought you will be avoiding additional taxes you will lose out on contributions from your employer which could be worth more than the tax decution, like a substantial pay rise.

4. Contracting out of Second State Pension

2012 is the last year that UK residents will be able to contract out of SP2 (previously known as SERPS). If you wish to opt out you will get a refund of part of your national insurance contributions to invest directly in a personal pension rather than receiving an earnings-related state top up instead.

If you want to contract out you need to complete a CA1542 form. If you already have a personal pension you can ask your provider to send the form to you.

Bio – this article was written by Ross who writes UK finance website peazyshop.co.uk

 Posted by admin at 7:05 pm

Earn a £5 voucher and clear out your clutter !

 Family Money Saving, Money Saving, Money saving for Children, Savings Advice  No Responses »
Oct 252011
 

As any parent will tell you, they always seem to have items that their children have outgrown or no longer need that they would like to see go to a good home. Now parents can turn these items into a £5 M&S voucher.

The website www.mygyko.com which enables you to sell, swap or giveaway to other parents is offering a £5 M&S voucher when you list 5 items on the site by the 31st October.

Parents who are looking for ways to earn some extra cash will find this an ideal place to sell outgrown uniforms and sport kits that are filling up their cupboards and garages. With the added incentive of earning a £5 voucher for listings made by the end of October, this half term is the perfect time for parents to de-clutter and sort out the items that their children no longer require.

With the site free to use for both the parents listing items and the parents acquiring items now is the perfect time to get listing.

Don’t keep GYKO a secret though help spread the word and you could earn another M&S voucher. Pass on the email addresses of 5 friends and you will receive a £5 M&S voucher.

It’s the new way to buy, swap, sell or give away unwanted children’s ’kit’ – from school blazers to boots, uniforms to unitards and trainers to toys.

GYKO is the free online local community marketplace for listing used, second hand, nearly new and pre-owned:

School wear
Dance wear
Science equipment
Clothes
Books
Sports equipment
Musical instruments
Audio equipment
In fact anything that your kids no longer want, need or can fit into!

So don’t waste money buying expensive new kit – get bargains on GYKO.

The free, friendly, fun alternative to eBay!

 Posted by admin at 1:12 pm  Tagged with: , , , ,

What are the worst Baby Buys – save over £250 !

 Family Money Saving  No Responses »
Oct 062011
 

When you are pregnant you want to buy the best for your baby and many mums find that they buy lots of things they never use.  We have all seen the baby must have lists or the top 10 items for Baby but what are your “worst buys”?

  • Did you buy something that you never used?
  • Did you buy an expensive item and end up using a bargain buy instead ?

We were reading a recent report from Which about your least useful baby items and were surprised at some of the findings.  They think you could save up to £250 by not buying them all.  You can read more here..

baby Carrier1. Fabric Sling.

A sling does not suit everyone, and not every baby likes a sling so it may be an expensive item to buy before the birth.  You may be better waiting and trying to borrow one first.  Find out if it is for you before spending your money.

2. Nappy stacker

We do agree with this one.  It seems fiddly and time consuming to take the nappies out of the bag or box and into a nappy stacker before use.  We would suggest you give this a miss unless you decide later you can’t live without one !

3. Baby washing (top and tail) bowls

They’re not particularly expensive – costing around £3-£10 – but parents told us that two cheap plastic bowls will do the job just as well. I liked my top and tail bowl as it is just easier to buy one bowl than two and they were a nice size so you don’t use too much water.

4. Nappy disposal bin

We definitely agree with this one, they take up lots of space, start to smell and then you have to empty them. Not a great buy unless you live in a flat or your bin is far from the house.

5. Bumbo seat

This is another love or hate purchase. The Bumbo seat, a plastic seat which helps your baby to sit upright, was popular with some parents. 26% of those who bought or were given one said it was one of their most useful products – but 18% said they didn’t need it at all. One parent said: ‘I regret buying a Bumbo – expensive, and both kids hated it’, and the key factor for most of the parents who didn’t get on with the Bumbo seat was that their child didn’t like it or take to it.

Tippitoes Baby Door Bouncer6. Door baby bouncer

Another product which several parents told us their child just didn’t get on with was the door baby bouncer.

7. Baby carrier

Baby carriers can cost anything from £20 to £100 and it’s important that you choose one which is comfortable for you and your child. In the survey 23% of parents who bought or were given a baby carrier said they were one of the most useful products they bought, but 16% didn’t end up using theirs. The main reasons for this were that they felt the baby carrier was more hassle than it was worth (36%) and the child didn’t like or take to it (29%).

8. Ride-on toddler board for buggy/pushchair

I was surprised at this as many mums I know swear by their buggy board. If you have a toddler and a new baby they can be a godsend.

9. Night light

Night lights can cost anything from £3 to £20, and it might be worth seeing how your child reacts to a cheap one before splashing out on something more expensive. And, bear in mind that some baby monitors come with an in-built night light. I never used a night light as both our babies never needed a light at night so I would wait and see on this one.

10. Baby reins

Baby reins typically cost around £5-£15 and can help you keep your child close once they’ve started walking, but not all parents find them useful. Personally I never liked the idea of tying my children up and taught them to hold my hand or the buggy from a young age but they can be useful for very strong willed toddlers!

let us know your worst buys below !!

 Posted by admin at 2:16 pm  Tagged with: , ,

How to cut household bills and avoid inflation

 Family Money Saving  No Responses »
Sep 142011
 

Cut the weekly shopping bill

Those that shop online can potentially make the biggest savings. Not only are prices often cheaper, but it’s easier to resist the temptation to put extra items in your trolley. Brand loyalty doesn’t count.

Don’t forget discount shops such as Poundland. Not everything in these shops is cheap, but if you buy branded goods such as shower gel, shampoo and toothpaste they are usually cheaper than the supermarket. For example you can regularly pick up 100ml pumps of Aquafresh toothpaste for £1, compared with £2.36 at Tesco.

Cut the cost at the pumps

Try using the website www.petrolprices.com to find the cheapest stations in your area, and take basic steps to reduce your car’s petrol consumption. The lighter the car the more efficient it is to drive, so remove top-boxes, clear out the boot and drive around with the tank as empty as your dare. (A full tank is almost as much of a burden as a hundredweight of coal).

Switch your gas and electricity

If you’re on an ordinary standard tariff, paying your bills quarterly and by cheque you could make savings of up to £250 a year simply by moving onto an online tariff and paying by monthly direct debit. Talk to your current provider about what their cheapest deals are, or better still scour the market for the best rates using one of the price comparison sites, such as www.confused.com,

Join a cashback site

Using sites like Quidco  can help save you money when shopping online. These sites pay a percentage of the commission they earn for referring you to websites – and if you are buying big-ticket financial items such as insurance, breakdown cover or a mobile phone contract, you could get back hundreds of pounds.

Look at how you pay

Cashback credit cards can reduce your overall spend – but only if you clear the balance in full each month. Avoid paying interest charges, as this will far outweigh the benefit of any “cashback”. Likewise exploit the loyalty cards offered by various retailers. Don’t simply redeem points though on the shopping at the till, look to see whether you can get more value by using them against special deals

 Posted by admin at 5:21 pm  Tagged with:

Haggle to save money

 Family Money Saving  No Responses »
Sep 142011
 

It might be easy to haggle over prices when on holiday overseas, but most of us are reluctant to quibble about the cost of goods and services back home.

Research by the online shopping company InvisibleHand shows that three quarters of us are too shy to haggle for a better price in the UK, and this is costing us an average of £220 a year.

The benefit of haggling

Figures from Standard Life show that most adults have 11 financial commitments to be paid each month. Haggling on everything from insurance premiums to the cost of mobile, broadband and energy bills could, therefore, soon add up to hundreds
of pounds in savings.

Some companies are more likely to negotiate on price than others. Research from has  revealed that almost 80 per cent of Sky TV, broadband or home phone customers who tried to barter down costs secured a better deal, while 72 per cent of those who had tried to get a better deal from Virgin Media reported that they were successful.

Similarly, 73 per cent of AA customers who had haggled said they ended up with a cheaper deal on their breakdown cover.

Haggling on the high street

A number of retailers have a “price-beater promise”, which means they will match or beat any price from a competitor, an example of this would be John Lewis who has …”never knowingly undersold”.

B&Q and Comet, for example, offer to beat prices at any shop within a 10-mile radius by 10 per cent. PC World offers the same price-beating policy, but covers a 30-mile radius.

For example, if you searched for a Siemens washing machine (model WM12P360GB) while shopping at Comet, where it is priced at £542, a Kelkoo search would show it on offer at John Lewis for just £499. As Comet promises to beat the price of shops nearby by 10 per cent, it would then offer the washing machine at the relevant discount and you would save £48.

Alternatively, if you were shopping for a Sony Vaio 15.5in laptop at PC World, priced at £479, a browse through Kelkoo would show it on offer at John Lewis for just £419. As PC World promises to beat the price of high street competitors, the saving would be at least £60.

For shoppers who do not have internet access on their mobile phone, Sccope (www.sccope.com) provides a text message price comparison service. This is free of charge: the only fee comes from your service provider for sending the text.

 Posted by admin at 5:09 pm  Tagged with: , ,

Money off back to school

 Family Money Saving  No Responses »
Sep 142011
 

Parents worried about the financial strain that buying a new school uniforms and kit,  can relax as the high street start their school uniform price war.

 If your one of the lucky parents who can get away with buying blazers and skirts from your local outlet, then make sure you do not leave it too late – as the size ranges can run out pretty quickly.  It is not always possible to source blazers and skirts from supermarkets and chain stores because some schools may have a very particular uniform you can only get from one shop, but you may still be able to buy suitable shirts and blouses or gym kit items cheaply in the high street.

ASDA is offering to kit your child out with a whole uniform for a flat price of £7 – so that’s a 2-pack of shirts/polos, one jumper, one skirt or pair of trousers. Sainsburys is doing a similar deal. Morrisons is offering any 2 school uniform items for £5.

Online money-saving voucher website www.Vouchercloud.com provides help for parents below.

  • 10pc off orders at School Uniform Shop (www.schooluniformshop.co.uk) with the code: vouchercloud
  • Exclusive deals at Clarks when you click through from the Vouchercloud.com website
  • 60pc off at WHSmith sale, click through Vouchercloud.com website
  • 80pc off back to school supplies at Staples click through Vouchercloud.com website
  • 50pc off stationery at Vistaprint plus free UK delivery on orders over £20 when you click through Vouchercloud.com website
  • 30pc off at Argos when you click through Vouchercloud.com website
 Posted by admin at 5:01 pm  Tagged with: , ,
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