All sorts of things will set you back less in March than at other times throughout the year!
March is now here, and with it the promise of spring (if you ignore the thundering rain outside). The new month also presents the chance to save a packet on all sorts of things!
Chocolate
Valentine’s Day may seem like a distant memory, but there are still plenty of romantic chocolate sets available from chocolatiers. And best of all, they are now heavily discounted in order to clear the stock.
Take Hotel Chocolat for example, where the Valentine’s Day H-Box and Wink Wink chocolate hearts are each half price.
Mobile phones
The last few weeks have seen a host of new phones announced, including the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
With each new launch, last year’s cutting edge handsets became previous generation, and so will soon see their prices drop.
If you aren’t desperate to have the very latest gadget and are happy with a slightly older model, you could bag a bargain.
Apple products
Along similar lines, the new iPad Air 3 is expected to be released in the UK later this month, alongside a new iPhone, and Apple Watch. Apple fans love to get the new tech as soon as it’s out, so there will be a swathe of them selling off the older versions to fund their new purchase.
So grab an older model at a discount!
Energy bills
Last month saw all of the Big Six energy suppliers announce gas price reductions, but many of them don’t actually come into effect until this month, as the table below details
|
Supplier |
Price cut |
Effective from? |
|
ScottishPower |
5.4% |
15th March |
|
British Gas |
5.1% |
16th March |
|
EDF |
5% |
24th March |
|
npower |
5.2% |
28th March |
|
SSE |
5.1% |
29th March |
As a result, millions of customers will see their gas bills drop by an average of around £32 a year. However, it’s important to remember that these price cuts only apply to customers on standard tariffs, which are already the most expensive ones. These are the tariffs you move to when your initial fixed deal comes to an end, and will cost the average user well over £1,000 a year. In contrast, the cheapest fixed tariffs will set back average users less than £800 a year!
Head over to the loveMONEY gas and electricity centre to see how much you could save.
Air fares
We are about to see an air fare price war, according to Ryanair.
Plummeting oil prices have helped airlines save a pretty penny on their jet fuel, but they haven’t passed those savings on to the likes of you and me.
However, Michael O’Leary, boss of Ryanair, reckons that’s about to change, with Ryanair set to slash 6% off its air fares by the end of this month.
Only time will tell if its rivals follow suit.
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Food
Supermarkets are engaged in a price war of their own at the moment. Last month Asda announced it would be spending £500 million to cover the cost of cutting prices.
It followed Morrisons initiating a ‘Price Crunch’ rolling programme of lower prices on a range of products, typically lasting at least three months. For more, read Morrisons launches Price Crunch cuts on cost of essentials.
The cost of groceries have been dropping for some time now. According to the most recent price tracker from MySupermarket, the cost of shopping staples dropped to their cheapest level in over a year in January.
London travel
If you use Apple Pay, you can travel for free on London’s TfL network for the next couple of Mondays.
Just use your Apple device to touch in on the Underground, buses, Docklands Light Railway and participating National Rail services between 4.30am on Mondays until 1am on Tuesdays, until the 14th March, and the money will be refunded.
Cars
The boffins at Which? have analysed pricing patterns for all sorts of products over the year to put together a calendar which determines the best time to buy certain things.
And they reckon that March is the best time to buy a car. That’s because this is when the new car registrations come out, so you can then find a better deal on the slightly less glamorous older models.
If you are still determined to get a new car, then be sure to check out our guide on how to get the best deal.
Buying a second home
It’s not so much that buying a second home will be cheaper in March, but rather it’s about to get a LOT more expensive from April.
That’s because the new Stamp Duty rules come into force with the new tax year, which will see those buying second and additional homes having to pay a 3% surcharge.
Here’s how the rates will move for those paying the ‘Landlord Stamp Duty rate’.
|
Purchase price bands |
Current Stamp Duty rate |
Landlord Stamp Duty rate from April 2016 |
|
Up to £125,000 |
0% |
3% |
|
£125,001-£250,000 |
2% |
5% |
|
£250,001-£925,000 |
5% |
8% |
|
£925,001-£1,500,000 |
10% |
13% |
|
£1,500,001+ |
12% |
15% |
In practice, that means the Stamp Duty bill for buying a £200,000 property will jump from £1,500 to £7,500, while a £275,000 property will set you back £12,000, rather than the current bill of £3,750.
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