Money SavingMany people are looking for ways to save money due to the difficult financial times that we’re all suffering through at the moment.  Luckily, there are many ways to save money that should help make a difference to everyone’s pockets and below are a few ideas to help get you started…

Compare prices and find the best deals – It’s important that you find the best deals on the items you’re buying before just purchasing the first one you come to. Different stores have different deals and you’ll be surprised by how much money you could save by simply shopping around. There are many ways to do this but traipsing around the shops in the high street can be tiring and take up a lot of time, the best way to compare prices is by visiting a price comparison site such as moneysupermarket.com and let them to do the hard work for you. The other great thing about checking for deals online is that there are often money off vouchers for the products you’re after and with moneysupermarket.com making sure that they “Search thousands of UK offers for the latest voucher codes and discount vouchers”, you’ll always be sure to get the best deals available.

Clear your credit card debt – One of the best things you can do to help your financial planning along the way is to clear your most expensive debts first, which usually means your credit cards. Now, credit cards offer a very convenient way to pay for goods and services but if you know you’re unable to pay off the whole balance every month then it might be worth considering a low-cost loan as an alternative. Compare the credit card offers online to make sure you know the best deal you’ll get and then decide which option would better suit you and your financial situation.

Consider a pay-as-you go mobile – If you consider your mobile phone a necessity then perhaps ask yourself whether the calls and texts to get with the package are all needed. You could buy a pay-as-you-go phone for as little as £30 and then you’d only have to pay for the odd calls and texts that you need to make.

Make a shopping list – Shopping for food is a huge part of our monthly spending, so it’s worth trying out different strategies and ideas that could help you save money. Many stores spend large amounts of money on researching what makes us buy the things we do and spend more of our hard earned money. Every effort is put into what music is playing in the background and even how fast the music is- you’d probably be surprised if you knew how much these seemingly small things can make a huge difference to what you buy and how much you spend. The best way to make sure you’re only buying the things you need is to simply make a shopping list. By planning what you need for the week ahead, you’ll make sure you don’t go buying things that take your fancy or seem like a ‘good deal’ at the time, but simply the essentials. This should mean you soon start seeing the savings mount up in no time.

A savings article brought to you by the Vouchers team at moneysupermarket.com.

Photo Credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/vinish/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

guy fawkes night

Bonfire Night calls for some warming food and can easily be done on a budget. 

Firstly find out the details of your nearest local bonfire display – try this list from the Telegraph  or check out your local newspaper.  Most displays are free so wrap up warm and set off for some fun.  You will save £££s on fireworks and have a safe adn spectacular display to watch.

When you get back have some warming food prepared such as chilli hot dogs – see recipe below, soup or baked potates.  Finish off with hot chocolate and marshmallows and you are done! 

Enjoy your night!

Chilli for Chilli Dogs
Enough for 4-6 hot dogs
2 tbsp sunflower oil 
250g minced beef
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 level tsp mild chilli powder
200g tin or 1/2 a 400g tin of tomatoes 
Salt
Heat a frying pan for about 3 minutes over a moderate heat. Add the oil then, when it’s hot, tip in the mince and break it up in the pan. Keep frying and turning it for about 2-3 minutes until it has browned then tip away the excess fat. Add the tomato paste and mix well with the meat then add the garlic and chilli powder. Stir and mix well. Tip the the tomatoes, breaking down any whole tomatoes with a fork. Season with salt and simmer for about 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before using.

image by freeimageslive.co.uk – fmanto

SANTAS CHECKLIST

Well it’s not quite free, you do need to attach a stamp when sending it!

Santa is extremely busy at the North Pole, making sure all the presents, including yours, are ready and wrapped for Christmas Eve.

It’s a very exciting time for all; Rudolph and Santa can’t wait to land at your home with all your gifts. Rudolph is especially looking forward to eating the carrots you kindly leave and maybe a mince pie for Santa…

With the postal strikes this year I would suggest you send the letter as soon as possibe!  You can send it to the following address:

Santa/Father Christmas,
Santa’s Grotto,
Reindeerland,
SAN TA1

In your letter please write clearly your name and address and attach either a 1st or 2nd class stamp to the envelope.  Some of the Royal Mail helpers will make sure santa sends a letter back.

shopping cartOnline Shopping Comparison Engines may seem confusing but they make shopping online easier and more cost effective.  You can search for the best deals around from just one site.

 

There are lots to choose from but today we are going to take a closer look at Kelkoo as it is one of the more established sites and is easy to navigate.

There are a wide range of categories including baby and nursery and flights. You can either search by the category or if you know exactly what you want you can type in the name. Once you are in the right area you can refine your search by price or by more specific categories.

 

nintendo dsSo if we are looking for DS for our kids christmas we can type in “Nintendo DS” but this gives us alomst 10000 results!! We can then refine it by typing in “Nintendo DS Console” and then clicking on the game console category on the right and we only have 194 results left! You can then sort by most popular or ascending price to find the best deal for you.

 

Energy Saving HouseThere is lots of talk at the moment about our carbon footpring and being green however Saving Enenrgy can also save you money. Follow our top tips for painless ways to save energy.

  1. Turn your heating down by 1 degree. 
  2. Is your water too hot? Your cylinder thermostat should be set at 60°C/140°F.
  3. Wash your clothes at 30 degrees or lower.  Now if you have very mucky kids I would suggest buying some pre-wash stain remover or you will just end upwashing things twice!
  4. If possible, fill up the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher: one full load uses less energy than two half loads.
  5. Shower rather than take a bath.
  6. Hang clothes out to dry instead of using the tumble dryer.
  7. Check your tyre pressure so that less fuel is used.
  8. Clear all your clutter out of the car and the boot so you burn less fuel.
  9. Turn off appliances and lights when not in use.
  10. Use an energy comparison site like Uswitch to ensure you are not paying too much for your energy.

 

 

EST_logoFind out what grants may be available to make your home more energy saving.   There are grants available for loft and cavity wall insulation for many homes.   Check the Energy Saving Trust to see if you can save.

2p increase in Fuel Duty per Litre

2p increase in Fuel Duty per Litre

Just a quick reminder that the fuel duty goes up by 2p a litre from tomorrow the 1st of September. Remember to fill up your tanks today and save a few ££s.

Motorists will be affected with the rise in fuel duty from tomorrow despite petrol prices of 105p a litre. This measure was delayed from last year because of high oil prices. It will generate £1.3 million a day in additional revenue for the Treasury, according to the AA, and means that the taxman takes 65 per cent of the price of a litre of petrol.

There is an indepth article here from the times online about the implications for the economy and business.

I don’t know if you know about Freecycle or not but I can recommend it in these hard times. You can do your bit reusing your items and get something back in return – everyone wins! 

Freecycle

Freecycle

 

Our local group tends to offer larger items and outdoor things along with a good selection of baby items.  We have offered lots of baby things that are not really suitable for the local charity shop such as little ride on cars and a baby seat.  In return we have received a swing and garage shelving.  Each group is different and it all depends on what people have to give away! 

The worldwide Freecycle Network is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It’s a grassroots movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns.

Freecycle groups match people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them. Our goal is to keep usable items out of landfills. By using what we already have on this earth, we reduce consumerism, manufacture fewer goods, and lessen the impact on the earth. Another benefit of using Freecycle is that it encourages us to get rid of junk that we no longer need and promote community involvement in the process.

Why not have a look and see if there is a group in your area -  http://www.uk.freecycle.org/

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