Top Tips for UK Consumers
On this page, we list our top ten tips for saving money, and another ten tips on how to make a bit of extra cash.
Our top ten moneysaving tips
| 1 | Bring your bills down |
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| 2 | Shop around | If
you're buying anything over £5- from a CD to a settee, chances are you'll
be able to find it cheaper by a little careful shopping
around. Doing your Christmas shopping online, for instance, can bring big savings.
Take a look at the main comparison services for an idea on who has the best deal. |
| 3 | Reward schemes |
When it comes
to our regular shopping, most of us keep our eyes out for a bargain
- the 3 for 2 offers, buy-one, get-one-free deals, etc. Remember that
staying loyal to one store also brings savings, and many stores running
loyalty schemes also let you save money online
as well as instore. |
| 4 | Credit card | Canny
credit card users can save considerably by changing credit card, and if you have
the patience, by moving cards on a regular basis to take advantage of short-term
introductory offers. Credit card deals to watch out
for are low interest rates on new purchases or balance transfers, and cards that
offer cashback schemes We recommend: Low interest/reward cards from MBNA. |
| 5 | Phone bill |
Phone bills can
easily spiral out of control. Keep an eye on your phone bills when they
arrive, with special attention being paid to your BT Friends and Family
numbers (which can be changed
online). If you use a dial-up Internet service, and are spending over £10
a month for calls to your Internet Provider,
then changing to a new package is likely to save you money too. Mobile
phones are another area to watch carefully. If you send loads of
text messages at 10p per message, then you can save by switching services.
A recent report has indicated that many pay-as-you-go customers can
do a lot better by moving to a monthly tariff. |
| 6 | Change your bank | If
you're with one of the main high-street banks, you're probably losing out in several
ways - low interest rates on your current account, and higher overdraft fees,
to name just two. Look around for accounts with building societies, or online
accounts, where there's a higher interest rate, and lower fees, as the company
has fewer overheads. Savings accounts are another area worth shopping around. |
| 7 | Auction sites | Another
tip if you're looking to buy, is to try one of the online auction sites. With
a little common sense, sites like eBay and QXL are perfectly safe to use, as you
can check comments from a seller's previous customers, and you can potentially
make a big saving. You can also stop bidding at any time, if the price starts
to exceed a high street price. Bid for new, used and hard-to-find items. |
| 8 | Mortgage |
Probably
the biggest expense, and provided you're not tied into a long-term fixed rate
mortgage, moving around can bring you great savings. |
| 9 | DVDs | Into
DVDs? Building a large collection? How many times do you actually watch
each DVD? Rather than buying your own copy of your favourite DVDs, consider
renting new films by mail-order. If you are buying, see our DVD
page for details of online retailers (Amazon isn't always the best
bet). Also note that pre-ordering a DVD often works out a lot cheaper
than waiting until it's released. We recommend: Rent as many DVDs as you can watch for a single monthly payment:LOVEFiLM. |
| 10 | Cheaper insurance | Motor,
car, home, contents, buildings, health and life insurance. Are you playing too
much? When renewal comes around take time to shop around for cheaper quotes. Independent
online sites can make it easier to track down the right deal. We recommend: For cheaper car and home insurance, try the AA for discounts of up to 7.5% when taking out insurance online, and greater discount for AA breakdown members. The AA compare quotes from hundreds of insurers, and are independent.. See our Insurance page for more. |
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Our
top ten moneymaking tips
| 1 | Online specials |
Keep your eye out for special
deals online, such as money for opening a new bank or credit card account.
There's so much competition out there for our custom, that £10
off first order, 10% off and other discount offers are always there
to be found. |
| 2 | Selling stuff | Take
a look around your house or flat? Anything you don't use any more and don't know
what to do with? Stuff in the attic to get rid of? Before it gathers too much
dust, consider selling it via an online auction. The cost of using a service like
ebay and QXL is pretty minimal, and if you follow the instructions on their sites,
you shouldn't lose out. Take a look around the sites first to see what kind of
stuff fetches what kind of money. |
| 3 | Card surfing | A
popular and profitable game for those who can keep track of their funds. Find
a credit card that lets you withdraw/transfer funds for free (or a minimal fee),
then withdraw as much as you can within your limit. Put the money into a savings
account, at 4 or 5%, then transfer the credit card debt to a card that offers
0% on balance transfers for an introductory period. When the period runs out,
transfer to another similar credit card. Do it right, and you pay no fees, you
have the original money stashed away safely, earning 5% a year. |
| 4 | Surveys | Companies
will pay to find out what we think. Sign up to any of the online survey companies,
and get an email when an appropriate survey comes up. |
| 5 | Lotteries |
|
| 6 | Website |
If you have a website, make money
from it - this does actually work, especially if your site has unique
content on a specialist topic. Cash for clickthroughs, sales or referrals.
Use companies like Commission Junction, Tradedoubler
and Affiliate Window to put some big names and big earners on your site.
|
| 7 | Online betting |
If you fancy taking a gamble, of you've been given a hot tip, take a look at some
of the online betting sites Mostly geared around sporting bets, they also offer
bets for those who aren't sports fans. Best of all, they often have "free
bet" offers to help get you started. |
| 8 | Open a new account | Banks are really really keen to get your business. Many of us believe that staying loyal to our banks has benefits, but it's time to review that belief. Take a look around and see if you can switch accounts - and get paid for doing so. We recommend: First Direct for great customer service, and Alliance & Leicester for good interest rates. |
| 9 | Other schemes | Here are a few of the other schemes on offer. These require a little more perseverance, but may be worth trying, especially if you're a frequent surfer... |
| 10 | Refer-a-friend |
Some companies offer incentives for referring a friend. Here are just a few to
try:
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See our Make money page for more on the above tips
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