If you want to pay less for gifts, entertainment, contact lenses, pet costs and earn money whilst shopping, amongst other things, check out these tips.
Christmas is looming and with it a zillion expenses. If you want to hang on to a bit more of your hard earned dosh, you'll need to learn how to save money - and you know how much we at the Fool like to help you do that! So if you want to spend a bit less, without compromising on quality, try these tips:
1. Pets
If you have a pet, you'll no doubt know that feeling of dread at the vet's when you're presented with the bill. Now, I'm not going to suggest you take a crash course in veterinary medicine to save a few quid, but there's definitely some money to be saved on those extras. You know the kind of thing, worming tablets, flea treatment etc. Many people don't realise that this type of non-prescription medicine doesn't have to be purchased from your vet, and shopping around for those oft bought items can save you a fortune.
For instance, I recently ordered a six-month supply of Frontline for my cat. This would normally have cost around £25 from my vet, but by ordering from VetUK, I paid a mere £15.49 with free P&P - saving myself almost a tenner! Other sites offering a similar service include Pet Drugs Online and Best Pet Pharmacy and some sites will even allow you to order prescription medicines, as long as you provide a prescription signed by your vet.
2. Earn Money Whilst Shopping
If you're about to shop online, why not earn some cash at the same time by signing up with GreasyPalm? By clicking through the site to shops such as H. Samuel, Burton Menswear, Dorothy Perkins, Marks & Spencer Figleaves, Jones the Bootmaker, La Senza and Mothercare, to name but a few, you will receive 1-6% cashback. When you've earned £25 you'll be sent a cheque and you get £2.50 just for signing up.
3. Grocery Shop Wisely
If you're one of those people that ignores "3 for 2" and "Buy One Get One Free" offers when shopping, you may be missing out. Stocking up on essentials like washing up liquid, shower gel and dried/tinned food items that you would buy anyway can mean you'll save a fair bit over the space of a year. And don't be a brand victim - supermarket own brands can be just as good and much cheaper if you're willing to forgo some fancy packaging.
4. Read for free
If you're an avid reader, you'll probably find yourself constantly putting in Amazon orders which all add up. What's more, that glut of books is probably taking up some valuable space in your home. If you're not the sort to re-read books why not visit your local library and borrow them for free? Alternatively, why not get your money's worth by swapping books with a friend? For those without such literary mates, sites such as ReadItSwapIt will let you swap books online with others for free, you just have to pay the postage.
5. Free Entertainment
If you fancy a night out but don't want to spend much cash, why not go and see a TV show being recorded? By signing up with Applause Store, Clappers or TV Recordings you can get free tickets to see shows such as "Have I Got News For You", "Top Gear" or "The Weakest Link".
6. Sell unwanted stuff
You don't need me to tell you that by clearing out your clutter you can make yourself a packet. Clear out your cupboards, make sure items aren't damaged and prepare to get up early and hit the car boot sale, or get the camera out and get them on eBay. And if you're a regular eBay user, check out sites such as FatFingers and find those items that have been mispelt, and thus have no bids.
7. Cheaper Contact Lenses
If, like me you pay monthly for disposable contact lenses, you'll know how the price adds up. My monthly disposable lenses cost me almost £17 per month - that's £204 per year. However, it's possible to buy your lenses in bulk, online. After a bit of checking I found I could buy a year's supply of the same lenses for £54 and 12 month's supply of solution (including cases) for £82 from Postoptics. All in all it would cost £136 - saving me £68. Now when I take into account aftercare (which costs £35 at my optician's) I don't think I'll be saving much by buying in bulk. However, if you're a daily disposable lens user, the savings to be made are far greater. In fact, depending on the type of lens you use, you could apparently save up to £300!
Other companies offering this service include Tesco (which gives triple Clubcard points), and GetLenses, which is currently offering a 2-week supply free if you buy six month's worth. And Sainsbury's has tackled the important question of after-care by negotiating a 20% discount on check ups at Dollond & Aitchison opticians, for anyone buying its lenses.
8. Switch to a cheaper credit card
If you have borrowings that are accruing interest each month, why not shift them to a 0% credit card? Best buys at the moment include the Halifax One card - offering 0% on balance transfers and new purchases for a whole year! That gives you plenty of time to kill that debt, for free.
9. Snap up some cashback
And for all those organised people out there who always pay their bills on time, why not reward yourself by using a cashback credit card? By putting your normal spending on, for example, the Morgan Stanley Platinum card you'll earn 3% cashback until 1 February 2007, and 1% after that. If you spend around £500 a month on groceries, petrol and incidentals, you could be looking at a cheque for £100, this time next year!
10. Loyalty points
I'm always harping on about these, but that's because they're such a great deal! Trade your Tesco Clubcard vouchers in for Clubcard deals, and you'll get four times their value. Not only can you use these for hotel accommodation, magazine subscriptions and meals out, you can even get MFI vouchers - handy if you're planning on a new bathroom/kitchen. Nectar points can be used for days out, Adams childrenswear vouchers, and cinema tickets.
11. Fly for less
If you fancy a weekend away there are a lot of cheap flights on offer. Ryanair currently has a flight sale on, and, after a quick check I found that two people could fly from London Stansted to Frankfurt on Friday 1 Dec, returning on the Sunday for a ridiculous £8.33 each, including taxes and charges! Or if you fancy skiing, British Airways is offering flights to Grenoble and Toulouse from £29 one-way, including taxes (but watch out, as credit cards are billed an extra £3 surcharge).
12. Shopping offers and bargains
If you're about start your Christmas shopping, make the most of your cash by taking advantage of these current offers. Use this voucher and you can earn £2 in WHSmith Clubcard points, when you spend a fiver. Spend over £30 at Marks & Spencer and if you enter the code PCAHHZT your goods will be delivered, for free. And if you're shopping online at Debenhams, Amazon, CDWow, Dixons, Currys, HMV or ToysRUs, by doing so through Nectar eStores you'll earn nectar points, too.
13. Make your money work harder
It's worth remembering that there is little point being careful with our spending if our savings aren't growing. As you many have heard, interest rates have gone up, which means the best savings rate is now 5.45%AER with ICICI/ Icesave - or 5.55%AER with NS&I's Direct ISA. If your savings account pays less than 4%AER, switch it, fast!
14. Theatre and Cinema tickets
If you're keen on a night out but don't like to pay full whack, why not try sites such as Lastminute? With a bit of checking I found I could book two tickets to see the English National Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker on Saturday 8th December for just a tenner each. Other offers include tickets for the Blue Man Group (which I've seen and is excellent) for £10, or see the Producers and have dinner at Porter's restaurant for just £19.95.
And any cinema buffs out there can use their Nectar vouchers to purchase Odeon tickets, or if you're in London you can buy tickets for the West End Vue cinemas from Lastminute, for showings from Monday to Thursday, for just £4.25 each! And of course, Orange mobile phone customers can get two tickets for the price of one, every Wednesday.
15. Restaurants
Going out for a meal is great, but can be very expensive. Save yourself some cash by booking special deals. Lastminute, again, has some great offers, but also check out Toptable, which covers most of the country - current deals include a two course meal for £5.95 at Al Forno in Brighton, and £12.95 at Zinc Bar & Grill in Glasgow. And you can get half price sushi at YoSushi! in Victoria station, by registering for this voucher, and snap up special offers at Wagamamas by registering at the site and printing off vouchers from their promotions room.
16. Free Restaurant guide
And if you're the sort that never cooks, share your restaurant knowledge by signing up to a restaurant guide site. By completing the Harden's survey each year, for example, you can give your opinion and earn yourself a free Harden's guide.
17. Cheap Hotels
If you're going to be zipping around the country this Christmas, pay less for your hotel room. Hot from our LBYM board is the tip that Travelodge currently has a Christmas sale on, meaning you can book a room between 17 Dec 2006 and 21 January 2007 for a paltry £15 (but make sure you check in early as I've heard rooms can often be over-booked).
18. Don't be afraid to complain!
It's worth remembering that if you experience bad service, or buy something that doesn't perform, as it should, you shouldn't just put up with it. Complain! If you buy something that's faulty, or doesn't do all that it claims to, take it back and you should get a full refund. Obviously this doesn't mean returning a half eaten sandwich because you don't like ham, but, if like me you purchase some shellfish which turns out to be off when you come to cook it that evening, that's the shop's fault, not yours.
19. Reclaim your bank charges
Speaking of complaining, if your bank has slapped you with excessive fees for going a few pence overdrawn, join the thousands of others who are claiming it back. Find out all you need to know in this article.
20. Use comparison sites
Finally, make sure you run any item you wish to purchase online through a comparison site, first. Although an item may be cheap on one site, when you add delivery you could find it would effectively be cheaper elsewhere. Sites such as Pricerunner and Kelkoo will do that hard work for you. And don't forget the High Street - you'll quite often find that, after delivery costs are factored in, you'd have saved money by popping into town, especially for larger items.
So, there you have it, 20 ways to save some of that hard earned cash. You could even spend the money you save on your loved one - take part in our survey and tell us what you plan to spend on your partner this Christmas.
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