Seven easy ways to save £3,517 in time for the summer holidays
WITH three months to go until the summer holidays, there’s still time to save up some serious cash to help pay for your plans.
For families, the long school break can be a huge financial stretch, with the soaring price of childcare, entertainment, food and travel.
While for singles and couples, trips abroad, staycations and festivals all add up, too.
But follow our seven easy tricks and you could save a pot of £2,712 by the start of August to help fund all your fun in the sunshine this summer.
Swap dinner and drinks for park picnics – £420
A meal out with a bottle of wine for two can easily run to £50 or more.
Next time you’re planning a catch up with pals at the pub or heading out for a date night, take it outside instead now the weather’s getting better.
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You can grab a prosecco from Aldi for £4.99 and pick up some tapas and snacks to share for about £10, saving you about £35 compared to eating out.
Head to the park or your back garden if you have one.
If you normally go out for a meal, drinks or order a takeaway once a week and do this instead you could save £420 over the next three months.
Become a pet sitter – £300
If you’re an animal lover, sign up to websites like Rover and Pawshake to get paid for looking after pets.
You set your own prices so it helps to be competitive – what you can charge will depend on where you live and what other sitters are asking.
Building up some positive reviews is key.
It’s free to set up a profile but the sites take a cut of 15-19% from each of your bookings so factor this in when setting your rates.
You could make around £10 to pop in and feed a cat or £15 to take a dog for a walk after covering the sites’ fees.
So if you land one dog walk and one cat feed per week for the next three months, you could make £300 in time for the summer holidays.
You can earn up to £1,000 per year from a side hustle like this without having to declare it to the taxman or pay any tax.
Sell old tech – £400
Have you got a drawer of old phones and tech that’s gathering dust?
Now is the time to see what it’s worth.
It’s never been easier to trade in unwanted tech.
Comparison sites like MoneySuperMarket will show you all the best offers from different companies that buy old gadgets.
While newer models in mint condition fetch the highest prices, you can still make a few quid from older and damaged handsets
For example an iPhone 14 128GB in excellent condition could be worth up to £332, when we checked.
An older iPhone 11 – one of the most frequently-traded phones on the site – was worth up to £157.
So if you flog a few unused gadgets from different family members you could net £400 or more.
How to spot valuable items
COMMENTS by Consumer Editor, Alice Grahns:
It’s easy to check if items in your attic are valuable.
As a first step, go on eBay to check what other similar pieces, if not the same, have sold for recently.
Simply search for your item, filter by “sold listings” and toggle by the highest value.
This will give you an idea of how much others are willing to pay for it.
The method can be used for everything ranging from rare coins and notes to stamps, old toys, books and vinyl records - just to mention a few examples.
For coins, online tools from change experts like Coin Hunter are also helpful to see how much it could be worth.
Plus, you can refer to Change Checker’s latest scarcity index update to see which coins are topping the charts.
For especially valuable items, you may want to enlist the help of experts or auction houses.
Do your research first though and be aware of any fees for evaluating your stuff.
As a rule of thumb, rarity and condition are key factors in determining the value of any item.
You’re never guaranteed to make a mint, however.
Crunch your midweek lunches – £165
A basic Sainsbury’s meal deal would cost you £3.75 or if you tend to go to a cafe then a sandwich and drink could easily set you back £7 or more.
By making your own sandwiches or pasta salads and sticking to tap water or squash, you can bring the daily cost of lunch down to £1.
That’s a saving of £2.75 per day or £13.75 a week compared to supermarket grab-and-go lunches.
Do that five days a week for the next three months and you’ll save £165
Streamline your streaming – £54
If you’re signed up to several different TV services try streamlining your subscriptions by pausing any that you can.
Some like Disney+ and Hulu will let you press pause for a few months while still keeping track of the episodes you’ve already watched.
With Netflix, you can’t pause its basic £5.99 plan, so you’ll have to cancel and then restart, but your viewing history is saved for 10 months.
With others you might have to cancel altogether and resubscribe when you want to.
Kara Gammell, personal finance expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: “Begin by looking at how much you’re using each platform and cancelling the ones you use the least.
“If you don’t want to miss out on the latest TV shows and films, you could try rotating streaming services.”
That means you just binge all the shows you want to watch on one site before moving on to the next rather than paying for a few services at once.
If you pause or cancel three £6-per-month subscriptions for three months that’s a £54 saving.
Blast your bills – £1,198
Set aside a few hours on an overcast day to blast through all your bills and switch any contracts that are lingering on a poor deal.
It might not seem like the most enjoyable task, but when you see the savings add up you’re bound to feel a huge mood boost.
Use comparison sites to track down the best offers.
4 ways to keep your energy bills low
Laura Court-Jones, Small Business Editor at Bionic shared her tips.
1. Turn your heating down by one degree
You probably won't even notice this tiny temperature difference, but what you will notice is a saving on your energy bills as a result. Just taking your thermostat down a notch is a quick way to start saving fast. This one small action only takes seconds to carry out and could potentially slash your heating bills by £171.70.
2. Switch appliances and lights off
It sounds simple, but fully turning off appliances and lights that are not in use can reduce your energy bills, especially in winter. Turning off lights and appliances when they are not in use, can save you up to £20 a year on your energy bills
3. Install a smart meter
Smart meters are a great way to keep control over your energy use, largely because they allow you to see where and when your gas and electricity is being used.
4. Consider switching energy supplier
No matter how happy you are with your current energy supplier, they may not be providing you with the best deals, especially if you've let a fixed-rate contract expire without arranging a new one. If you haven't browsed any alternative tariffs lately, then you may not be aware that there are better options out there.
Gammell said: “Shopping around for a better deal could save you hundreds of pounds on household bills like energy, mobile, broadband and car insurance.
“Households can currently save up to £162 by switching to a fixed rate energy deal on MoneySuperMarket.
“When it comes to broadband, switching to a bundle package could save you up to 36% on your bills, and is especially cost-effective if you already pay for TV or streaming services like Netflix, Sky Sports or other Sky channels, as you may get them included in your offer.
“Customers who switch their broadband can save up to £200 on their annual bill.
“Car insurance is a big expense, but drivers can save on average £485 by switching.”
Meanwhile, according to another comparison site, Uswitch, you could save up to £351 a year by switching your mobile deal to a sim-only contract if you don’t need a new handset.
All in all that’s up to £1,198 you could save from a few hours’ work.
Grab a bank bonus – £175
One of the simplest ways to get a cash boost is to switch your bank account.
Different offers come and go all the time and sometimes you can make up to £200.
Currently the highest bonus is from First Direct, which always scores highly for customer service and is offering £175 to join.
To get the deal you’d need to open an account online HERE [https://www.firstdirect.com/banking/current-account/]
How do I switch bank accounts?
SWITCHING bank accounts is a simple process and can usually be done through the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).
Dozens of high street banks and building societies are signed up - there's a full list on CASS' website.
Under the switching service, swapping banks should take seven working days.
You don't have to remember to move direct debits across when moving, as this is done for you.
All you have to do is apply for the new account you want, and the new bank will tell your existing one you're moving.
There are a few things you can do before switching though, including choosing your switch date and transferring any old bank statements to your new account.
You should get in touch with your existing bank for any old statements.
When switching current accounts, consider what other perks might come with joining a specific bank or building society.
Some banks offer 0% overdrafts up to a certain limit, and others might offer better rates on savings accounts.
And some banks offer free travel or mobile phone insurance with their current accounts - but these accounts might come with a monthly fee.
You would also have to switch from your current bank, including moving at least two direct debits or standing orders within 45 days.
But all you need to do is fill out your current bank’s details when you apply for the new one and the payments will be moved across for you by the current account switching service.
You’ll also need to pay in at least £1,000 and make five or more debit card payments to qualify for the bonus.
The £175 is paid by the 20th of the following month after you meet the bonus criteria.
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NatWest is offering a £150 switching bonus, plus you can earn up to £36 a year in cashback on its Reward account.
You’ll need to pay in at least £1,250 and meet other criteria to qualify.
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