LIVING THE GOOD LIFE ON LESS

Faith Archer offers her tips on how to spend smarter – and save money – this month

save on gifts

Got a gift to buy? See if you can save by paying with a discount gift voucher from zeek.me. For example, you can slash up to 13% off Virgin Experience Days, 12% off at Pandora, 11% off Interflora or 8% off at Oliver Bonas. Allow £1 processing fee per transaction, plus £2 delivery if you choose a physical gift card, rather than downloading e-gift card codes. Then see if you can stack up savings by clicking through from a cashback site, such as Topcashback or Quidco, before using your gift voucher to pay.

THRIFTY TRICK

Weirdly, buying two (or more) train tickets for chunks of the same journey can sometimes be way cheaper than buying one ticket. With ticket splitting, instead of buying a ticket from A to C, you buy tickets from A to B, and B to C. Just make sure the train actually stops at the stations listed on your tickets – although you don’t need to get off! It works best on cross-country journeys, or journeys that switch between train providers or peak and off-peak times. Visit sites such as trainsplit.com and ticketclever.com to track down the cheapest combinations.

This month I’m…

…dining out the day before Valentine’s Day. Rather than face a restaurant rammed with couples and a limited menu on the actual day, my husband and I book a table the day before. More space, more choice – and the staff aren’t rushed off their feet.