Pennies for thought

Car insurance can often be one of the biggest lump sum expenditures you will encounter throughout the year. You can pay car insurance monthly and this will inevitably cost more in the long run so if you can afford the full year you make a small saving there.

The trouble with insurance policies though is that there are too many to choose from! The main thing to take in consideration when buying is that you only purchase from reputable companies. If you save a few hundred pounds on a policy and then they won’t pay out for whatever reason then it is a dead loss.

Buying online will generally save you money but if you do not understand the policy make sure to phone them and inquire before purchasing. Other companies that operate fully online can keep costs down and pass on the savings to you but again be sure they are reputable.

Comparison websites are not always the cheapest option either when a lot of the bigger companies with better deals opt out from using comparison websites.

There are a few little tips that will help you keep your premium down
- Don’t over value the cost of your car
- Don’t go for the lowest excess you can
- Don’t opt in for extras you can get cheaper else ware
- Buy the policy online if possible

Over valuing the cost of your car is just adding cost to your premium and will not gain a penny from this unless the car is written off

The best way to view picking an excess is as an amount you can stretch to affording in one working month. If you can afford £200 don’t choose any lower because this will raise your premium and having the realisation of having to pay expenses out of your own pocket will have you driving safely in no time.

Always review the optional extras when buying an insurance policy and make sure you are not paying for things you don’t need. Windscreen cover is always a worthwhile extra if repairs are free but breakdown cover can quite often be picked up cheaper else ware.

The majority of the time when you get into a bump you will pay outside of insurance anyway due to the rise in premiums you will incur. Little things like calling the insurer for general questions are even logged and put against your policy with bigger companies.

Ok this post will not save you money but it my save a lot of your time, so I guess if you believe time is money then your in for a saving!

A lot of big Internet companies (Play and Amazon to name a couple) offer very low prices and free delivery making them a lot more appealing than buying on the highstreet. Internet shopping is a great way to save a few pounds and I swear by it but there is something you should take in to consideration before buying.

Most companies will have a few different payment options available for each product that vary in price and delivery timescale. The more you pay the better service you will recieve and thats a given but make sure you find out who will be delivering under the ‘free’ option. In most cases the company will be using the lowest and most cost effective delivery service (which just so happens to be the worst!) the Home Delivery Network.

My personal experiences with this company have been regrettable to say the least. Here are the flaws they make in just attempting to deliver two products.

1. Give my post to a random neighbour (I don’t even know them!)
2. Leave expensive parcel on my unsecured doorstep for anyone to take during the day.
3. Package mysteriously goes missing (presumably stolen by HDNL or off my doorstep!)
4. Package left on the doorstep is of course is broken!
5. Waited in all weekend for delivery attempts that never happened and they claimed a note was left.

Just don’t bother with the hassle and pay the extra couple of pounds and save yourself the huge headache of phoning up companies. HDNL surprisingly enough will just keep leading you on saying it is coming and have no complaint department! The retailer will sort out the missing or broken product but even then it has to be redelivered by the same incompetent people.

You don’t have to take my word for it, a simple Google search will get you 1 star ratings and stories about post left in bins, parcels given to strangers and so on. So I urge you to just avoid this comapany like the plague as the couple of quid saved will only end up being spent on Polyfilla for the damage you made to your walls in sheer frustration.

It is good for the online retailers to give us these low prices and free delivery but we as consumers deserve a certain level of professionalism and customer service that we are simply not getting here.

Now I know I have already recommended rechargeable batteries in another post but in some cases it makes sense to just buy regular batteries online.

Batteries come in all shapes and sizes and your battery charger will only cover the main types. You could buy chargers for each type but these are specialist batteries that we probably only use for cameras, door bells and torches etc.

You can buy all of these types in high street shops but they cost around £5 each, which leaves you thinking – is it worth it? Don’t waste your money, just go online and you can get them for half the price on eBay. Just note down the battery type from the side of the battery and search or it, simple as that!

So long as they aren’t about to expire and the seller is established with good feedback then you can’t go wrong. You will save more for buying bigger packs but you can save a few pounds even just buying one.

123 battery type (Energizer lithium)
High street price Maplin £6.99 Wilkinson £3.50
eBay price £1.60 (inc free postage)

A good way to save a few pounds here and there.

eBay is a great way to buy things online cheaply but as of late it has become so populated that is now cheaper to by things through the local ads again.

On eBay you are given the choice to search by distance using your postcode and you have the option of how far you want to go to collect. Using this system not only cuts out postage but cuts out a massive number of potential bidders that will be interested in the item.

I personally have collected a good amount of household items very cheaply through this system and would recommend it highly. So long as you have a car and are checking the seller’s feedback then there is not much that can go wrong.

Sellers prefer this method of purchase because in most cases they are not paying any percentage to Paypal and have the money instantly. So check it out, the prices are like using eBay in its early years which were much more appealing.

Refurbished stock is not always broken and damaged stock like some people may think. It can be anything from a damaged box to a wrong order sent out to another customer.

Many big companies openly offer their products from resale as refurbs at a reduced price with the same garantee. If there is damage to the product it will still be working and also specified that it has a scratch or fire damage etc.

A refurbished product is always thoroughly tested and repackaged so I would not recommend them for presents. But if you are buying for yourself then 9 times out of 10 the box goes straight in the bin anyway.

The product is up to the standard of the original and you will be told about any cosmetic damage (if any) so why not save a few pounds. Many sites like the Apple Store have a whole section dedicated to refurbished stock but this is not always the case. You stand to find the best deals by typing what you want in to a sites search bar and then typing ‘refurb’ or just ‘refurb’. This will usually bring you up a list of the refurbished stock on offer.

Most items will be high-end electronics and the things that are worth repairing and reselling. You stand to save a substantial percentage of the original cost so why not give it a go and save some money.

Many companies find that a good way to drum up business cheaply is to offer online vouchers. These are great for online shopping but also if you are not an online shopper then in most cases you can obtain printable equivalents.

Most printable vouchers are usually for money off at certain restaurants, travel services and sometimes clothes. These can come in really handy when you are having a hard month for money but still want to take your partner out for a nice meal.

You can check out a good selection of vouchers at myvouchercodes, there are also many other sites out there that do the same thing. Well worth a look if you are looking to get out the house and not spent too much money.

When it comes to identity protection we can easily dimiss it, but at £35 a year it is a worthy investment. Especially for those of us that use money over the internet, lost phones and are not always aware of where debit/credit cards are.

We don’t always help ourselves out when it comes to identity protection, quite often we have keys attached to wallets with addresses in, card numbers on phones and throw away important paperwork without shredding it. Even the most savvy people can get caught out and not see it coming.

I can assure you I do not work for CCP (Card Protection Plan) but I strongly believe that for £35 a year it is worth it for the following.

- Up to £100,000 worth of fraud insurance cover.
- Cards cancelled
- Cash covered
- Passports protected
- Tickets replaced
- Handbags & wallets covered
- Keys returned

Don’t let scams and fraudsters devastate your accounts when you can cover yourself for less than £3 a month which lets be honest is less than a pint of beer.

Millions of people now use Paypal and it is one of the most useful online payment schemes on the internet if used correctly.

Paypal scams are common and we all are likely to receive spoof emails from scammers pretending to be Paypal. The email may seem innocent and ask for a tiny detail to be updated on your account or for you to login so the account is not deactivated.

Never access email through emails if you are even slightly unsure! Always access Paypal directly through their homepage.

These site link from the emails can seem as genuine as it gets but all they are doing is reading your account details. These will then be sold on or used directly to drain your account and everything they can!

Don’t be fooled by these emails and stay safe, if you use regular online payment systems then I would recommend getting identity protection. (see identity protection post)

Be smart when buying items on Gumtree and make sure you go with at least one other person. Never carry large sums of money, but if you have to then meet in a public place.

Just be sensible and safe to minimise the risks and remember if it sounds to good to be true then it usually is!

Gumtree is a fantastic marketplace for buying second-hand goods locally but is open for a lot of abuse.

The most common and effective scam is actually not a buying scam it is aimed at sellers.

You will receive an email about your item from a person who is somewhere abroad and looking to buy the item for a relative that is also abroad somewhere else on ‘training’ or some other story. They will ask you a postage quote for sending it out to some country and by now you should be thinking ‘why don’t you just send them the money and let them but it?’ but you are pleased someone wants it.

The next step is that they will offer to pay the full amount by Paypal and transfer you £0 but tell you the full funds are held in Paypal waiting on arrival of the item. You send them the item to some remote location and you sit and wait for the money that doesn’t exist. Don’t feel stupid if you are ever caught by internet scams, these people are relentless snakes so just spread the word!

Please avoid any foreign buyers and remember Paypal does not hold funds!