savings Archives - CURLY AND CANDID

Your home is probably one of your favourite place in the world. It should be the place where you feel safe, secure and comfortable no matter what you’re doing. It’s the place to create memories, spend time with your family and escape from the stress and worry of your everyday life. Nothing is worse than when you realise that your beloved home is actually costing you large amounts of money. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean that you need to pack up and move as there are plenty of simple and easy ways of reducing home costs.

Reducing Home Costs By Reducing Your Home Insurance

Home insurance is, of course, incredibly important. That last thing that you want is to find yourself the victim of a crime or natural disaster with no insurance to protect you and your family. Insurance may also be one of the biggest ways that your home costs you a large amount of money. Make sure that you shop around to find the best possible deal. Many people will assume that their mortgage providers insurance price is the best that they can get but you’ll actually be better off by exploring what other insurers have to offer. You should also make sure that you’re getting the right cover for your property. After all, if you’re living on the top floor, then you’re probably not going to need any garden cover.

Just make sure that by reducing home costs in this way you don’t end up being under-insured as that could cost you dearly in the long run.

Be Cost Efficient and Energy Efficient

Far too many homes are basically throwing money away because they are so energy inefficient. By saving energy, you’ll not only make your home more environmentally friendly but will save yourself a decent amount of money as well. There are plenty of things that you can do, both big and small, that can make a big difference. From installing an energy-efficient wall heater to just making some simple changes to your everyday behaviours in order to save a little bit of energy. Many of these things might not seem like they’ll make that much of a difference but can make your home more energy-efficient and save you a ton of money.

Consider Solar Power When Reducing Home Costs

Solar power is actually one of the cheapest ways that you can power your home. Photovoltaic panels are, of course, the best and most well-known way to incorporate solar power into your home but sometimes that’s not really an option for a lot of people. If you live in a flat or apartment, then there are still things that you can do. There are plenty of options for powering appliances, as well as lighting and heating solutions, that use solar power.

Reducing Home Costs: In Summary

Your home is always going to cost you money; that’s just a fact of life. By following these simple tips, you could be able to save a surprisingly large amount of money. This means that you can get back to enjoying your home as the safe, comfortable space that it’s supposed to be without constantly worrying about the effect that it’s having on your bank balance.

Knowing how or where you can save money on your phone bill is no easy feat. Fortunately, there are a whole host of websites and apps designed to help you do just that. The best news is most of them are free (or very cheap)! I hate spending money needlessly (I’m a thrifty bod). These top tips should help you reduce your phone bill spend too.

Save Money on Your Phone Bill With Data Compression Apps

Data compression apps help stretch your data allowance further by reducing the amount of data web pages and email clients use. And they do this without impacting the quality of your browsing experience. Some apps also block unwanted data usage from background apps, updates and notifications.

How does this save you money? With your data going further than ever, you won’t need to buy expensive add-ons. Some apps report a saving of up to 20% which might not sound like much but will make a significant difference to how quickly you run through your allowance.

There are lots of data compression apps on the market, some better than others at what they do. Some of the most highly recommended apps include: Opera Max, My Data Compress, My Data Manager, and Datally.

I remote work a lot so will be trying these out as sometimes I tether through my phone and that eats data!

Save Money on Your Phone Bill With Billmonitor.com

Launched in 2009 by three Oxford-based mathematicians, Billmonitor’s entire purpose is to save you money on your phone bill.

Mobile phone contracts are notoriously complicated and unclear. It can be hard to know how much you’re paying for the handset and how much you’re paying for the tariff. Billmonitor helps to clarify all this, giving consumers transparency in an increasingly murky industry.

Billmonitor works by analysing your past bills (or you can manually enter your estimated usage) and comparing your usage against one million tariff and bundle combinations. It searches deals from five of the largest providers; EE, O2, Three, Vodafone and Tesco Mobile. You are then provided with a free analysis explaining where you’ve been overcharged, the best contracts for your usage, and exactly how much you will save.

You only pay for this service if you choose to proceed with a new contract. Billmonitor charges a flat fee of 30% of the amount you save on your bill. One trick is to use Billmonitor to get a recommended tariff then see if you can beat it on comparison sites like Tiger Mobiles (specialise in PAYG) or Uswitch.

08 Wizard

If you’ve ever had to call an 0800, 0845 or 0870 number from your mobile phone, you know exactly how expensive it is. These premium numbers can charge up to 41 pence per minute, which means just a ten-minute phone call will cost you more than £4. Many businesses in the UK use 08 numbers, including some mobile phone networks and utility companies.

08 Wizard is an app for iOS, Android and Windows Phone that replaces 08 numbers with an 01 or 02 landline number. If you’re on contract, the call will now come from your inclusive minutes, and if you’re on Pay As You Go, it will be charged at a standard rate.

The app costs 99 pence but will quickly pay for itself in money saved calling premium numbers. If you ever need to call 08 numbers, this app is an absolute must-have.

Network Apps Offer Great Perks

If your phone contract is with O2, Three or Vodafone you can score some great freebies and discounts via their rewards apps. The offers change quite frequently but can include things like advanced gig tickets, discounted cinema tickets, free coffee and data boosts.

This is a bit of a wildcard because these apps won’t help you save money on your phone bill. However your phone bill will help you save money on other things, and I think that’s just as good.

If you’re an O2 customer, the rewards app is called O2 Priority and it’s available for iPhone and Android. Three customers will find rewards in the Wuntu app on iPhone and Android. And for Vodafone customers, rewards are offered via the ‘Very Me’ programme in the My Vodafone app (again, available for iPhone and Android).

GiffGaff Payback

GiffGaff offers a fantastic Payback scheme where you can earn money for referring friends and family to the network. For every person you bring on board, GiffGaff gives you £5 (and £5 to your friend, too). This can then be converted to cash, credit to your GiffGaff account, or donated to charity.

In addition, GiffGaff members can call and text each other for free, so it pays double to refer friends.

Any Payback points you’ve earned are paid out twice a year (in June and December). There’s no limit to how much you can earn, though the payment amounts change after the first 15 referrals (they actually increase). With this unlimited earning potential you can save some serious money on your phone bill should you choose to convert it to credit.

Save Money on Your Phone Bill

If you are looking to save money on your phone bill it pays to think outside of the box. If you have any other top tips feel free to comment with them below.