Archive for May, 2009
Cutting communications costs
Friday, May 29th, 2009
Most people in the UK have a mobile phone, in fact there are more mobiles in the UK than there are people with over 75 million handsets but less than 62 million people.
Mobile communication is important to us and therefore the networks have great market control with charges for calls, contracts, text messages, internet use and a million and one other ways to extract our hard earned cash.
Being of the bargain hunting persona I was less than impressed when my 2 year old mobile phone began with a series of strange glitches which rendered it useless, so the great bargain phone hunt began.
The most important thing is to determine what kind of user you are before anything else. I actually don’t use my mobile that much, a few calls here and there and a few more texts. There’s little point in buying a package which gives you 500 free minutes if you are a text fanatic, or something with 100 free minutes and endless free texts if you are a prolific caller.
My monthly use on a pay as you go sim card was between £5 and £10 a month. I was determined still not to exceed that and maintain my outgoings, if I couldn’t reduce them.
So, the first thing is to find a suitable network and check the tariffs. In the ever evolving market you can choose from Vodafone, 3, T-Mobile, Orange and O2. Then there are virtual networks, like Tesco and T-Mobile, who each actually go through the primary networks, T-Mobile and O2 respectively.
You can choose from PAYG, a contract or a SIM only contract, so you really need to analyse your phone use to decide what might work out for you. If you already have one or another, check out the alternatives and weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of each. If you are on PAYG, check the charges packages to be sure you’re on the one which suits you best and consider ‘bolt ons’ to make best use of your money.
I searched the internet for the best deal I could get to suit my use. I needed a new handset and since I have text mad friends I thought it might be an idea to find a way to access unlimited texts. Eventually I found a deal on Quidco which would enable me to go through their site and buy a SIM only deal at £10 per month but with £60 cashback if bought online. The deal includes 500 free texts per month and 100 free call minutes, exceeding my use requirements but staying within my financial rein. In fact, using Quidco I’m saving money as the cash back means the actual outgoing is £5 per month for a year rather than £10.
You might like to take the opportunity to join Orange and make use of the cinema deal on Wednesdays, all at the price of a text.
Since I needed a new phone too I made a similar search for phone deals. After some searching I found an LG KS 360 which suited my needs and was on long term offers with Argos, Carphone Warehouse and Orange. I’d already decided I wanted to use Vodafone and bought my SIM pack, I engaged in a little legwork to play the three companies off against each other, checking who would give me the best offer. Both offers with Orange and Argos were tied into Orange so eventually I chose to buy the phone via Carphone Warehouse, therefore entirely unlocked to all networks and available to put my new card in immediately. It even came with £10 credit on a T-Mobile SIM card.
So, I can text myself silly on my new phone and I never run out, all my calls come into my 100 minutes and all for £5 per month, not a bad deal at all!
Check out the local offers on BView to make the most of your shopping opportunities.
Tags: 3, call costs, mobile phones, o2, orange, saving money, tariffs, tmobile, vodafone
Posted in General, offers, Savings | 1 Comment »
Buying reduced food at the supermarket
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
Shopping for food is an expensive task, and a fairly thankless one because you have to do it over again every week. It’s especially tedious when money is tight.
There is however one way you can sometimes cut your costs substantially, but it does mean being prepared to spend some extra time and effort on things.
Every fresh food item in the UK has to have a sell by date on it. This is the date after which the supermarkets aren’t allowed to sell it. (This only applies to fresh foods, items in tins and which have best before dates work rather differently). Every day the supermarkets will have a staff member who will go round and find all the fresh food items which are going to go out of date that day, and reduce the price on them. This is to help stop wastage. If they have to throw the item away they get nothing for it. If they can sell it – even at a reduced price – then they will get something.
You can take advantage of this knowledge by watching in the various supermarkets near you to find out when they make their reductions. Most supermarkets will have two times. The first time is normally when they reduce the items down by a percentage – this varies from place to place, some will be halved, some will only reduce by 10%. This first reduction is normally done fairly early in the day. The second reduction is normally done late in the afternoon or early in the evening, and at this time they will reduce the already reduced items down some more, generally to a really low price, and if you’re around when this happens, you can take advantage and buy a lot of food very cheaply. So take the time to get to know when your local supermarkets make their reductions.
Things like bread, milk, cold meat, and much more can be frozen – if you freeze it on the day of purchase, and it’s use by date is tomorrow, then when you defrost it you will have 24 hours to use it up exactly the same as you would if you just used it when you bought it from the supermarket. The same thing applies to most products that can be frozen, check to see how long they have between the sell by and the use by date… if it’s the same date, then if you freeze it, when you defrost it you will need to eat it the same day. If it’s three days difference then you will have three days when you defrost it and so on.
You do need to be careful when doing this is to make sure you can use the item before it goes out of date, OR that it’s suitable for freezing and you have the space to store it. If you buy ten loaves of bread because they’re 10p each but only have space to freeze four of them, you’ll find yourself wasting the rest.
Tags: discounts, money saving, shelf life, smart shopping, supermarket
Posted in General, Savings | Comments Off
Cheap days out
Monday, May 11th, 2009
We all need to take time off from the mundane sometimes, and a day out with the family often fits the bill quite well. It can get really expensive though, and when money is tight – which it is for many of us at the moment – we often cut out these trips because we think we can’t afford them. There are, however, places which are cheap or free, and often getting away even for a few hours can really revitalise us all so it’s worth doing.
One thing I like to do is to keep a list on the fridge of all the places we’d like to go that aren’t too expensive and are close enough for a day trip. I always list the price, along with opening hours, then when we want to go somewhere, I have a ready made list of places to choose from without all the hassle of having to look up to see if we can afford it.
Some places you may find which are free or cheap, are museums. All the national museums and art galleries in England are free of charge now, although if you can afford a donation this is greatly appreciated.
The government have just introduced a system so that for people over 60, and those under 16, many public swimming pools which are run by the local authority are now free entry. A trip to the swimming pool can make quite a good morning or afternoon trip. Contact your local council to find out if there’s a pool near you offering this.
Across the country there are many places from parks, to rivers and many other green areas where you can enjoy a nice walk and a picnic. Why not pack a ball and bats and invite a few friends to join you, this can make a really pleasant day out for everyone.
Most towns these days have a website with information about what’s on in that area do a search, and once you’ve found some places, look up and see what they cost. Then try looking online for discounts for them. Not everywhere will offer a discount, but you may find the odd one or two, and if you can find somewhere offering 2 for 1 on a pub lunch nearby you could even make that part of your day out.
Keep an eye open for places where a single entry fee allows you return access. Bletchley park in Milton Keynes works this way, when you have bought your ticket, you can return as many times as you like within the year without having to pay again. Also look out for places which offer reciprocal discounts. This means that if you visit one place in the group, and then visit another, if you take your ticket from the first place, you will get a discount at the second one.
Tags: art gallery, cheap day out, days out, family, museum, park
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Saving money on your holiday
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
We all enjoy a good holiday, it’s a time to relax and unwind. A time to forget the everyday cares and worries of work and home life. The problems come when paying for the holiday causes more stresses and money worries. So, with the economy the way it is currently, how can we cut the costs of travelling so we can still enjoy a holiday?
Taking a ‘discount holiday’ is one option that you could look a. This is a cheap holiday because it’s taken out of season, or at very short notice usually. Most of the larger companies like Thomas Cook, Thomson’s etc. all offer things like this, but they don’t generally advertise them in their brochures, for this sort of thing, you’ll often need to pop into a branch on the high street, or look online at their website to find what’s available. As well as these more obvious holiday companies, there are some online companies that specialise in this sort of thing, so it’s worth putting things like ‘cheap holiday’, ‘cheap holiday in Spain’ or ‘cheap holiday in USA’ into the search engines and seeing what it throws up at you, then having a good look around to see what you can find that might suit you.
Another way to do it, is to change the location of your holiday. If you normally go abroad, what about trying a holiday here in the UK instead. After all, when the weather is good here, it’s often just as nice as you’d get in France or Spain, and we have some lovely places around the country that are well worth exploring – from Cornwall and Devon in the south, to Wales in the west, Norfolk in the East and on upwards to places like the Lake District, and into Scotland.
If you want to keep it really cheap you could look at an option such as caravanning or camping. In the UK and across Europe there are many sites where you can stay for as little as £10 a night for a whole caravan or tent full of people. Obviously then you have to sort your own food out on top of this, and you’ll pay a little more if you want a site with a few more amenities, but it can prove to be a seriously cheap method of taking a break.
If you’re planning on being out and about in the cities across Europe and need somewhere to lay your head, but can’t afford to stay in expensive hotels, try looking at hostels as an option. These are a much undervalued resource these days, and many of them cater to couples and some to families too. The rooms are generally pretty basic, and unless you book a family room, you may be sharing with others, but when you can book a bed for the night from less than £10 in London, it’s something worth considering.
Tags: camping, caravan, cheap holiday, discount, holiday, hostel, Savings
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And the winner is….
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
It has been a crazy week for voting on our “What would you do with 99% off?” competition! You people are much more popular than I ever anticipated.
And with no more further ado, the winner of the competition is…
Julie Kapral!
Congratulations, Julie; you are one popular young lady! I will be in contact shortly to get you your prize. I’m sure we’re all looking forward to seeing photos of your new office!
It was a tight race for second place, with Meg Smitley finally beating Chris Dunn by only 2 votes for the silver medal.
Honorary mention goes to 4th place entry, Rebecca Page, who also got lots of voting love. The rest of you did very well too, but were no match for a popular young lady with an obsession with pink!
Thanks again for all your entries– I really enjoyed reading them and if I could, I’d make all of you winners (maybe if I win the lottery!).
Tags: 99% off, bview competition, winner announced
Posted in Announcements, Competitions | Comments Off
Online Discounts – Getting the best deal possible
Monday, May 4th, 2009
I don’t know about you, but when I find a discount code for something I’m planning on buying it gives me a nice warm feeling as I know I’m going to be saving some money. Sometimes though there are more than one code available because of the way some companies design things, and in order to get the best deal possible you have to calculate how much you’ll get off with each code to work out which is going to be best for you.
The other day I had one where I was buying an item online and there were two codes available. One offered me 10% off anything in the store, and free delivery, the other offered me £20 off if I was spending £100 or more. The item I was buying was £120 so I knew I could use either code. At first glance, I thought that the 10% off and free delivery was going to give me the best deal, but just to be certain I did have to do a bit of working out to see which worked out best. Here’s how I did my workings out:
Basic Price £120.
Delivery £5.95.
First Code – 10% off + Free Delivery = (£120-10%=£108) – Total Cost after Code: £108.
Second Code – £20 off = (£120-£20+£5.95) – Total cost £105.95
Not a lot in it as you can see, but if I’d used the first code – the one I’d thought would save me the most - I wouldn’t have saved quite so much money, and I do always like to save as much as possible. It’s nice having multiple discounts available, specially at the moment when we’re all trying to save as much as we can, but do make sure you do your maths carefully or you could miss out on the best deal.#
Tags: BView, discount, internet shopping, money off, money saving, online, voucher
Posted in Announcements, General, Savings, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Steigenberger Nile Palace or Costa Del Back Garden, holidays in 2009.
Friday, May 1st, 2009
As the elusive British summertime begins its months long game of hide and seek, many of us begin to think of holidays and jetting off to sundrenched beaches and a brief escape from the rat race. In times of financial instability a holiday could be more than some can manage. For some, perhaps the annual break will be closer to home this year.
I was vaguely considering that I could begin to plan a holiday and musing over destinations when I began to think of the practicalities. My passport is out of date and my children don’t have one at all yet. There, in under 10 seconds is a cost of £164. £72 for my own passport and £46 for each of my children. I just don’t need that headache right now. I don’t need to leave the country.
So, my thoughts returned to good old Blighty.
Now, I’ve travelled the U.K fairly extensively, in caravans, tents, guest houses, hotels and friends homes. I’ve even stayed at a substantial number of English Heritage sites. I have children who think Dora The Explorer has the most exciting life and I love the idea of something new, so, wandering around the internet I found wigwams at Humble Bee Farm.
A lovely homey looking wooden building with real beds starting from £15.00 per person per night and just £8.00 for children. So, £31 per night and no great risk from weather conditions. There’s even a secure lock on the door, which might give me some peace of mind about midnight excursions by the gruesome twosome.
Or what about a Cocoon at Nostell Priory Park at £24.50 per night? A small building which looks like a rigid tent and again guaranteeing you won’t be blown away in the middle of the night. No escapees and the dubious pleasure of cooking outside every night, just like real camping. It also means I don’t have to get up close and personal with nature, I can scurry back to the more-tangible-than-canvas-relative-safety of a plastic house. I’m warming to the idea.
I think my kids will love camping and it’s an adventure I want them to enjoy, though I worry about them getting out of the tent in the middle of the night in the same manner as they wander around the house eating chocolate in the wee small hours.
Still, I checked out the prices and venues. I remember staying in a lovely place in St Austell, Cornwall a few years ago and their prices for a tent are a very reasonable £4 – £9 per night depending on the season. However, prices vary around the country and during peak season. One site I found mentioned a £20 minimum fee per night during the peak season. You’ll often find money off vouchers in the back of The Camping and Caravanning Guide, available from CCC, Blacks and other similar shops.
Most of my childhood holidays were spent in touring caravans in Great Yarmouth and Skegness, or in static caravans in Cornwall, again, I’d quite like my daughters to enjoy that experience so I checked back to the sites we used when I was small. Vauxhall in Great Yarmouth would be around £418 for a week at the end of June in a dinky little 3 berth static caravan. The same week in Widemouth Caravan Park would be £322.00 as an online booking price.
I had romantic dreams of a cottage in the Lake District one year, all open fires and long country walks ending at cosy country pubs. The prices quoted were in the region of £350.00 minimum per week, for two people, in November! Unimpressed I quickly found a late winter sun deal in Majorca with Thomson for less and we skipped off to laze by the quiet beaches instead of the open hearth.
However a B&B begins at £60.00 per night and a weekend break might be just the thing.
I’ve never been entranced with hotels. They’ve always been associated with work related stays for me, though I confess, as a mental mum of two rampant children, I rather like the idea of no cooking and no cleaning up. Still, a brief search shows I could get a short dated booking for £42.50 in a 4 star hotel in Devon and share. I certainly couldn’t leave my little darlings in a room of their own…despite being far too young, remember the chocolate escapades I mentioned? Imagine a whole hotel full of adventure in the middle of the night. It would be Macauley Culkin Home Alone Part 4, The End!
So many people say that by the time you’ve finished, it’s just as cheap to fly elsewhere for a holiday. Perhaps the answer lies with Lastminute.com . The cheapest holiday I can find there is for £450.00 flying from Luton to Costa Brava and I’d still have to get the passports, bringing the total back up to over £600.00 without travel at either end, or insurance, or spending money. But the lure of no cooking and cleaning is strong. I could even write a blog to enter the 99% off competition and win the chance to have my holiday for just £4.50! No, I’d aim for the luxury of the Steigenberger Nile Palace in Luxor, Egypt. A snip at £489.00 per person. Still, that would be one paid for, a mere £4.89 from my pocket.
Maybe there is more to be said for Costa Del Back Garden. I think I’ll leave it a little while longer and bag a last minute deal, crossing my fingers for extra savings with vouchers on BView.
Tags: BView, camping, caravans, competition, holidays, hotels, vouchers
Posted in Business, Competitions, Features, Findings, General | 1 Comment »