Posts Tagged ‘vouchers’
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 My passport is out of date and my children don’t have one at all yet.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 »
Saving Money on doing up your home
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
…discounts, coupons & grants you can get to help you.
Decorating is an expensive business, and it can be even more expensive if you’re trying to make improvements to the house that are environmentally friendly. Don’t panic though, there are way’s you can cut the costs of all that DIY.
Government Grants
Did you know that the government wants people to put in things like cavity wall insulation, efficient water heating, and loft insulation? They do. So much so that they actually offer grants that are available to everyone to help them with the costs of installing some of these things. There are two schemes available, one is for people who are in receipt of certain benefits, and it gives a full grant to do certain things – this means that if you qualify, you could have your cavity walls filled, your loft insulated, and even a new sleeve fitted on your boiler completely free of charge! The other grant which is available is for the same sorts of items, but is available to anyone regardless of if they are on benefits or not, and could give you a discount of between 50% and 70%. You can find out about both here.
Coupons
BView has a section called ‘home and garden’ which is always worth keeping an eye on, there are coupons here for places like B&Q, Warrington Fire Surrounds, and ABC Carpets and Beds, as well as loads more places that do everything from lighting to flooring and kitchens. There’s another section on B-View which lists discounts offered by trades people too, so if you need a specialist it’s worth giving it a look, they’re not always national chains either, as BView encourages local trades people and stores to offer discounts through their site too.
Discounts
Lots of DIY shops want you to use their stores at the moment, so they’re all competing for your custom. What this means is that you will find most of them are running special weekend events where they offer discounts on one or more areas within the store, so plan your DIY with plenty of time, and you’ll be able to take advantage of these. Make sure you ask in the stores (the customer service desk is best) as well to see if there are any other discounts you can take advantage of. Some stores offer a percentage off to pensioners on a certain day of the week, and others offer a discount to people who’ve just moved home in the last few months.
Tags: BView, coupons, discounts, grants, home improvment, Savings, vouchers
Posted in General, Savings | Comments Off
Where can I get coupons from?
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
Coupons are great aren’t they! Little bits of paper that let us have money off the things we’re buying. I like to keep a stock of them in the house so that I can keep my shopping bills as low as possible, but sometimes it can be quite hard to find them, so I thought I’d share with you a few of my ideas on where you can find them.
Magazines
This is a great place to start looking, especially if you already buy the magazines. Lots of manufacturers advertise in magazines and sometimes they slip in a coupon for the product as well. If you find a magazine with a lot of coupons in it that you’ll use, it can even work out that you’ve saved more money than the magazine costs, in which case why not buy an extra mag and give it to a friend (after you’ve cut the coupons out of course!).
Newspapers
I don’t know about where you live, but where I am we get three free local newspapers each week, and quite often there are leaflets inside them. To be honest most of the leaflets don’t interest me and I throw them in the bin, but do make sure you check the leaflets carefully for coupons before you ditch the bits of paper, it’s ever so easy to miss them.
Online
Some manufacturers put coupons on their website sometimes, offering money off a particular product – especially new products, or savings when you eat at their restaurant at a certain time of day, it’s well worth keeping an eye on these sites, and if they have an e-mail newsletter try signing up to that too, as some of them send coupons to registered members. There are also sites like BView who have a whole range of money off coupons listed on the site – some are ones you can print off, others are codes which can be used online, these sites are always worth bookmarking so you can come back to them if you’re buying something to check and see if you can save money.
Supermarket leaflets & products
Keep your eyes on the shelves in stores, occasionally you’ll find a product with a coupon on it – Nestle did this with their cereals a while back and had several coupons on each box. Also look out for leaflets on counters in stores too, these sometimes have discount offers in them as well.
Sharing with friends
If you have friends who like to clip coupons too, try storing up everything whether you can use it or not, and then inviting all your friends over for a cuppa and have a little swapping session.
Tags: BView, coupons, money saving, shopping, supermarkets, vouchers
Posted in General, Savings | Comments Off
Efficient personal expenditure
Friday, April 10th, 2009
Efficiency in essential expenditure is on everyones mind right now and I’ve been experimenting with keeping a tight rein of my outgoings. It came as a surprise to find out how much it costs me to run my car each day.
Transport
For some transport is a costly affair indeed, even a second hand car could be less efficient than you would expect. If you drive work out how much your car costs you daily and work out how cost effective that it to you. Check out your miles per gallon calculation here Look at your local bus, train or tram services to compare costs but balance this with the freedom of your own vehicle. Consider car shares and similar cost sharing schemes with friends, neighbours or colleagues. There are often incentives with your local councils to increase the appeal of car shares.
Income and outgoings
Check if your income and outgoings are accurate or if you are entitled to help here www.entitledto.co.uk at HM Revenue & Customs . Enter your details, it’s all anonymous, in order to calculate what you might be able to get help with. It might be single persons council tax discount, free school meals and prescriptions and a variety of other amounts.
Check uSwitch for savings on utilities and then check Quidco before you commit to a contract as you could get a substantial amount of money back. The same goes for insurance renewal, telephone, internet and television subscriptions and utility expenditure.
Local facilities
The local library is a forgotten resource. Why spend your money on books when you can order books in your town or city to be delivered to your local library. You can, for a small charge, usually hire CDs and DVDs much cheaper than the likes of Lovefilm or Blockbusters .
Cashback
When you must buy something, check cashback sites like Quidco for savings. I bought a new mobile phone at Carphone Warehouse and got cashback for almost half the price and then signed up for a prepay Vodafone SIM card and got half the money back. My £10 a month SIM is actually costing me £5 a month as a result of the cashback.
Coupons, codes and vouchers
Check any newspapers and magazines for money off vouchers or coupons you can use when shopping. Look at the free supermarket magazines before you shop. Check the likes of BView and moneysavingexpert.com for codes and coupons to reduce your shopping bill, get free delivery or additional freebies and savings on other purchases.
Buy in bulk
There are some items we get through in vast quantities. Whilst my twins were tiny nappies and wipes were financial killers. I joined Makro and began buying Pampers wipes at the equivalent of 70p per pack when buying 12 at a time in a big box. Then nappies bought on offers of buy one box of 156, get one free.
Buy second hand
If you need something, think about if it has to be new. Using eBay , car boot sales, advertisement magazines, NCT sales, flea markets, the local press and other second hand sales venues.
Buy in sales
I often buy items in sales, either to save money on gifts or to buy clothing for my twins. I have a second wardrobe which is purely to keep clothes in bought in sales. I buy 6-12 months ahead and pay around 25% – 50% of the original price whilst still keeping my girls in Boots Mini Mode, Monsoon, BHS, Next clothing and shoes. You can do the same for your own clothes. Save all your money for the January sales or end of season sales and buy whatever tickles you at the time then put it aside for the right weather. I usually hit the Boots January sale at 70% off for a huge stock of gifts through the year. Even now in April, my sale bargains have saved me around £80 on the full priced items. I even plan my sale shopping in advance by checking out availability on the website.
Buy a lower range
You’ll have noticed that each supermarket does a range of products with varying prices. It could be baked beans varying from 17p value to £1.15 best quality with posh packaging and often the content differs little. If you buy mid range now, consider dropping a level to save up to 10%. The difference is much bigger when you drop from mid level to value goods and you’ll really notice a difference in your bill. Using a stores own brand is often cheaper than a branded label. Check who the product is made by. I have it on good authority that certain brands of washing powder are exactly the same product between the highest and lowest ranges, merely marketed to attract the broadest scope of shoppers.
Check out the food reductions for last minute saves for your evening meal or to fill your freezer.
Whilst you fill your freezer, stick a load of balled up bags or those giant air filled pillows used in packaging to fill up freezer space. It’s more efficient to freeze smaller remaining spaces.
Buy energy saving bulbs for your home. Supermarkets all stock them very cheaply now and often on offers. Contact your utility supplier or look for free bulbs as part of your local councils economy efforts.
It’s very difficult to calculate how much all this could save you, we each spend different amounts in each element of our lives, but I think it’s safe to say that your expenditure will decrease and your awareness will increase.
Tags: discount, ebay, effciency, money saving, sales, shopping, smart spending, vouchers
Posted in General, offers, Savings | 2 Comments »
BView, Joy and the tale of the inquisitive journalist
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
I received a telephone call last week, asking if I could speak to a journalist about my money saving experiences and BView, they were looking for someone female and articulate with children, a contrast to the single male they would interview to create balance. I stepped up to the challenge, somewhat dubious about my ability to articulate at the end of a busy week, but willing.
The reporter was straight to the point ‘What money saving vouchers have you used recently?’
Tesco , free delivery and some money off an order. My mind stumbled then, surely, somewhere in the midst of my teaching assessment and dropping the kids at nursery I had made some other purchase? eBay, of course, a lovely gothic top imported from China with reduced delivery charges.
‘Great’ enthuses the journo. ‘What else?’
You want more? All my shopping has been online recently, there must be more. ‘Pizza,‘ I squeaked nervously down the phone, feeling more like this was a test of my financial savvy than a research opportunity. ‘Yes, I took the girls out for pizza and we got a pretty good deal.’ And indeed it was, there were two satisfied kids with faces decorated liberally with pizza and ice cream but I was happy as someone else would do the washing up.
Then the pièce de résistance sprang to the front of my mind. Bicycles. Christmas is a wonderous event in our household, my 3 year old twins are adored by friends and family alike, two golden girls with cheeky smiles and infectious giggles , treated with Dora The Explorer and Diego toys, My Little Pony and Disney Princess but not a single bicycle upon which to inflict their boundless energy.
Argos had a voucher featured on BView, £20 off toys and games ordered online. In the sale was the ideal pink and sparkly bicycle with training wheels and a doll seat and delivery in time for Christmas. Double discounts, sale items and vouchers and two perfectly girly bicycles for the ultimate Christmas gifts. A done deal.
The journalist dutifully took notes, now flooded with my details of financial acumen and my pleasure in saving.
‘And do you think these are genuine savings?’ he asks, a more academic question of opinion amongst the facts.
Now my opinion differs here. Some companies are merely advertising a sale to maintain face with their competitors, reducing tiny amounts of money off the items which just will not sell in order to legitimately put a sale sign in the window. Thereby drawing some extra clientele and making the non selling items appeal to those who cannot resist a bargain, no matter how pointless.
Then there are those who have a sale to make some money, despite the reduction in spending, clearing old stock, renewing interest and cutting their losses on items ordered months ago when the pound still had some economic strength and no sign of weakening.
Finally there are those who boost their prices up and then offer reductions, taking no responsibility for the price increase, using the recession, reduced provision, increased supplier prices and so on as their excuses. Then they offer some minor reduction to give the impression of joining forces with the great British public to bring costs down so we can weather the storm.
I assume the journo is making his notes, curious shorthand scribbles across the stereotypical notepad and I continue.
The end of season sales are ideal examples, the stock is technically useless, any money made is a bonus and the space is required for the next wave. I like end of season sales. I buy my daughters clothing months in advance, making best use of sales to prepare at lower costs. With twins nothing can be passed down to the next sibling, it really is twice the price.
The end of season sale is the norm, clearing out and making at least a scraping of profit and I am happy to take advantage of that, sacrificing only wardrobe space in my efforts to save.
Boots had a record January sale, the day the 70% sale kicked in shelves were stripped bare in a single day. I saw a woman sat on the floor, guarding 8 or 9 large shopping sacks crammed to the brim with reduced stock. Never before has Boots sold such a phenomenal amount in a single day in their well reputed sales. The staff were speechless. The recession brings out the hoarder in some and to best effect in some cases.
These are the genuine sales in my opinion, the ones which represent best value for money.
There is a prolonged silence. ‘ Could I send a photographer out to take pictures of you and your daughters please?’
I wonder for a moment, how will they illustrate me saving money? But I agree. An hour later a photographer is booked.
The next morning I have the twins dressed in outfits from a sale, looking cute and girly and I’m dressed in an hour casual but hopefully flattering and the photographer comes knocking.
Three hundred photographs later, of me with the my daughters on their discounted swing set in the garden, me with my discounted Tesco shopping walking home, then in the kitchen, me sat with the BView screen on my laptop and then the girls and I apparently looking at BView (but sneakily looking at CBeebies for maximum attention span of 3 year olds), the photographer puts away his lenses and leaves with a smile and a wave.
The next day I buy the newspaper, searching for what I hope will be a nice quote and a pleasant photograph. There’s a huge full page spread on money saving and the impact of BView and others, great lists and links to save money and at the bottom is an interview section with the details of the single chap and his daughter, his money saving tips and tricks and his total savings over the year, illustrated by a small photograph of a very serious looking man. Squashed into the corner is a small paragraph about my girls and I and our own adventures in saving, but no pictures.
Still, through talking to the journo, I’ve heard myself give my opinion, further concreting it into my mind; not all savings are genuine. A voucher will save you money if you were going to buy the item anyway. Or it will lessen the load if you would like something but would only buy it with reductions.
Shop sensibly for genuine savings.
Tags: interview, press, saving, sunday mirror, vouchers
Posted in General, News, Savings | Comments Off
Tuesdays Vouchers
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
Here’s a couple of vouchers that Olu spotted. He hopes you’ll find them useful. As ever, if you spot any vouchers or special offers that we haven’t listed then let him know.
Save 20% off Everything at The Kodak Shop
Just enter this voucher code at the checkout: AFFW68
Find out what our members are saying about Kodak on BView.
Get £10 off when you spend £50 or more at I Want One of Those
Just enter this voucher code at the checkout: PQYPE1050 (Expires 20/12/2008)
Find out what our members are saying about I Want One of Those on BView.
And as a special exclusive BView offer, get a 5% discount when you spend £200.00 or more in store at JKG Carpets.
(Expires 20/12/2008)
Tags: money off, Savings, vouchers
Posted in offers, Savings | Comments Off
Further festive savings on BView
Monday, December 8th, 2008
Savings of the week
Still two weeks until Christmas, enough time to make use of the following voucher codes that we have found on BView. Here are my picks of the week!
20% off and free delivery when you spend over £25 at Waterstone’s
Enter voucher code: ZY6492
Find out what our members are saying about Waterstone’s on BView.
3 for 2 at Whittards of Chelsea
Cheapest gift for free at Whittards of Chelsea.
Find out what our members are saying about Whittards of Chelsea on BView.
10% off at UNIQLO
Enter voucher code: UNIQLOXMAS10
Find out what our members are saying about UNIQLO on BView.
Up to 50% off at TM Lewin
Enter voucher code: CORPC8
Find out what our members are saying about TM Lewin on BView.
10% off at The Fragrance Shop
Enter voucher code: TFS10OFFNOV08
Find out what our members are saying about The Fragrance Shop on BView.
Free cookie at Millies Cookies
Download this voucher on BView to get a free cookie when you make a purchase at Millies.
If you’re interested in more money saving offers, join the BView community to receive updates via email.
Tags: discounts, millies cookies, Savings, the fragrance shop, tm lewin, uniqlo, voucher codes, vouchers, waterstones, whittards of chelsea
Posted in Savings | Comments Off
Fashion discounts for winter: 20% off Urban Outfitters
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
It’s busy on BView and we’ve spotted some great clothing discounts to share.
20% off at Urban Outfitters
Discount is only valid for one day so hurry! Click here for the Urban Outfitters website and enter code: XMAS95 when buying. (Expires: 27/11/08)
£5 discount if you spend £50 or more online with JD Sports
Click here for the JD Sports website and enter code: jdmagdisc0507 when buying.
15% off first purchase over £60 at MioDestino Lingerie
If you’re looking for unique lingerie take a look at the online boutique Mio Destino. They are offering 15% off your first order if it is over £60.
Tags: clothing, discount, fashion, lingerie, urban outfitters, vouchers
Posted in offers | Comments Off
Festive discounts: Threshers, M&S, Argos and Laura Ashley
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
Start stocking up for Christmas! Threshers are offering 40% off all wine and champagne until the 2nd December 2008. Find your closest Threshers here and click on ‘Get Voucher’.
Other discounts soon to expire include:
Save up to an extra £20 off toys if you order online by the 25th November 2008. Eligible spend must be on toys – excludes video games and consoles. Only available for online home delivery orders. Click here for the voucher code.
Up to 10% off Marks & Spencers kidswear
Lots of treats from M&S! 10% off kidswear, enter the voucher code: KIDSCAT3 Valid until the 25th November 2008.
They also have a 3 for 2 Christmas shop online and are giving 20% off orders on womenswear, menswear, lingerie, furniture, homeware and beauty! Currently the offer is only valid on the 20th November 2008.
3 for 2 offers at Laura Ashley
Shop online and benefit from 3 for 2 offers on Christmas gifts! Between the 14th-23rd November 2008, Laura Ashley online is also giving 25% off if you subscribe to the newsletter.
Pass on the offers to your friends and don’t forget to leave some feedback on BView for Threshers, Marks& Spencers, Argos and Laura Ashley.
Tags: 40% off threshers, argos, christmas shopping, discount, kidswear, marks&spencers, menswear, offers, reviews, shopping, threshers, vouchers, womenswear
Posted in Savings | Comments Off
2 for 1 deals at Café Rouge, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and ASK!
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
Here’s a nice treat for the start of the week to enjoy with a friend. Actually we have four nice treats for you to enjoy with your friends! Cafe Rouge, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, ASK restaurants and Zizzi are offering 2 for 1 on meals, most offers are valid until the 27th November but you’ll find terms on the vouchers.
The restaurants have been reviewed numerous times on BView but certain branches are rated higher than others. Click the images below to redeem the 2 for 1 vouchers and check to see what has been said about the branch nearest to you.
If you do use the vouchers don’t forget to leave some feedback on BView!
Tags: ask restaurants, bars, BView, cafe rouge, dinner, discounts, food, gourmet burger kitchen, menu, offers, restaurants, vouchers, zizzi
Posted in Savings | 1 Comment »