Save money now!

Admittedly this doesn't sound like a sexy subject, but, your outgoings on gas, electricity, telephone and internet amount to a major expense.

Really simple things such as changing all your light bulbs that are usually on for more than 20 minutes for low-energy bulbs will reduce your electricity used for lighting by about 80 percent. There are environmental benefits, too.

Do you leave your TV, video, DVD, hi fi, computers etc on standby? In other words, turned off at the switch on the appliance but not at the wall? This uses lots of power, some things use almost as much on standby as when they're on!

Make a habit of turning appliances off at the socket- there are now "intelligent" extension sockets that will do this for you- they will pay for themselves pretty quickly.

I have done this the cheapest way possible- by putting a switch on the cable between the plug and the appliance- so I can turn off individual appliances. Only do this if you're happy to do basic wiring- if you're unsure- get an electrician to do it (got to have a disclaimer, sorry!).

Do you have the cheapest tarrif for your electricity, gas and water suppliers?

In the UK, you can easily switch supplier via
http://www.energyhelpline.com/

Paying by direct debit cuts your bills.

Either paying monthly estimates of your bill or variable direct debit- where you need to phone in the meter reading. Most suppliers offer discounts if you pay this way as they're sure they'll get the money and make interest on the money you pay.
Savings can be as much as 10%!

Supermarkets spend a huge amount of money designing layouts and packaging to get you to buy more than you came in for- the first tip may seem trivial but it works! Make a list of what you need, and stick to it!

See which supermarket own brand products you can use instead of the leading brand- is the extra cost of the leading brand really worth it?

If the supermarkets you use have loyalty cards- use them, but NEVER be enticed into a supermarket just by loyalty points- cheaper products are worth more!

Can you buy the largest pack of something (that has a long shelf life)? Usually, buying a big pack saves money, if you have little money, why not go halves with a friend? Also, bear in mind that you will need to make less journeys to the shops, therefore save time and money!

Make the most of those buy one, get one free offers and bulk buy those items- BUT, only items you normally use!

Supermarkets often have reduced priced food on Saturday evenings- this is a good time to shop for bargains!

I know that in the UK, some houses are on water rates- based on what the average water consumption of a house similar to your is. Newer houses often have water meters and pay only for what they use. If you have more bedrooms than people or are careful with your water consumption, it may be cheaper to get a water meter installed.

There are really simple things that can be done to reduce water consumption- fill a plastic bottle with water and leave in the cistern of your toilet- this can save loads of water with minimal effort.

If you have a dishwasher, always make sure it's full before putting it on. Similarly, ensure you fill the washing machine with clothes rather than do several washes with it half- empty.

Get a water butt to collect rain water from your roof/gutter and use this for watering the garden instead of a hose.

All the above are simple and effective things that have environmental as well as financial benefits in water use.

Having a shower uses about a third of the water a bath uses- and you don't sit on your own dirt, unlike a bath!

If you're really keen on water efficiency and being green- you can install an extra water butt to collect waste handbasin and shower water- which may be used to water the garden. Use vegetable-based, soaps, preferably unscented or scented using natural ingredients.

Doing some simple research pays well! Using price comparison websites and cashback websites not only saves you money but it can generate money for you, too!
For example- did you know you can get cashback by buying things on Ebay via a cashback site? You get a percentage of the listing costs as cashback!


CASHBACK WITH R POINTS

Now, in case any of you are recoiling in horror at this suggestion- let me put your mind at ease!

It doesn't matter if you just have a windowsill or a hundred acre farm, whether you're a keen gardener or think you really can't be bothered- there is a way to grow some food.

Growing some food has many benefits:

It's immensely satisfying and relaxing
It saves money buying the food
It cuts out travel costs
The food is fresher and not steeped in insecticide
It helps the environment by reducing carbon produced by transporting produce and as it grows it's absorbing carbon and making oxygen!

For the reluctant gardener-

Container gardening is the answer! You grow in an appropriately sized pot/bag/tin- this can be on your windowsill or patio or your front garden. Container gardening takes less work as it deters slugs and needs no digging and less watering.

Grow perennial crops- in other words you plant and forget and they come up year on year! Here's some easy to grown perennials :Chives,mint,oregano, parsley, rosemary,sage, thyme, asparagus,rhubarb, thyme, sage, and fruiting plants such as strawberries to caning blackberries and shrubby currants to tree crops like apples, cherries, pears, and hazelnuts.

Make car use more efficient
You can increase the miles per gallon/Litre by doing the following simple measures:

keep you tyres at the right pressure- under inflated tyres create extra drag and make your car use more fuel.

If you're not using it- remove a roof rack as this creates lots of drag- using more fuel.

Driving more smoothly, using gears well and less hard braking and accelerating will cut fuel use quite dramatically.

Obviously a smaller car/ engine uses less fuel and in the UK car tax is reduced. If you can car share to and from work you can cut transport costs considerably- ask if your workplace has a car share plan, or start one yourself. Similarly, cycling will save you a fortune and get you fit. You could always get a folding bike and do some of your journey by bike and some by car.

Trains

In the UK, train fares have become so expensive that many people choose the car to save money. However, there are ways to reduce the cost- if you're organised. Most train companies have special low fares if you book in advance- if you can plan about 2-3 months ahead you can save a small fortune.

As you probably know, Amazon has some of the cheapest prices for books, below is a link to some great money saving books in Amazon UK. It's very likely that you will easily make the cost of the books and more with the money you'll save by reading and applying the information in them!

save money, lots of money!

Insulating better-
You may have noticed that the price of gas is going up and this is likely to continue as fossil fuels become more and more scarce and as developing countries become major consumers of goods and energy.

In the UK, there are government grants to help with the costs of insulating your house. It makes sound economic and environmental sense to increase the insulation in your house. Adding roof insulation and cavity wall insulation will see your heating bills drop and will pay for the costs of insulation within a few years. If you're short of cash you may decide to add roof insulation yourself- wearing protective clothing and a dust mask of course.

On a tight budget? Then putting foil behind your radiators will reflect more heat into the room and mean less is wasted heating the wall behind the radiator! Similarly- putting a thick (and lined) curtain over windows as soon as the sun sets will help insulate your home from heat loss from the window- this is especially important if you don't have double glazing or have drafty windows.
Checking for drafts on old windows and door frames and using a draft sealer will help lots. Adding a rug on top of a bare floor or a carpet adds another layer of insulation.

Low energy light bulbs-
This really is a no brainer, yet, obviously there are many people with no brains! Ridding your house of old filament light bulbs and replacing them with compact fluorescent bulbs will save you electricity immediately and will replay the initial cost very quickly. You can reduce your lighting costs by 75% and will need to replace bulbs much less often. Another alternative that is becoming more common is mains powered LED bulbs- the technology is getting better and these are becoming another alternative to filament bulbs, although they're not as bright, yet, they do offer numerous variations in colour and hue.

Similarly, with the proliferation of household gadgets- TV, computers, hi fi, etc, many of which stay on standby- you are drawing loads of power when not using the gadgets. If getting to the plug where these things are powered is difficult- it's possible to get intelligent plugs or remote controlled plugs.

Saving heating- turning down your thermostat by 1 degree can make dramatic savings to your gas consumption as well as reducing your carbon footprint.

Check around doors and windows for draughts- if you find any (a candle flame will flicker with any draught) then fix a draught excluding strip to eliminate wasteful loss of warm air.

Passive solar gain- this is simply benefiting from heating air using the sun, windows or a conservatory on the South side of your house will benefit from radiated energy from the sun- this warm air can be used to warm the rest of the house, too.

Buying at sales, car boot sales and charity shops- As obvious as this is, many people still head straight for the retailer when looking to buy things. Buying second hand saves you lots of money, if it's at a charity shop- it generates money for charities, it also recycles (reuses) items, saving lots of carbon being released!

It is wise to time your purchases of non-perishable things so that you buy at sale times, usually after Christmas and late summer. Similarly, buying a BOGOF (buy one get one free) item is a good idea if it's something you'd buy anyway, however, supermarkets have cunning ways of making deals on one item whilst upping the price on other items!

A good way to save money is to bulk buy - this saves money as well as reducing trips to the supermarket (also saving money and time). If you're on a tight budget- club together with friends and pool your money to bulk buy and share the savings. You could form a savings or bulk buying club to do this.