10 ways to save money

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SAVE MONEY Sabine Kurz 10 Ways to

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Page 1: 10 Ways to Save money

SAVE MONEY

Sabine Kurz

10 Ways to

Page 2: 10 Ways to Save money

Compare PricesWhile online retailers like Amazon and Ebay often seem like the easiest and cheapest option, it helps to compare prices. Try Idealo, where you can search for about 128 million offers from more than 22,600 shops. Idealo shows you the total price including postage, which often makes all the difference in finding the cheapest deal. They also have a mobile app to compare prices on the go. Other price comparison sites include Google Shopping and PriceRunner.

Page 3: 10 Ways to Save money

Finding the best deal

I would be absolutely lost without deal sites such as HotUKDeals.com (HUKD), Save the Student or Holiday Pirates. HUKD has more than a million members, and all deals are posted and rated (by voting hot or cold) by them. The deal temperature is usually a good indicator of the quality and uniqueness of the offer, and members always like to help by answering questions or finding deals for you. Their freebie section especially is worth a regular look.

Page 4: 10 Ways to Save money

Cashback SitesIt’s a very simple concept really: You buy through a cashback site (TopCashback and Quidco are the two biggest and most popular ones around) from one of over 4000 major retailers, they get commission for your purchase and pass it back to you. While at first this seems like a lot of effort for a few pennies, think again when you’re looking to change your broadband or power supplier – currently TopCashback is offering more than £175 if you take Sky’s Complete Bundle. It’s also very handy for train and flight tickets, but I use it for everything. Many retailers offer cashback between 2 and 10 percent, and by making almost all my online purchases through cashback sites, I have earned about £150 in the past few years.

Page 5: 10 Ways to Save money

Let others do the work for youOne of the most helpful sites when it comes to finding the cheapest deal is Flubit. They used to try and beat any price you found on the internet, but now only focus on beating Amazon’s offers. You simply give them the link to the product you want, then they try and create you a better offer for the same item. Usually they keep their promise, and save you at least a few percent. Their latest coup is to ‘steal’ other peoples’ offers, but that’s still in Beta mode. Flubit is by invitation only, but usually they send you an activation link within a few days (if not, contact me and I’ll send you an invitation).

Page 6: 10 Ways to Save money

Shopping AppsIf you’re someone who takes their smartphone everywhere, shopping apps are for you. For grocery shopping, try CheckoutSmart, ClickSnap and Shopitize, all of which offer cashback when you buy certain products at all major supermarkets – sometimes you even get stuff for free. My favourite app though is O2 PriorityMoments (you don’t have to be an O2 customer, inserting a free pay as you go SIM card while installing the app is enough), which offers lots of freebies (fancy a free coffee at Caffè Nero’s every Tuesday?) and discounts that are updated daily.

Page 7: 10 Ways to Save money

Loyalty Cards

As even charity shops have begun to offer loyalty cards to their customers, there’s no excuse not to use them. Not every scheme may be as lucrative as Tesco’s Clubcard, but in the end, every little helps. And if you don’t want to carry a dozen loyalty cards in your wallet, there are apps for that, e.g. Stocard.

Page 8: 10 Ways to Save money

Student DiscountsIf you are lucky enough to be a student, there’s no excuse really not to take advantage of the wealth of student offers both online and offline. If you haven’t one already, it’s worth thinking about getting the NUS Extra Card, which offers all sorts of great discounts, including 5% on books at Amazon. It’s also worth asking in restaurants, cafes and smaller shops whether they offer a student discount – what’s the worst that could happen?!

For non-students under 25, getting the Young Scot Card gives similar money off opportunities, as does the 16-25 Railcard.

Page 9: 10 Ways to Save money

Discount CodesWhen shopping online, you’ll notice that almost every site has a coupon or voucher box waiting to be filled at the checkout. So take a minute or two and search for codes, you’ll be surprised at how many are out there. If Google produces too many results, try finding discount codes on HUKD, VoucherCloud and Vouchercodes.co.uk.

Page 10: 10 Ways to Save money

FreebiesThe best products are those that you don’t have to pay for. Admittedly, it’s hard to find really good freebies, but sometimes there are rare gems hidden among the free samples. Again, HUKD is a great way to find freebies.

If you are prepared to put in a little more effort, product testing might be for you. Check out the Orchard at Tesco’s for free food, BzzAgent for all sorts of goods (I’ve been sent free pizzas and a coffee machine in the past) and ClicksResarch for free beauty products.

Page 11: 10 Ways to Save money

Buy Second HandI’m sure this is nothing new to you, so here’s just a simple reminder: Buying second hand can save you a lot of money without necessarily saving on quality. Gumtree and groups on Facebook (e.g. “Stuff for free/sale in Stirlingshire”) and other social media sites are a great way of buying and selling second hand products, but don’t forget more specialised web pages such as UsedBookSearch.co.uk and offline charity shops.