Slash your petrol costs
June 14, 2009
Drivers are set for more pain at the pump so finding out how you can control your fuel consumption and cut the cost of running your car is desired.
Use the Internet for cheap petrol prices
Use a service like Petrolprices.com to find the best priced fuel in your local area. Petrolprices.com compares 1,000’s of petrol stations every day and updates the prices daily.
Use a Sat Nav
Aim to Drive efficiently
You can slash petrol consumption by up to 25% by driving more efficiently. Drive at an appropriate speed and anticipate traffic flow – not only does this increase safety, it should lead to a reduction in braking and accelerating, saving you money on fuel costs and reducing CO2 emissions.
Avoid Revving your engine
lewis hamilton
Modern car engines are designed to be efficient from the moment they’re switched on, so revving up like Lewis Hamilton wastes fuel and increases engine wear.
The best way to warm up your vehicle is to drive it – if you’re likely to be idle for more than two minutes, simply switch off the engine.
When accelerating, change gear as early as possible: a vehicle traveling at 35mph in third gear uses 25% more fuel than at the same speed in fifth gear.
The best time to change up a gear is 2500rpm for a petrol car and 2000rpm for a diesel. The more revs you use the harder you are working your engine.
Beware of AC
Fuel efficiency is reduced by up to 10% for air conditioning and by 4% for cars with climate control, so only use it when it’s really necessary – and for best performance, only when you are driving at more than 40mph.
About half of the energy used to drive a car is used to fight aerodynamic drag – so you should also avoid opening your window on a motorway & remove any unnecessary items like roof racks.
Reduce your car use
Most of all car journeys are for less than a few miles but these are the most fuel-inefficient journeys – a cold engine uses almost twice as much fuel. Walk, cycle or catch public transport instead. Also combining shorter trips can also help you save time and fuel.
Try a local car club
If you live in a city then it could pay to join a car club instead of owning your own set of wheels. Membership gets you pay-as-you-go access to cars all over the UK.
The Best Car Clubs in the UK
Energy Saving Trust Video
June 9, 2009
Find the cheapest train tickets online
March 8, 2009
Railcards online
- 16-25 Railcard (www.16-25railcard.co.uk) - For those aged 16 to 25, or 26-plus and in full-time education, costs £24 a year, cuts a third off all standard-class fares.
- Family & Friends Railcard (www.familyandfriends-railcard.co.uk) - Costs £24 for one year or £65 for three years and gives one third off most adult fares and 60 per cent off most children’s fares.
- Senior Railcard – (www.senior-railcard.co.uk) Those aged 60 or over can save a third on most standard and first-class rail fares. The card costs £24 a year, or £65 for three years.
Advance fares Online
Book as far in advance as possible to get a better deal. It is normally possible to book up to 3 months in advance.
Advance tickets are subject to availability and sold on a first come, first served basis.
Try www.thetrainline.com or www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Avoid peak times
If you travel outside peak times, you can also get some great deals on first-class travel.
Season ticket online
The National Rail website has a useful calculator that allows you to check if you could save money by buying a season ticket.
Say no to 0870
March 8, 2009
Here are the average call costs for number starting with 08
- 0870 ‘National Call’. Can cost up to 10p/min
- 0845 ‘Lo-Call’. Can cost up to 7p/min
- 0871. Can cost up to 11p/min
- 0844. Can cost up to 6p/min
Vistit the website SayNoTo0870.com to search for ‘alternative numbers’ for major 08 numbers to help you work around the charges.
How to save money on your home phone
February 9, 2009
Top money saving tips to cut the cost of your home phone bill online:
Read your phone bill online. Charges to mobiles, long-distance and International calls are all charged at different rates depending on when you make them. So read your phone bill and work out what types of calls you make so you know which phone package is best for you.
Use a price comparison site to compare home home deals for your area simply and easily.
If you don’t use your phone much go for a simple phone tariff with no monthly charge where you simply pay for the calls you make.
If you make a lot of weekend and evening calls it might be worth paying a few pounds a month in exchange for free evening and weekend calls to landlines.
If you make a lot of phone calls at all times of the day, it might be cheaper to pay around £8 – £15 per month for free anytime calls to UK landlines.
You could always try Skype’s free software, which works seamlessly with your internet connection, to chat away with free Skype-to-Skype calls and never worry about cost, time or distance.
How to save money on your Gas & Electricity
February 8, 2009
1. Pay monthly by direct debit as suppliers often offer a discount if you set up a direct debit
2. Use a price comparison site to compare all the Gas & Electricity suppliers
3. Choosing online billing may also reduce your gas and electricity bills. It’s also convenient and better for the environment too!
4. Gas and electricity suppliers also offer discounts when you have both your gas and electricity with one supplier.
6. Reduce your electricity usage by turning off lights and appliances and by using energy efficient light bulbs.
7. Reduce your gas usage by turning down your thermostat degree, closing curtains at night and by insulating your loft. Read our Saving Energy guide for more energy saving tips and advice.
8. Switch now if you’ve never switched gas and electricity supplier.
9. Energy grant There are grants available for improving home heating and insulation. Go to the Energy Saving Trust’s energy grant search for more details.
10. Think twice before you sign up to a price capped tariff. Whilst they have the benefit that the price won’t rise for a fixed period, the cheapest capped tariffs can be more expensive than the cheapest uncapped tariffs and you may be locked in to the tariff for a year. It’s better to have the freedom to switch and save whenever you want.
How to save money on your Broadband Online
February 7, 2009
Top money saving tips to cut the cost of your broadband bill online:
1. Look at combined deals which offer cheaper deals when combining your broadband, TV, home phone and mobile phone with one provider.
2. Use a price comparison site to compare broadband suppliers and prices for your area simply and easily.
3. The longer the contract length the cheaper it can be. If you’re happy to sign up for 18 or 24 months then you can sometimes get a cheaper deal.
4. Go for a 2 Mbps connection. Unless download loads of videos or music files, speeds of 2 Mbps should be enough and these deals tend to be cheaper than the 8 Mbps packages.
5. Avoid cheap deals with low download limits. If you go over your monthly download limit the additional charges can be steep. Look for a package with unlimited downloads, or check your typical monthly download usage before you sign up to a new package.
6. Consider the true cost. Look at all of the costs involved, such as activation/connection costs & hardware costs.
7. Watch out for hidden extras.
8. Nothing in life is ever ‘free’. Some mobile operators have been offering a free laptop of playstation with their broadband packages. Multiply the monthly subscription cost by the contract length to work out the true cost and compare that to a cheaper deal to find out how much you’re paying for the freebie. Failing that, you could always sell the freebie on eBay to pay for your broadband!
Water Saving Tips
February 4, 2009
Top Tips for water saving:
- Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth. Keeping it running can waste around 6 litres per minute
- Have a shower instead of a bath, it uses a 1/3 of the water
- Install a water meter which makes you more aware of how much you are using.
- Only fill the kettle to the amount you need, saving both water and electricity.
- Choose water efficient toilet – look for loos with a short and a long flush.
- Don’t use your washing machine / dishwasher until you have a full load.
- Buy simple water saving devices like Water Saving Showerhead & water butt
