Save On Heating Bills This Winter

During the winter, our heating bills can sky-rocket. It doesn’t help that most of the energy companies have raised their energy rates over recent months. Here are a few tips which could help you keep the fuel bills under control this winter, while you stay warm.

Draft proofing – This is essential in order to preserve the heat in your home. Check your doors and windows. Can you feel a draft coming in? If you can, then make plans to urgently have them properly draft proofed. There may be some help available for this so it’s a good idea to check with your local council. For tenants of local authority housing or housing association tenants, contact your nearest housing office and ask for advice. As a tenant, you have the right to report drafts in your windows and doors. For private home owners, it is still worth checking online. At times, and for certain geographic areas, there are grants available offering loft insulation and draft proofing either for free or at a discounted rate.

Curtains and blinds - During the winter months, using blinds and curtains for longer in the day will help to keep the heat in. As soon as the daylight starts to fade, which in the middle of winter can be as early as 4pm, shut your blinds or curtains and let the heat build-up in your home.

Set your thermostat just one degree lower - This may seem like an insignificant amount but it will make a marked difference on your energy consumption. And lowering the temperature by one degree will not result in a noticeable difference in temperature inside the house.

Stay cosy - Buy some lovely, comfortable throws and blankets to snuggle up with when you are watching television or relaxing. When we are at rest, we can often feel colder because we are not moving around. Having an extra layer to wrap around you will keep you cosy without the need to turn the heating up.

Put your heating on a timer - You don’t need to have the water heating on all day to have hot water all day. Put it on a timer so that your water is hot in the mornings and then heat it again for a few hours around 5pm. This will ensure you have hot water throughout the day. Likewise, if you have your central heating on a timer, you will save on the amount of energy you use.

Read More

Spring-Clean your house, And Make Money At The Same Time!

Giving your home a good Spring-Clean is a great way of keeping busy during cold winter days, but it is also a way of making some extra money.

You will be amazed by the number of items you will find, and you will be able to sell them on after a good clean-out. Here are some ideas to inspire you:

Clear out your drawers and cupboards for unused items of clothing you could sell on E-bay.

Everyone has a few unwanted gifts they no longer need. Save money by putting them to the side to use as gifts for other people, or, get them together and sell them at a local car boot sale or on E-bay or a similar website.

Books, DVD’s CD’s and other items are popular at car boot sales. You can sell them for a few pounds each, and if you have a lot, the money will soon add up!

Check the attic, the garage or anywhere else in your home that has become a dumping ground of ‘stuff’. Why keep these items if you are not using them? Instead, give them a good clean and get them ready to be sold to someone who can use them.

Spring Cleaning helps you make your home fresh and give it a new lease of life. Getting rid of unwanted and unused items will give you more space at home, make you feel good after having a clear-out, and it will make you some extra cash!

A spot at a car boot sale or a table top sale is not expensive. Websites like E-bay and Gumtree are great ways to sell items you no longer need.

Spend some time this weekend giving your home a much need pre-Spring clean. Then treat yourself to something new with the money you make.

Read More

Entertaining The Family On A Budget

If you have a young family, you will know how difficult it can be to keep them entertained without breaking your weekly or monthly budget.

You will also know that it can be extremely expensive to take a family of four out for the day. A trip to the cinema for four can cost as much as £60. Even a meal out at a reasonable family restaurant can cost over £50. Here are some great ways to entertain your family on a budget.

Keep an eye out for special offers at the cinema or at other family friendly venues like bowling alleys, ice-rinks, climbing walls, adventure playgrounds, and farm parks. They will all be keen to attract customers and most companies offering entertainment and activities for families will regularly give customers the chance to visit at discounted rates or purchase a cheaper family ticket on certain days. Keep a regular eye on the websites and sign-up for email updates. This will keep you informed, and you will learn about offers as soon as they become available.

Volunteering can be fun! Look for some local organisations in your area. There are many groups looking for volunteers which include young families. Helping clear up a local park, taking care of the countryside, or volunteering as a family to help others, are all ways you can get out of the house and have a great time while you help other people or care for the environment.

Create adventures. Children love adventures and will be thrilled if you tell them you are taking them on a treasure hunt! Hide a few items, like sweets or little toys, in safe locations in a park or in the nearby countryside, somewhere where they will not be easily found by other people. Now, make a picnic and take the family out on an amazing treasure hunt, complete with cryptic clues! You will have fun thinking up the clues, and you will all enjoy time together in the fresh air as you hunt for your hidden treasures.

Read More

Looking Good For Less

We all have times when we wish we had more money to spend on clothes, accessories and fashion items. Unfortunately, for most of us, even when we work hard to earn a living, it is not possible to regularly buy the most popular designer labels and fashion must-haves.

Here are some clever tips that will help men and women look good for less.

Buy from the sales - Sales are great places to find bargains that cost a fraction of the full price items. Be careful to only buy what you are looking for, and always check sales items for faults or damage. The mistake many people make is buying items at sale price when they don’t need them. If you use the sales as an opportunity to buy the things you need at a bargain price, you will save a lot of money in a year. The clothes will not be out of fashion, and if you shop carefully, you will find excellent quality clothes made by leading brands.

Re-vamp your existing wardrobe – You can save a lot of money by giving your existing clothes a new lease of life. You don’t need to be a sewing expert or a fashion designer to transform older clothes and give them a new look. Try replacing the buttons on an old coat to give it a brand new, up to date look. Simple white t-shirts can be transformed with some fun decorating using fabric paints or fabric pens. A set of fabric pens will cost as little as £5 online and you can use them to add doodles, funny quotes, or crazy patterns to a t-shirt.

Accessorize – Using scarves, hats, belts and other accessories in an imaginative way can make an outfit look completely different. Instead of spending a huge sum on a new outfit, why not buy new accessories to transform your existing outfit? No-one will know and in most cases, the clever use of jewellery, scarves, shoes, and mixing and matching different items in your wardrobe, will make an old outfit look brand new.

Read More

Giving great gifts and presents on a budget.

Even when money is tight, there are still times when we need to spend money on luxury items. Buying a gift or present for a family member or friend is one example. If you are on a budget, how can you buy wonderful gifts that will not break the bank?

There are many ways you can save money and still give your loved ones a special gift. You can also do some simple things to save money on the gifts or cards and wrapping paper.
 

Here are some tips and suggestions for great budget gift buying:

Keep a look out throughout the year for bargains and suitable items that would make a good gift. During the sales, or on the discount shelves of stores, there will be items that are heavily discounted, but that are still good quality and in excellent condition. For example, accessories like scarves, gloves, socks, hats and costume jewellery are always available at discounted prices. They may be out of season but they will still be good quality and make excellent presents for men and women.

Crafts are a wonderful way to enjoy yourself and master a hobby while you make unique gifts for your friends and family. If you enjoy crafts, think about starting a new hobby like embroidery or pottery. The items you make could easily be used as gifts.

Photography is a wonderful way to give a very special and personal gift. Have a look at your family photographs. Make a montage of a special occasion, or choose an image of a loved one from years ago. Frames are not expensive and can easily be purchased for a high street pound store. Framing a special photo and giving it to a loved one is a charming gift that has meaning and emotional value too.

Use astorage box in your home to store cards, gifts, leftover or saved wrapping paper and gift bags, all ready to re-use. Very soon you will have built up a store of gifts and cards you can use whenever an occasion requires it. You won’t need to worry about your budget or finding some extra money. You will always have something ready that will make the perfect gift.

Read More

Where can you find good money advice online?

There are many sites and blogs online featuring information, guidance and advice on how to save money, and how to deal with your finances. But how do you know which advice is correct? A few searches on financial subjects can reveal conflicting advice. As a result, they can sometimes cause more confusion instead of answer questions.

If you are looking for money advice online here are some suggestions on how to find the answers to your questions.

If you need advice about a particular product or service, your first port of call should be the company in question. Most companies will have a customer service team who will be on hand to answer questions and deal with any problems or queries. For financial issues like bank accounts, credit facilities, or savings and insurance policies, you should contact the institution directly and ask to speak to an advisor that specialises in that area.

For information on mortgages you could contact your bank or building society. There are also a number of independent mortgage advisors who have websites full of useful tips and advice for consumers seeking a good mortgage deal.

If you are dealing with debts and need advice on debt consolidation or debt management programmes, your first contact should be an advice service like the Citizen’s Advice. Be cautious about approaching a private debt management company. Although many of them are extremely reputable, there are some that charge high fees for their services. Debt management plans can be set up on your behalf,for no additional cost, by debt services run by public agencies.

If you are looking for general money saving tips, websites like Money Saving Expert are excellent. They offer advice, feedback and comments from other consumers, and tips that can be extremely helpful. There are also many independent financial advisers who can work with you to identify the best solutions for savings, accounts, investments, pensions, insurances and more.

Read More

Do Insurance comparison sites really save us money?

 
Whether we agree with it or not, we all need insurance. Unfortunately car insurance and home insurances are both essential parts of everyday life. Many people are using insurance comparison sites in order to find the best insurance deal. But we wondered if they really work? And now that there are a number of comparison sites offering a similar service, does it matter which site we use?

The answer is, comparison sites will show you a range of insurance policies and it will be easy to see the cheapest option, or the option which gives you the best deal for your needs. However, none of the sites quote every single insurance company, and all the comparison sites are doing business with these companies.

Here is how it works:

A comparison site will negotiate with certain insurance providers, offering to include them on a website for a percentage of successful sales. The insurance companies have the chance to be marketed by another company, and it is worth their while to offer insurance at a better rate in order to be more appealing in a search so they agree. And yes, basically, it means if you choose the cheapest insurance deal from a comparison site, you are getting a bargain compared to the other policies listed on that site. But it may not be the cheapest on the market.

What many people do not always realise is that search results, and insurance quotes change from person to person, car to car, site to site, and from day to day! In fact, rather like tickets for airline flights, no one really knows how much insurance is, and that is the point, and how insurance companies get way with charging high premiums for insurance.

In order to really save money on insurance, and get a true comparison, you will need to do some of the work yourself. Sometimes simply calling your own company and negotiating can reap rewards. Many people are now comparing the comparison sites! It all may sound like a lot of hard work, but if you can save yourself hundreds of pounds on an annual basis, spending that extra time could just be worth it.

Read More