When times are hard we all like to save money here and there. Or make our money go as far as possible. With that in mind, I spent the past year looking for ways to make my money go further, and this is what i discovered. How I saved money in the past year lists the best methods I found.
How I Saved Money In Past Year – Advance Bookings
When travel is necessary, it can be an expensive business in the UK. Trains are a key example of this. I found it always helped to plan well ahead to get the best value. If you really need to cut costs, it can also be cheaper to split your train journey. Travelling by cheap coach companies was the cheapest of all, but the experience, for the return journey was pretty disastrous. In the end I had to shell out an extra £20 on a taxi due to delays that could easily have been avoided.
How I Saved Money In Past Year – Cashback Sites
These are a real boon. I changed my satellite TV provider and got £130 cashback through topcashback.co.uk. Another site to make me money is Quidco. If you are going to use online retailers, you have nothing to lose by checking to see if you can get further discounts by rerouting through these types of sites.
Demand Value Even As An Existing Customer
It is important that you do not miss out on a company’s offers just because you are already one of their customers, and not new. I phoned Sky and threatened to cancel my subscription, claiming Virgin had offered me a free sports package. In order to keep my business, they offered me their sports package for £3 a month, when it is normally £30. Companies do not want to lose long-term customers, and will do a lot to keep you.
How I Saved Money In Past Year – Copper Collection
This is not really making me money, but it is a nice way to get an occasional boost. I don’t really like 10ps or below so i store them in a large container. Once a year I cash them in at my bank (and not a machine that takes a commission). Last year there was over £60 in loose change, which paid for a night out.
Supermarket Vouchers
Whilst using someone like Waitrose can never be considered good value for money, even if the quality is excellent, I have found it to be sometimes worth my while over the past year. This is because I regularly get £20+ vouchers off. By also searching through their entire offers selection online, I can make the shop great value for money, with free delivery thrown in too.
Also, if i ever get money off vouchers at the checkout, I always try my hardest to use them all.
Scour The Internet For Offers
There are always loads of great offers out there. Perhaps join a site that collates the best ones for you. for example, I had a £5 off voucher emailed to me from Groupon. Rather than treat myself, I applied a practical use to the voucher, buying kitchen rolls and toilet rolls in bulk, thus getting almost a year’s supply for only £13. There are thousands more offers out there, you just need to be savvy and disciplined. Buying things that have a long shelf life in bulk is highly recommended.
