5 great places to hear free music
Spending money on CD’s, MP3’s and vinyl when in debt is no longer a problem, as there are now hundreds of new places to hear, share and discover the next big thing. With the age of streaming now well and truely under way, there are plenty of places to get your music fix, without having to get out your wallet. Here are my favourite 5 places to listen to music for free right now:
Myspace
Myspace is still one of the largest sites on the web to find music.
Myspace, the hugely popular social network is still a great place to discover new music, stream preview tracks and get the latest news on your favourite artists. By allowing users to upload music to their own integrated MP3 player, the site quickly became the most popular site in the world to find and share music. While there are still plenty of maniacs, with their, ear piercingly awful screamo/funk/gabba hybrid creations, you can still find some great music on there.
Last.fm
Last.fm, the music streaming portal is a fantastic way to get free music streamed directly to your speakers. The site has a fair amount of niche or unheard of tracks that you may struggle to find anywhere else.
Another cool feature is the site will recommend artists and tracks that match your tastes, which is a great way to find new musical talent with ease. Read more
Change your travel arrangements to help ease Debt
When the purse strings are a little tighter, we can often continue with our normal travel routine and expect things to help themselves. However, this is somewhat unrealistic and can often push you further into debt.
Travel costs are on the rise, so consider your options before going to work or even taking a trip down to the shops. A few things you should ask yourself when considering your transport options are:
Trains are a great way to save money on long journies if booked in advance.
1. Are you always taking the cheapest alternative? Many times walking or taking a bus may be more cost effective than a car, and will be suited to those struggling with shrinking bank balance. Perhaps invest in a bicycle for local trips or your journey to work.
2. Can you make your journies more efficient? - If you are able to share car journies with others you can save a good deal on your petrol costs. Why not consider a car share system for work ? Pick up your colleagues who need a ride into work and allow them to contribute towards the petrol bill to help cover the costs of running the car.
3. Could you work nearer to home? - We would all love to spend more time at home whenever possible, so consider your housing or work location in more detail next time you are thinking of a change. A workplace which is a few miles closer to home could save tens or even hundreds of pounds on petrol costs over a year, so factor this into your work or living area.
4. Are you getting the most out of your transport? - Some types of public transport, such as bus, train or tram routes offer discounts for advance booking or season ticket passes. These offers will save you anywhere up to 50% off a journey (especially for advance bookings), so consider these options when looking to travel. Companies reward individuals who book a long time in adavance by offering saving - so take advantage of these where you can!
Although we often need to travel on a regular basis to get to work, there are still numerous way we can save money while doing so. Planning ahead is key to saving money on your travel costs, so have a look for alternatives to your current travel methods- you might be surprised how much you could save.
7 Quick Debt Busting Ideas
7 quick tips to help save you a few pennies
If your finding yourself up against a mountain of debt, there are numerous ways in which to change your spending habits and get back on the right path to financial security. Outlined below are 7 quick debt busting ideas that you can implement today to help tackle your debt:
1. Shop around online for good deals on any potential purchases you make - Although excessive spending is not great for reducing for your, there are some situations when large pruchases must be made. An hour or two crawling the net for the cheapest deals can save you tens or even hundreds of pounds. This is especially true for electronical and hardware purchases - so don’t buy in high street stores unless you cannot avoid it.
2. Consider going on a cash only allowance - Allow yourself a set budget of say £35 a week to spend and leave your credit cards at home. This prevents you going for the impulse purchase that you don’t neccesarily need. You will also be taught to think alot more carefully about where you spend your money.
3. Make your own lunches for work - Saving money by making your own lunches can add up to a great deal over the course of a year. If you imagine £3 per day that equates to:
£3 x 5 days = £15 a week
£15 x 52 weeks in a year = £780 a year!
If you make your own lunches, you could save upwards of around £390 a year - nothing to be sniffed at.
4. Ask your boss for more hours at work - If you work in a job that is paid hourly, why not add a few hours to your working week. An added 5 hours a week work could add over £1,000 an year to your income, which could help pay off some of your debt repayments.
5. Rent out a spare room - If you have a spare room or even a loft, which could be converted, you should consider renting it out to earn a little extra money on the side. In the UK, this is easier than ever, with the government’s ‘Rent a Room’ scheme, you can collect up to £4,250 tax free from becoming your own landlord.
6. Ask your credit card companies for a better interest rate - Often credit card companies are so eager to keep your business that, when pushed, will sometimes lower your APR. You can achieve this by ringing and saying that you are considering cancelling your credit card and would stay if you were offered a lesser rate.
7. Start earning cash back on your old items - Think about renting out some of your electrical equipment or machinery on Zilok, the peer to peer sharing site. Alternatively, why not list some of your items on Gumtree or eBay to earn a few extra pounds (Gumtree is still free to use for most categories).
It’s true that every little helps, which is why following a few of these ideas can be used to bust that debt!
Zilok - Peer 2 Peer Rental
I recently stumbled across a rental site called Zilok, which effectively works as a peer to peer rental portal, where you and I can rent items to others in our local area. The concept works by allowing users to upload items to a specific category for a small fee, then displays these items to people in the area. Users will then pay the lender, depending on the price they set for their item, and return the item once they are done.
This is a great site to use during the economic downturn as it means you can rent out some of the things you no longer use to earn a little extra money per month. I recommend taking a look at the site and familiarising yourself with how it works.
Also do a couple of test searches, Nintendo Wii in London for example yields two results, with one available for £8 a day and one for £20 a day. This shows that a little shopping around can get you some great deals.
Lenders can also request a deposit for their items, so if you plan to rent something of value, ensure your piece of mind by attaching a refundable deposit to the listing. The transactions are secured by a legal agreement provided by Zilok, but you never can tell with some people.
In regards to cost, the listing fees for products is currently set at 10 pence per month, per item. See below for final transction fees:
| Transaction Total Amount (GBP) | Commission (before tax) |
|---|---|
| 0 to £10 | £1 |
| £10 to £50 | 9% + £0.10 |
| £50 to £100 | 8% + £0.60 |
| £100 to £500 | 7% + £1.6 |
| £500 to £2000 | 6% + £6.6 |
| More than £2000 | 5% + £26.6 |
So going by this, it seems for smaller hires you get a decent deal. I’m going to give it a try with some smaller items to see how i get on. It seems this could be a good idea for helping get out of debt, or even just for a little pocket money.
Are your water bills furthering your debt?
Excessive water wastage can increase your debt
Everyday we spend money unneccesarily on utilities, by leaving taps running, leaving that hallway light on or forgetting to turn down your heating during summer. All these things can contribute to a rising level of personal debt.
If you have been keeping up with our recent debt management and budgeting articles, you find various bite size articles which will can help you save money, however utilities seem to be one area that is often overlooked within the household.
Unlike our gas and electric suppliers, who we can change to find a better rate (which we highly recommend), our water supplier is often fixed, so usually stays the same. Because of this, some basic ways to save money on your water bills include:
- Use a shower rather than a bath. Although showers are commonplace nowadays, some people still are bathing rather than using a shower. An average bath uses between 30-50 gallons of water, however a shower uses around half of that. So that’s a considerable saving on your daily water usage!
- Turn off your taps whilst you brush your teeth. Although this may be a little over cautious, you may have a tap running for 2 or 3 minutes whilst you brush. Add up this volume of water over 2-3 brushes per day it soon adds up.
- If you have a garden or plant lfie that requires constant watering, consider rigging up a water trough that collects rain water from your gutter. When the weather is warmer, you will have collected plenty of rainwater for use on your plants, saving you cost on your water bills.
Even small changes in the way you use water can add up to considerable savings during the year which can be used to repay your debt.
5 Money Saving Tips
Lowering your outgoings can free up some extra cash to help pay off your loan and credit card payments. Help to shrink your debt with a few of these quick money saving tips.
1. Learn to freecycle. Check out your local freecycle board for free stuff and information on how to share second hand goods with your local neighbours. Freecycle is a community site set up to allow individuals to recycle their goods rather than dispose them as rubbish. Some notable finds include second hand furniture, television sets, coat hangers and everything in between.
2. Combine your utility bills - Often utility companies will lure in additional customers by offering discounts on gas / electricity and water supplies. You can do this by combining your utilities with one company, saving both money and time on managing your bills.
3. Borrow books from the library - Why spend a fortune on new books and cds when you can give them a test run at the library. Most libraries in the UK are completely free to use, so get yourself down there and find yourself something interesting to read!
4. Bike to work - If you live within a reasonable distance from work, consider buying a second hand bicycle and riding in every day. This has the added benefit of being good for your health, costing next to nothing to do and getting fit at the same time! I couldnt think of anything better, especially when the weather is so good!
5. Give up smoking - This is an obvious one, but cigarrettes can cost over £6 per packet. Ditch the habit and your health (and wallet) will thank you later.
Save Money by Going Green
Utility bills can be a large expense for any homeowner, especially one faced with debt. Thats why efficient use of electricity and other utilities can save hundreds over a year.
Going ‘green’ is a friendly, efficient way of saving money on your bills by using energy and water efficiently, saving you money and the planet at the same time. Ok, so turning off one light bulb won’t save you thousands, but combined with sensible energy use across a whole household, this can have a great impact on your expenditure.
Try a couple of these tips to save some money:
Consider installing energy saving lightbulbs - These are slower to reach full brightness and will save money compared to a traditional lightbulb. Also remeber t oturn off all your lights when you leave the room - hundreds of hours of energy are wasted by lights left on in empty rooms!
Wash your clothes at a lower temperature - Many washing machines can allow the user to choose a temperature setting for their wash cycle. By washing clothes at a lower temperature, you will save on electricity costs, often without sacrificing the quality of the wash.
Also try doing a full drum of washing at the same time, rather than numerous smaller washes. This will make your washing process more efficient.
Reduce your central heating temperature - Assess the needs of your home before doing this!! Often turning down the thermostat on your central heating system by 1 degrees can save you precious £££’s over a year. Most of the time, you wont even notice the change in the temperature.
All these small changes can add up to a considerable amount over the year, so start going green to start saving!
Save Money - Cancel those unwanted memberships
Reducing your debt can be a long process, so be patient as things will not change overnight. By saving money on basic things like your council tax or learning how to budget effectively can work wonders on your finances. Another way to reduce your outgoings can be by canceling unwanted memberships and subscriptions. One large expense for many are gym memberships.
This may not be applicable to all, but often we have memberships for various services. Whether it is a gym membership, satellite television subscription, charity donations or a mobile phone contract, there are usually areas where savings can be made.
Think carefully about your gym subscription - do you visit the gym on a regular basis? Would you save money by paying on a pay as you go basis? A good friend of mine paid £45 per month for his subscription, but only went 5 or 6 times a month. By switching to a pay as you go subscription at £5 per visit, he saved over £15 per month, not a huge amount, but it all helps!
Could you save money by switching to cheaper methods of exercise? Do you just use running or cycling machines? If so, perhaps buy yourself some running shoes and brave the great outdoors, or buy yourself a second hand bicycle and get peddling! If you use free weights, why not have a look on Gumtree for some second hand gym equipment? This costs considerably less to use overall, and wont add to your monthly outgoings if you aren’t able to attend.
Often when your purse strings are a little tighter, reconsider some of your monthly outgoings and assess whether you can opt for a cheaper version, often there are considerable savings to be made.
Cheap Bus Journeys with Stagecoach
Although it has been quite highly publicised, some of you out their may not be aware of this incredible money saving deal with Stagecoach. They are currently running a number of £1 bus tickets to popular destinations throughout the UK, which is a fantastic way to save money on otherwise expesnive train tickets.
Just visit the Stagecoach offers page, and fill in the travel form. You can also see the full list of bus routes here, so check you can get to where you are looking to go. Most popular routes, ie: London to Manchester are always very busy.
Because demand is quite high, make sure you get booked nice and early, there will be limited availability!
Claim back Tax - End of year Tax rebate
Your P60 will outline the total amount of tax you have paid in a financial year
Tip of the day: Ring your local tax office and check if you are owed any tax - it could be hundreds, if not thousands of pounds! Sometimes, when you are put on an incorrect tax bracket, say for example, if your P45 hasn’t been processed by your employer, the government will charge you emergency tax which can be claimed back once you are on the correct tax bracket.
I received my P60 recently, telling me i was owed over £500 in tax from the government. It’s important to act on these things quickly, to beat the rush of others sending in their rebate forms. I was told over the phone that a claim could take a number of months, so the earlier they receive it the better. If you are paying your taxes, you have every right to claim back what you are owed!
Now, you only have a few days to get your forms sent in to the inland revenue, otherwise your forms will be processed for the following Tax year. You can find the correct contact numbers on their website. Give them a quick call, and see what you could claim back, and send them all the required information - you may be pleasantly surprised!
