The Foolish community has given us ten great ways to save an awful lot of money!
You can pick up many tips from our Money Saving Tips board, which is a hidden treasure of great ideas, most of which will be new to you. To demonstrate, I'm just going to take the last ten discussions in reverse order, and pull out the juicy bits.
1. An unfortunate beginning
This is an innovative alternative to tampons called the Mooncup. Board user PilingOnThePound reckons it'll save you at least £100 over three or four years. I'm taking a look at The Mooncup website now. (I've decided that if any colleagues see me I'll just defend myself loudly and confidently: 'So? I'm looking at alternative sanitary products for women. What of it?') My research uncovered these statements:
'Unlike pads and tampons the Mooncup menstrual cup is reusable, eliminating the need to carry bulky spares. With proper care your Mooncup will last for several years.
'For your safety the Mooncup is made from a special medical grade non-allergic silicone. Silicone is derived from silica which is one of the most abundant minerals on earth.
'It will not cause irritation and is suitable for women with sensitive skin, thrush, eczema or allergy.'
Well, that all sounds positive to me. But don't just take my word for it. Board users used words like 'comfortable' and 'liberating'. You can read what they think yourself...
Read the discussion thread: One for the Ladies...
2. I'm not going to say it!
...Alright I will, darn you! The annoying, unfunny phrase 'four-play' is a new term used to describe a package that combines a mobile phone, TV, broadband and landline deals.
Not having a TV, I'm out of touch with popular culture, but there is an interesting debate about how and where to buy these four products. Poster RyuDale spends about £80 a month on Sky TV, Orange mobile and broadband, and a BT phone line. Suggestions include ditching Sky for Freeview, getting a free mobile phone and contract (see point nine, below) and getting Virgin Media broadband.
The debate also covered TalkTalk, VirginMedia and Pay As You Go mobile phones, amongst other things. It seems RyuDale could save £40 or £50.
Read the discussion thread: Virgin Media..Worth a Switch... | Get more tips in the article Go Digital For Less!
3. Half-price Amazon goods
New poster dbjler revealed a site which lists Amazon bargains. I had a look, and nothing I saw on the site, Nimisis, costs more than 50%; many things cost a lot less. It has everything from memory cards to espresso machines, but, sadly, no books.
Read the discussion thread: Amazon deals at half price (or less).
4. Shaving savers
There's some real penny-pinching going on here. 'What do you do when your shaving gel runs out?' is the question. Answers include:
- Fill the sink with hot water and roll the can in it. 'Gel will then be forthcoming', says staleyman. (But use the water you were shaving with, or the cost of the hot water might outweigh the savings, suggests liz3yy.)
- Use Aqueous Cream instead (eserim). I'm not going to pretend I know what that is, but apparently it 'leaves the skin in good condition and costs a few quid for a huge tub'.
- Use hair conditioner, it's 'even savvier'. (Angelselondon)
- Wet shave, no gel. 'Have the water nice and hot and to give your stubble a bit of a soak first'. (DAntoneIshot)
- Soap 'works just as well as shaving gel', says BigScaryHaynet. He adds that it means one less thing to carry when travelling too.
Read the discussion thread: Shaving Gel.
5. Be a nuisance shopper and get a pay rise!
In the article Five Ways To Get A Better Deal I explained how to complain and get compensation, amongst other things. In this discussion, the board users have their own take on complaining, having received compensation from such companies as Kwik Fit, Powergen and Argos. They also have suggestions for praising service and getting a pay rise. Advice includes:
- 'Make it your policy to take the time to complain about bad service...I have recently taken the time to do so and it has saved me a fortune.' (slcurrie)
- 'Ensure you have a good case with sufficient evidence. Keep records of every conversation - I have won several court cases because I wrote up accounts of calls / meetings at the time and the other side had not.' (sejintenej, who seems rather hard core...)
- sejintenej also says: 'Let them start the bargaining. If you say that you want £100 compensation they will automatically offer £25 and agree to £50 whereas if they have to make the offer they might offer as much as £200.'
- If you don't get a response to a complaint within ten days, write to the CEO. (sejintenej again)
- SirMe (writing about a friend of his): 'He and a mate of his working at the same company decided to form a "mutual appreciation society" so every time a manager etc. was talking with them each would sing the other guys praises.. worked a treat come pay rise time!'
Read the discussion thread: Written complaints and praise for good service.
6. Yet another credit-card pitfall
If you pay your credit-card bill the day before the bill is due, you'll get varying degrees of service. Some companies will clear your card account on time, others take days to clear. So read the small print, or you could be hit by late-payment charges.
The details should be on your statements. digitalic suggests that you set up a direct debit to pay 'at least the minimum monthly payment, and preferably the whole balance'.
lessfoolishnow says that you should make it easier to pay and keep track of your account by setting up an internet account.
foolsstop says about credit-card debt in particular: 'Is the debt going down if not then budget needs urgent attention'. He/she also asks: 'Have you tackled the interest rate by looking for 0% BT cards or life time BT cards?'
Don't make the mistake one board user did and not read your statements for six months! Don't hide from your debts. Face up to it and Get Out Of Debt.
Read the discussion thread: late credit card payment. | If you're hit by credit-card charges, claim them back! Read The Ultimate Guide To Reclaiming Bank And Card Charges.
7. OK, this one is an oldie...
People go on about energy-efficient light bulbs as if they'll save the planet. They won't, but they can save us money and cause less damage to the environment at the same time. The savings could be even more significant if, like mkneen, you have 'teenagers who are surely in the employ of the electricity company'.
He calculates that the new 20 watt bulbs will save you 72p per hour compared with a regular 100w one. At £4 a bulb, it'll pay for itself in sixteen weeks at five hours a day, which is quite normal for the darker months. As a result, the users agreed that it makes most sense to replace bulbs you use a lot, but not so much sense if it's a light in a store cupboard, for example.
I haven't checked mkneen's numbers, but the watchdog Energywatch reckons you could save up to £9 in bills per year per bulb.
The board users suggest you buy your bulbs from your local independent retailer or Ikea. (I can't stand that place, but apparently they have a large selection.) Me: I have bought bulbs at Sainsbury's for around £2, and at John Lewis for £1. (You can get them at John Lewis for around 50p now, but they are sold out at present.)
mkneen also says: 'We had some of the earlier generation of low energy bulbs previously, and their disadvantage was the minute or so they took to come to full brightness. The ones we've just bought come to full brightness immediately they are switched on.'
Read the discussion thread: Low Energy Lightbulbs.
8. Cheaper petrol!
starlight00 highlights a favourite of ours at The Fool: the 'cool' website www.petrolprices.com. You type in a post code and it compares prices at petrol stations in the vicinity. I like that it also provides a map showing where the stations are.
'If you juggle the places where you buy petrol you can end up making a decent saving because the price of petrol changes regularly and varies between stations. You can even get weekly email updates so you don't need to remember to check the site.'
Read the discussion thread: Cheap Petrol.
9. The ultimate in money saving
Like many Fools, 2kadmin has a cashback mobile-phone deal. She gets a free phone and half-price line rental for eight months. Other Fools do better still with a 100% refund on their mobile phone bills! It's the ultimate in money-saving. Many posters joined this discussion to share their ideas. I also gave my own tips, views and warnings in 8 Cashback Mobile Phone Tips!
Read the discussion thread: Mobile Phone Savings.
10. For gardeners
PaperPotters, which I know even less about than alternative sanitary products, are 'a great way to recycle [newspaper], look after the environment, and keep gardening costs down', according to bekchops. It looks interesting, although one user comments that if you use it for window sill plants it does make 'an awful mess!'
Read the discussion thread: Gardening people - diy pots.
> Read more money-saving articles and visit the Money Saving Tips discussion board.