Post on 18-Dec-2014
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SAVE MONEY
Sabine Kurz
10 Ways to
Compare PricesWhile online retailers like
Amazon and Ebay often seem like
the easiest and cheapest option, it
helps to compare prices. Try
Idealo, where you can search for
about 128 million offers from
more than 22,600 shops. Idealo
shows you the total price
including postage, which often
makes all the difference in finding
the cheapest deal. They also have
a mobile app to compare prices
on the go. Other price comparison
sites include Google Shopping
and PriceRunner.
Finding the best deal
I would be absolutely lost without
deal sites such as
HotUKDeals.com (HUKD), Save
the Student or Holiday Pirates.
HUKD has more than a million
members, and all deals are posted
and rated (by voting hot or cold)
by them. The deal temperature is
usually a good indicator of the
quality and uniqueness of the
offer, and members always like to
help by answering questions or
finding deals for you. Their
freebie section especially is worth
a regular look.
Cashback Sites
It’s a very simple concept really: You buy through a cashback site (TopCashbackand Quidco are the two biggest and most popular ones around) from one of over 4000 major retailers, they get commission for your purchase and pass it back to you. While at first this seems like a lot of effort for a few pennies, think again when you’re looking to change your broadband or power supplier – currently TopCashback is offering more than £175 if you take Sky’s Complete Bundle. It’s also very handy for train and flight tickets, but I use it for everything. Many retailers offer cashback between 2 and 10 percent, and by making almost all my online purchases through cashback sites, I have earned about £150 in the past few years.
Let others do the work for youOne of the most helpful sites when it comes to finding the cheapest deal is Flubit. They used to try and beat any price you found on the internet, but now only focus on beating Amazon’s offers. You simply give them the link to the product you want, then they try and create you a better offer for the same item. Usually they keep their promise, and save you at least a few percent. Their latest coup is to ‘steal’ other peoples’ offers, but that’s still in Beta mode. Flubit is by invitation only, but usually they send you an activation link within a few days (if not, contact me and I’ll send you an invitation).
Shopping AppsIf you’re someone who takes their smartphone everywhere, shopping apps are for you. For grocery shopping, try CheckoutSmart, ClickSnap and Shopitize, all of which offer cashback when you buy certain products at all major supermarkets – sometimes you even get stuff for free. My favourite app though is O2 PriorityMoments (you don’t have to be an O2 customer, inserting a free pay as you go SIM card while installing the app is enough), which offers lots of freebies (fancy a free coffee at Caffè Nero’s every Tuesday?) and discounts that are updated daily.
Loyalty Cards
As even charity shops have
begun to offer loyalty cards to
their customers, there’s no
excuse not to use them. Not
every scheme may be as
lucrative as Tesco’s Clubcard,
but in the end, every little
helps. And if you don’t want to
carry a dozen loyalty cards in
your wallet, there are apps for
that, e.g. Stocard.
Student DiscountsIf you are lucky enough to be a student, there’s no excuse really not to take advantage of the wealth of student offers both online and offline. If you haven’t one already, it’s worth thinking about getting the NUS Extra Card, which offers all sorts of great discounts, including 5% on books at Amazon. It’s also worth asking in restaurants, cafes and smaller shops whether they offer a student discount – what’s the worst that could happen?!
For non-students under 25, getting the Young Scot Cardgives similar money off opportunities, as does the 16-25 Railcard.
Discount CodesWhen shopping online, you’ll
notice that almost every site
has a coupon or voucher box
waiting to be filled at the
checkout. So take a minute or
two and search for codes, you’ll
be surprised at how many are
out there. If Google produces
too many results, try finding
discount codes on HUKD,
VoucherCloud and
Vouchercodes.co.uk.
FreebiesThe best products are those that you don’t have to pay for. Admittedly, it’s hard to find really good freebies, but sometimes there are rare gems hidden among the free samples. Again, HUKD is a great way to find freebies.
If you are prepared to put in a little more effort, product testing might be for you. Check out the Orchard at Tesco’s for free food, BzzAgent for all sorts of goods (I’ve been sent free pizzas and a coffee machine in the past) and ClicksResarch for free beauty products.
Buy Second HandI’m sure this is nothing new to
you, so here’s just a simple
reminder: Buying second hand
can save you a lot of money
without necessarily saving on
quality. Gumtree and groups
on Facebook (e.g. “Stuff for
free/sale in Stirlingshire”) and
other social media sites are a
great way of buying and selling
second hand products, but
don’t forget more specialised
web pages such as
UsedBookSearch.co.uk and
offline charity shops.