Saving Pounds on Energy Bills & Travel

I know I don’t have to spell it out but this ‘money is tight’ thing isn’t half going on and on. Then just when we think we have a handle on it all British Gas announce its increasing gas prices by 9.2% and electricity by 10.4% and SSE are increases their prices by 8.4%. Just lovely. If you want to check if the increases affect you have a look over at the BBC’s personal inflation calculator.

Now I would normally now waffle on about how putting an extra jumper on, closing curtains and shutting doors is the way forward but when most of us are already doing all that what else is there for us to do? Hold on just in case a teenager has strayed onto the page ……..SHUT DOORS and wear and EXTRA JUMPER before you complain it’s cold. Anyone who is a parent to a teen will completely understand that last bit. Now I was saying how we are probably already doing the little hints and tips so this time I have gone geeky and tracked down nerdy ways to save money and it doesn’t involve huddling around your laptop to keep warm.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to explain if you can’t afford the price increases then you need to either find ways to increase your income or you need to use less of the electric stuff.

The Energy Saving Trust has some nifty advice on saving money around the home and they also have a Home Energy Check questionnaire that can potentially save lots of more.  The questionnaire asks you some questions on your home like glazing, heating, the building materials and lighting in your home. They then send you a report via email on how you can make improvements and save money. When I did mine I could save up to £800 a year after implementing their suggestions. (eeekk!!)

You could look into fixing your electric prices of switch supplier. This would stop you getting any nasty surprises but do check the terms and conditions of the fixed price deals at the suppliers websites. When you are checking out the competition do check your own supplier as you might not be on the best tariff and a simple call and switch of tariff could save some pennies.

The Government has told energy suppliers that by 2020 all UK homes and businesses are to have smart meters installed. These new gas and electric meters will make it much easier to save money on energy bills. The Governments information page on these new smart meters has links to the six main energy suppliers meter pages. There will be trials but you can apply to go on the waiting list.

I know this one is one of my fall downs- wasting money by leaving things on standby. They reckon that just a few laptops or pc’s and TV’s left on standby can mount up to between £50 and £90 a year. That’s £90 for a little red light in the corner of the room when you’re asleep. Ecotek’s Standby Saver has space for 4 spaces for things that don’t need to be left of standby and two handy spaces for the important things like your router that does need to be on.

If you’re on a water meter and have a teenager then first off you have my sympathy, the two don’t go well together. To save your voice and your nerves some clever person (I bet they were parents of teenagers at the time) invented the water pebble. It sits in the shower by the plughole and monitors the water going down the plughole. It measures how much you used the first time and then on subsequent showers it flashes a bit earlier in hope of getting you out of the shower a bit quicker which means you’re using less water.

If you run a  car you known that petrol and diesel prices differ from place to place. The most up to date info on the pump prices can be found at petrol prices. It has around 10,000 UK petrol stations that after you login in (free) and enter your postcode it will show you all the prices in your area.

Saving Money on Shopping and Travel

When Argos has stock it needs to shift it sells it off cheaply on ebay on buy in now prices and also at this website. Needs a bit of patience to dig out the really good deals but well worth knowing with Christmas around the corner. Apple also has a special deals section which is another good to know place.

When looking at traveling you should check travel compare sites on the interent. So much can be done on the internet that saves you time and money like renewing an ehic card , it saves you so much time doing this online.

Hot UK deals is a wealth of info and savings. Also check out voucher codes.

We all know how supermarkets like to put prices up and down and all over the place and they all boast they are the best. But if you go to mysupermarket or even their app you check the price on something, if the price has been going up or down and if the other supermarkets are selling it cheaper.