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July 16, 2018   |   Articles

14 apps to save you money on your holiday

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Cut the cost of your holiday by downloading these 14 travel apps to your phone or tablet.

I’ve never been the person who just buys a package holiday and leaves it at that. I’ll shop around to get the cheapest I can on hotels, flights, travel money – pretty much everything. And apps can be a big help.

Here are some of the top apps you should download to plan your holiday, and save even more when you are away.

Each is available for iOS and Android. And you can also use your phone’s browser to go to the webpages for each of these.

Apps to save on your flights and hotels bookings

Probably the biggest expenses of most holidays – and where you can make the biggest savings.

1. Skyscanner

2. Kayak

These are both travel comparison apps which are great for that first wistful daydream to find the destinations for your budget. I tend to prefer Skyscanner for flights and Kayak for hotels.

3. Seat Guru

With flight shares (where different airlines share a route) you never really know who you’re flying with and what that means.

This app lets you enter the flight number to find out the type of aircraft, who is operating the flight, the facilities onboard (such as in-seat movies), and read reviews of different seats, helping you get the best value for your money.

4. Airbnb

Often far cheaper than a hotel, Airbnb is the service where people let out their spare room – and sometimes their whole home.

As long as you read the reviews you shouldn’t go too far wrong. Plus an added bonus is the local knowledge you get from your hosts.

Apps to save on your travel money

The worst thing you can do is leave it to the last minute to get your cash. I’ve written about how to get the best deal already, but these apps will make sure you know what you’re spending – and at the lowest rate.

5. XE

When I’m away I always use XE to get a rough idea of how the local currency converts to sterling. It won’t be exact (that depends on how you pay) but it should help you work out if it’s a decent price, and if it’s in your holiday budget.

6. Starling

7. Monzo

Starling and Monzo are two app-only digital banks are managed from your phone rather than in a branch. One of the reasons they’re stand out from other banks is you won’t get charged for spending overseas or withdraw cash from an ATM (though Monzo has a £200 monthly limit before a 3% fee is charged). When you use the card you’ll also be instantly sent a notification of how much you’ve spent, converted to pounds – though you obviously need data turned on for this to work.

Apps to save on your mobile data

I’m so used to doing everything on my phone that it’s a bit of a shock being restricted when on holiday. Yes, it can be nice to switch off, but there are advantages to being able to see what’s a nice place to eat, or find your way around without a big “I’m a tourist” map.

Though in most of Europe now you can use inclusive data, for the rest of the world it’s only Three which allows this, and only in certain locations. So for everywhere else, these apps can help you get online without adding bucketloads on your bill.

8. Wifi Finder

This app will tell you if there’s free wifi near you. It’s crowdsourced so might not always be correct, but it’s a big help. Of course, you need to be online to use it, but I use wifi at the hotel to take a look before heading out.

9. Google Maps

You can buy Sat Nav apps, or city maps, but thanks to a handy trick you can download sections of maps from Google Maps to use offline.

>> Read my guide to saving money on your mobile overseas 

Apps to help you keep in touch

You can also wrack up big bills outside Europe for making calls, sending texts and using other messaging services. But as long as you’re connected to wifi you can talk, share pics and more with these apps.

10. WhatsApp

11. Facebook Messenger

You can make free calls to other WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger users, as well as send photos and instant messages

It’s also worth checking if your mobile network has an app that lets you make calls via the Internet as part of your calls package – meaning you can call landlines back home. Handy if your card gets declined and you need to phone the bank!

Apps to save on your shopping

Though we often think we’re getting a better deal at duty-free or in certain countries, it’s often not the case. So I’ll always use these apps to check the price back in the UK.

12. MySupermarket

13. Idealo

14. Amazon

MySupermarket is useful for things at duty-free, especially booze. I’ll usually pick up a bottle or two of spirits on my way home, but first I’ll check the price against the supermarkets back home. With price wars and promotion in the UK, the airport isn’t always cheaper.

For clothes and gadgets I’ll look at Idealo and Amazon. A pair of Converse I was about to buy in America a few years back were actually cheaper as part of a sale on Amazon.

 

July 12, 2018   |   Articles

When did you last check your bank statement? Nine things to look for

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Mistakes, forgotten direct debits, auto-renewals – just some of the reasons extra cash could be hidden in your bank and credit card statements – if you check them.

I’ve some top things to look out for to make sure you aren’t missing out on YOUR money.

A few weeks back I got a letter in the post from Santander. Nothing strange about that, except I’d closed my account there in early 2017. It turned out some money had been returned to the account rather than the new one – and I hadn’t realised. And it was a decent sum too, just over £180. Really I should have picked this up by checking my bank statements. And normally I do!

A couple of years ago I bought a Reiss suit in the online sales. It was a bargain and one I’d had my eye on for a while. A few days before it was delivered to the store (free delivery naturally), I happened to see it available in a shop. I tried it on, but sadly decided it wasn’t the right fit. The terms and conditions of delivery said uncollected orders would be sent back after 14 days and a refund issued. So I left it.

But checking my statements I saw the refund hadn’t come. I chased and found my order was just sitting in the shop. I’m sure at some point it would have been sent back to their warehouse, but who knows when. And in that time my money wasn’t available for me to spend or earn interest on.

It’s not just purchases where errors happen. As I’ve written about before, I’ve had to claw back money owed to me when switching broadband provider on a couple of occasions. I assumed the money would be automatically refunded, but checking my bank statement it was clear it wasn’t.

These aren’t the only times I’ve found errors, so I expect the same has happened to you – but they can be easy to miss! So you need to check all your payments in and out. I know it’s a big ask and it’s easy to forget what you spent by the time the statement comes through, but online and mobile app banking can make it a lot easier to check on a daily or weekly basis.

To help you, here are my top things to look for each month:

1. Old direct debits

Just like I had with Sky and TalkTalk after I cancelled, your last payment might be too much. Or even worse, it might not be stopped! Get in touch to make sure you get the money back.

You should check active direct debits too, just to make sure you’ve not been overcharged.

2. Double charges

If you’ve ever had a payment machine go wrong on you, you should get a receipt that says the payment was cancelled. Check this is the case.

If you are buying online and the page crashes, there’s no sure way to know you didn’t get charged until you see your statement.

3. Contactless payments

I love contactless. It makes paying so much quicker. But, there’s also the danger, especially when you’re at a bar, that you simply just tap and go without properly checking the amount you’ve been charged. I’ll annoy the cashier/bar person by always asking for a receipt, but you’ll know exactly what you’ve paid. If you don’t want to do that, you’ll need to look at your bank statement.

>> Is contactless your friend or foe?

4. Auto-renewals and subscriptions

Sign up for something like a magazine or annual insurance policy and there’s a good chance you’ve agreed for auto-renewal. But six or 12 months on you’re bound to have forgotten. Ideally put a note in your diary to cancel, or you might even be able to put the cancellation in straight away. The same goes for any free trial you take out but don’t want to continue.

If you do see a charge come through, call the company ASAP as there may be a cooling off period where you can cancel and get a refund.

5. Things you didn’t buy

A few years back my credit card was cloned in America. Checking my statement showed I’d been charged for about $600 of shopping at the US department store JC Pennys. I knew I hadn’t been there so it was a quick and easy call to get the card stopped.

Annoyingly, you’ll often see charges to companies you’ve never heard of, but they usually are just coming through under a parent company name for a place you have actually shopped with, particularly online. But if there’s anything you aren’t sure about, it’s worth a quick google search or calling to check with the bank.

6. Refunds

As I found with my suit order, just because someone says you’ll get a refund, it doesn’t mean you actually will! If I hadn’t looked out for the money in statements it’s easy to assume it’s all gone through.

7. Money you’ve lent to friends

Has a friend said they’ll transfer you some cash you lent on a night out or a meal tab you’ve picked up? It’s easy to forget these payments so I’d advise to keep an eye on your online banking or app and chase your friend if it doesn’t come through.

>> How friends can use your mobile phone number to pay you money

8. Points and cashback

I earn cashback on pretty much everything I spend on my American Express, and sometimes there are additional offers. Most of the time they come through fine, but at times I’ve had to call up. Check you’re getting all the points or cashback you’re entitled too.

9. Interest

You’ll know by now that I’m a big fan of switching bank and taking advantage of the different offers available for doing so. One of the main ones is to get up to 5% interest on savings. However, with each of these switches there are terms and conditions such as requiring a certain number of Direct Debits or paying in a minimum amount each month. If these don’t happen, you don’t get your interest.

Last year I realised I wasn’t getting the interest on my Lloyds Club account. And the reason? One of my charity Direct Debits had been cancelled by the charity! I’ve no idea why, but it meant I’d misssed out on two months of interest.

>> See if you could be better off switching bank with the latest offers

July 10, 2018   |   Articles

Is the latest model worth the extra money?

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I found two TVs on sale which were practically the same – but had a £250 difference in price.

Sometimes a new version is blatantly different, even if the main reason for change is to generate more sales. A new football kit, for example, will look different to the previous season’s. Sometimes the updates are hidden but make a difference, such as the change from an iPhone 7 to an iPhone 7S.

Now, whether they are worth paying for is up to you. The older versions still do the job they were designed for, but at least there are tangible changes to partially justify shelling out for an upgrade. But that’s not always the case.

A tale of two TVs

One of the families I recently visited as part of Channel 5’s Shop Smart Save Money was after a new TV. Prior to my visit they’d spotted a 49″ Sony model at Curry’s. The cost, a hefty £799. My job was to help them make some savings, and mum Debs had already searched online and found it for £50 less at Huges Electrical. I couldn’t beat that price by much, just a few per cent using cashback sites. But I noticed this was a brand new model. So I had a look at the long and confusing model number: Sony KD49XF7073SU.

The model number is the key to work out exactly what you’re getting. It just doesn’t make much sense! However a quick Google and I found an explanation of the different characters. For this TV, ‘KD’ just means it’s a Sony Bravia TV while ’49’ is the screen size. ‘X’ signifies it’s a 4K TV. The next one is the model year, with an ‘F’ telling us it’s a 2018 release.

The next two digits show the spec, so the higher the number, the more features it has, while the next two numbers are cosmetic such as different colours. While the final two letters (if they are mentioned) tell us it’s got a UK plug.

So armed with this information I had a quick search for Sony TVs with similar model numbers And not only did I find a similar number, I found an exact match with just one difference. There was an ‘E’ for 2017 in the model number. And this Sony KD49XF7073SU cost just £499.

Ok, you’re probably thinking a newer version of something should be better right? Why would you upgrade something that’s perfectly fine if you haven’t improved it somehow? And normally that’s the case. But when I compared the specifications for these two TVs on the Sony website, all the features looked the same.

In fact they were so similar the only differences I could find were the inbuilt speaker and the stand design. Ok, you might prefer the look of the 2018 stand. And the speaker might be better. But are they worth £250? If like the family after the TV it was going to be hung on a wall, the stand became irrelevant, and many people plug in a soundbar so it doesn’t matter what the built-in speakers are like.

So in this instance, the latest model isn’t an upgrade, it’s just a way for Sony and the retailers to make more money. But you can use it do save decent money as retailers look to clear out older versions by cutting prices.

Still want the new model?

Comparing prices is obviously a great way to save money, but while you’re at it, also check out the price history. This could help you work out whether just waiting a few weeks or months could save you a little more cash.

The 2018 model of this TV was released in mid-June at £799, which was the price listed when I did the research. Using price comparison site Idealo I can see that within two weeks it was available for as low as £699. So with most tech, this suggests it’s not worth getting it in the first few weeks.

And if it follows the same pattern as the 2017 model, it could well drop again in a few months. The 2017 model was below £600 by late September. So finding out the price history of similar models could help you know the best time to buy.

How to decipher model numbers

In most model numbers each character represents some variation from a similar version. It could be the age of the model as with the TVs above, or it could be additional features – which you won’t necessarily need.

For example, when I was looking for a new oven I found one letter difference between the two models. One ended with a ‘B’, the other with ‘BP’. The price difference was £240. so what was the ‘P’? It essentially stood for “Pyrolytic” – an enhanced self-cleaning mode. Yeah, nice to have, but not for £240.

Once you’ve worked out the differences, use this information then to swap characters, or ditch them completely to see if there’s a similar but cheaper alternative.

Find a guide to model numbers

Ideally you’ll find a guide online like I did for Sony, though this won’t always be possible. But it’s worth searching, or even asking in store.

Look for obvious differences

If you look at a couple of similar models it doesn’t take long to work out some of the characters.  An S might stand for Silver and a W for White. Easy. A higher number usually means it’s higher spec, and so on.

Other characters might require a little more work, but as with the oven I bought it can be worth it. Often all you need to do is read the description online and see if there’s a key word different, such as the Pyrolytic feature of the more expensive oven.

Compare features on the manufacturer website

Sometimes though, codes change significantly when a new model is released. When this happens it’s best to use the manufacturer’s website as you get to compare all the models, not just the ones sold by a retailer. You can then use filters to narrow down your search based on the features listed. Here’s an example.

Last week I spotted a Miele washing machine on special offer. Our current machine is working OK, but it’s over a decade old. Being Miele, the new one wasn’t cheap, but as it was from 2016 and not listed on the Miele website I assumed it was an end of the line model – meaning the clearance price could have been significantly less than the current model.

However, I couldn’t find it on sale anywhere else in the UK to compare, and there were lots of models with very similar codes. There’d be no point buying if the discount was only £50!

So instead I found the full specs for the washing machine on Miele’s Hong Kong website, then used the search function on Meile’s UK site to filter out any current machines without those features. I managed to nail it down to one model which was practically the same apart from one enhancement. The difference in price was £700!! However, it was still too much to splash out right now, as tempted as I was!

More on how I save money on appliances and tech

Cash Chats ep 58: How I get the best value on tech and appliances

Read more about the savings I found when I visited Debs and Neil

£1k challenge: Debs and Neil

June 20, 2018   |   Articles

£1k challenge: Frankie & Scott

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My final £1k challenge of this run of Shop Smart Save Money covers savings, holidays and cashback credit cards.

I freely admit I’m a bit of a money saving geek, so I have a decent arsenal of tricks and tips which I doubt many actually use day-in, day-out like me. Even so, when this week’s family professed to be pretty good with their cash I was worried I might not be able to beat the £1k challenge.

But when I headed to Peterborough to meet Frankie and Scott, my first saving was already waiting for me at the front door (OK, a bit of TV trickery meant we had to put a pretend box out as we couldn’t show the branding!). Here’s how I did, and a little more about how you can take up some of the same savings.

Monthly recipe boxes

The family get a Gousto food box delivered to their door every month. These come with all the ingredients you need to make a series of meals. Convenient? Yes. Cheap? No.

I asked the Shop Smart Save Money team to crunch some numbers for me to work out just how much more expensive it was to get meals this way rather than pop to the supermarket.

If you go on the prices for those exact ingredients, do gram for gram the savings worked out as a huge £28.33 a box!

So it’s certainly cheaper to buy it all yourself. And since Frankie works at a Tesco, the convenience argument doesn’t really work!

I’ve written in more detail about whether recipe boxes are worth the money. You can also see a breakdown of the calculations we used for the programme.

Save £340

Reward credit card

Frankie is a smart shopper – she’s got more loyalty cards than I’ve ever seen and has two wallets to hold them all. But while delving through her purse I spotted an M&S credit card.These aren’t bad. You earn 0.2% back for every £1 you spend, but with a spend of £300 or £400 a month, means I think Frankie only earns £10 a year, more or less. She could do better.I recommended an American Express Platinum Cashback credit card which gives 5% for the first three months (up to a maximum of £125) and then 1% after. I reckon that’d make them around £150 over the first year.

As Frankie pointed out, there is a £25 fee, but you can usually get this back if you apply via a cashback site.

Of course, with any credit card spending you need to clear the whole balance off of every month to avoid getting charged interest, which would make the cashback pointless.

Save £140

Savings

Frankie and Scott have got £4,000 in savings, but it’s earning nothing at all! Instead I suggested they open up a Nationwide FlexDirect current account each. I’ve got one of these and it offers 5% on £2,500 for the first year. The best interest you can get on cash savings right now.

Save £200

Holiday

When they go away, Frankie and Scott don’t do anything themselves when booking. They simply head to the local Thomas Cook and ask them to book something that meets their requirements and fits their budget.

So I asked them for a holiday brief. They wanted seven nights bed and breakfast for three in Turkey during the summer holidays. The hotel needed to be at least three stars and have a swimming pool. I had a look on the Thomas Cook website and found one that fitted the bill for £2,236.

The seemed quite happy with that, but I wanted to see if I could do better than a travel agent. I managed to get exactly the same holiday for just £1,906, simply by booking each stage individually. And I mean exactly the same holiday. It was exactly the same flights, exactly the same hotel (though with a bigger suite rather than three-bed family room) and some transfers. Then there was even 10% cashback on the hotel on top.

That’s not to say you can’t get package holiday bargains, and they can come with added consumer protection, but it pays to check the cost of the component parts. I’ll write more about this in a few weeks.

Save £330 + £66 extra from hotel cashback

Holiday cash

Frankie and Scott tend to get their cash where they get their holiday. And this costs them.

They normally spend around £1,000 so I looked up the price on the day of filming for Turkish Lira. You’d get 5,633 lira for this from Thomas Cook. But by comparing prices online I worked out the cheapest rate near them was with either Sainsbury’s or Asda.

They’d get 5,873 lira for £1,000, and that extra 240 lira was worth £41, which as Frankie said, that’s a whole meal out in Turkey.

Save £41

Free student railcard

Finally, I was asked to recommend a student bank account for their daughter who’s heading off to university in the autumn.

One of the best is with Santander as you get a four-year 18-25 Railcard. Though a one-year card costs £30, you can get a three-year one for £70, so £100 seems like a fair value.

Save £100

How did I do?

So I managed to beat the challenge once again. The total this week – if the family take all my suggested actions – is £1,217.

You can watch me on Shop Smart Save Money on Channel 5 every Wednesday in June at 8pm, and you can read about the other families I’m helping as part of the series.

June 13, 2018   |   Articles

£1k challenge: Debs and Neil

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In my second £1k challenge for Shop Smart Save Money, I travelled to Matlock in Derbyshire to meet Debs, Neil and Amelia.

I’m really enjoying seeing how my suggestions for savings can work for families in real life. Of course the idea isn’t to completely fix the family’s finances, but just to find a handful of manageable changes which can bring in some extra cash. My target was £1,000 once more, but the challenge this week was a lot tougher as mum of two Debs is on top of a lot the things I’d suggest. Still, I was confident I could find some easy extras to save a grand. Here’s how it went.

Using loyalty points

Debs had her purse by the front door so I had a little look inside. Straight away I found Tesco vouchers which had expired, and Debs told me they often forget to use the points earned via Clubcard too. She hadn’t used any for over a year, and some had already gone out of date. Since Clubcard vouchers last for two years from issue there were a few more approaching expiration. It’s a waste of money to not use these. Debs said she was unlikely to boost the points, so rather than lose the £40 she had sitting in her account, I suggested just spending them in-store on her next shop.

Saving £40

Getting a new mobile phone

The whole family is on Vodafone, spending about £80 a month. Youngest daughter Amelia’s contract is about to end and she was planning to upgrade to a new iPhone 7 as part of the renewal. This wouldn’t have been cheap, working out at £9.99 upfront and £43 a month, and she’d have been tied in for 24 months. The total cost would have been £1,041 over those two years.

A better option, and this is what I do, is to buy the new phone upfront and then get a SIM only deal. Most of the time doing it this way will work out cheaper – though it’s worth checking upgrade options just in case there’s a special offer.

For Amelia, the best bet for the iPhone was direct with Apple. It’s just relaunched a 0% interest plan, so you can spread the cost of the handset out over 12 months. An alternative is to buy it on a 0% interest credit card which may give you more time to clear the cost, though you obviously need to make sure you do that before the 0% period ends.

Then for the data, calls and texts there were quite a few cheap options. I suggested one using the ID network (which works over the Three network) for £10 a month, though she probably could have gone for one a little cheaper if I’d had time to look at how many calls she actually makes and how much data she uses. This contract was only for 12 months, so she’d have more freedom to look at deals again in a year.

The total cost for the phone and SIM over two years would be just £789! A massive £252 saving. However, since the challenge is about annual savings, I halved that to £126 to add to my running total.

Saving £126

Selling an old mobile phone

With a brand spanking new iPhone, Amelia didn’t need her current iPhone 6. She could pass that on to another family member, but if she (or more likely Debs and Neil) wanted to cover some of the costs of the upgrade then it’s worth selling.

Personally, I use eBay when I sell old handsets as I’ve found I can get a little bit more cash. But the family weren’t keen on the hassle so instead I suggested a quicker route which was to use online comparison sites. When I had a look she’d get £80 for her phone, which was in very good condition.

Saving £80

Cutting down Sky costs

Debs and Neil spend £67 a month on Sky every month. A huge £804 a year – and that’s with a discount. They have all the channels, so entertainment, movies and sports. But I had a look at their Sky + box and most of the recordings were of programmes on free-to-air channels, with the odd drama from Fox or Sky Atlantic. They hardly watch the movies and Neil only really watched Manchester United matches on Sky Sports.

So instead I suggested they got rid of Sky TV completely and replace it with NOW TV. Sky actually owns NOW TV, which is an online streaming service like Netflix or iPlayer. You can watch channels live or on demand, but you can’t record them. However the savings are massive.

They admit they don’t need the Sky Cinema channels, but they do want to keep the normal TV ones. A year of these with a NOW TV Entertainment Pass (and a box to connect to their TV) would cost £57 for a year. In fact there are often so many deals I’d expect they’d be able to get it for less if they wanted.

I had a look at how often Man Utd were on Sky and found on average it’s 24 games a season. If Neil got a day pass to watch each of these games on NOW TV the total cost would be £191.76. Far cheaper than subscribing to Sky. Again, he could probably get these cheaper by looking for deals or taking out the odd week pass.

The only downside would be the Sky + box would stop working, so they couldn’t record the free channels. But for £125 they could pick up a BT YouView box. We’ve got one of these and it works great. Even with this purchase the saving from just one year without Sky is massive, and will be bigger in year two.

Saving £430

Trying a smaller energy company

Debs already fixes her energy, but with her 12-month deal about to end she planned to fix again. She said she’d stick with one of the big companies, possibly staying with NPower. That would save her £432. Great. But I couldn’t claim that one for the challenge as she as already going to do it.

However, I took a look on a comparison site to check out the other options, and in just a few minutes I found a small provider called Arvo could beat the price. It had decent reviews and no exit penalties, so Debs could switch away if she wasn’t happy with the service. And this was £108 cheaper than the Npower fix, plus she could claim £25 cashback.

Saving £133

Buying a new TV

Shop Smart Save Money and Be Clever With Your Cash aren’t just about saving money. A big part of both is getting the best value when you spend money so I asked if there was a big purchase the family were planning on making.

They came back with a new TV, showing me a Sony model they liked the look of in Curry’s at £799. Debs had already found a £50 off deal with Hughes Electrical. I couldn’t find it cheaper than that. But I did notice that this was a brand new model, literally out this month. The previous year’s model is still available, and having contacted Sony, the only significant difference is that it has a different stand. So it’s essentially the very same TV! And that was on sale at John Lewis for £499.

Saving £250

How did I do?

So I managed to beat the challenge once again. The total this week – if the family take all my suggested actions – is £1,183.

You can watch me on Shop Smart Save Money on Channel 5 every Wednesday in June at 8pm, and you can read about the other families I’m helping as part of the series.

June 6, 2018   |   Articles

£1k challenge: Sophie & Rakesh

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Can I save this family £1,000?

Something I love as the resident money expert on Channel 5’s Shop Smart Save Money is that they don’t just accept that I can save people cash – they want me to prove it! So every week I’m sent to meet a family who could do with some extra money and challenged to find them at least £1,000 of savings in a few hours.

Now I’m confident I can do this for pretty much any family as even the savviest won’t be doing everything – and they probably don’t need to. But I’m a little bit different as I genuinely enjoy finding new ways to get better value for my money. So when I meet the family I’ve probably got something up my sleeve!

My first challenge was from Sophie and Rakesh who live in Birmingham. They were a great couple who admitted to sometimes spending money they shouldn’t – including £300 on a piano neither can play! But they’ve got hopes to move into a house which will be the family home for a good few years, and need cash to build up the deposit.

So here’s a bit more info on each of the savings I found. If you didn’t catch the episode live, you can watch it on Channel 5’s catch up service.

Their car

I started before I even got into the house. Their car has seen better days. Handed down from Sophie’s dad it’s been good to them but now the cost of keeping it going was becoming prohibitive. Last year they spent £820 making it roadworthy, and they’ve got an MOT around the corner which they don’t think it would pass without even more money thrown at it.

Not only that, but they hardly use it. Sophie estimated they drove it just 10 to 15 miles a week. That’s mainly because Rakesh walks to the train station to get to work, and Sophie uses the bus. The car journeys were pretty much just to take son Leo to nursery, but that was only 10-minute walk away.

So I suggested they should ditch get rid of their car. Yes, I know that sounds a little extreme – but I think a good option for them as the savings were pretty decent, even using a conservative estimate on repairs. They’d also get around £200 for scrapping or selling the car. So the money back in their pocket would break down like this:

  • £552 – Car insurance
  • £205 – Road tax
  • £472 – Repairs (average annual cost in the UK)
  • £200 – Scrapping or selling

That’s a huge £1,429 year!!! Of course, that would have been too easy. Challenge over. And realistically Sophie and Rakesh would still want to make the odd trip. So having no car at all probably isn’t feasible.

But for the amount they use the car I think they could be better off using a car club. The one I found five minutes from their house costs £50 a year to join. Then it’s £4 an hour plus mileage. But how much will that cost over the year? Well, a 200-mile journey from their home to the seaside at Weston Super Mare would cost £71.30. If they do a big journey like that once a month (which they probably wouldn’t) and a handful of shorter journeys I still don’t think they’d spend more than £1,000 a year on the car club.

Total saving: £400

Unused gift cards

I like to get my hands on the families’ wallets and purses to learn a little about their spending, so once inside the house I asked Rakesh if I could have a nose inside his.

The first thing I noticed was just how many gift cards he had. There was one for House of Fraser, another for Asda, a handful from returns to Wickes and a few more. What’s the problem with that you might ask?

Well, most gift cards have expiry dates and easily run out, they can get lost or forgotten, and they become valueless when companies go bust – that £50 House of Fraser card is a good example where the money could be at risk. In fact, an estimated £90million of the £6billion spent each year on gift cards is unused. A total waste of cash.

The cards in Rakesh’s wallet had all been in there for a long time. Sophie was proud that she’d got 4% off the Asda card – but they’ve been shopping elsewhere and not used it. They’d even been back to Wickes and forgotten to use the gift cards! So I think they had two options if they didn’t want to lose £200. They could use them as soon as possible (ideally on things they need) or sell them via online marketplaces. They’d obviously not get the full price for the latter, but even a 10% loss is better than letting them become valueless.

Total saving: £180

Bank accounts

Regular readers will know I’m passionate about switching banks and getting some kind of deal. Sophie and Rakesh had a few accounts between them, including a joint Natwest account which earned cashback on bills – great. But both also had one account each which wasn’t doing much in terms of rewards.

So I suggested a simple switch to immediately help the household finances. Moving from their respective banks to Marks & Spencer Bank would earn each £125 in M&S vouchers. Then they get another £5 voucher a month for a year. And both of them could do this! They could use these on food or clothes for Leo and put the money they’d normally have spent here towards their savings.

Now to get the £125 voucher you do need to fully switch your old account including two active Direct Debits. This means closing down the old account. But all your payments in and out are transferred for you, and monitored for at least three years. I’ve done this a lot and it’s been fine every time, but if something did go wrong there’s a guarantee which means you wouldn’t be out of pocket. For the extra £5 a month, account holders need to pay in at least £1,000 a month and keep those two Direct Debits.

Total saving: £370 

Broadband

I had a look at their bills too, and one stood out. Sophie and Rakesh are currently paying £23 for phone and broadband from Sky, but that is due to go up to £30 odd in the next month. So it was definitely time to switch.

The best deal I could find at the time of filming was with Plusnet for just £10 after cashback. It was the same speed and the price was locked for 12 months – but £20 less a month.

Total saving: £240

Packed lunch

Finally I wanted to tackle Rakesh’s pricey lunch habit. Apparently, even when Sophie made him a decent meal to take to work, he still popped out to get a Pret or burrito. This isn’t uncommon. And I get that it’s nice to mix up your meals each day. But the savings you can make are huge.

The average people spend when they buy a lunch near work is £1,800. That’s roughly £7 or £8 a meal. See how quickly it adds up! Of course a packed lunch isn’t free – whether it’s sarnies or leftovers you still need to pay for those ingredients. So the average spend here is just £600.

But Rakesh wasn’t going to do this every day. So instead I suggested doing this just two or three days a week. That should make it easier to stick to, and still gives a massive saving of £600 a year.

Total saving: £600

How did I do?

Well, if Sophie and Rakesh take all of these savings on, they’re going to be better of by £1,790! So I smashed the challenge in my first week. I’ll need to reign it in for future episodes otherwise there’s a chance I might run out of new tips to share.

You can watch me on Shop Smart Save Money on Channel 5 every Wednesday in June at 8pm.

June 6, 2018   |   Articles

Save money on football shirts

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Replica football shirts aren’t cheap, and with the World Cup around the corner I’ve taken a look at how you can spend less on your official kit.

I’m a huge Crystal Palace fan, and I’ve been tempted a few times to upgrade to the new shirt, but the frequency in which the club (and all clubs to be fair) release a new design has put me off. There’s the home kit, away kit and then a third kit! And 12 months later, it’s out of date. I don’t think I’ve actually bought a new version of the shirt since my mid-20s.

Still, if you do want or need to update your shirt, or you’ve kids who are pestering you to get the latest version, then expect to pay more than you really should. £50 to £60 for an adult’s sports shirt really doesn’t justify the quality of the shirt. And the junior shirts aren’t much less. Plus there can be further costs on top!

But if you’re in the market for a 2018 England shirt, here are a few ways you can get the price down.

Watch me share these tips on Shop Smart Save Money

Shop around

The FA, so the equivalent of buying direct from the club, sells an adult shirt for £64.95 and a kids’ shirt for £51.95. Postage is an extra £4.50.

But over at Sport’s Direct you pay just £54.99 for an adult shirt and £39.99 for a junior shirt. A top saving. However, there’s also £4.99 postage on top if you order online.

Don’t pay for personalisation

If you want your new shirt personalised with a name and number then you’ll also pay extra – most of the time.

The FA adds £12 for a player and number, or for you to pick your own (max of 11 characters). Sports Direct adds £1 per character and £4 per digit. It get’s expensive!!

However, if you head to Nike, who manufacture the kit, there’s no extra charge! Yes, it’s more than a plain shirt at Sports Direct, but it works out cheaper with the addition. You can pick a selection of the current England squad, or if you want to add your own name there is a limit to eight characters. For adults this is £64.95 and for kids it’s £51.95.

A word of warning, if a shirt has been personalised you won’t be able to return it – so do try it on first in a shop.

Avoid the premium fabrics

You can actually get two versions of the new England kit, There’s a ‘breathe” version, which is the standard kit or a  “vapour” version, which costs around £25 more. Are you a pro-athlete, or are you just wearing it to the pub? It’s just another marketing ploy to get you to shell out more. Avoid.

Buy an old kit

Unless you’re going to be buying a new kit every season or tournament, then whatever shirt you are buying will be out of date in 12 months. So why not just get last season’s in the sale? The 2017/18 Palace shirt was available for £20. Since the England shirts change every two years, these are harder to pick up than club shirts.

Or embrace the old styles and buy a retro kit. These still aren’t cheap, but seem to be selling for £20 or so less than the latest versions, and they let you embrace a bit of your team’s heritage. Kitbag seems to have a selection including Euro ’96 and 1990 World Cup for £34.99 before delivery.

I actually still have my classic 1997 Palace shirt, which incidentally the club has just reissued – and it’ll only cost £35…

 

May 30, 2018   |   Articles

EasyHotel review: Why I’ll never stay in one again

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A budget hotel at a budget price – but sometimes you really should pay more.

Even though I now live in Yorkshire, I still regularly head back to London. Last weekend was one such time. I was down for three days for my last day in my full-time job and a two-day festival, meeting up with different friends each day. Though I could have sofa-surfed each night, I’d had to bring a small suitcase with me, and I couldn’t take that to the festival. So I looked for hotels.

Now these aren’t cheap most weekends in London, but as this was a bank holiday prices were sky high. Fortunately, EasyHotel ran a flash sale, and I managed to get three nights at the EasyHotel in Croydon for a total of £95. It was a bit further out that I’d have liked, but a lot cheaper than a more central location.

At that price I expected things to be basic – which they were – but I didn’t expect what actually happened during my stay which . So I’ve broken this review down into two parts. The uneventful first two nights, and the stressful, sleep-deprived third night,

My first two nights – the EasyHotel review

The room was very basic. But I knew it would be. I’d paid a little more to get a room with a window, though these aren’t rooms you’re going to spend much time in even if you do have a little natural light.

The room contained two single beds. That’s pretty much it. No wardrobe, TV, side tables or stand for your luggage. There was a fixed coat hanger which I used to hang my towel after showering.

The bathroom was also very basic and very small, managing to cram in a loo, a sink and a shower. But it worked fine – though the single soap/shower gel dispenser didn’t pump so I had to take the lid off and scoop to wash my hands!

I actually slept OK both nights, though it was a very hot weekend and the fan wasn’t great. But I actually thought it’s not a bad place for someone travelling on their own. However, I wouldn’t have stayed there with another person – there just wasn’t enough room.

As I was on my own I used the second bed to lay out my suitcase and other things. If I’d had to put it on the floor it would have been incredibly difficult to get in and out of the bed and move around the room. Double rooms are no different, you’ve just space both sides of the bed rather than between the beds.

(Oh, a side note, there was a very random “shop” off the main lobby dedicated to all things “Easy”. Such as free luggage tags for EasyJet and beach balls for EasyHolidays. A really big shop and really weird. I’ve no idea why it exists.)

EasyHotel room
Here’s the very small room!

My third night – a stay is about more than a room

My festival was in East London and finished at 11pm, so I didn’t get back to the hotel until around 12.30, where I found all the guests waiting in the lobby. Other guests reported water streaming down walls and through light fittings and electrical sockets. Water was visably dripping through the ceiling in the hallways, and the leak went all the way from the seventh floor down to the toilets on the ground floor by reception. Guests were a mix of upset, angry and confused, and above all concerned for their safety. It certainly didn’t seem like a good idea to go back to the rooms!

Here’s the water dripping through the light fitting outside my room

The fire brigade arrived just before 1am and left not long after. I didn’t speak with them but other guests reported them as saying people really shouldn’t go back to their rooms. When EasyHotel’s maintenance crew arrived at 2am they found water had also come through the main electrical switcher cupboards, as well as knocking out some of the fire alarms. I was told that really no one should have been allowed back into the hotel until this had been checked and repaired.

However, the communication from the staff member was all over the place, saying both go to your rooms and don’t go to your rooms, sometimes in the same sentence. And at no time did anyone from EasyHotel head over to help the beleaguered desk clerk (when I checked out out the next day at 8.30 am I was told the manager himself wasn’t due in until 10am!) Whether it’s poor training or just the lack of a crisis management process, the situation was handled awfully.

And this is the major reason I’d not stay in an EasyHotel again. Ok, there wasn’t another incident that night, or cause for a further evacuation, but if there had been I’ve no confidence in the equipment or the competence of the staff to get everyone out safe. Even when I’m paying less for a basic room, I still expect there to be processes and standards in place that don’t affect my safety. You can’t cut corners on heath and safety.

But there’s another reason I’m giving EasyHotel the thumbs down.

During all this I found a disabled couple on the fifth floor who had been left there since the alarm went off. They were very distressed, and not clear what was going on. I made the desk clerk aware of this, and asked him to prioritise helping them – either directly or by getting someone from further up the chain to assist. This did not happen. I was told it was not possible to rehouse them at a different hotel. The disabled couple did manage to get downstairs on their own around 3am, having had no contact from the staff, with the woman in tears. They were still in the lobby at 8.30am when I left for my train.

I think this is appalling. There was another disabled guest who was also virtually ignored, though she’d made it down to reception on her own earlier. Yes it was stressful for the staff member, and yes the fire brigade hadn’t evacuated the hotel, but the treatment this couple got was just not on, and it’s something EasyHotel needs to address. Another reason why I won’t be giving any more money to EasyHotel.

At least I got my money back

As for me, well my room on the sixth floor was one of those flooded. It was lucky I had put my suitcase and belongings on the second bed as otherwise it would all have been sitting in a centimetre of water. Ok, not great. And I’d obviously not be able to sleep there that night. Though the hotel was apparently sold out, at around 4.30, as one of the last remaining guests still unable to return to their room, I was finally given a new room that wasn’t flooded. I got about three hours sleep before I had to go!

The next day I was offered the money back for that night and a free stay back at the EasyHotel Croydon. No chance. However, a few more emails and I got the money back for the whole stay – another example where it pays to ask for what you want and not take what you’re offered when you complain.

The flood in my room!

What EasyHotel say

I asked EasyHotel to respond to the following questions, and you can read their responses further down the page. I’ve offered to discuss what happened with them further, so we’ll see what happens.

My questions for EasyHotel

1. Why did the hotel manager or a senior member of the EasyHotel/EasyGroup team not immediately begin travelling to the hotel to help deal with the issue?

2. What is the policy for evacuation and returning to rooms after a fire alarm?

3. What should have happened with disabled guests when a fire alarm is raised?

4. Is there a policy to rehouse at-risk guests? If so what is it?

5. What is the “crisis management” or equivalent policy to assist the member of staff and communicate with upset/angry guests?

6. Which of these policies were not followed, and why?

7. What training is given to members of staff to deal with situations like this?

EasyHotel’s reply

‘Parts of London experienced torrential rain on Saturday night. Unfortunately, some rooms in our Croydon hotel were affected by flooding due to the extraordinary volume of rain that fell.

The Fire Brigade were called to attend by the Hotel management team as a precautionary measure. Clearly this was disruptive, but guest safety is our number one priority.

Clearly, this was a significant and complex disruption in the middle of the night and we have apologised to all guests affected for the inconvenience caused. Guests were offered a late-checkout due and all affected guests have been offered a full refund.

At no time did the Fire Brigade advise evacuation. Had they done so, we would have acted immediately. Guests were never in any danger and all electrical systems in the hotel are fully protected from water. Our crisis management policies were followed. On the Fire Brigade’s advice we moved affected guests to alternative rooms in the hotel once we had been given the all-clear. Only two rooms were taken out of service as a result of the flooding.

For guests with impaired or limited mobility we have a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan. Had the Fire Brigade asked us to evacuate, the plan would have been enacted immediately.

Our staff worked hard, in challenging circumstances, to resolve the incident. We have instructed a contractor to review the capacity of the Hotel’s drainage and guttering system to ensure that this freak incident does not recur.

With any incident, we carry out a post-incident review. Guest safety is our number one priority. If there are lessons to be learnt, we will do so and revise our policies accordingly.’

May 15, 2018   |   Articles

Why 0% currency commission is a lie

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Don’t fall for the false promises to get the best rates on your currency.

Commission-free sounds great, doesn’t it? Why wouldn’t you go to that bank or bureau de change to get your currency? It surely means you’re not getting charged a penny – not one penny – to swap your sterling for euros, dollars and yen. Except it doesn’t.

These banks and bureau de changes still make cash by setting their own exchange rate. Yes, it’s based on the real rate, but there’s no rule that says it has to be the same. So the claim you’re getting something without commission just isn’t true.

And it’s not just small places claiming to offer 0% commission on currency conversions. Big brands such as Post Office, Asda and Lloyds all say the same.

Of course, I’m not saying these places shouldn’t make money from the transaction. If they didn’t how would they pay staff or cover overheads? But it’s the sneaky way they promote the exchange as fee-free. They’re all claiming to be saving you money, when really using them for your travel money well be costing you cash.

The hidden charges in the exchange rates

Since the profit is being hidden in exchange rates rather than an extra commission, it’s not easy to spot exactly how much you’re being charged. To do so you need to know the real rate the banks themselves use, but even then it’s unlikely the extra will be clear.

And as the banks and bureaus set the rates themselves, there can be a huge difference in what you get for your money.

I’ve visited some local banks and businesses today to find out their rates, and crunched some numbers based on converting pounds into €100. At Natwest, it would cost £92.35, and at Lloyds it would be £92.22. At the Post Office it would work out as a huge £96.15! And if you leave it until you reach the airport, then it’s likely you’ll pay even more.

Without knowing the real rate these numbers don’t mean much, do they? Well the real “interbank” rate, which at the time of writing was 1.1379 euros per £1, puts the cost of €100 at £87.90. That means those places are taking roughly between 5% and 9.5% on each transaction. So much for zero commission!

These were just the rates I found in my local town by popping into the first three places I came across. You can get a far better rate if you do want cash. For example, if you went to Thomas Exchange in London’s Holborn today you’d get your €100 for £88.93. That’s £6.22 less than the Post Office would have charged per £100, and only £1 more than the real exchange rate.

And it is possible to get even closer to the interbank rate if you use a specialist travel credit or debit card. The Halifax Clarity credit card or Starling bank account, for example, would convert at £88.18. That’s likely to be the best you’ll get.

You might be thinking it’s only a few quid, but that’s just for buying €100. If you like to take lots of cash with you (or need to because you’re going somewhere remote), that £9 the cost office makes on €100 can quickly add up.

Why exchange rates can vary so much

Obviously there’s making a profit and covering costs, but there are a number of other factors which could affect how much you pay each time you convert.

First, how much competition is there near you? In London there are dozens of smaller bureau de changes undercutting each other to get your business. Out of the bigger towns and cities though there is less choice, and you could well pay more.

You might even get charged more depending on how much you convert. The Post Office example I gave wasn’t actually on the electronic board. The rate displayed was actually less, but you had to exchange at least £1,000. Even then though it’d have been the equivalent of £91.24 per €100. Better, but not great, and I’m sure lots of people don’t even realise they’d get a worse rate than what was displayed if they wanted less travel cash.

And just because those were the rates I found in my Post Office, it doesn’t mean you’d get the same as each branch has the ability to set a different rate. The Post Office even highlights this on its website FAQs:

“Do all your branches have the same rate? No. Branch exchange rates depend on several factors like branch location, competition, cost of order, convenience, etc. We will always try and offer the best rate, subject to this criteria”.

Confusingly, you can actually get yet another rate at the Post Office by pre-ordering for collection – not something that I saw advertised in my local branch. Today €100 would cost £90.41 this way, lower than just turning up, so if you really need to get your money from the Post Office it’s well worth ordering online to collect.

How to get the cheapest cash for your holiday

1. Use a comparison site

I always use travelmoneymax.com. Enter how much you want to get and your postcode to see the cheapest options.

2. Order in advance

The best rates, even those identified through a comparison site, will normally require you to order in advance. This locks in the rate too, so you’ll know exactly what you’re going to get for your money.

If you do forget and you’re at the airport, then even then you can get online and order to collect rather than walking up to the counter.

3. Collect if you can

The cheapest is always to collect, but you can get prices based on delivery.

4. Get a specialist travel money card

The cheapest way though is to get a card such as the Starling or Monzo current accounts or Halifax Clarity Credit Card. Payments with these are fee-free, and you can get cash out too without charge – though of course there could be extra fees added by the foreign bank.

>> READ MORE: How I get the best travel money

How I get the best value travel money