Weekend Ways to Save Money

Posted:Abigail Andrews – Saturday, May 26th, 2007

Here follows a list of ways you can save money this weekend and every weekend. You would be surprised how much it could add up to over the term of a year. If you are bored this weekend, or have a little spare time on your hands, try some of these, you may be surprised how much money you could save with very little effort.

Save Money this Weekend

Shop Online and Use Price-comparison Websites

You want a new television, but before you rush down to the local high street, get yourself on the internet and dedicate a couple of hours to shopping around online. In particular use a price comparison website to make your search a little easier. A little bit of shopping around and comparing means you WILL pay less. Also consider grocery shopping online, it's a bit of a hassle the first time round figuring out the site and building up your lists, but thereafter you can just pick old lists and tweak them a little and in 15 minutes you have done a shop that would have taken 2 hours of your time. Besides there are often free delivery incentives and other discounts so you save your petrol money!

Useful sites:

www.clickcompare.co.uk
www.moneysupermarket.com
www.saveonyourbills.co.uk

Check Tyre Pressure to Save Money

Here is one some of you may not have realised costs you money. You may only be able to save a small amount of money, but it couls be around £100 a year. The wrong tyre pressure shortens the life of your tyres and also costs you more money in petrol. You should also check out tyre reviews on the internet too, as some tyres last longer than others, due to the compound mix, or something like that :-)

Useful sites:

www.tyre-shopper.co.uk

Stop using Car Washes and Save Money

Drive through car washes in petrol station forecourts or the more recent invention of drive through hand washes and valetting, either way both are a waste. £7 a time is daylight robbery in my opinion, half the time it still has dirt on it, and it hasn't even been waxed! I know it may take time to wash your car and in winter it's freezing, but in summer when the weather is warm there really is no reason not to save money by doing it yourself.

Stop the Takeaways to Save Money

OK, that's going too far, we have to have some fun don't we, but you could cut down and save money! Try just having one a month instead of one a week. Save Money as well as calories.

Brew your own Beer to Save Money

You don’t have to drink it all the time but you could supplement your cans of larger with some homebrew every once in a while. Instead of approximately 80p a pint you could brew your own for as little as 16p a pint!. Give it a go, it might taste terrible, there again you might be pleasantly surprised.

Car boot on EBay

Look in your loft, cupboards, draws. Are there clothes, books, old records and CD's, lamp shades, light switches, shoes, hats, etc ,etc, that you have used once or twice, are in good condition, but are now gathering dust? Anything you sell will be charged a small commission, but it is small.

Useful sites:

www.ebay.co.uk
www.tradeyourstuff.co.uk

Car Boot or Garage Sale

If you don't have an internet account to get access to EBAY then use the more traditional methods of, holding a car boot or garage sale to save money.

Useful sites:

www.tradeyourstuff.co.uk

Do Your Own DIY & Save Money

Save money, stop paying others to do your DIY, learn how to paper and paint, it's really not hard! If you are up for the challenge then go on a plumbing or electrical course, you could save yourself hundreds over the years. I know people who pay someone to hang a picture? Why, oh why, oh why?

Useful sites:

www.helpwithdiy.com
www.diytools.co.uk

Review your TV package to Save Money

We are all guilty. I know I have over 150 channels and probably only watch 10 of them regularly. So can you cut the cost of your TV package? I bet you can and I know I can.

Change your Suppliers

If you have never switched your gas or electricity supplier, then do it today. It is quick and easy using any of the switching services available on the internet. You can find a list of them at www.energywatch.org.uk or go to www.which.co.uk.

Furthermore, if you must use your phone there are scores of cheaper alternatives from cable companies that package your telephone, television and even broadband internet access, to low-cost dial-up services that give you access to cheaper calls using your existing BT line. You're usually not tied into a yearly contract with domestic suppliers, so get on the internet this weekend and start finding a cheaper alternative.

Useful Sites:

www.saveonyourbills.co.uk
www.broadbandchoices.co.uk
www.uswitch.com
www.energyhelpline.com

Save Money on Cheaper Car/House Insurance

I can virtually guarantee you can find cheaper buildings and contents insurance than you currently have just because it's easier to renew than to shop around. Again you are not usually tied into a yearly contract, so get on the internet this weekend and use a comparison site like www.moneysupermarket.com.

Useful Sites:

www.comparethemarket.com
www.saveonyourbills.co.uk

Find a Money Saving Hobby

We all need spare time to relax but does it always have to be at the local pub spending money. Instead, try turning your hand to something you keep saying you are going to do, like learning how to design a website and create a small income from advertising. It does not have to be a money making hobby just try and find one that is cheap, or even free, that you enjoy, fishing, painting, walking, or perhaps tennis. A free hobby means you can spend time having fun while saving money.

Check Before You Checkout

Before you buy anything online search the vouchers and discount code sites. There are sites out there that gather together all the current discount codes for free delivery, a % off marked price, etc. Check before you go to the checkout and it will save money.

Useful sites:

www.vouchercodes.com
www.voucherheaven.com

Find Cheaper Tickets

Search for tickets for the theatre and theme parks online, using sites like lastminutes.com as they regularly have deals on tickets and days out.

Useful sites:

www.lastminute.com
www.365tickets.com/

Use your Local Library to Save Money

OK, I have to admit I am an absolute book freak. I love buying new books...must be the smell of the clean fresh print or something ;-) But do you really need to buy every book, make a pledge to yourself to only buy 1 in 2 books and try and get the rest from the library. Go to the library this weekend and you could save hundreds, I know if I took my own advice I would! ;-)

Switch your Credit to 0% or Cashback

Switch to a 0% deal if you're paying interest on your credit cards. Attempt to find one without a transfer fee, though when moving to 0% you will be lucky to find one, so just look for the cheapest transfer with the longest 0% period. If you do find a credit card with 0% and no transfer fee then please email me immediately to promote it! Put the saved money (which would be £176 if you had £1,500 on your credit card for nine months at 15.9 per cent interest) towards clearing your debt faster.

If you don't have any money on credit and pay your balance in full every month, consider making money from earning cash back on your purchases with cards that pay you cashback.

Store Cards...NO, NO, NO

Borrowing on a store card is MAD! The average interest for a store card is around 29%, double that of a credit card. If you insist on signing up for a store card as you get a discount on your first purchase, then make sure you tear the card up as soon as you get it and pay off the balance immediately, or that discount you received will be paid back in interest plus more! If you already have store cards find a 0% credit card and transfer the store card balance to that.

Change your Bank

Some banks are going to start charging a yearly fee for having an account with them! Some banks may not do this. Try finding one that is not going to charge a yearly fee. Also, every penny in your bank account should earn you money and never keep savings in a bog standard current account. Search for a nice savings account or even an ISA to earn money on your money.

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