Be wary of telephone scams.

There has been an increase in the reporting of telephone scams. Unscrupulous marketing companies have been harassing private citizens by calling their home phone numbers at all times of the day and night. In addition to making an unreasonable and intrusive number of calls, these companies often claim to be connected to larger well-known organisations, brands, or government agencies.

Be extremely cautious if you receive a phone call from companies claiming to be associated with the government, Inland Revenue, or any other leading company. You should also be wary of companies claiming to be debt collection services or marketing services. Reports online indicate that many of these are scams, and they are an attempt to gain personal details from the householder.

For example, the caller will say they are collecting an old debt, the householder will ask for details of the debt, the caller will then ask them for their name, full postal address, and date of birth prior to giving any debt information. Be extremely careful who you give these details to. If you have never heard of the company, and do not know of any previous debt, you have a right to refuse to speak to them. If the debt is genuine they will already have your address and should contact you in writing.

Other scams involve attempts to encourage people to pay up front for services. The vulnerable and elderly are at risk of being taken in by these scams so if you have a family member who is being harassed by cold callers, consider fitting an answer machine for them, or add a call barring service to their phone to block certain numbers.

Call barring will help you deal with the majority of unwanted calls. Sadly this does not work for the companies who call from abroad on an international number, or for those who keep their numbers withheld.

Unfortunately, although the police are aware of these instances, there is little they can do until an actual fraud takes place. However, if you do receive scam calls, take a note of the number, report it to the OFT, and if you feel threatened in any way, report it to your local police.

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5 ways to reduce your weekly petrol expenditure

1.    Car pool to work or for the school run. Use social media to find work colleagues or parents who will car pool with you. It will save everyone involve a significant amount of money on fuel, and if you take it in turns to use cars, it cuts down on mileage and wear and tear too.

2.    Order your supermarket shopping online and have it delivered. Most supermarket deliveries cost approximately £2.50, depending upon the time and day of delivery. The UK’s average cost for fuel to drive into a town or retail park, then shop at a supermarket, and return home, is £5.

3.    Plan your week more effectively. Instead of driving back and forth, running up the mileage and making many small visits to town, plan your week. Spend the day doing a number of things, drive in, park in a central location and walk to all the places you need to visit. You’ll get some exercise and you will save on fuel.

4.    Leave a little earlier in the mornings. Driving in slow rush hour traffic, or driving at speed uses more fuel than driving at a steady and regular pace in a higher gear. By leaving a little earlier, you can avoid getting stuck in queues of traffic, and you can also avoid trying to drive fast when the road is clear. Instead, you can enjoy a steady drive to work and reduce your fuel consumption.

5.    Don’t stick to one petrol station. Shop around. Prices fluctuate from week to week so check online or using your mobile device and buy your petrol at the cheapest rate. It can be tempting to stick to one petrol station if you have a loyalty card, but think carefully whether the benefits you receive on the card are as much of a saving as always going where the cheapest fuel is being sold.

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Be aware of the clever marketing supermarkets use to get your cash.

Here are some clever ploys the supermarkets and leading brands use to encourage you to buy. Being aware of these methods will help you to be more aware of the tactics, recognise them and to avoid them while you are shopping. As a result, it may help you save some money on your weekly grocery bill.

Brands have taught us that more expensive is better. And the truth is, for the majority of household items and foods, this is just not true. Yes, there are some brands that make better products than others, but you will always find a cheaper alternative which has the same quality if you look. With regard to supermarkets, stores like Aldi and Lidl have built their reputations on proving to customers that brand labels are not any better than the cheaper options.

Be aware of the language, phrasing and offers that supermarkets and brands use too. They are using specific language in clever ways that almost conditions us into believing the messages and falling for the hype. Here is one simple example, Luxury Soap, Brand Soap, and Basic Soap. Which one of these options would you normally be attracted to if you need to buy one bar of soap?

Basic soap costs 20p,

Brand Soap costs £1 for 4 bars

Luxury Soaps are 75P and you can buy two and get one for free.

It’s obvious which the cheaper option is, and the second option appears to provide the best value for money. But here is the catch. One bar of soap, for an average family, will last between two to three weeks, and one bar is all you needed – a budget of 20p. If you picked one of the other two options, then the supermarket managed to get a pound out of your purse when you only planned to spend 20p. And that is how clever marketing and the use of promotional language and selling tactics is able to get more money out of us every time we shop. If we are on a tight budget tactics like this can make a huge difference to how much we have to spend on other essentials.

Watch out for phrases like Premium, Finest, Extra Special, famous brands rely on product recognition. Own brand products are not of a lower quality, there are laws against shops selling us substandard food! They are cheaper because there are no costs involved in producing expensive packaging.

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Give your child an amazing birthday party on a budget.

Parents naturally want to give their children the best. And for their birthdays, there is increasing pressure to provide amazing parties and gifts, but the costs can spiral and for many families paying for the expense of a child’s birthday party can be an almost impossible task.

Here are some simple tips which will help you to give your child an amazing birthday party on a budget.

Stand your ground – don’t try to keep up with other parents who may be more financially secure. Your child will not lose out if you are still able to give them a special day. Trying to maintain appearances and project an image of wealth can be stressful and expensive.

Limit the numbers – instead of organising a party for everyone in their class, ask them to choose a smaller number of special friends who could be invited to an exclusive birthday tea or picnic.

Be imaginative with party gifts and prizes–be creative in your choice of gifts for the party guests. You do not need to spend hundreds of pounds buying little toys, books and other cute items to give to your child’s friends. A bag of fun-size chocolates, a box of pencils, a tray of bubbles, some sweets, a balloon and funny jokes or activity sheets printed from the internet can be distributed amongst simple party bags and will cost less than £15. Young children will be just as delighted with them.

Avoid the restaurant chains – Parties at fast food chains and play centres cost a fortune. They may be marketed as a cheaper, easier option but in most cases they are not. The majority of venues require the parents to supply the birthday cake, additional food, and any additional prizes or gifts for the children. Usually, it costs around £5.00 per head, but if you calculate the cost of what each child is actually receiving in their party box, you will see these companies are making a fortune at your expense. If you do not have the room or a suitable space at home, you could organise the party at a local park, or enquire about hiring a community centre room for a few hours. You may be surprised how much cheaper it is.

Budget food – Kids don’t eat a lot. If you make a few simple sandwiches, some sausage rolls or cheesy pastries and put some crisps and sweets into bowls, they will be perfectly happy. Use squash instead of fizzy juice too, most parents will thank you for not filling their children with fizzy caffeine, and it is much easier, cheaper and easier on the carpet!

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You can save money and still indulge in life’s little luxuries.

It is much easier to save money if you do not feel deprived of all the things that make you happy. Times have been extremely tough for many of us in recent years, and life is still financially difficult for most people. Learning to enjoy little treats and luxuries that will not eat into your savings is a great way of rewarding yourself for all the hard work.

Here are some ideas on how you can indulge in life’s little luxuries and still save money. Life is for living, not struggling, so while you are working hard to meet your financial goals, remember, you deserve a treat.

Here are some ideas and ways you could treat yourself so you do not feel deprived.

Why not treat yourself to a delicious designer coffee on a Friday morning? It’s a way of celebrating the end of the week and enjoying the coffee you love. And the money you have saved all week will make it taste even better!

If you have cut back on buying lunches at work to save money, why not get together with your work colleagues once a month for a special lunch? As well as being a treat for the whole team, and a chance to socialise outside of the office, it will give you the feeling of having accomplished another successful month of working, earning, and saving.

Maybe your finances won’t let you enjoy a full day at the spa, but you could treat yourself to a bottle of sumptuous bubble bath and indulge in an evening of pampering at home.

If you can’t afford to take your partner out for dinner, instead, turn your home into an intimate little restaurant for the night and surprise them with a home cooked candlelit meal.

Movie night with the family does not have to cost a fortune attending the cinema. Buy some treats from the supermarket that are on offer. Dig out your children’s favourite family film, or hire one for the night, and turn your living room into a private cinema.

There are many ways you can enjoy the very best of life without having to spend large amounts of money. Use your creativity and enjoy thinking of ways to experience life’s little luxuries on a budget.

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Have a clear out at home and make some extra cash.

When was the last time you had a clear out of your cupboard, drawers, and wardrobes, or even up in the attic? When money is tight, many people take the opportunity to have a good clear out and sort their belongings out to identify items which could be sold.

You don’t need to sell things that you still need or use, and we don’t suggest you sell precious items with great sentimental value, but most families will have items that are in good condition, that are no longer needed.

Now is the time to have a good clear out. The weather is still cold and it will prepare you for the coming spring. Check your local press to see dates of car boot sales or table top sales. These are great events to attend. It usually costs no more than £10 for a space at the sale, and you can take all your items and sell them on! Most people are pleasantly surprised by how much they can recoup by attending a table top sale or car boot sale.

E-bay is also a popular choice for selling items online. It’s best to get to know this site before you start selling. Watch similar items and see how much they are sold for. This will give you a much better idea on how to price your items and whether to sell them or put them up for auction.

When you are selling previously owned goods, you need to make sure they are clean and in good condition. Most people want items that have come from smoke free homes. Often people are looking for brand new items that may have been unwanted gifts.

Simply having a clear out, is a great way of making money quickly and easily. Good quality toys, kitchen gadgets never taken out of the box, and unworn items with the labels still attached. These are all things that can easily be sold for a decent amount of money.

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Beware of internet scams!

Recently, there has been a shocking increase in internet and email scams. Be very wary of these practices. There are many terrible stories of people who have been taken in by these crooks and lost money in doing so.

Email scams are particularly popular amongst the crooks. You may have heard of the emails asking for money to be sent to another country. While extremely shocking, most people know these are not genuine emails. However, some scams are extremely clever and much harder to spot. Thousands of people have been receiving emails and calls from companies claiming to be attached to the Inland Revenue. News of this scam has been reported widely on the news, and in the papers.

Phishing scams are an attempt to get your personal details from you in order to more easily commit identify fraud. The problem here is that if successful, the culprits can cause a great deal of damage to your credit rating and online reputation.

Be extremely careful with your personal details, especially bank account details, your full name, and date of birth. If a company asks for these details then be cautious and report the email. If it is genuine the company will contact you to confirm it. Banks and other financial institutes never ask for your personal details via email and they will never ask for your passwords.

Do not fall for any company claiming to offer you something that seems almost too good to be true. Take some time to look into it. Search the company name online and check to see if it is a scam. Although scams are appearing on the internet every day, fortunately they are also identified as scams just as quickly, so a quick search will reveal them for you.

Stay safe when you are online, only deal with reputable companies, and never share your information online.

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