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a money saving thre...
 

a money saving thread for the cash poor amongst us.

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Another vote for bank account switch bonuses. I’m on around £800 for last year. I would need to earn over £1600 to get that as take home pay.

keep reading this.  ive done about 3 now over a good few years, but whenever i look into it the ones available are the ones ive already done, which say you cant have had an account with us before.  what am i missing?

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 8:36 am
Free Member
 

Basic service is only an oil and filter change maybe just hoover out 85% of the old oil , a top up of screen wash . Unknown unbranded oil in your car unless you specify and the cost goes up

If Halfords can do it for £109 then that's an expensive MOT to make up the rest

No doubt they will add a few advisories tyres , brakes, bulbs getting dim in their old age

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 8:38 am
Full Member
 

For those looking at oil changes. get a pela pump. It turns an oil change into a 30 min job, clean and easy to dispose of the oil. Saved me a fortune over the years.

edit:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pela-6000-Oil-Pump-Extraction/dp/B002EJ2GUC

worth every single penny

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 8:48 am
 rsl1
Free Member
 

I know it's a want not a need, but Google opinion rewards pays me just enough to cover the cost of their unlimited photo storage plan, in exchange for my privacy. It's a thing I wouldn't pay for otherwise.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 8:50 am
Free Member
 

I once go an estimate of £500-£600 to 'explore' a 'host of electrical problems' with a big Mercedes that had been left unused for 3 months while I was abroad. There was the parts a repair costs on top of that. I took it home, left it on slow charge overnight which curded 90% of the issues, A couple of miles driving, switch it on and off again, and everything was back to normal. Modern cars really don't like flat or low charged batteries and have a lot of parasitic drain when parked and apparently switched off.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 8:52 am
flicker reacted
Full Member
 

WorldClassAccidentFree Member
a basic service/ oil and filter change on my car, with an MOT at my local indie is £189.00

By the time I’ve pratted about, got mucky, disposed of the old oil etc, I’ll just pay someone else to do it.

Doesn’t that kind of miss the point of this thread?

A quick google shows Halfords will do Oil and filter change for a MINIMUM of £109. You can do it yourself in 30-45 minutes for £45. So you save £60 for the ‘hassle’ of undoing a sump plug and unscrewing the filter

Buy quality filters (Mann) from Autodoc, Mannol / Miller's branded oil in 20litre drums and a Pela pump as mentioned above. Major savings.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 8:59 am
flicker reacted
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matt_outandabout
Free Member
Use curtains properly.

Spy on the neighbours and then blackmail them with what you have witnessed?

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:08 am
footflaps, Tom83, arrpee and 1 people reacted
Free Member
 

Go to your local supermarket when they are discounting food that is going out of date – and don't go throwing stuff out that is a day or so out of date either.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:11 am
kelvin reacted

Full Member
 

What if they are neither?

Learn how to lay paving slabs!

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:12 am
Free Member
 

pay for subscriptions using overseas prices, using VPN.  Brazil works well for a popular cycling app..

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:14 am
Full Member
 

You can get a hot coffee from the Costa machine as part of a Tesco meal deal for £3.50ish.

If you want a coffee from the Costa machine, that is.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:15 am
Free Member
 

Tesco Clubcard plus – £96 a year to buy in and save £500-£600 per year.

I just looked at that – how on earth are you saving £600 a year? Even if I could do two in-store shops a month, which I can't as our most local store is 20 miles away, to get 10% off them, I would only be saving about £300 a year.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:16 am
 a11y
Full Member
 

 I just looked at that – how on earth are you saving £600 a year?

I use both 10% off vouchers every month, usually saving £16-20 off a £160-200 'big' weekly shop, i.e. £192-240 saving a year (minus the £96 annual cost). I'm sure it tops out at £20 off per voucher? Not sure how to get to the £500-600 saving either,

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:25 am
 a11y
Full Member
 

For those looking at oil changes. get a pela pump.

Worth it alone to avoid the horrific job that is removing the clips, etc that hold on an under tray on many vehicles. The actual oil replacement bit of the job's easy, it's the stupidly designed under trays etc that make it a PITA for me.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:28 am
robola reacted
Free Member
 

Not sure how to get to the £500-600 saving either

HAHA! TBF, I do wish they would do the saving on deliveries too as I could probably make a reasonable saving.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:44 am
Full Member
 

We have been taking advantage of the Tesco Clubcard deal since it came out. We have a Tesco Credit card and use that for everything that we purchase as you accumulate points everywhere and then pay it off every month. Also have Clubcard plus

Its surprising how many points you can accumulate and then we always swap for the multiple offers, used to be 4x but now 2x. This years three trips using the Tunnel have been sorted at no cost to us, Should have been around £900.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:45 am

Free Member
 

any nando Chicken lovers, well they've done you a favour

card only, no cash

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:50 am
Full Member
 

I just looked at that – how on earth are you saving £600 a year? Even if I could do two in-store shops a month, which I can’t as our most local store is 20 miles away, to get 10% off them, I would only be saving about £300 a year.

We consolidate our shops into 2 big (£220 each) and two small (£110 each) ones every month and thus save the full £20 on each voucher, so £40 a month over 12 months.  You also get additional savings on food, clothes, household stuff to the tune of 20%.  On average this is around £4-6 per shop so £16-24 a month or £200-300 a year.  All totaled it's around £700-800 back on a £100 cost.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:51 am
Free Member
 

We consolidate our shops into 2 big (£220 each) and two small (£110 each) ones every month and thus save the full £20 on each voucher, so £40 a month over 12 months.

Fair enough - I think I would go insane trying to do two 'big shops' in-store every month though.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:52 am
Full Member
 

Re the oil changes thing - how many people send their car to a garage just for an oil change?

It would usually be done as part of a yearly major or minor service so the saving of doing it yourself would be negligible.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:54 am
Full Member
 

If you can be bothered using reloadable cards - many workplaces do an average 4-5% discount on grocery shopping.  it doesn't sound like much but when you're spending over £7k a year on food - £300-350 is not to be sniffed at.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 9:55 am
Free Member
 

[i]minor service so the saving of doing it yourself would be negligible.[/i]

Check out what a 'minor service' actual is.
[i]A minor service for a car, also known as a basic or general service, typically includes:
An oil change
An oil filter change
A full car check-over
Diagnostic checks
Vehicle greasing
Tyre rotation[/i]

So change the oil and filters and look out for warning lights. Hmmm....

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 10:05 am
scruff9252 reacted
Full Member
 

So change the oil and filters and look out for warning lights. Hmmm….

But for most people the security that there car has been inspected by a knowledgable mechanic is worth far more than a £60 saving.

I'm a fairly competent DIYer and can easily strip and rebuild bikes but I don't touch my car (apart from checking oil and water etc). As soon as I go anywhere near it I get gorilla hands and can strip a nut without looking at it.

And I've watched far too much Wheelers Dealers and the like where their 'simple fix' is to whip out some tool that costs £££s and would get used once every ten years by a home mechanic! 🙂

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 10:15 am
Free Member
 

~£30 for the oil extractor and means the only thing you need to remove is the old oil filter.

I absolutely agree about getting the car seen by a professional for some things but the oil change is one step up in difficulty from changing the wiper blades.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 10:22 am

Free Member
 

Renewing car insurance?

Biggest discounts come if you look between 16 - 28 days before the renewal is due rather than in the last week.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 10:23 am
 Drac
 

any nando Chicken lovers, well they’ve done you a favour

card only, no cash

While since I have been to a Nando’s as like an independent place, but I’ll keep that in mind lot easier with a card.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 10:33 am
Free Member
 

Always pause monthly subscriptions like Netflix, Discovery+ or Amazon etc after renewal. That way you’ll only unpause once you need to reuse it after expiry and get a few days ‘free’.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 10:34 am
Free Member
 

Spy on the neighbours and then blackmail them with what you have witnessed?

I will try that out.

More on the close them as it gets dark and cold, closed properly. Open them as the light returns. Consider leaving closed in less used rooms in very cold weather.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 10:36 am
 irc
Free Member
 

" ive done about 3 now over a good few years, but whenever i look into it the ones available are the ones ive already done, which say you cant have had an account with us before.  what am i missing?"

Just check Martin Lewis every month or two. Every bank has different conditions. This is my first year doing it so I could do any I wished.

Current Nationwide for example. If you did them before but it was before 18th Aug 2021 you can go again. Santander it is Sept 201. Etc.

So you can't do it every year.  Grab everything going then go back again a few years later.  I am sticking with my last switch to Nationwide for a year anyway taking advantage of the 5% on current account balance up to £1500. Next autumn I'll do a few more switches.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 10:51 am
Full Member
 

Save money on expensive binoculars by moving closer to what you're looking at.

Regarding those oil change pump thingies, do they remove any swarf or stuff you should be looking for in an oil change?

Never really seen them used to be honest.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 10:53 am
Full Member
 

If you've worked in public sector and retired, you can still apply for the blue light card. Wife has done it recently.

Use cashback sites. Even for small purchases.

If you're on EE you can get 6 months free either Apple TV or Apple music through the EE app under rewards.

Use Tesco clubcard vouchers for discounts on eating out at certain pub chains / restaurants.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 10:53 am
Full Member
 

Tesco Clubcard plus – £96 a year to buy in and save £500-£600 per year.

Nectar card plus use of their app for me. Once it knows what you buy regularly, it often gives up bonus points for those items plus there's a few decent partner offers, extra points (and discounts) at Esso, Argos etc and a few competitions, occasional bonus points (most pretty token gestures like 5 or 10 Nectar points bonus but I did once win 7000 points!)

I can often end up with £100 in Nextar points by the end of the year.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 10:57 am

Full Member
 

My phone contract was up recently and I have moved to a Lebara Sim only deal via the ubiquitous MSE.

It's ridiculously cheap for the first six months (like under £2/month) then rises to £5 or £6/month.

And uses the same network I was already on.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 11:01 am
Free Member
 

Farmfoods discount vouchers - I ve seen cafe and shop owners in farmfoods.  Subscribe you get vouchers 2 quid off 25 spend.  Cheapest place for chocolate, marmite, peanut butter even before extra discount.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 11:06 am
Free Member
 

That’s a time v’s money thing though… a basic service/ oil and filter change on my car, with an MOT at my local indie is £189.00

By the time I’ve pratted about, got mucky, disposed of the old oil etc, I’ll just pay someone else to do it.

But unless you can do something of some value in the Kwikfit reception, it takes you just as long.

Eurocarparts will deliver me an oil and filter (free next-day delivery) for ~£50

Drive the car onto the ramps, remove plug, remove filter, let it drain, fit filter, refit plug, fill with oil.

30min and it's done. The oil sits in the old bottle until the next tip trip.

I'll be finished, washed up, and drinking a cup of decent coffee before you're even sat down in the waiting room drinking the complimentary mellow birds from the machine.

There's jobs I don't do because they're a faff, I just paid the local garage £30 to swap an exhaust because it involved 2 hard to reach bolts that I just CBA doing on a cold driveway, but even that is still saving £100 buying the generic pipe for £90, and paying the garage £30 Vs the £250-£300 Kwickfit charge for the job. Cambelts and clutches, depends on the car, a that stage I usually decide I don't have the patience to work on the job for 6 hours efficiently (which really means it's a 2 day job with tea breaks),  But the routine stuff just makes economic sense because you'll do it every year saving a few hundred quid each time.

Regarding those oil change pump thingies, do they remove any swarf or stuff you should be looking for in an oil change?

Never really seen them used to be honest.

They remove all the same stuff the sump drain would have.

Depends on the engine, some are designed to be emptied via a pump not the sump plug. If you think about it lot's of higher performance engines are built like this, e.g. motorbikes.  They have a dry sump which a scavenger pump transfers the oil to a separate tank from where you drain it.  I own a pump, but don't use it on the fiesta because there's no undertray or anything so it's as quick to drive it onto the ramps.  And I have to go underneath it to access the oil filter anyway.  If the filter was on top and the engine designed to allow emptying that way then I'd have no qualms about it unless there was some other reason like the sump itself had to be removed to inspect the pickup pipe.

If there's swarf in your oil then the engines f***ed.  Worrying about whether there's 10ml or 20ml of oil left to be diluted into the next 4.5l is the least of your problems.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 11:13 am
Full Member
 

Buy high ticket Christmas presents after Christmas

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 11:41 am
Free Member
 

I've been beating the current account switching bonus drum on here for years -  options are now scarcer for me, given the number of times I've switched, but the odd one still comes up. Literally free money.

Stoozing is a good alternative to cashback cards. Do all your spending on a 0% interest card and put the corresponding sum into a high interest savings account. At the end of your 0% period, pay it off and pocket the interest. I've made nearly £600 in the last calendar year. You need to be on top of it, but it's as close to totally passive income as I've ever got.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 11:42 am
kevt and Simon reacted
Full Member
 

Convert Tesco club card vouchers into money off the channel tunnel crossing

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 11:47 am
Free Member
 

[edit because i missed it]

Re the oil changes thing – how many people send their car to a garage just for an oil change?

It would usually be done as part of a yearly major or minor service so the saving of doing it yourself would be negligible.

But for most people the security that there car has been inspected by a knowledgable mechanic is worth far more than a £60 saving.

What I can't spot myself, the MOT does, and I can't recall the last MOT fail that I hadn't identified in advance.  And no one starts off knowledgeable, but if you do your own oil change you're far more likely to spot other problems before they escalate. And 90% of fixes are either low skill but take time / faff so anyone could do them with instructions,  Or take a bit of skill / tools but most of the time the cost of the tool is still less than the garage bill would be.

Unknown unbranded oil in your car unless you specify

If it meets the spec it's fine.

If the garage was prepared to use the wrong oil entirely then why would you trust them with any work at all?

I've not always used the cheapest, my usual rule of thumb is to pay less than £5 more for a gallon than the cheapest that meets the spec.  Most years that means ECP or Halfords own brand synthetic rather than semi, or Magnatec if it's on offer.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 11:51 am
soobalias reacted
Free Member
 

Separate quotes for buildings and content insurance. I saved £150 this year.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 11:57 am

Full Member
 

Convert Tesco club card vouchers into money off the channel tunnel crossing

Or, get the ferry instead for a cheaper, longer but more chilled crossing.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 11:59 am
nuke reacted
Free Member
 

[i]do they remove any swarf or stuff you should be looking for in an oil change?[/i]

Most of it. You run the engine until warm so most the crap is then floating in the oil you pump out. It is all the garage does anyway, and they don't always run the engine first

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 12:16 pm
rogerturner and kayak23 reacted
Full Member
 

The biggest change I’ve made recently is to start using a budgeting app called MoneyHub. It uses the open banking standard to aggregate our family accounts, credit cards, pensions, mortgage in one place and every time a transaction is made on any of them the app categorises the expenditure into things like groceries, fuel, savings, transfers etc etc. I’ve had to do some work to check and update the automatic categorisation but now I’m up and running, as soon as I buy something I habitually check the app to see what it’s showing as and update/approve as appropriate. The app then gives me a dashboard of monthly expenditure  so I can see just how much I’ve spent against each category.

I also export the data periodically into an excel doc which I’ve designed to analyse and collate the expenditure across Jan - Dec. Using 2024 data, this gave me a really good idea of our typical expenditure per month against each category, and I’ve created a monthly budget that I’ve incorporated back into the app.

I share the app with my wife and it’s really helping us to see where our money is going and to understand what (if any) discretionary expenditure we can afford. It’s also helped us to identify some fraudulent transactions that we missed.

If we stick to the budget, we should be able to save a couple of hundred £ per month instead of having to dive into savings every month to pay the credit card bill.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 12:17 pm
thebunk and tomahawk28 reacted
Full Member
 

Buy luxury Christmas puddings now, the Tesco ones are aged 12 months, by next Christmas they’ll be 24 months and even more delicious but a fraction of the price. Ignore the use by date, we had two from last year, feeds 8 or two people over three meals!

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 12:22 pm
Free Member
 

If it meets the spec it's fine

I'm thinking of some previous threads about tyres on here yet no one on here would dare admit to Nanking/**** Chinese rubber on their Skoda Octavia/Yeti

These ditch finders meet the spec, personally I'd whip them off and change to a Michelin

Sometimes can get up to 50k miles if no punctures and good at dodging the many pot holes so can easily save you in the long run cost wise

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 12:23 pm
Full Member
 

Buy your birthday cards from us.

The exact same card can be over a pound more in Smiths.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 12:32 pm
Free Member
 

I’m thinking of some previous threads about tyres on here yet no one on here would dare admit to Nanking/**** Chinese rubber on their Skoda Octavia/Yeti

These ditch finders meet the spec, personally I’d whip them off and change to a Michelin

Sometimes can get up to 50k miles if no punctures and good at dodging the many pot holes so can easily save you in the long run cost wise

I've never fitted* for anything other than name brand tyres, that's different because you can actually judge what the benefit is. The EcoConact/energy saver/Blue Response etc all last longer, are quieter, get good ratings for grip / efficiency and rate well in magazine tests.  And subjectively feel nicer.

Branded oil on the other hand?

Our Fiestas done 174k on cheap-ish oil (but does use/leak oil, has done form new) and has spent 21 years being alternately driven round town cold by my OH who treats the pedals as binary switches, or thrashed up the motorway at Mach 0.11 to Yorkshire and back. The C-max did 160k before and never lost a drop.  The Berlingo had 3 changes in the time I had it between 130k and 160k and never had an issue on cheap oil.  I know a few people have had expensive oil analysis done to see what impact it has, but even that comes with the massive caveats that it's not a direct comparison between oils, just an analysis of how that oil is performing.  And you can't define what the impact of any difference is. Even if A was better than B, it doesn't follow that B will have any meaningfully impact on the engine if it meets the spec and you change it on time.

*i've had less well known brands on cars I've bought

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 12:42 pm
iwluap reacted
 IHN
Full Member
 

I’ve never fitted* for anything other than name brand tyres, that’s different because you can actually judge what the benefit is.

I've always fitted middle-range, if that the right description (i.e. Landsail/Hankook) tyres as I'm extremely sceptical as to the benefit of name brand tyres on a 1.4 hatchback.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 12:51 pm

Free Member
 

I have Clubcard+ it's pretty good, costs £7 a month, I usually get about £20 'back'. I can understand why the poster thinks they're getting hundreds a year. The Clubcard app pushes a "saved this year" figure which includes normal club card discounts. You can also get 10% off Tesco brand non-food items too, so if you like F&F stuff... I don't, it's all shapeless and drab.

I suppose due to my advanced years I've learned rich v poor, happy v unhappy isn't about saving a penny on beans, bulk buying in Costco, driving £500 bangers or whatever.

Some people are genuinely poor. If you're in that horrible place when every penny counts and it's 'eat or heat' or new clothes for the kids v council tax then you have my complete sympathy, and I hope you're able to make life easier for yourself.

When I was younger, I got caught in the capitalist trap. I always thought that I couldn't be happy until I had the 'thing' I'd been fooled into thinking was important. New House, New Car, Holidays, Bikes, TVs, Phones, but I never was, I just felt increased strain to keep it up. The only money saving tip that's ever worked for me has been to be content as much as I can be. I try to let go of material things that don't bring real joy. Simple things bring real joy to me, sitting in the pub having a pint and sharing a bag of crisps is cheap, but if you can't spare the money for that, sitting in a friend's kitchen with a cup of tea is just as good really. You don't need £500's worth of hiking kit to go for a walk. A copy of a good book for 50p from a charity shop reads just as well as a £15 hardback or via a £100 kindle.

I'm not miserly, but I try to pause when I'm buying something - do I need this? Do I want this? Will this bring real joy? I have no problem buying things I want, but I avoid 'consumer nonsense' when I can.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 12:54 pm
thebunk, Bunnyhop, nickc and 9 people reacted
Free Member
 

"I’m thinking of some previous threads about tyres on here yet no one on here would dare admit to Nanking/**** Chinese rubber on their Skoda Octavia/Yeti

These ditch finders meet the spec, personally I’d whip them off and change to a Michelin

Sometimes can get up to 50k miles if no punctures and good at dodging the many pot holes so can easily save you in the long run cost wise"

I do consider tyre choice a bit. If you're asking your fitter for 'economy tyres' you're often doing the opposite. The don't last long, they puncture easily and they do have a meaningful effect on safety and handling.

Michelin make incredible tyres, if you've got something sporty then their Pilot Sport range offer an incredible balance of performance and longevity and their more eco focused tyres do save a dribble fuel and last a long time.

I think the best VFM though is in the middle ground, the brands that make good quality tyres, but perhaps not the same marketing budget, such a wide range or bother with high performance stuff for sports cars. Kumho, Avon, Uniroyal etc. They're cheaper than Michelin, Continental and Pirelli and may lose a bit of absolute performance (useless on that 1.4 hatch back) but a massively better made and long lasting than typical Linglong Ditchfinders.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 1:04 pm
Full Member
 

I occasionally shop at Tesco, but do 95% of my groceries at Lidl - and I'm certain I'm saving a lot more than I could with a Clubcard+.

As mentioned by another poster, you get loads of freebies like bakery items, cheese, fruit etc. - plus a monthly 10% discount if you spend £250 over the month.

And the quality of produce is often better anyway.

 
Posted : 07/01/2025 1:26 pm
steveb reacted
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Secret Diary Of Benjamin Haworth Age 47 3/4

Last Minute Tuscany

Digital Detox

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Issue 159