How to save money at home
The home is a good place to look for savings – try some of the following:
- Challenge your council tax band
Don’t trust you local authority to get it right – check it now in England and Wales and Scotland - Think about switching some utilities
Take a look at what you could save on Gas, Electricity, Telephone, Broadband etc by visiting a price comparison website - Mobile phones
You may be able to cut your mobile phone costs and/or make cheaper calls. When you tariff runs out check what other deals are available – usually the suggestion to your mobile operator that you are going to move away from them usually sniffs out a miraculous new deal! - Do you have a water meter
Households can often cut them bills by around 50% especially if there are ‘more bedrooms in your house than people’ - Rising insurance?
Lazily using the same insurance company year-after-year is a good way to throw away money. Like many businesses the best deals are for new customers – compare all car, home and travel insurance quotes one month before they are due for renewal. - Energy saving tips
Energy saving light bulbs last around 12x longer and will save about £9 per year. Un-plugging electrical units (TV’s, set top boxes) is an easy saving since some will use nearly as much in stand-by as when then are being use. Visit the Energy Saving Trust for a great top 10 list.
Save money at work
- Shop after work (not at lunchtime!)
Supermarket will often drop prices of goods nearing their sell by dates between 5pm and 9pm. The closer you go to 9pm the cheaper they will be, although you take a chance on whether there is anything left. Typical items that will be drastically price dropped will be bread, some fruit and anything in-store heated - Can you travel differently?
Walk or cycle to the station or your place of work and then you don’t need to spend time and money on gym membership! - Car share
Is car sharing an option – have a look on www.carplus.org.uk for a local scheme. - Drive to work?
Most people drive in a hurry to work but by smooth acceleration and braking you use less fuel. Approaching a roundabout or vehicle ahead that has stopped, why not ease off the accelerator pedal, let the car slow down naturally, and then apply the brakes gradually. - Take a packed lunch
An easy way to save perhaps £500 or more per year