Thursday 8 January 2015

A thrifty start to the New Year...

Money is always tight this time of year....I know it is for me! I'm always looking for ways to save and make money here are a few suggestions you may not have thought about before....


Get paid to shop on cashback websites. 
Join one of the websites such as Topcashback or Quidco....They pay you commission of between 3 per cent and 10 per cent of online purchases at thousands of High Street stores.....You can easily pocket an extra £100 a year like this.....

Stock up on Christmas decorations now.
Christmas themed wrapping paper and decorations went on sale around Christmas Eve/Boxing Day, so stock up now and save on the cost next year. 

Recycle old mobile phones, DVDs, CDs and clothes. Mazumamobile is one of many websites you can use to sell your old mobile phone. Music Magpie will give you money for your old CDs, DVDs and games and you can also sell any unwanted clothes on the website or alternatively use sites like eBay or even Facebook on local selling pages.....

Use comparison sites to find the cheapest supermarket prices. 
Mysupermarket compares the prices of individual items at Tesco, Sainsbury's, Ocado, Waitrose, Asda and Aldi so you can get the best deals. 

Set alerts for end dates on deals and freebies.
Amazon Prime’s 30-day free trial, Spotify, Netflix, car insurance, mortgage, Sky, mobile phone….They all offer you something for nothing for an insultingly short period in the very real hope that you’ll forget to cancel like most people.

Buy no-frills brands.
Buy the store brand of food items like bread, butter, canned goods, teas and pulses....You’ll be amazed at how much money this can save you.

Switch energy suppliers.
Households could save up to £412 if they switch energy suppliers but millions don't...In fact, only 14pc of homes change their gas and energy tariff each year...The process is simple. Have a look at U Switch to find out more....

Ditch the takeaway coffee and shop bought lunches.
Buying a coffee every working day and a shop bought lunch will easily set you back around £130 a month, that’s £1,560 over a year. Instead take a flask to work or make a coffee in the office and take in your own lunch....

Use a slowcooker for cooking stews.
Using a slow cooker to make a stew is both easier - you can leave it to stew while you're at work all day - and cheaper. It costs around 10.5p to use a slow cooker for around eight hours, while using an oven will cost far more at 30p for one hour.

Cancel your yearly gym membership.
Opt for monthly pay-as-you-go instead if there is a strong likelihood that you will stop going.

Use discount websites to save on days out. 
Sites like Groupon and Wowcher offer daily deals and discounts on events, activities, travel and restaurants...Tesco Clubcard is also good value when you use points to buy tickets for theme parks....

Go without a TV licence.
A TV licence costs £145.50, but do you need one? If you watch catch-up TV you do not need a licence so BBC iPlayer, Channel 4 on Demand and ITV Player are all free to use if you are watching shows that have already been broadcast..... You also do not need a licence for watching DVDs or to stream Netflix and Lovefilm.

Have a dry January. 
If according to recent figures from the Office for National Statistics you are an average UK household that spends £15.20 a week on alcohol by not drinking for the entire month of January you could save over £60.

Turn electrical appliances off when not in use. 
Last year, the Energy Saving Trust revealed that across the UK households were spending between £50 and £86 a year on gadgets in a "non-active" or standby state, equivalent to 9% to 16% of the average electricity bill....

Stop buying bottled water.
Not only is it expensive and environmentally irresponsible, but tap water is actually cleaner! It goes through a more stringent filtering processes than bottled water since there are very few regulated standards that bottled water companies need to comply with....

Check out websites for freebies.
Go to websites like Gumtree or Freecycle for free bits of furniture, old electronics, books, clothes and other unwanted items...

Collect loose change and pennies.
Cash them in at the end of the year. Without even realising you could have saved £40 or £50. 

Say no to things you don't need, can't afford or won't use.

http://www.vevivos.com/2015/01/09/post-comment-love-and-newbie-showcase-9th-to-11th-january-2015/

4 comments :

  1. Thanks for the helpful tips! Sometimes we really need a reminder lol. And that tip about TV license is so true, people might not think of it lol. And we need to go through our loose change as well, it's been in the pot for years, must find a day to pop into the supermarket and use one of the money changing machines hehe x

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  2. I did not know that about the TV license!!! That is good to know, although I do sometimes watch live tv (cbeebies.....) so it isn't one we can do. I'm glad you reminded me about selling my old mobile phone though! Great tips! x

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  3. I love Quidco but haven't done great with Top Cashback and my old phone is already on it's way to be recycled :) Worth double-checking the TV license thing though, I was told if you have television receiving equipment you have to pay. So unless you don't have a tv and only watch catch-up on your laptop you'd still be liable for a licence. That may have changed recently but I'm sure the BBC will want to keep every penny they can get! X

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  4. This is a GREAT list. I am shopping at Lidl for the rest of the month as that is always where I find the cheapest items - especially fruit and veg. Thank you for linking to #PoCoLo x

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