Some Great Ways To Save Money Around The House
In our other blog posts we’ve covered some fantastic ways to save money to get yourself out of debt. In this post we’re going to be taking a look at even more ways to make your £’s go further. Let’s get right to it.
1. Use Liquid Dish Soap To Wash Laundry
You wouldn’t think it, but a cheap and effective way of washing your laundry may have escaped you. Simple liquid dish soap works well to wash laundry with, and it costs a fraction of what laundry detergent costs. It does just as good of a job in the washer.and it’s gentler on clothes! Expect to save a lot on your laundry from now on.
2. Plan Home Parties Instead Of Going Out On The Town
House parties can be a cheap way to entertain friends and family without paying full price for alcohol and food..!
Planning home parties can be a fantastic way to celebrate on the weekends. Weekends for the great majority of people in the UK are usually spent either resting up or enjoying their money. You can do yourself a huge favor by planning home parties.
Ideas include lunches and dinner, watching a movie together, enjoying coffee, trying out new beverages, spending time with pets, and more. You could even try planning a work out session on the weekends. Invite a few of your closest friends over and try out the latest workout routine. Helping each other stretch is one of the greatest benefits to having people join you for working out.
Get creative! How about a home organisation party? Nothing could make a home party better than showing your closest friends something new you’ve learned. Sharing your knowledge about something and exchanging what you’ve learned between each other is a great centre point for a party. If you think organisation alone would get boring and quickly over with, then make a list of five or more subjects to make everyone come share what they’ve learned in life.
If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, what about a slow cooker party? Each person brings their own items to cook with and create a wonderful meal that can be enjoyed throughout the week. Instead of spending the time waiting for your food to cook, you can enjoy being close with your best friends! Watch a movie together, do whatever you like, and a wonderful amount of food will be ready by the time the night is out. Your guests can take it home and plan their next weeks meals around it.
3. Consider Where You Do Your Grocery Shopping
Are you being a smart shopper? Are you getting the best bang for your shopping budget? Supermarket stores vary a lot in how much they charge. In an effort to save the most money, plan the following money saving effort.Think aldi over tesco and you could save a fortune.
First, make a list of each supermarket or local store in your area that you think might have a better deal than the one you currently shop at. Then make a second list of 30 of the items you buy most frequently. Now you’re ready to make one shopping trip to each of the new stores. It would be a great idea to have sectioned spaces next to each of the items on your list and fill in the prices each new store offers.
After adding up the total for how much it will cost to shop at each grocery store in total, you’ll be able to decide what store will give you the best deal. Don’t forget to factor in the cost of petrol money and wear/tear on your vehicle. Good luck to you in finding the store with the best overall cost savings!
4. Save Money On Rent With A Lodger
Lodgers are a great way to save money! Not only do lodgers pay their share of the rent, they can also look after the property while you’re away for pleasure or business. These days it’s very dangerous to be trusting of strangers. In order to find the perfect lodger for you, be diligent about screening your lodgers for criminal history, who they’re employed by, any debt they may have, and references. People can come with any number of negative things to bring to your home and it’s your job as the head of the household to avoid these bad people before they have a chance to become a lodger.
If they have a criminal record, just say no! If they have an insurmountable amount of debt to their name, just say no! If they don’t have a job, forget them entirely. These three rules of thumb should keep you safe and on your way to finding a suitable lodger. When times get rough for you financially, at least you’ll be able to rely on the lodger and the new money they bring to fulfill their end of the agreement.
Until next time folks - hopefully this has been helpful to you all!
Using A Programmable Thermostat To Be Cost Efficient
Programmable thermostats can do you a lot of good in the effort to save money. One of the best parts about a programmable thermostat is that you get used to the settings. It won’t be easy to sacrifice a bit of comfort at first, but as the months go by, you’ll find yourself more at home and in comfort with the temperature change.
Programme your heating effectively to save money throughout the year
Most people don’t need such a warm environment when they sleep, so they set their programmable thermostat down ten degrees (or even more) to save on heating costs. This works wonderfully well to save a ton of money on heating costs per year. You’ll have to make trial runs to see what temperature you can bear comfortably to get the most out of your programmable thermostat.
How much does a programmable thermostat cost in the United Kingdom? Honeywell makes a great unit for £70.95. A great Heatmiser unit is listed at £58.70. This should give you an idea of just how cheap it is to get one of these for your home. In just a years time you will have recouped the savings in energy costs alone. Additions to your home like these also increases the resale value of your home. Not much, but enough to cover its cost, that’s for sure.
The Hold/Permanent/Vacation features should not be used in the day to day function of your programmable thermostat. Avoid using these settings during normal days and nights. Holding, or overriding, the preprogrammed heating function will cause the cost of heating your house to rise. Find a set temperature that you’re comfortable with and set it to the lowest possible temperature you’re comfortable with during sleep hours. While you’re away at work, the house will heat up for your arrival at home. Then, when evening turns to night again, the temperature of the house will go down, leaving you with a substantial savings over the cost of a manual thermostat.
Also dont forget to turn off your heating almost entirely during warmer months - just throw on a jumper if you get a little cold and see the savings roll in !
Ways To Save Money Around The House - Part 2
Welcome to the second installment of the ‘Ways to save money around the house’ series!
Saving money around the house takes some strategy. It isn’t all so simple as people make it out to be. Together with the information in our articles, you’ll be able to make a substantial dent in your debt problem and maybe even lay those problems to rest for good.
1. Energy Saving Light Bulbs
Choosing the right light bulb can help you make small savings throughout the year
You may not have been aware of it, but traditional light bulbs are a huge waste of money. They make you spend more than you normally would to light your house. Let’s look at the cost of a traditional light bulb VS. the more efficient energy saving models. You’ll find that even something as small as light bulbs can be effective means to save money in order to invest or pay off bills.
Traditional Incandescent Light Bulb:
Cost of electricity: 11.5 pence per kWhr
6 bulbs X 100 Watts per bulb X 8 hours per day
This comes to 4.8 kWhr total energy usage per day X 30 days = 144 kWhr of energy usage per month.
11.5 pence per kWhr X 144 kWhr of energy usage per month = £16.56 per month in energy cost from light bulbs alone!
On a yearly basis, this will cost you 1728 kWhr X 11.5 pence per kWhr for a total of £198.72 for a yearly cost.
Traditional incandescent light bulbs are being phased out by governments all over the world. They use too much energy and can possibly be dangerous. The UK is set to do away with using incandescent light bulbs altogether and has already started phasing them out since 2009. Using these bulbs will not help your debt situation at all, but there is hope! Let’s take a look at one of the more common energy saving bulbs and see how the savings stack up.
Common Energy Saving Light Bulb
Cost of electricity: 11.5 pence per kWhr
6 bulbs X 20 Watts per bulb X 8 hours per day
This comes to .96 kWhr total energy usage per day X 30 days = 28.8 kWhr of energy usage per month.
11.5 pence per kWhr X 28.8 kWhr of energy usage per month = £3.31 per month in energy cost using the more efficient bulbs.
On a yearly basis, this will cost you £39.72 in total energy usage!
So lets compare the two! With a traditional light bulb you’ll be spending £198.72 for a yearly cost. With a set of energy saving light bulbs you’ll be able to reduce that cost by an incredible £159! You’ll only have to pay £39.72 as long as your electricity costs 11.5 pence per kWhr. Plug in the correct figure for what you’re paying, the correct amount of light bulbs, and how long you use them per day using the above calculation method to reach your households energy usage for light bulbs per day, month, and year.
Exciting isn’t it? Look at how much money you’ll be saving simply by screwing in a common energy saving light bulb! It’s really incredible to know that anyone can do this in every household. All across the United Kingdom electricity bills we be lower than they’ve ever been before. The phasing out of the incandescent light bulb is one of the new innovations the United Kingdom is using to help people with their debt problems.
Ways To Save Money Around The House - Part 1
We have tons of ways to save money around your flat, house, or residence in general. Check out money saving tips and rejoice! You can use these tips to help remedy your debt problems for good.
Electric blankets can save your heating bills!
1. Electric Blankets - You should have one of these for every household member you have. Electric blankets can save you lots on the cost of your heating bill. To help you figure the cost of using the blanket, they use roughly 60-100 watts every hour. Multiply the amount of hours you’re going to be using the blanket per day by 60-100 watts. The wattage will vary depending on the heat setting you use. 75 watts per hour is a safe estimate. Divide the total number of wattage you use per day by 1,000 to realize how many kilowatt hours of energy you’ll be using each day you use the blanket. Then you’ll be able to calculate the seasonal costs of using the blanket through experience.
Tip: Wrap the electric blanket in an additional blanket to retain the warmth. Regular blanket on top, electric blanket underneath.
The savings accumulate because most people use their electric blankets during sleep hours. For the UK citizen, that’s a full 8 hours of savings over the cost of heating the house full blast at night. Many people turn their thermostat completely off during the night time because they are warm with their electric blanket. They don’t even notice the difference. Most people would agree that getting up to go to the restroom in a cold house is worth being a little chilly if you save hundreds of pounds per year on your heating bill. Even if you aren’t willing to turn your thermostat completely off, even reducing the thermostat by 10 degrees at night can yield a substantial savings. The best thing you can do is figure how many kilowatt hours of electricity you use with the electric blanket per night, month, and year.
Write that kilowatt hour figure down.
The cost savings of not using central heating at night so much because you’re using the electric blanket is substantial.
Calculate the actual cost the furnace usage is running you at the reduced usage amount and compare that to running the furnace the way you would normally.
Based on your monthly calculation, you’ll be able to see how much using the electric blanket is saving you.
2. Ginger Instead of Medication For Inflammation And Sore Muscles
NB: I am not a doctor, so do seek medical advice before doing anything that may impact on your health. These tips are for reference only.
Ginger has been used for centuries for its medicinal properties.
Ginger is a wonder root for inflammation. Whenever your muscles feel tired and run down, you may run to the medicine chest for your favorite pharmacy cure. Don’t do it! Ginger is MUCH cheaper and more effective. So how do you use it properly? Ground ginger works wonderfully well when rubbed into sore muscles. Make the ground ginger into a thick paste with some water and rub it into a sore neck. Then wrap your neck in a wet wash cloth to keep the ginger “activated”. Otherwise it will dry up quickly and not work well. We don’t recommend it for the groin area. That’s just too sensitive of an area to use ginger on. You’ve been warned on that.
A second way to use ginger is also easy. First buy some powdered ginger from a good supplier online. Turn a long sleeve shirt inside out, wet it with hot water, wring it out, then sprinkle enough ginger to moderately dust the whole inside of the long sleeve shirt, front and back, and dust the front and back of the arms as well. Turn the long sleeve shirt from inside out to normal and put it on. You should have a jacket you don’t care much about that retains warmth well to wear over the top of the wet shirt. This will allow the ginger to work with the water in the shirt as it’s pressed to your skin to reduce inflammation. The jacket will keep the otherwise wet and cool shirt warm and to your body. You’ll be amazed at how cheap this is and how much money you’ll save over the cost of anti-inflammatory medications. It’s truly a wonder cure of natural medicine.
More money saving tips around the home to follow tomorrow.
Why a credit card can be a bad idea for debt management
Credit cards can do more harm than good. If you weren’t aware of this before then it’s really time to put it into perspective. Credit cards not only tempt you to make exorbitant purchases, but they also can have high interest rates that are detrimental to your financial situation. Acquiring a credit card is exactly what credit card holders want you to do when you’re in debt. What they don’t tell you about is the loan sharks and harassing phone calls that could possibly await you when your cards get canceled and you’re left with an incredible amount of debt. As illegal as harassing phone calls are, they still happen in this day and age.
Bottom line, credit cards aren’t the answer to your debt problems. They only create more debt! Let’s look at an example of how a credit card can be detrimental to your financial situation. The average person has 2.7 credit cards to their name. The average amount of debt a consumer has to their name through their credit cards is way more than they should have. It runs into the thousands of pounds! If you don’t pay off what you owe each month the interest starts to pile up. How so? Well, credit card companies are clever. Let’s say you charged £1,000 in purchases. If you don’t pay back the full amount you charged on the cards, the full £1,000 within the grace period, then you would owe the interest on the full £1,000 in purchases until you paid back every cent. Even having 1 measly pound left in debt on the £1,000, after the grace period, would cause the full £1,000 to accumulate interest until the balance of the debt is paid back in full.
So you see, even having a measly £1 in debt from purchases can cause the entire £1,000 to incur interest charges. If you must own a credit card, which we highly disapprove of, then you must pay back every penny you owe within the grace period. Otherwise, all of the purchases, every single one, will acquire interest charges until it is paid back.
So you see, this is just one way that credit cards have you trapped. They know that the average person is never going to pay back within the grace period. You can be sure that they are counting on you making purchases that aren’t within your means. Anything you can do to save money without having to own a credit card would be a wise decision. Therefore ensure you check the small print to ensure your card has interest free purchases for a set introductory period.
Don’t fall into the credit card trap, and if you’re already part of it, check out more of our articles on how to save enough money to cancel them for good. We have tons of money saving tips and ways to live frugally. Not only that, but we show you how to live frugally and use it to your advantage. The more money you can get saved and invested, the better your debt situation will become.
Some Simple Debt Management Tips for Christmas
Remeber that Christmas is not all about the money or gifts - don't lose site of the real meaning of Christmas!
While it is exciting to watch as someone opens an expensive gift from you, the excitement dies quickly when the bill comes due. Christmas has gotten out of hand. There is no need to spend £100 on each person you buy presents. Instead of going into debt this year, try a few of these
tips.
1. Make your own presents. You do not need to be an artistic genius. Homemade gifts come from the heart and will be cherished much longer than anything you could buy. Set aside a couple of days and make sweets and cookies to give to friends.
2. Set limits on the amount everyone spends. Talk with your family and set a limit for the amount to be spent on each gift. Fifteen pounds is a reasonable amount for a gift.
3. Draw names from a hat. Instead of buying a gift for each and every person in yourfamily, have everyone draw a name from a hat and only buy for that person.
4. Impress upon your children that Christmas is not all about the presents, but about spending time with those you love.
5. When buying for your children, Santa only needs to buy one special gift for each child. A few small, inexpensive gifts can be added to the special one. Again, set your limit, and stick to it.
6. Plan ahead for next year. Start a Christmas savings account. Put £10 in the account
every week. By the time next year rolls around you will have the money you want to
spend and will not need to charge anything.
7. When using your credit cards for Christmas, only spend what you know you will
pay off in the next month. Do not get any new cards and charge them to the limit. If you
cannot pay it off in one month, it is too much.
It is hard to change everyone’s expectations, but it is time to start. Take the commercialism out of the holidays. Spend time together playing a few games, what you get out of an evening with family can never be replaced. If you instil this in your children while they are young when they are older they will keep themselves out of debt by knowing the Christmas is about giving vs. receiving. But, at the same time they will also know that they do not have to go broke in the process while trying to please others.
Making your money go further for Christmas
As Christmas is just around the corner i felt it was appropriate to share a couple of quick tips you can think about to get a little bit back into your bank accounts during a particularly expensive month. There are numerous quick debt busting tips to share that can help you reclaim some money back or reduce your outgoings.
Making use of 3-2 offers, store discounts and promotional items
During the festive season, there are numerous companies clambering for your attention and will try this by offering numerous deals and offers in major supermarkets. Take advantage of these deals whilst they are on to extend your shopping budget further.
Use cash back and voucher sites
Use popular cashback sites like Quidco and Topcashback to help earn a small percentage back on your online purchases. Every time you click a link through from Quidco to the merchant site you may earn a percentage back on your shopping.
Cashback percentages range from 0.5-2% for big ticket items like iPads etc to over 10% for groceries and shopping with some of the bigger highstreet retailers like Boots.com and Argos.
Also, lets not forget the voucher sites like MyVoucherCodes.co.uk and Vouchercodes.co.uk etc.
Get money back from mis-sold Payment proection insurance.
Look out for specialist PPI claims companies that can help you reclaim fees from unscrupulous or missold payment protection plans. These commonly include loan and credit card payment protection that is sold in on a policy unnecesarily.
The PPI claims companies often handle the claim on your behalf if you think you have been unfairly sold such insurance on your credit product. They will then take a percentage from your lump sum before paying the rest back to you.
Trade in old items on Gumtree or eBay
If you have lots of unwanted DVDs, games and CDs etc, why not consider using auction and classified sites like eBay and Gumtree to sell them. The advantage of Gumtree is an absence of commission or listing fees for adding products. That can add up considerably if you sell a large number of items, or higher value items.
Whilst you may not necessarily say thousands, these things could certainly help strecth budgets during a very expensive time of the year. Happy Christmas and new years!
Borrowers advised to budget for Christmas
Christmas can be an extremely expensive time of the year, and the credit card bills can spiral
Financial solutions company Think Money has advised anyone covering the cost of
Christmas on credit to make sure they have a carefully considered plan in place to repay
what they owe.
With Christmas being one of the most expensive times of year, it’s likely that many
people will turn to credit cards, personal loans and other lines of credit to cover their
seasonal spending. And with the base rate at an all-time low for over two years, there’s
every chance that borrowing money will be an increasingly attractive option for many.
However, there are concerns that borrowers who don’t plan ahead financially, or have a
well-thought-out budget, could face debt problems as a result.
A spokesperson for Think Money commented: “Financial planning is as important as it’s
ever been - especially when it comes to borrowing money.
“[...] Some people might be making a New Year’s resolution to get their finances in
order. For some, that might involve taking out a debt consolidation loan to simplify their
finances and set out a clear plan for repaying their debts. This can be a good way of
managing debt, but borrowers still need to make sure their repayments fit in with the rest
of their budget.”
How to Deal with Loan Sharks
Loan sharks can be risky business if you end up using them
In these troubled financial times, you may be tempted to borrow money from a loan shark just to make it through to your next payday. Unfortunately, once you are involved with this type of loan, it can be very hard to get out of it. Loan sharks are notorious for adding to your principle for no reason; upping your interest and generally making it so you have no idea how much money you actually have to pay them to be done with them.
So, in the end of it all you will realise that all that you have went through was not worth the little amount of money that you needed. The good news is you do not have to handle the situation alone. There is a national hotline available for anyone who is in trouble with a loan shark. You can call 0300 555 2222 or text ‘loan shark’ and your message to 60003. Your call will be kept confidential. Remember, you are not in trouble with the law for borrowing money, but it is illegal for them to loan the money to you without a license from the Office of Fair Trade.
While you are not legally bound to repay any money you borrowed from a loan shark, you may find they are threatening you with physical harm. If you are being threatened or harassed in any way, it is important for you to not only report them to the Illegal Money Lending department and contact the police.
Any time you borrow money, be sure to get all the details in writing. If you are not sure, contact the consumer Credit Public Register to make sure they are licensed to loan money. If they are not, report them immediately. If they are licensed, you may still want to shop around. Be sure you are getting the best deal you can before borrowing money.
There are licensed agencies that will lend you money even if you have a poor credit rating or a low income. You will have to pay a higher interest rate than someone with good credit does, but you will be building your credit if you make your payments on time. In the long run, you will benefit from going through the steps instead of dealing with a loan shark. However, ultimately the decision remains up to you but these are just some words of wisdom.
Top Money Management Tools to Help Manage your Debt
Debt can be confusing. You borrow a certain amount of money, but then have to pay back much more. Interest may be calculated annually or monthly. In most loans, you are paying off any interest first, and then anything left comes off the principle. If you want to figure what the best way to pay off a debt is, or how long it will take you to pay of a credit card if you only pay the minimum payment, there are tools to help you. Below, you can find some of the different tools that are available which have proven to be rather useful to other individuals like yourself.
1. Credit Card Pay-Off Calculator - This tool will give you an amortization schedule. You can figure how long it will take you to pay off your card if you keep the same payment monthly. You can use this to see how much interest you can save if you pay just a bit more each month, taking it right from the balance due.
2. Citizens Advice Bureau - The CAB has people who will sit and help you with a number of problems. The can help you to sort out your debt and determine which needs to be paid urgently. You will learn how to talk to your creditors to have them lower your payments or interest.
3. Credit Consolidation Companies – These companies talk to your creditors for you, making arrangements for a lower pay –off by eliminating late fees and high interest charges. They will lump your debt into one loan and have you pay it off that way.
4. Personal Finance Software – If you can see exactly where your money is going, you can take charge of it. Often the problem lies with the little things we forget about. You may not realize how much you are spending on fast food because you only ever spend £1 at a time. Over the course of a month, it all adds up. Using software that tracks your every expense may be your first step towards financial stability.
5. Budgeting software - Once you understand how you spend your money, take charge and budget your spending. Be sure to stick to the budget by using a variety of limits and tracking to keep your spending in check.
Taking charge of your finances may hurt at the start, but in the end, you will be much better prepared for the little emergencies that crop up.
