Save Money - Lets Start Saving Now - Great Money Saving Tips & Ideas

There are hundreds of ways to Save Money. 

Email Money Saving Ideas to info@JoinTheWorld.co.uk  or post them in the Forum
The internet is a great tool, please use it! 

Shop around for cheaper Gas and Electricity.  I recently switched my electricity giving me a saving of approximately £300 per year and it did not take long to do.  Use the price comparison sites.

Working Lunch

Make your own sandwiches or salad to take into work for lunch, rather than buying ready made.  Take a flask with soup or coffee and a bottle of water that can be refilled from your tap at home.  Over a year this can save a considerable amount of money.

Close your curtains -

As soon as the sun starts to set close the curtains to keep the maximum amount of heat in and to save on your fuel bills.  If you have an old house with single glazing it is best to have some beautifully thick, long, interlined curtains; they hang really well, they look rich and luxurious and are really good at keeping the room warm.  Good, interlined curtains can cost a lot so buy secondhand or make your own, some excellent instruction books are available from our Amazon Shop.  Keep warm!

The Thrift Book

The Thrift Book is a blueprint for living beautifully while saving money and easing your conscience, click on the link to find out more and buy at a great price from Amazon.  Great gift - a helpful manual for us all!

The Thrift Book: Live Well and Spend Less

You and Your Family Household and Money Saving Tips

One of the biggest savings has got to be to share a house with other sectors of your extended family, ie One big house for two families.  Maybe your immediate family sharing with your parents or with your brother or sister and their family.  I think we are going to see a lot more of this in the future as the savings are substantial.  You can buy a much bigger house between you and then share the bills and the jobs.  It would be easy to grow your own in this situation as there are more people to share the jobs.  It could also save on baby sitting and even car sharing could enter into the equation.  When you think about it there are so many areas in which you could all save money.  Only one lot of council tax.  Plus the added benefit that you are all there to help each other out in your own little family community.  I feel sure that this is the way of the future because it makes so much sense.

SAVING

Be determined and stay positive about saving.  Be realistic and set realistic goals.  Be flexible and be patient, it does not happen over night, but you can do it! 

Council Tax Home Revaluation 

If you think your council tax band is too high compared to other properties in your area you can apply to have your property revalued.  All sorts of factors are taken into account.  Presumably you have to be careful because they could value the property in a higher band but if you feel sure it should be lower then pester them and good luck with this.

COINS  

Get your family to empty out their loose change into a jar every few days.  You will be surprised how soon this adds up.  Every few weeks you can pay the money into a savings account.

Mortgage and Credit Card Debt 

Reassess your debt situation, we are talking big money here. I know that mortgages are much harder to get now but do some checking. There are still mortgages out there, shop around and see if you can get a better rate. It will depend on your circumstances as to whether or not you are able to switch at the moment. Sometimes a phone call to your current provider will produce a better deal for you, get talking. If you have credit card debt clear it as soon as possible, credit card debt is expensive. Swop the debt for a low cost loan and if you have trouble controlling your spending then cancel your credit cards. When you make a purchase pay in cash and only spend what you have available. Sorting out your mortgage and credit card debt could save you thousands, do it now.

Heating and Lighting 

After you have found a new supplier for your Gas and Electricity turn your water heater down a little and when you don't need it turn it off. Remind the family to turn off the lights when they leave a room. Don't leave items on standby, turn them off. Most of this is common sense, think about it.

Phone Calls and Broadband 

There are plenty of Telephone Call Deals that can save you money. Usually you keep your line rental with BT and swop your calls. I have found that AOL do good deals, you can have telephone calls on their own, Broadband on its own, or a package which combines the two and which saves a considerable amount of money. I have always found AOL to be very reliable, helpful and on the whole they seem to offer a good service at great prices.

Mobile Phones 

If you have a mobile phone contract do you really need it?  Do you use it to your own advantage?  Is it cost affective?  Consider using the mobile less and cancelling the expensive contract, use Pay As You Go and think about your calls, are they all really necessary?  At the time of writing you can buy a Pay As You Go Phone for £9.99 or less.  You do not need to waste all that money on flashy phones that will be outdated as soon as the latest model comes out.  Who cares if you have the latest model phone?  It is just a marketing con, do not be taken in by it.  This is a huge waste of money for a lot of people.  Think before you use your mobile, it could be damaging your wallet and your health.  Use it as a tool, ie for emergencies.  If you are heavily into texting, these can be sent free of charge from certain websites.

Food Shopping 

Fruit and veg are good for you, they can be bought very cheaply in your local market. Go and take a look, you could be surprised at the variety of good food available at very reasonable prices. In Farmers Markets you can buy top quality meat direct from the farmers, locally baked cakes and bread, locally made cheeses, yogurts and sometimes butter. The quality is often far superior to the produce in most supermarkets. The difference in quality of an organic free range egg to a supermarket battery hen egg, is unbelievable. Go to your Farmers Market and get some decent eggs for an inexpensive healthy meal. Switch supermarkets, try Lidls, they have some amazing bargains and the quality of their food is surprisingly good. You may not recognise most of the brands they stock but they are generally good as are the prices. Go with a list, think about what you really need and start saving money now.

COUPONS 

Use the coupons and vouchers, they come in the post, through the door, in the newspapers and can be found online, use them. Keep them clipped to your shopping list so that you remember to hand them in at the cash desk.

WATCH THE CASH REGISTER FOR ERRORS, YOU WILL BE SURPRISED HOW OFTEN ERRORS ARE MADE.  KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN!  BE AWARE!  MAKE SURE YOU ARE CHARGED CORRECTLY AND CHECK YOUR CHANGE!

Insurance

Check out all your insurance policies, compare policies on the internet, you will be surprised at the savings when you shop around. You must keep your car insurance and it is strongly advised that you keep your house insurance because no one could afford to loose their home and belongings in the event of a fire or other disaster. Start comparing prices on the internet well before your renewal date and switch to save possibly hundreds of pounds. Shop around for your Life Assurance, Breakdown and travel Insurance also. Use the price comparison sites, get the best quote and then ring your existing insurance company and ask if they can beat it.

Entertaining 

Cut down on drinking. Staying in is the new going out. Cook a superb meal at home with produce from the Farmers Market instead of going out for a special dinner. Have a dinner party, they need not cost a fortune and everyone can be asked to bring a bottle or a starter or desert, this can be fun. You can make an excellent meal from cheap seasonal produce.

Lottery

If you like a gamble, instead of buying lottery tickets put your money into Premium Bonds. They have a monthly draw and if you need your money you can get it back, unlike the lottery. Think about how much you have spent on the Lottery over the past few years, if you had been putting this money into Premium Bonds you would still have all the money from all the tickets you purchased: this could now amount to quite a large sum.

Extended Warranties 

Personally I hate these. Think about whether you really need them, are they good value for money? Do not be pressurised by the salesman. Think about how many times your fridge or television has broken down over the past few years?

Shut That Door

Keep all the doors shut inside your house to cut down on draughts, which will keep your home warmer. If you are still getting draughts around the edges of the doors you can buy draught excluder.

During Cold Weather Wear Big Thick Jumpers

around the house so that you can keep the heating turned down a degree or two. Wearing lots of layers under your jumper is a really good way to keep warm.

REPAIR YOUR VACUUM CLEANERS, WASHING MACHINES, LAWN MOWERS,  POWER TOOLS 

Instead of going out and buying new try repairing where ever possible. People always used to have items repaired, it not only saves money but also is surely better for the environment. If you know what you are doing and precisely what the fault is you can buy an amazing selection of spare parts and also accessories for all kinds of items from

Bag a bargain at BuySpares

The bargain shop has always been one of the most popular areas of the BuySpares website, especially with value-hungry consumers, and it's just got even better. Right now they have hundreds of fantastic products at ridiculously low prices - starting at just 49p!

There are spare parts, accessories and consumables for the full spectrum of home and garden electricals from leading brands, so there's something for everyone. The shop is split into five price bands and each one has some truly outstanding bargains on offer, click the link above to get yourself a bargain...

 YOU CAN BUY INSTRUCTION MANUALS ON HOW TO REPAIR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES, DISHWASHERS, WASHING MACHINES, WASHER DRYERS, LAWNMOWERS ETC. IN MY SHOP....CALLING THE REPAIR MAN CAN BE VERY EXPENSIVE, I RECENTLY PAID £600 TO HAVE MY COOKER REPAIRED, SO THE MANUALS COULD SAVE US ALL A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY.

WAIT 30 DAYS. 

Whenever you’re considering making an unnecessary purchase, wait thirty days and then ask yourself if you still want that item. Quite often, you’ll find that the urge to buy has passed and you’ll have saved yourself some money by simply waiting. You will often just forget about the unimportant things.

LEARN TO SAY NO! 

Not just to your children but to your spouse and to yourself as well. The retailers are well aware that the brain releases hormones such as Dopemine when you make a purchase, that gives you a good feeling and the retailers play on this in order to sell to you. They are very successful, after all we all have far too much stuff. Just say NO! You will soon get the hang of it. Beat them at their own game. Don't be manipulated by consumer pressures, tv advertising, magazines or shops. Make your own decisions.

Always write a list before you go shopping - and stick to it. 

Never go into a shop without a strong idea of what you will be buying. Make a careful plan of what you’ll buy before you go, then stick strictly to that list when you go to the store. Don’t put anything in the basket or trolley that’s not on the list, no matter how tempting, and you’ll come out of the store saving pounds. Consciously ask yourself all the time, "Do I really need this?"

FIND ANOTHER HOBBY 

Too many people have learnt to use Shopping as a hobby and it can become addictive, throw away the credit cards, keep out of the shops, find another hobby that is cheaper and more fun. Do something creative or constructive that could actually make you money or save you money, rather than cost you money, think about it.

Ask for discounts,

if you need to make a large purchase ask the shop for a discount or if they can do a deal. You will be surprised how many say Yes. You have nothing to loose by asking politely and you may make a good saving. If there is a break in negotiations just say thank you and start to walk away, sometimes that will bring results. Always be polite and friendly, you will be surprised at the results. Over the past few years I have done deals in PC World, Comet, Currys, Allied Carpets, Carpetright and many more stores. Good luck with haggling.

BARGAIN HUNTER -

If there is something that you really need to buy, become a bargain hunter, shop around, look at website sale pages, do a deal! Have some fun! Never pay the full price for anything!  Always go for quality, it will last longer and work out cheaper in the long run.  Make sure you get the best sale or online discounts.

KELKOO FOR COMPARING PRICES, GREAT SHOPPING TOOL TO HELP YOU SAVE POUNDS:-