10 practical tips to save money on driving

Driving is expensive. Cars are expensive to buy, insurance is expensive (check out our blog about saving money on car insurance). Then, after all that, there's still tax and fuel to worry about!

Whilst we all know that the real way to save on fuel is to walk or to cycle, sometimes that just isn't practical. So, rather than suggesting that everyone moves to within walking distance of their work, we've compiled a short list with some tips on how to drive as cheaply and ecologically as possible.

The first five points in this blog relate to techniques to use whilst driving. They focus on using as little fuel as possible whilst also remaining safe.

1. Turn your engine off – If you're in standstill traffic, there's no point in leaving your engine running. If it is safe to do so, and you will be stationary for more than about a minute, just switch your engine off. Modern cars use virtually no extra fuel when they’re re-started without pressing the accelerator so you won’t waste lots of fuel turning the car back on.

2. Keep in the highest suitable gear – Driving at lower engine speeds helps to keep fuel consumption to a minimum. As a very general guideline, aim to shift to a higher gear at between 1800 and 2000 revolutions per minute (RPM). Don't forget to keep safe though. keep in mind that depending on the car and the driving conditions this might not be suitable.

3. Close your windows if travelling at 60mph or more – The aerodynamic drag on your car of an open window at speeds of 60mph or more adds to your fuel usage. Keep your windows closed at high speeds. 

4. Slow down – Those speed limits are there for a reason! Avoid excessive speeds. Driving at 85mph uses approximately 25% more fuel than 70mph. 

5. Smooth acceleration, gradual braking – This is about anticipating the road ahead. Pull away steadily and smoothly and start decelerating early so breaking doesn't have to be abrupt.

The next five point relate to the upkeep of your vehicle.

6. Check your tyres regularly – It is recommended that at least once a month (and before long journeys) you check that your vehicles tyres are at the correct pressure. Under-inflated tyres are not only dangerous and but also increase your fuel consumption. While you're there you should check the level of tread on the tyres, this is not only to ensure your vehicle is legal to drive but also because worn out tyres can be hazardous.

7. Cut excess weight – Keep only necessary items in your vehicle. We've all been guilty of leaving stuff in the boot for too long, but the extra weight will be costing you petrol. Travel light wherever you can.

8. Air conditioning – use air conditioning sparingly as your engine has to work harder to power the air conditioning machinery. If driving at low speed, open the window instead.

9. Remove unused roof boxes and bars – Roof boxes can be a great way to extend the storage space in your vehicle, but they create a huge amount of drag. Drag means that your engine will have to work harder and that means using more petrol.

10. Only start your engine when you're ready to leave – Modern engines don’t need to be warmed up, so idling before you start a journey simply wastes precious fuel.

Back to School Money Saving Tips

Kitting the kids out ready for Back to School can cost a small fortune. There seems to be a list as long as your arm of essential kit to buy. To help, we have put together some fab money saving Back to School tips, which can make the start of the school term a little easier on your wallet.


Back to school tips:

Stick to a list - Write down a list of everything you need. Then don't veer from your list. There
will be plenty of pretty extras crying our for you to pick them off the shelves (and little voices pleading too) so resolve not to budge and stick to your guns.

Do an inventory first - Before you hit the shops, check if you have any items on your list around the house. It can be tempting to just head out and buy the whole caboodle brand new but it's worth a look first. Have you got pencils and rubbers hiding in drawers? Have you got t-shirts and jogging bottoms that you can use as gym kit? Can last year's lunch box be washed and used again?

Pre-loved can be as good as new - All it takes is a quick clean and nearly new items can be as good as new but will save you a small fortune. Our Nearly New boards are a great place to look for expensive items, such as school coats, logo-ed uniform and blazers, branded P.E kit etc items. If you don't see any listed then post a 'wanted' ad and you might be in luck. Before you hit the shops with your credit card, make it your first port of call.

Check the charity shops - Try charity shops near your child's school, which often have uniform in stock.

Does the school have second hand uniform sales? Ask other mums (or on the noticeboard) to see if they do. Often there are fab second hand sales near the start of term, selling hand-me-down and unwanted uniform and you can find some real bargains.

Hunt down bargains - At the end of the summer holidays supermarkets and high street stores are often tripping over themselves to tempt you with cheap uniform deals and BOGOFs. If you find a multi-pack going for a song or a great deal then buy in the next size up too and stock up.

Buy plain and jazz things up - Plain supplies are often much cheaper and you can add your own personal touch with stickers, badges and colourful doodles. Pound shops are a good hunting ground for plainer items, which you can then customise. Use fabric marker pens to add dots or doodles or pictures to a pair of plain white plimsolls or stickers to transform a plain lunchbox or water bottle into a one your child will be excited to show off to his friends.

Stock up throughout the year - Whenever you spy things in sales or going for a bargain then stock up throughout the year. Make a drawer of 'spares' for when your child goes up a size in clothing or you need to replenish pencil box supplies.

Biro power! You can buy some really colourful and fancy labels but if you want to save a few more pennies on the last leg of your Back to School buying trip then you can use a biro or fabric marker to write your child's name on washing labels and on their pencil cases and lunch boxes instead.

Good luck!

6 Shopping Hacks for the Money Concious Fashion Lover

1. Get cash back on purchases.

When purchasing items online instead of purchasing directly through the sellers website, click to the company via a cashback site and you get paid for it. Although it does sound too good to be true, all parties benefit: the referrer gets a commission on your sale from the retailer, the store gets your business and you get cash back on your purchase. Find a list of various cashback sites here.

2.Ask for a discount.

Store managers usually have the ability to give up to a 15% discount on an item at their discretion, so if you're going to ask make sure you're speaking to the manager first! If the item is slightly defective and you believe you could fix it at home, tell the manager you would like to take it if you can have a discount. If you’re too embarrassed to ask for a discount directly, ask about upcoming promotions or sales. Try the line, “I’d love to remain a loyal customer, but I don’t have the budget for this now.”

3. Find out when the best discounts happen.

If you know retail, you know that certain items go on sale during very specific months, as long as you're prepared to wait you'll be sure to bag a deal. For example buying summer items in July and August will lead to massive discounts.

4. Don't buy stuff online straight away.

If you aren't in a hurry to purchase the items, put them in the websites shopping cart and leave them for a few days. Several retailers will email you a coupon code to entice you to go back and spend. It's in no way guaranteed buy doesn't hurt to be patient!

5. Get to the front of the queue for discounts.

Most stores usually do their reductions and mark downs on a certain day of the week. Make friends with someone at the store, and if you're lucky they'll let you in on the day this goes into effect. Armed with this knowledge, you can be the one to come back with a haul of goodies first.

6. Check out the price of items, even after you've bough them.

Almost all stores will refund you the difference if the item you recently bought is reduced, especially if they want to keep you as a customer and maintain a good image. If you bought an item at full retail price and it goes on sale within a certain time period (check individual store policies), you can get the difference refunded. There are several apps available that can keep you alert to prices changes in items you're after and can be useful in this occasion too.

7 Money Saving Tips for Students

The chances are if you're a student, you're poor. Unfortunately, unless you invent Facebook from your halls, the two go hand-in-hand. Plus if you're going to go out 4 nights a week and spend all your money on junk food, the student lifestyle can be detrimental in more ways than one.

To help us make your money go further, we've put together some handy tips to get the most out of your student loan...


1) Travel Cards

The 16-25 Railcard is designed for young people in full-time education (although all students should be eligible). It gives you a third off rail journeys all across the UK and can be purchased for one or three years at a time. It also allows you to gain partnership offers and competitions, including west-end theatre discounts and holiday offers.

A one-year card costs £30, and a three-year card costs £70. You can buy it at: www.railcard.co.uk. This is worth looking into even if you're not a student as there are various deal for people travelling in pairs or groups.

Most big city bus operators also offer travel cards, they may not be specifically for students, but they offer a discount by buying for a month or a year at a time. If you travel into university by bus, it's almost guaranteed that the travel cards will save you cash in the long run.

2) Watch TV for Free 

The BBC license fee stipulates that you must pay the license fee if you watch or record television as it is broadcast. This means you don't need a license if you're just watching on-demand TV over the internet. The simple way around this is to buy a cable and connect your laptop to your TV, you can then get lots of free, good-quality viewing without spending anything. There is loads of amazing TV content that you can watch on demand through your laptop, from paid services like Netflix to all the terrestrial channels catch-up services. If you happen to have a license already, make sure you claim back a quarter of the fee for the summer months you're probably not in the house.

3) Bulk Buying

If you've been following this blog at all, you should know by now that cooking from scratch is not only more fun, but also much much cheaper than buying one-off meals at the supermarket. Admittedly it is more effort and involves some trial-and-error to get it right, but it's much better for your health and your bank balance in the long run. Buying in bulk makes sense especially when you're purchasing non-perishable foods like pasta and tinned foods, which you could buy as a flat or household. It lasts longer and works out so much cheaper.

4) Your NUS Card Makes Everything Cheaper

Make sure you take your NUS card everywhere you go, it can make your money stretch further than you'd think. Many shops do discounts but don't actually publicise this fact, just make sure you always ask if they do student discount. You'd be surprised where actually does a student discount, from coffee shops to swimming pools and more. There are also several specialist student money saving and discount sites worth investigating.

5) Get a Job at your Favourite Shop

Do you have a favourite shop that you keep going back to time after time? If you like shopping there that much, you should try getting a job there! Most students rely on flexible part time jobs whilst they're at university to keep them afloat financially. Most importantly the majority of retail jobs will give you a great discount, jobs at Topshop for example could bag you 25% off. In some stores like New Look and The Body Shop you can get up to an amazing 50% off! If you love and know the company, this passion will probably help you in the job interview too. Make sure you research your favourite shops and find out what staff discount schemes they offer.

6) Contents Insurance

Before buying fresh contents insurance for your student house, its worth checking with your parents first. The 'contents away from home' section of your parents' policy might already cover you, or you could possibly extend it at a small cost. Although, as with any insurance its worth ensuring the full value of your items is covered.

7) Pre-Drinking is Cheaper

Even the cheapest student bars and pubs can be expensive if you drink there several nights a week. Although it might not sound exciting, drinking at home is the cheapest way to drink with your friends before a big night out. You can even make it even more fun by playing drinking games or making your own cocktails. If you want to underline how expensive it is, just think of how much a beer or a shot and mixer is at your local, and then consider the price a whole bottle costs at the off-license at the end of the street.

5 Money Saving Tips For Exchanging Currency

So the summer holiday season is upon us, if you're heading abroad it's easy to get hit with extra fees and expensive exchange rates when changing up your money. 

Everyone should know the places to avoid when changing up cash. It's worth remembering that the worst places to exchange money is at an airport - it's a captive audience and they take advantage of this. Also some credit cards and banks can add fees when you buy on your card.

Your best bet is to bring a credit card that won't charge currency exchange fees and some cash for backup, just in case. You should make as many purchases as possible on your credit card, as you'll then be protected against fraud. As we all know, when you lose cash or it gets stolen, you won't get it back. Lost credit cards, or fraudulent charges are easily replaced or restored.

Basically, in 2014 walking around with loads of cash and a money belt is as archaic as a pager!

Here are five tips to maximise your money:

1. Smartphone Apps

Before going on holiday, grab your smartphone and download a currency converting app. That way wherever you are, you can open the app and see if you're getting a good deal on the money your exchanging. You simple type in the amount you want to exchange and it calculates the figure in the new currency. There are several free apps available including XE Currency and GlobeConvert.

2. Double Check Before You Exchange

Be wary of currency exchanges that say they don't charge fees or advertise really good exchange rates. Often, they will offer a worse exchange rate to make up for the low fees or have caveats that they only tell you about on exchange. Ask how much you'll be getting for your cash before you exchange and then assess whether you're getting a good deal. It's also worth remembering, going to a currency exchange in the country you're visiting makes it more likely you'll get a better deal than doing it at home.

3. Get the Right Card

As I said above, it's important to get a credit card that doesn't exchange a fee for foreign currency exchange. Some can even charge a 2 or 3 percent fee for every purchase made with a foreign currency. However, there are many that don't. There are many comparison sites online which you can find with a quick perusal of Google.

Not sure if your card charges a fee? Call and ask.

If your card does have fee's, its probably worth applying for one that doesn't charge. Some cards even offer air-miles or points towards future trips.

Another benefit: credit cards often will offer exchange rates that are an average over the past month. That could be helpful if you are travelling to place where the currency is volatile.

Finally: call your credit company before travelling, that way they know you're going and won't leave you stranded without access to money - because they think you're being defrauded.

4. Hotel No Go

Sometimes hotels and other businesses like restaurants ask if you want to convert your bill into your own currency, ALWAYS decline. The exchange rate is often terrible, always pay the bill in the country's own currency and let the credit card to the exchange.

5. Check Your Debit Card 

As with your credit cards, make sure your bank doesn't charge you if you use your debit card abroad. For example, some banks charge a fee for using a foreign ATM as well as a percentage for currency exchanges. It's always best to call your bank and check to see what fees apply to your account, then you know whether it is a good idea to use your card or not.

4 Free Ideas for your Kids Summer Holiday

The summer holiday season is upon us, all parents know that entertaining the kids for the whole six weeks can be a stressful and expensive business. Bearing that in mind, we thought we'd write a post that compiles some free activities and days out that can occupy you and the kids for the day.

1) Free Toys

Every month in Lego stores across the UK you can take children aged between 6 and 14 to build sessions which are free to attend. These sessions are great fun, you don't have to book (although stocks deplete quickly, so get there early) and the best thing is that the kids get to take their creations home too. 

These sessions take place after school on the first Thursday of every month, between 4pm and 6pm. So there will be a few opportunities to go over the summer. At every session, the children are given a new model to build.  

Click here for more details. If you've never been to a Lego store before, it is a new religious experience for children and Lego enthusiasts alike. Although Lego stores are lots of fun, they can be expensive places if you have Lego obsessed kids. If you are going to spend however, make sure you sign up to Lego's VIP Programme: Lego’s equivalent of the Tesco Clubcard.

2) A culture trail at the museum

Museums - especially the big, old ones - are full of excitement for children of all ages. More sedate art galleries are perhaps best saved for older children but like so many places these days the flagship city museums have a relaxed policy towards children and welcome visitors of all ages. Not only that but many museums are free of charge - including some great ones in the capital, such as the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum and Tate - so if you find the experience is lost on your children you won't have wasted any money.

But most children will be fascinated by the varied collections - think dinosaurs, Egyptian relics, Roman coins and stuffed animals! Furthermore, your local museum may also fun specific activity days or culture trails for children, to help the exhibits really come to life, and some have special areas for children, with books, toys and colouring sheets. Your local museums are just a Google search away. 

3) Visit the farm

If you live in the city it doesn't mean your children can't experience a day at the farm. There may be a city farm in your city - Bristol, for example, has several and London has a whopping 17! They're usually free of charge and you and your children can wander around, looking at and feeding the animals.

Some farms have nice cafes attached, or play areas, and there may be a programme of activities or opportunities for children to take part in feeding time. Details of local farms can be found here.

4) Free Online Guitar Lessons

Finally, if the weather is rotten this weekend, could free guitar tuition be the beginning of something special? I know from experience that although there are lots of guitar tutorial videos on YouTube, most are aimed at adults and are, shall we say, somewhat dry…

Kids Guitar Zone is dedicated to teaching children how to play guitar, with free video tutorials set out in an easy-to-follow format. Lesson 1 begins with the parts of the guitar; by Lesson 10, students are playing ‘Wild Thing’ and ‘Gangnam Style.’ The lessons are all led by the same, friendly teacher and some are accompanied by free PDF downloads. (Thanks to Latest Free Stuff for the spot.)

Five Ways to Save Money on Your Weekly Shop

Before the widespread adoption of the Internet finding bargains for your weekly shop was the stuff of dreams or game shows – Dale Winton’s supermarket sweep, anyone?

However, these days the Internet has opened up a wealth of money saving opportunities to make sure you’re getting the best value and saving money on your weekly bill.

So here’s our top five ways to save money on your weekly shop:

Mysupermarket – This app is invaluable and you’ll love it. Simply put, it lets you compare the prices at all the main supermarkets including Waitrose, Tesco’s, Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Morrisions. Using this app you can find out where you should be doing your shop before you even leave home. If the things you want to buy are cheaper at one supermarket or there is a great deal on you’ll know in advance and can make plans accordingly. The average saving by using this app is £17 weekly!

Quidco - A lot of people aren’t aware of this site, but you should be! It gives you money back for doing your shopping online. It’s as simple as logging into the Quidco site before shopping and then clicking through to your chosen retailer. Even regular users of the site don’t realise that you can also get cash back on several item’s you’ve purchased in store – all you have to do is upload a scan of your receipt and Quidco will pay out cash back on those items too.

Listen to music – A trick that supermarkets use that you might not be aware of, is to play music on the in store P.A system. This may not seem too influential to your shopping habits, but the trick comes with the type of music played. Listen to it next time you visit, it’s always slow and reflective, the intention is make you linger in store and therefore spend more on your shopping. So next time you’re doing the weekly shop stick the gym playlist on your headphones and you’ll speed around the isles at a rapid pace, avoiding spending and just as importantly their awful music to boot.

Always read the small print – Every supermarket has headline deals that great you as you enter the store, but they’re not always the best value. By reading the small print underneath you can work out the price per 100g or price per unit etc. Often you can find cheaper deals per unit on products that aren’t on offer, so it always ALWAYS worth comparing and contrasting before you buy. Bigger isn’t necessarily cheaper and the offers aren’t always going to save you cash

Supermarket own / value brand savings – Supermarkets often portray their value brands as a cheaper and lower quality alternative to well known name brand products. The implication is that they’re so much cheaper because they’re of a lower quality. However, this is often not the case.

You may wish to stay loyal to your well known name brand, but you might be able to find a tastier AND cheaper alternative. Food critic Martin Isark is on a mission to change the perception that generic brands are always tastier than supermarket own brands. He has eaten his way through thousands of own brand products and rated them out of 10.You can see his ratings here The Supermarket Own Brand Guide and then decide whether to take a punt on them.

Do you have any tips for saving money on your weekly shop?