Gadgets that save you money

Gadgets aren't just for messing around with - they can save you cash too!

Money is tight, so we could all do with saving a few quid here and there. And by making use of these clever gadgets and gizmos, you can soon cut your outlay!

Mobile phone apps

The technology at our fingertips is incredible, with mobile phone apps now allowing you to do everything on the move from your weekly shop to ordering a pizza. Best of all, some of these apps will actually save you money!

Vouchercloud is a very clever little app. It uses GPS to tell you the best discounts in shops, restaurants or venues in your immediate area. You can even download the vouchers, and keep them for later. Best of all, the app is absolutely free.
Skype, which allows you to make phone calls for free using your computer, has been around for a while, as we explained in Get free mobile calls for life! However, you can now get the Skype app, allowing you to save cash on your calls even when on the move, over 3G or Wi-Fi.
Last but not least is the brand new lovemoney.com app! So you can read our articles and blogs, ask Q&As, watch our videos and check out the ‘How to’ guides on your mobile phone, all for just £2.99 for 12 months’ access.

Invisible Hand

Not so much a gadget as an online tool, but it’s sure to save you money on the cash you spend online.

Invisible Hand is a free piece of software that sits in the background of your computer. You won’t even notice it’s there until you start to shop online, at which point a bar will appear at the top of your browser, informing you if it has found that item cheaper somewhere else. So far it reckons it has saved users a whopping £70m!

The tool even compares flight prices now, with plans to expand further into travel shopping, so it’s going to be even more useful in the near future.

Energy savers

The main way that gadgets can save you money is by cutting your energy bills, and there are absolutely loads of little gadgets that promise to do just that. Why not give these a try?

The H2O radio

If you like a little sing song in the shower, then this one could be for you. The H2O radio claims to be the world’s first shower-powered radio. The water from the shower runs through the radio’s micro turbine, driving a generator which then powers the radio itself, so you don’t spend a penny in energy costs or on batteries.

And as the radio stores any excess energy created if you’re in there a while, you can carry on listening even once you’re out of the shower and drying off!

The radio is currently available from a range of retailers, including John Lewis, for £34.95.

Cut waste when charging your mobile

The Enviroplug adaptor stops you wasting energy when charging your mobile phone. Once the battery is full, it simply cuts off further power from being drained.

It retails at £9.94.

Track your energy use

There are dozens of electricity monitors on the market, but one firm I like is Owl, which offers a range of different monitors.

There’s the basic model, at £24.95, which displays your total electricity use and how much it is costing you. Then there’s the next model up (£35.95), which also tracks your carbon use, while the very top model (£40.95) does all of this but also has a ‘track and store’ facility which you can upload to your PC so you can chart exactly when and why your usage may have risen.

Automatic radiator bleeding

Remembering to bleed your radiators regularly can be a pain, though it’s a useful thing to do as keeping radiators air free keeps them at their most efficient, and therefore your expenditure on heating your house to a minimum. However, for an outlay of about £10, you can get an automatic radiator bleed airvent which does the job for you!

Both money and mess, saved!

Boiling the kettle

Since my son was born six months ago, the kettle seems to have been on almost non-stop, whether to heat his bottle or for cups of tea for the various visitors. I’ve no doubt that I’ve spent a fortune, boiling more water than necessary.

But you don’t have to do that with an Eco Kettle. You fill the kettle to the top, but then select exactly how many cups you want boiled, and the requisite amount of water is then moved to a second chamber, where it is then boiled, ensuring the get the exact amount of boiled water you’re after!

The eco kettle is currently retailing at £39.95.

The energy egg

This is a very clever little gizmo. The TreeGreen Energy Egg boasts a sensor which allows it to detect if a room has been left vacant. At this point, it sends out an off signal to a control adaptor, and all appliances connected to the adaptor are then switched off.

It’s available from Tesco, and will cost you £40.