SIMPLE WAYS TO KEEP HOLD OF YOUR CASH
Hundreds of pounds are escaping from your bank balance right now, even as we speak – don’t let them get away! Time to do a money health-check and identify where that wasted cash is going. It’s as easy as A, B, C...
AMAZON PRIME
If you order more than 10 items from Amazon a year and pay for delivery, you may be losing out. Invest in Prime membership (£79 annually) and get one-day delivery alongside other benefits such as Prime Video, Prime Music and unlimited photo storage. Thanks to a feature called Amazon Household, you can share your Prime subscription with another adult at the same address and up to four children. With some delivery charges costing £7.99 an item, the savings soon kick in.
BRING LUNCH
Popping into Pret or M&S to buy lunch each day costs the average worker more than £1,800 a year*. Add that to a daily £3 shop-bought coffee and you’ve identified a serious financial black hole. For some lunchtime inspiration, visit good housekeeping.co.uk/healthylunches, and invest in a flask to bring coffee from home.
CASHBACK CARDS
Not got one yet? Then you’re missing out. These credit cards can make your spending pay, but you need to make sure you have the best card. With many, you have to pay a certain amount every month or you don’t get the benefits. Is this worth it? It depends on the benefits and whether you’ll use them – if you shop at Tesco often enough, the Tesco Clubcard Credit Card can earn you extra Clubcard points, and Nectar Credit Cards work on the same principle. There’s also the British Airways American Express card, which gives you Avios points; great if you’re a frequent flyer.
DATA AND DOWNLOADS
Going overboard on your phone with data and downloads can cost you more than you think. Getting it wrong can be costly – Vodafone will charge you £6.50 for every 250MB you go over, but O2 will let you use its Web Daily service for £1 a day. Choose your provider wisely, and if you’re regularly facing charges, consider buying a bigger plan. Paying for too much data can waste money, too. If you use Wi-fi most of the time and don’t need your apps on the go, you’ll only need 1GB or less a month. And 1GB will get you 3,000 web pages, 1.5 million Whatsapp messages, 4,000 photos uploaded, 10,000 emails, 310 minutes on Youtube or 160 songs streamed on Spotify.
ENERGY WASTERS
Ask your provider for a smart meter to keep track of your usage – you’ll have more accurate energy bills and will be able to work out what’s wasting energy. It could be as simple as a smartphone charger you’ve left plugged in or a TV on standby.
FREEVIEW
This is the free equivalent of a BT or Sky package – and most TVS already have it installed. And now you have 85 channels to choose from – for free. You won’t be able to pause live TV without a set-top box or smart TV, but you would be saving at least £20 a month by not paying out for even the cheapest Sky TV package.
GYM MEMBERSHIP
HOLIDAY MONEY
The cheapest way to get it? Order online from a foreign exchange provider, such as ICE or Travelex, then collect from a local bureau. On the high street, the Post Office offers competitive rates. Guilt overload! As a nation, we waste an average of £480 a year each on unused gym memberships**. So unless you are confident you’ll use it, never commit to a lengthy contract. Pay-as-you-go gyms, such as Pure Gym, charge around £5 per visit. Or try a free fitness app: Google Fit (great for tracking walking, running and other exercise), Endomondo (fantastic running app complete with motivational comments), Daily Yoga (free classes and expert guidance), and Freeletics (an interactive community and personal trainer app that caters to your level of fitness).
INVESTMENT FEES
Make sure you’re not overpaying. Investing in individual shares or investment funds? Then expect to pay handling fees, but compare prices. Sometimes it’s worth paying higher fees for better performance – but ask questions and read the small print.
JUST SAY NO TO STORE CARDS
Once the tempting entry offer expires, interest rates are often much higher than standard credit cards. Generally speaking, exercise caution and stick to normal plastic.
KITTENS, PUPPIES, EVEN IGUANAS
Poorly pets are an expensive business. Insurance will help, but pick the wrong product and you may be bitten by a high vet’s bill. Here’s how to save ◆ INCLUDE ALL PETS Insurers, such as Aviva, Directline and Morethan, offer a multi-pet 10% discount. ◆ COMPARE We found a difference of as much as £250 a year when we looked at quotes through moneysupermarket.com. ◆ INCREASE EXCESS Pay more when you claim, but cut the cost of your monthly policy. ◆ CHECK YOUR HOME INSURANCE Some policies will cover your pet. ◆ SELF-INSURE Instead of paying into a policy, put the money in a savings account where it will earn interest. Remember, though, that uninsured dogs aren’t covered for public liability, so if your pet causes a car accident and the driver sues you, you’ll be liable to pay.
LOSE THE LANDLINE
Who still calls you on your landline? Just your mum and cold callers? Save money with line-rental-only contracts – necessary for some internet deals – or ditch it altogether. Some cable services offer broadband-only deals. See broadbandchoices.co.uk/ broadband/only-deals.
METER READINGS
Don’t let your energy or water company estimate your bill for you. It’s easy to take your own meter reading and submit it online. You’ll end up with a more accurate bill and you’re likely to save money because you’re only being charged for what you use.
NATIONAL INSURANCE
If you care for grandchildren under the age of 12, you could be missing out on £4,600. You could be eligible for National Insurance (NI) credits to top up your state pension. So, if you’re of working age and look after grandchildren for any amount of time, you’re eligible, according to Sir Steve Webb of Royal London. For further advice, call HMRC on 0300 200 3500.
ONLINE-ONLY CURRENT ACCOUNTS
Going online can often get you the best rate on a current account. First Direct operates entirely by phone and online, while TSB has an account that pays 3% on balances up to £1,500 if you sign up for online banking.
PARKING
Use parkopedia.co.uk before heading out on any trip and find the cheapest spaces where you’re going. Just enter the postcode to see options and prices on a map. And if you don’t need your own driveway during the day, why not rent it out? Try justpark.com or yourparkingspace.co.uk.
QUANTITY
Buying in bulk can save time and money. For groceries, the new Amazon Pantry service is a great way to bulk buy on dried goods. Exclusive to Amazon Prime members, prices are competitive (pay £3 for a 160-bag box of PG Tips compared with £4.69 from Tesco). You pay £2.99 for the first box and 99p for every extra box. Each box weighs up to 20kg and is delivered to your door. Alcohol, generally, is a good bulk buy. Look for supermarket and off-licence deals on a case of your favourite wine.
RESEARCH TRAVEL
Discounts aren’t just for students. Travel on a couple or family railcard and you’ll save at least 25%. Cards cost from £30. Always do your research across sites to avoid booking fees.
SWITCH!
A day spent comparing deals on utilities and telecoms could save you more than £1,000 a year. Don’t believe us? Check out the average amount that can be saved by switching credit cards (£118), mobile phones (£168), gas and electricity (£659), broadband and home phone (£157).
TAX
Having the wrong tax code is costly. Either you’re overpaying, or you’ve been paying too little and will get an unexpected tax bill. Call HMRC on 0300 200 3519 to check. If the higher earner is a 20% tax payer, married couples or civil partners can transfer £1,100 of personal allowance from the lower to the higher earner to save up to £220 in tax.
UNDER PAY
Never pay full price again! Haggle on anything from cars and houses to furniture and mobile phone bills. Remember, you’re usually speaking to a human who’s keen to get your loyalty. Use Twitter or Facebook as a public platform to get what you want. In store, make sure you’re speaking to a person who can change the price, like a manager.
VOUCHERS
If you find yourself using vouchers and discount codes for the sake of it, you could be hooked and overspending. Don’t waste time browsing voucher sites looking for deals you don’t need – you’ll end up buying something you don’t want. Instead, make sure you know what you want and then find the offers when you need them.
WASTE NOT
Throw away less food and you could save £700 a year, according to the people at Love Food Hate Waste. The trick is to plan all meals in advance and check use-by dates. Make use of leftovers and, if you do have to throw it out, compost it.
X-EMPLOYEE
Moving jobs means new opportunities, but are you missing cash from your pension pot? If you’ve been saving into lots of company pensions, make sure you know where they are. Find any you’ve lost track of through the free Pensions Tracing Service at gov.uk or call 0345 600 2537.
YES – BUDGETING WORKS!
We tell the young people in our lives, but using a budgeting app to keep an eye on spending is a good idea for all of us. We like Money Dashboard (free on Android and IOS).
ZILCH!
Sign up to magicfreebiesuk. co.uk and latestfreestuff.co.uk and you can get free samples of make-up, household detergents and even food. Follow communities like Hotukdeals for everything from tips on free products to where to find the best deals. Or, if you’re on O2, sign up to Priority Moments for free chocolate bars and restaurant offers.