Showing all posts tagged budget

In General, MoneySaving

Money For Nothing & Kicks For Free

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on 2 Comments

No, this isn’t a post about the Dire Straits song, it’s a post about getting money for nothing (or very little) and using it for whatever you like, perhaps a treat, perhaps to pay off a bill?

Lot’s of people talk about cashback, but how many actively visit a cashback site and regulalry make savings and earn extra? I do!

Quidco is my site of choice, mainly because it so easy to use but also because it is packed with features. I’ve done pretty well out of them so far too. Basically, before buying anything online I check to see if the business is featured on Quidco, if so (and I don’t find a similar business listed that might have what I want cheaper!) I click through to the site via Quidco, shop as usual and voila…. after a period of time pennies start appearing in my account!

I contacted Quidco prior to writing this, to see what was new on the site, and their reply was:

Quidco now has 1.2 million members and works with over 2,900 retailers.  Originally set up as a cashback company, Quidco’s services have grown extensively.  Last year we introduced voucher codes (which can be used alongside cashback offers to allow you to save twice), printable vouchers and In-store cashback (which allows you to earn cashback on purchases in certain stores with any of your debit or credit cards).  This year, we launched Quidco Compare (our car insurance comparison tool which works out the best deal for you (inclusive of cashback)).  Furthermore, we now offer cashback on Group buy sites such as Groupon and Crowdity.

We also launched a Save 1K page which allows you to record your voucher savings as well as cashback earnings, and Smart Shopper which is an online blog which pulls together all of our best deals and promotions.

The average member saves about £450 a year with us and it’s so easy because you can make savings on everything from household bills to travel and everyday shopping.

Put like it’s well worth a look!

I’m posting this today because I like to save money, I like to make money and I like to help others do the same too. This is not a sponsored post etc, the only contact I’ve had with Quidco was asking their press team to supply me with up to date info re new features, so you can be sure I am telling you this because of a positive personal experience with the site! So, take a minute and pop along, you’ll be surprised by the number or retailers on there (not just shops but car insurance and more), special offers and other ways to save or make money. There is even a nifty toolbar you download which reminds you to shop via Quidco (which I must download actually lol) so you don’t forget and miss out (Firefox only at the moment but available soon for Chrome, Internet Explorer etc).

Go and have a browse and let me know what you think!

 

 

In Candidly Cleaning

E-Cloth Green Clean Challenge – One week in!

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on 1 Comment

The Soundtrack to My Eco-Cleaning This Week!

Well it’s been a week of chemical free cleaning – and so far, so good! (You can read more about the challenge here!). With Glenn Miller booming in the background I have been well away, a cleaning diva, and have actually found it much easier than expected – so much for the convenience of modern methods! The three products I want to tell you about this week are below!

The E-Cloth Glass & Polishing Cloth.

My favourite so far! I loathe cleaning mirrors, which is unfortunate as I have two large ones in my bathroom alone. Regardless of what cloths and sprays I have used in the past they have always look streaky. To be honest I didn’t really expect this to be a whole lot better (after all I have tried a LOT of different cleaning methods to counteract my lack of glass-cleaning skill) but was very pleasantly surprised! Using just water I cleaned my mirrors easily, even the one over the sink with toothpaste spatters all over it (thanks Kieran!). No streaks or residue, perfectly clean and shiny mirrors. Good as new. I would highly recommend this product for this alone, but can also report it is great on all shiny surfaces I’ve used it on, taps, kettles, mirrors…. perfect! With a RRP of £4.99, this is a staple item now in my cleaning cupboard. See the E-Cloth website for more.

Eco-Zone Washing Balls

EcoZone Ecoballs

Curious looking thing! Each box contains two of these balls and refills and a tube of eco stain remover for heavy stains that need pre-treatment. The pack info says the contacts should last 150 washes and I completely believe it! I have been washing pretty much constantly this week and the pellets barely seem to have broken down at all! No messy powder or tablets, easy to use, saves you money and is eco-friendly. Works for me.

You can buy these from EcoZone (via Amazon!) for £10.56 with free delivery, which may seem a lot but unless you use very cheap laundry powder, these will save you money. You don’t need to buy new ecoballs when they eventually empty out, but can get pellet refills instead for £8ish. I fully intend to replace my powder with these from now on.

It’s worth noting that ecoballs don’t have any scent so if you like scented washing, a few drops of essential oils in your drawer might be an idea, or if you use tumble drier sheets these will do the same. Scent doesn’t bother me with washing so these are perfect.

Natural Air-freshener

This is a non-aerosol air freshener from Australian company Bio-Logic. It contains essential oils, purified water & sugar cane ethanol and is organic. Despite being called “Rosa” it isn’t an old lady rose smell, in fact if I had to describe it I would say it was a mixture of an expensive flower shop & turkish delight! A lovely fragrance which lasts – freshens and really lifts the room. It comes in a 125ml spray bottle and is very economical. You can purchase this spray from MyPure for £5.99 (expensive I think, but that depends on whether it lasts the length of the trial ie longer than a big brand plug-in or room deodoriser) and is available in two other scents, lavender and Alpine Air.

I love the Rosa scent (I’m big on smells) but I think I’d balk at paying out £5.99 each time I wanted to replace it (plus P&P). Eco yes, economical – the jury is still out on that.

So do I think I will be able to change over completely to eco-cleaning considering cost, ease and results? Too early to tell but so far, so good!

More from E-Cloth on their website or over on Twitter.

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