what do you save on???

Sadderday

So, Times are hard and with all of the bills and transport prices we find ourselves stuck....

I am paid monthly so by week 3 I am skint!, I have figured that I can eat for less than €10 for the week when I need to (breakfast, lunch and dinner) but doesnt always end up being healthy grub......

So how do you cut corners?

Cabaal

For me

- got rid of sky, use freeview...this saves around 23e a month
- switched to Sky from another dsl provider, saved 15e a month
- Switched bin company's to PAYG, this saves me around 8e a month
- Don't buy junk food, hardly ever eat take aways...its cheaper cook at home
- Shop around for deals in supermarkets, don't get all your stuff in one store just because its handy, you also don't need to buy branded stuff...non-branded is just as good if not better sometimes.
- if you have a mobile make sure you are on a suitable plan for your usage, so you don't waste money you don't need to

ScouseMouse

Im a shop keeper and have noticed a serious increase in prepay gas and esb cards.

One man explained to me he is saving about 20% by getting rid of his bills.

Now he can see his credit ticking away on a daily basis and it makes him more aware of turning things off / unplugging things. With a bill, he just never paid any proper attention to it.

Considering it now for my own house.

keithclancy

I use whatsapp on the phone rather than SMS.

I use Justvoip (resells betmax voipservices) with a Linksys PAP2 Adapter so it just plugs into the standard cordless phone.

20 euros does us for 3-6 months with unlimited landline and a lot of mobile calls all over the world.

Missus can be on the phone for as long as she wants and we don't have to worry about it.

We paid 1 euro for a landline number and have no line rental at all.

One of these things:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/OWL-Micro-Wireless-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B001XURJ82/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319558047&sr=8-2&tag=moneysavingex-21

And you can see the realtime cost of your Energy usage.

maringo

Where can you get a landline for a Euro?

keithclancy

maringo wrote: »

Where can you get a landline for a Euro?

Got mine with Justvoip.com after I signed up and added Credit.

www.blueface.ie give you one when you top up with any credit.

http://www.blueface.ie/helpandadvice/new-to-blueface.php#zero76

Non-geographic 076 Number

076 is the unique prefix for calling VoIP phone in Ireland, local call rates apply on 076 numbers and they can be called from any regular landline or mobile phone. The price per minute for calling an 076 number from an Eircom landline is the same as a local call. New customers will be assigned a 076 number automatically when they buy any call plan. Existing Blueface customers who do not have an 076 number can request one for no extra charge.

I have a Dutch, UK, Irish and German land line number all hooked together with Freepbx.org

Dial any of them and the normal 30 euro Philips cordless phone at home rings.

Or if I go abroad I just get a local sim in that country and forward all my calls to that.

Best thing is that we've moved house now 3 times in the last 5 years and kept the same landline number the whole time.

Uriel.

I got rid of sky about 3 years ago now, was costing me €73 per month:eek: Went to UPC for a year at €35 per month and about a year ago switched to freesat etc... so now €0 for tv subscriptions

Just about to switch my mobile provider from €45 a month to €20 a month

Switched Refuse Company and probably saves me about €10 a month

Carefully shop around for best deals in supermarkets and have no problem splitting my shopping between two supermarkets. Do 75% shopping in local supermarket and the remainder in Lidl - huge savings in Lidl on things like rice and pasta amongst others. Biggest thing to reduce supermarket costs for me was being extra selective in what I buy. Previously, I bought stuff seemingly purely for the sake of it because I saw it on the shelf. Cuts down on costs and helps the diet too.

I still go out regularly enough but usually just for the odd pint. Used to go out without fail one night per weekend on the beer and spent money like crazy. Did away with that. I now buy some bottles and enjoy a few drinks at home more often.

Any money I save I now gather in a savings account over the course of the year and when there's a decent amount in the savings I pay it as a lump sum of the mortgage. So, saving on interest payments in the long run. it's tought being austere, though I don't go to extremes.

maringo

Thanks Keith for that useful information. Didn't know you could do that. I just have been using skype and a vodafone landline for calls. I'm changing to Tesco sim only for my mobile as when 02 unlocked internet access for me they have been charging me a euro a day despite the fact that i set up the phone to use my home wireless. They're not refunding me so I'm off despite having been with them a good few years. I'll look into getting a landline no. too and letting my supplier go so i'd be saving over 40 a month or thereabouts on that. Better in my pocket :D:D
Do most of my shopping in Aldi, love their Rooster potatoes and never a bit of waste with them. I get their free range chicken though as I hate the cruel way chickens are farmed so I suppose that is a bit of an overspend but the chicken is lovely and not full of water. Also get free range eggs too. I watch for offers in the other supermarkets and generally shop around for the bargains. It all adds up. Thanks again for the advice.

Joe Hart

You need to be systematic about savings.

Go through ever expense in your life and audit each. Check the market and try and find the sweet spot between getting the best market/service for the best price.

Its not about living a hunble life without luxuries you just have to be smart about it. Excel is your friend. Bargain alerts is your friend. Aldi is your friend. Adverts.ie is your friend. Buy second hand decent stuff. Sell your old second hand stuff.

Rangi

I have made very good savings by changing to frozen veg(fine beans, peas, brocoli, corn on cob, etc) and frozen berries. Much cheaper than 'fresh', more convenient and no wastage. Also don't need to visit supermarket as often.

Tesco fresh fine beans €11.80kg, Frozen fine beans €1.72kg.

Stinicker

Switched Mobile Operators from Three to Meteor saving over €250/year

Switched from Eircom to Sky for Landline and DSL saving over €300/year

Converted my car from Petrol to LPG Autogas and have saved €660 over the last 6 months or thus a saving of €100 in fuel costs.

Am going to install a solid fuel stove in the home this summer and a pumped shower off the hot water. It will contribute enourmously to the heating and hot water of the house, my cousin did it for his house last year and he burnt €300 worth of Oil over the entire winter wheras he would have spent over €2,000 in Heating oil without the stove.

My house is smaller and the same stove should see us eliminate the need for Oil entirely and cut about €50/ 2 month off the ESB bill as instead of using Electricity to heat the water it will come from the stove. I live in the country and have an unending supply of both Turf and Timber on the farm so will be self sufficient in heating fuel then.

Shop almost exclusively in Lidl and Aldi too.

I have curtailed other "life" expenses sharply and with some simple trimmings I am in a better financial position than before.

fasttalkerchat

SKYJust signed a new 12 month deal with sky. Unlimited Broadband at 14.5Mbps actual speed, line rental with free calls to normal numbers and SKY+HD with Entertainment Extra all for £30 per month. Got it by trying to cancel to get a better offer then calling to try and cancel again a few days later for an even better one . Also got free dish, box and installation and a new dish when I moved house.

ElectricSet up the top up meter for a big discount (NI only). Then switched to Budget NI which is 2p per unit cheaper than the main provider. Note: Bill pay is still the cheaper option in the ROI afaik.

Solid Fuel Shop around! I use http://cappertrading.com/ at the minute.

Shopping I know the standard /kg prices for chicken breasts and mince from the cheapest supermarket so I can quickly compare any offers. I have a chest freezer that I can fill with special offers. Compare prices always. Look for voucher codes any time you shop online. Always ask for student discount.

Resell offers If you see an amazing offer online, stick a few of them on ebay. If they sell, enter the buyers details and have it sent direct to them and pocket the difference.

Never get a contract phone.

If you're doing something risky, factor in the cost of it going wrong.

Buy toiletries in bulk in pound shops etc. I have a box full of £1 Nivea shower gels. They sell for twice that normally but are on offer every few months. Good quality toilet roll and kitchen roll can be got cheap if you bulk buy when on offer.

fussyonion

I cancelled my Sky subscription because we weren't watching half the channels we were paying for, plus nearly all the channels we *did* watch were free-to-air anyway, so we got a Saorview combi box and now we have all the channels we want for nothing.

I do most of my shopping in Aldi.
I buy all my fruit and veg there, tinned tomatoes, mixed beans, crackers (seriously their crackers-39c and they're lovely), squash, wine etc.
I have to pop into Tesco though to pick up some branded things, like Dettol Surface Spray because Aldi's version makes me cough.

I buy all my mince/chicken/pork from the butcher and make all my meals from scratch; freezing leftovers and eating them again during the week.

I have a pre-pay meter for both Gas and Electricity and that's been a God-send.
I love how I can control how much I buy in credit-no bills.

With all these savings, I manage to put by €20 every week into a Post Office account which will build up and make a nice little nest egg for a rainy day.:o

keithclancy

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Resell offers If you see an amazing offer online, stick a few of them on ebay. If they sell, enter the buyers details and have it sent direct to them and pocket the difference.

That's a really bad Idea .. I know a guy who did that and ended up in Court because of it, (small claims don't deal with cases between individuals)

If someone buys a product then their contract is with the person they paid the money to.

You end up being the man in the middle trying to sort it out and ultimately responsible for the buyers costs and then end up having to chase the original supplier for the money.

So while its probably fine for low value items you could take a hit on, think twice before you do it with a high value item.

fasttalkerchat

keithclancy wrote: »

That's a really bad Idea .. I know a guy who did that and ended up in Court because of it, (small claims don't deal with cases between individuals)

If someone buys a product then their contract is with the person they paid the money to.

You end up being the man in the middle trying to sort it out and ultimately responsible for the buyers costs and then end up having to chase the original supplier for the money.

So while its probably fine for low value items you could take a hit on, think twice before you do it with a high value item.

Most customers would prefer to go directly to the retailler if there is an issue rather than try to chase up a middle man online. Worst comes to the worst and I have to pay the postage for them to send it to me and send a new one to them.

Nappy

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

SKYJust signed a new 12 month deal with sky. Unlimited Broadband at 14.5Mbps actual speed, line rental with free calls to normal numbers and SKY+HD with Entertainment Extra all for £30 per month. Got it by trying to cancel to get a better offer then calling to try and cancel again a few days later for an even better one . Also got free dish, box and installation and a new dish when I moved house.

ElectricSet up the top up meter for a big discount (NI only). Then switched to Budget NI which is 2p per unit cheaper than the main provider. Note: Bill pay is still the cheaper option in the ROI afaik.

Solid Fuel Shop around! I use http://cappertrading.com/ at the minute.

Shopping I know the standard /kg prices for chicken breasts and mince from the cheapest supermarket so I can quickly compare any offers. I have a chest freezer that I can fill with special offers. Compare prices always. Look for voucher codes any time you shop online. Always ask for student discount.

Resell offers If you see an amazing offer online, stick a few of them on ebay. If they sell, enter the buyers details and have it sent direct to them and pocket the difference.

Never get a contract phone.

If you're doing something risky, factor in the cost of it going wrong.

Buy toiletries in bulk in pound shops etc. I have a box full of £1 Nivea shower gels. They sell for twice that normally but are on offer every few months. Good quality toilet roll and kitchen roll can be got cheap if you bulk buy when on offer.

Hi ,

I am currently paying far too much for my sky and was considering cancelling. How can I switch to get the deal you mention in your post? It would almost half my bill!

Dr Silly Bollox MD

Nappy wrote: »

Hi ,

I am currently paying far too much for my sky and was considering cancelling. How can I switch to get the deal you mention in your post? It would almost half my bill!

Ring and cancel and hope you get someone willing to give ya a good deal.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056928204

fasttalkerchat

Dr Silly Bollox MD wrote: »

Ring and cancel and hope you get someone willing to give ya a good deal.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056928204

That's it. And if they let you cancel just call back the next day and say you've decided to stay.

skippy15

Nappy wrote: »

Hi ,

I am currently paying far too much for my sky and was considering cancelling. How can I switch to get the deal you mention in your post? It would almost half my bill!

ring up and be determind to cancel, have some made up UPC prices to hand as reason to switch. Be prepared to cancel.

get a room mate/ partner/ family member to sign up as a new member and get some new member specials:p

keithclancy

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Most customers would prefer to go directly to the retailler if there is an issue rather than try to chase up a middle man online. Worst comes to the worst and I have to pay the postage for them to send it to me and send a new one to them.

They have no contract with the retailer, that was the point.
In this case the retailer wouldn't even talk to the person that in their view bought the product second hand.

They could deal under the manufacturers warranty but they just wanted their money back, which would have been easily possible if they bought it directly themselves.

In the end they got all their costs back including legal costs.