How to not pay for a ticket to festivals big and small.
I love music festivals. But they aren’t cheap. One-day events can easily cost more than £80 after fees (those damn fees!), and you’ve got to factor in travel, food and drink on top. And obviously it’s much more for weekend festivals.
This means I’m always looking for deals and ways to save on festivals, but if money really is tight yet you have the time, then it’s well worth looking into volunteering.
Essentially in exchange for a shift or two (or three if it’s a longer festival), you get free entry to the festival. Yes, you are working, so you might miss some of the action, but it could easily be saving you hundreds of pounds.
What volunteers do at festivals
If you’ve ever been to a festival, you’ve seen the type of jobs volunteers do. There are those scanning tickets and tying wristbands. There are people pulling pints. There are others picking up rubbish and recycling. And there are some just generally helping out by giving information.
Shifts tend to be seven or eight hours long. Though these are assigned in advance, it looks like at most festivals it’s possible to switch with other volunteers if they agree – just in case your favourite band clashes with the time you are working.
For longer festivals you may be required to work one night shift, and you might be working far away from the stages. Day festivals shifts tend to end at 8pm so you’ll be able to catch the headliner.
You also usually need to attend some training, and some festivals require volunteers to attend a day or two before the masses arrive.
Festivals you can volunteer at
There are dozens of festivals running in 2025, and I’ve seen opportunities including:
Glastonbury (waiting list only for 2025 as of May)
Leeds/ Reading Festival
Isle of Wight Festival
BST
All Points East
Download
Boardmasters
Latitude
Camp Bestival
Boomtown
Latitude
If you really want to get one of the bigger events you’ll want to keep an eye on registrations which tend to open in the new year. You may also have to have volunteered at a smaller one first.
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Other volunteering benefits
You often get secure camping, guaranteeing you a decent spot that isn’t miles away from the action – and possibly some exclusive showers and toilets. When you’re working you’ll probably get a free meal too, saving some extra cash.
Some festivals will allow you to bring children with you too – though it depends on each event.
Volunteering requirements
You will need to be over 18 at most if not all festivals in order to volunteer and have proof you can work in the UK.
You also need to pay a refundable deposit, which is usually the equivalent of the ticket price. There’s a good reason for this – it stops people using volunteering as an opportunity to get tickets to sold out events and not turning up for their shifts. But it does mean you need to send cash up front. You may also have to wait up to 30 days for the deposit to be refunded.
Some roles require experience, such as bar work, though that depends on the festival. The most popular festivals might also request you work another festival in the same year too.
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How to apply for festival volunteering
You can check out the information pages at different festivals, or take a look at one of the following sites. Some festivals offer different opportunities through different organisers. For example, you can volunteer for Reading or Leeds with either Hotbox or Oxfam.
If you’re applying with friends you can ask for shifts together (or at the same time) on the application.
Most are first come first serve, so the earlier you apply the better.
If you go via the likes of Oxfam or My Cause then you’re also helping charities, which sounds good to me!
Festivals and gigs are a great night out, but the tickets aren’t cheap. Fortunately, there are often late deals to save money on tickets.
Here are the best deals we’ve found to save you cash. We can’t do anything about the rain, though!
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Ticket discounts
Concert Week: flash ticket sale
At midday on 8 May 2025, you can get concert tickets for various artists at reduced prices. Last year they started at £25. The sale is on for just 24 hours, so you’ll have to be quick if you want to get tickets.
There are tickets available for Busted, Smashing Pumpkins, Supergrass, Sugababes, Iggy Pop and Dizzee Rascal, to name a few.
A good way to save cash is to get a ticket when it goes on sale – so you can avoid resale sites charging a premium on top.
O2/Virgin: Priority tickets
O2 and Virgin Media customers get access to the O2 Priority app, and this has a huge number of shows on sale before the general public can get them. And it’s possible to get access to this even if you’re not on O2!
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Free tickets
Why pay when you don’t need to? There are offers where tickets are given away for free, or in return for an admin fee.
Seat filling
Sites like Show Film First and Central Tickets often have tickets for live concerts and festivals at short notice where you only need to pay a booking fee (usually between £3 and £8). I’ve written a full guide to how these work and which sites are best.
Get the best deals on flowers for valentine’s, mother’s day and any other special occasion.
Here’s a round-up of the latest offers we’ve found. Don’t forget to check cashback sites such as Quidco and TopCashback – and if you’ve never used them make sure you get the new member bonuses available. Here’s more on how to claim those (worth up to £35 combined).
Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.
Join the Bloom & Wild Rewards Club (it’s free) and you’ll get 500 points, worth £5 as a voucher to use later. You’ll also earn points when you buy flowers as well as get sent discount codes and offers.
Set three reminders for dates like mum’s birthday and you’ll get £5 credit added to your account. Head to the Bloom & Wild home page and scroll until you see the Save the Date offer.
Once you’ve joined the Rewards Club you’ll be prompted to add your birthday, and in return, you’ll be sent a voucher to get 50% off an order on that date each year.
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Serenta flowers offers
Serenta Flowers: 5% off
There are usually various discounts available on this site, and you can often save an extra 5% off orders and get free delivery. The latest code is SERENTA5
From digital to physical copies I’ll share top deals to save on your regular reading.
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Magazine offers
Which? Magazine: deal stack
You can combine up to three different deals to bring down the price of an annual subscription to the ‘full access’ Which? magazine.
50% off via Which? (ends 30 April 2025) – this takes the price to £49.50
Not everyone will be able to get the Amex offer (you need to check your card offers and add it to the card if it’s showing), but the other two options are there for all.
It means you’ll pay Which? £49.50 for a full access subscription, and then get around £15 back from the cashback site (the rate varies so check both). Remember to apply via the cashback site and close any Which? tabs that are open.
If you have Amex you’ll save more again. We’ve seen 50% off a £30 spend, but other deals may be out there as these vary by cardholder, and there’s a chance you won’t see the offer at all. But say you get 50% off the price paid, that’s another £24.75 off.
There’s a chance this last part is dependent on clicking through from the Amex app, but it wasn’t when Andy did this in December 2022, so it should be fine this time too.
All in that could mean you pay just £9 for one year, saving more than 90%.
Bear in mind you’ll be charged the full £99 after 12 months if you don’t cancel.
You can get a year’s subscription to a number of titles if you open a Club Lloyds current account. I use this to get a year of Empire, though you might be better off with the alternative freebies such as 6 cinema tickets or a year of Disney+ Standard with Ads.
Magzter is an online digital subscription where you can access more than 8,000 magazines. You can read the magazines on any iOS or Android device via the Magzter app.
This offer on Groupon gives you access for £19.95 rather than £99.99. And if you combine it with a code you might be able to save more.
There are plenty of UK titles such as Total Film, Reader’s Digest, BBC Good Food, Marie Claire and Woman & Home, as well as international faves such as Entertainment Weekly. There’s also randomly Spurs and Everton match programmes!
You can have five separate accounts with the subscription so it’s a good option for a family.
It does auto-renew after the year so be sure to cancel it before the year is up.
This subscription service costs £7.99 a month. You can currently get a month for free. Or sign up for the free Lidl Plus app and you can access a two-month free trial.
How to find out if you’re better off with a meter or set rates.
With some huge price increases on water bills in 2025, any way to save some money is going to be a good thing. SO is a water meter the answer?
Well, the answer depends mainly on how much water you actually use. Sometimes they can save you a decent chunk of cash every year, but others will see their bills rocket when one is installed.
I’d always been unsure about them, but now after a good few years of being charged for the water I use, I can share with you whether it was worth it for me, and how to estimate what one could mean for you.
Plus I’ve some tips to help you reduce your usage and bring bills down further.
Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.
Who can get a water meter?
For most homes in England and Wales you can ask your water company to fit a water meter. It’s normally completely up to you. However, some water companies, including Thames Water, have made it compulsory.
It’s free to get a water meter installed in England and Wales. You’ve usually got one to two years after installation to compare costs. If you find it’s costing you more, you can switch back to your standard rates. That is of course unless you’re in an area with compulsory metering.
Some water meters are smart meters that let you monitor use. Others need to be read by the water company and you have to wait for your bill to find out charges.
In Northern Ireland your water rates are already included and in Scotland a water meter installation isn’t free.
Should you get a water meter?
So how do you know if one is good for you? Well, non-metered water is charged based on the size of your house – a bit like council tax. Water meters on the other hand measure exactly how much you are using.
A simple rule of thumb to decide which is for you is if there are more bedrooms than there are people living in a house. If so then you’re likely to be paying more than you need to for your water.
If you want to get a more accurate picture, then there’s also an online calculator. That’s what I looked at before deciding whether to give the meter a go.
The calculator will give you a rough total which is estimated on exactly how many showers you have a week, how many times you use the dishwasher, washing machine, baths, how many times you flush the toilet and so on.
The problem is if you have more people in a house than there are bedrooms or people use water a lot – maybe you’re a keen gardener regularly using the hose – then it’s very likely to cost you more money.
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Did it save us cash?
Andy’s analysis
Because only two of us are living in a four-bedroom house there was always a good chance we’d be paying less with a water meter.
Back in the summer of 2018, before we switched, our annual bill was £590. The calculator estimated a new cost of £376 a year via a meter, a huge saving of £214. So it was a no-brainer for us to give this a try.
Frustratingly, we couldn’t read the meter ourselves, and there was no bill at all for the first 13 months!! When it arrived the total for that first year was pretty close to the estimate at £390. A little more than the estimate, but we were still saving a fair wedge of cash each year.
However, since then, our water usage – and our bills – have varied. Water usage in 2019 was 102m3, but a massive 123m3 in 2020 (probably due to lockdowns). This meant our bill jumped up to £480. Still a decent saving, but not as large.
In 2022, usage was down to 78m3, costing £324. Then it went up again in 2023 to 91m3 and a total of £425. The figure for 2024, the last statement I received, was 92m3 at a cost of £481.
That’s still a big annual difference of more than £100 compared to our non-metered charge from back in 2018! And since prices for unmetered rates have increased every year, the actual saving will be far higher.
When I think back to my previous house, where I lived for close to eight years, if we’d switched then and got similar savings we could have been close to a grand better off.
But – bear in mind my savings are based on the water usage of two people. I’ve played around with the calculator to estimate the cost if more people lived here. It’s still cheaper with three adults, but it could easily be £70 or £80 extra each year with four people than the fixed rates. So it’s important you check for your own circumstances.
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How to reduce costs when you have a water meter
If you’ve already got a meter because you’ve moved into a house with a meter, had one for more than two years or compulsory installations are happening, well there are still ways you can cut your bills and it’s very very simple. You use less water.
There are obvious things you can do. For example, turning off the tap when you clean your teeth, or it’s making sure that you don’t necessarily flush the loo every single time. There’s that phrase “if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down”. It might sound a bit rough… but it’s true that you don’t necessarily need to flush it every time – and that will save some water.
Free water saving devices
In fact there are all sorts of things you can get which can help you use less water. From special bags that go in the water cistern to reduce the flush through to shower timers. There are even slow release crystals you can put in plant pots which mean you don’t need to water them as often. And they are free from most water companies.
For most providers you can go via Save Water Save Money and enter your postcode. You’ll see what’s available and what you can order for free. Alternatively, just google your water company and see if they offer anything for customers.
With so much quality TV now online from the likes of Netflix and Disney, I’ve taken a look into whether paying for the BBC represents good value for money.
It’s been announced that in April 2025, the TV Licence is increasing by £5 a year, with the annual cost set to be £174.50.
This is the first inflation linked increase in three years, and that’ll continue until 2027. However, it won’t reverse years of underfunding thanks to zero or below inflation hikes, which led to budget cuts – and many would argue a lowering of quality in BBC output.
For some, this latest increase means they’ll advocate for people to cancel their TV Licence now rather than pay more. I’ve shared in this article who needs to have one and who doesn’t.
However for me, the big question isn’t how to ditch the licence fee, but should you?
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Who needs a TV Licence
Here’s when you need a TV Licence:
If you watch any live TV
If you record any TV
If you watch BBC TV on iPlayer, no matter the device (eg on your phone, games console, TV etc)
Despite more and more of us using streaming services, this is still pretty much most TV viewing.
So realistically the only way you’re eligible to avoid the licence fee is if you only watch online streaming or catch up services (not including iPlayer), and if you never watch or record broadcast TV.
Now if that’s the case, then you don’t have to pay, and I’ve shared further down how you can cancel your TV Licence.
Over 75s
A rule change a few years ago meant not all over 75s get a free TV Licence. However, many will still be able to claim one as long as they already receive pension credit. Here’s more information on the TV Licensing website.
Before we start
Everyone has an opinion about the BBC, especially the news output which those on the right say is too left wing and those on the left say is too right wing. We’re going to put that aside for this analysis and focus just on what you get for the money you pay.
I also want to put my cards on the table here at the start. When I was five or six, I declared that I wanted to work for the BBC when I was older. And I did. From 22 to 33 years old I worked all over the Beeb, before leaving to start up Be Clever With Your Cash. So it’s important to me.
Though it’s certainly not perfect (what large organisation is?). I do believe we’re better off as a country with the BBC than without. And that will obviously inform on my analysis below.
But it’s more than a decade since I left the broadcaster, and so much has changed in that time – not just at the BBC, but also how we consume our media – which goes for me too.
And the cost of living crisis has made every penny we spend so much more important, making value for money as a licence fee payer something that really does need interrogating.
What I watch
So do I get value from BBC TV? Over the last few years my TV viewing has changed drastically. Many of my favourite dramas and comedies can be found on Netflix, Sky Atlantic and Disney+.
Yet I do still watch plenty of excellent normal TV, mainly BBC and Channel 4 (you need a TV Licence to watch or record any live TV). In fact some of the best shows I’ve watched over the last year have been on these channels.
Happy Valley, Ghosts, Traitors, Race Across the World, Match of the Day, Wimbledon, Ludwig and Outlaws (all BBC), through to It’s a Sin, The Great British Bake Off and The Handmaid’s Tale (all C4). And there are plenty of great older shows available on-demand too, such as classic Attenborough, Motherland, His Dark Materials, Peaky Blinders, The IT Crowd and The Bridge.
And I’m not alone. Most TV viewing is of a free to watch channel, whether that’s via Freeview or Sky. And the most-watched shows every year are on the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Even big import TV shows like Game of Thrones or Stranger Things haven’t come close.
Still, £175 every year is a lot of money. And there are some cheaper alternatives with very good programmes.
How the TV Licence cost compares to other media services
If you pay for the TV Licence monthly at the new price it’ll work out as £14.54 a month.
Elsewhere we’ve seen a number of streaming services hike prices, closing the gap to the licence fee.
Sky’s “on-demand” service NOW is £9.99 a month for the Entertainment channels (not movies or sport), or £119.88 a year – though there are deals to get this even cheaper, often half the price. But if you want HD and to ditch adverts you’ll pay another £6 to £9 each month.
After clamping down on sharing, Netflix starts at £5.99 a month (with adverts), but the most popular package is £12.99 a month, working out at £15588 a year. You can pay more, at £18.99 a month for the top tier
And there are others like Paramount+ (£4.99 with ads, £7.99 or £10.99 a month without adverts), while you can pay for extra content and no adverts via ITVx (£5.99 a month).
So on the whole, though there are more and more of these streaming services, and they all keep getting more expensive, they can be cheaper alternatives (if you get them on their own, or cut the price you pay via offers or go for the basic versions with adverts).
That’s a persuasive argument for ditching the Licence Fee as far as cost goes. However, I believe that as long as you can afford it, you get more for your money from the BBC than the premium services.
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What the Licence Fee pays for
The thing people ranting against the TV Licence tend to forget is the money doesn’t just pay for BBC TV drama, documentaries and comedy. It also funds BBC news, sport, CBBC, radio and online.
And it’s these areas which I think make that £14.54 suddenly feel like really good value. So I’ve broken down this price between all the things it pays for and calculated below what I think is a fair representative value for each BBC service.
These figures are just for me – you will have your own views on what you use and don’t use.
BBC TV & iPlayer
My price: £7 a month / £84 a year
So imagine the drama, comedy, entertainment and factual part of the fee was the same price as the other streaming services at £10. Oh and iPlayer.
No matter what you might instinctively think if you just turn the TV on and watch something live, I think if you really looked at what’s on, you’d find plenty of quality new and old content to keep you going throughout the year. We’ve actually got a long list of shows we want to watch and not got around to, and add at least a couple every month.
But let’s say it’s £7, representing half of the money you pay. That’s even cheaper than most of the other options (and no adverts). I think many people would think that’s pretty fair for what you get.
And don’t forget this includes funding the production of BBC programmes you might actually end up watching on a service like Netflix! Without the licence fee they wouldn’t be made in the first place.
BBC Radio & BBC Sounds
My price: £3.50 a month / £42 a year
I’ve got a cool digital radio for the shower. There are four presets, and we’ve got BBC 5Live, BBC 6 Music, Heart 80s and Absolute 90s saved. My god, I hate the adverts on the latter two, making BBC radio essential.
And during the first lockdown in particular I was mainlining 5Live – a fantastic example of national broadcasting when we needed it most.
BBC podcasts are no longer just radio shows put online. Many are commissioned just for BBC Sounds, including the excellent documentary Vishal (produced by my friend Satiyesh) and music shows. Plus it’s a great way to catch up on radio you might have missed.
I do listen to a lot of Spotify, and there are some great podcasts out there (have you listened to our Cash Chats show yet?). So it is possible to get good quality music and speech content (though you need to pay to avoid constant adverts).
However, given the choice between paying for Spotify (at £11.99 a month) and paying for BBC Radio, I’d pick BBC Radio. And at an equivalent price of £3.50 a month I think that’s a bargain.
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BBC Sport
My price: £2 a month / £24 a year
If you had to pay £2 a month, that’s just £24 a year, to get Wimbledon, Match of the Day, 6 Nations and smaller sports like snooker, athletics and so on, plus every few years the World Cup, the Olympics and Commonwealth games, I think most people would think it’s fantastic value – especially when compared to the £14.99 cost to watch Sky Sports for one day on NOW TV.
BBC News
My price £1 a month / £12 a year
This is certainly an area where my view on value for money has changed (though a lot of that is down to budget cuts enforced by the government through frozen or below inflation increases to the licence fee).
I’ll now go to the Guardian first for my news updates, rather than the BBC News website, and even listen to podcasts like the News Agents over Newscast.
However, BBC News is the first place I’ll go for breaking news. And if you’ve ever watched news in the USA, you’ll appreciate not only just how good BBC News is, but how it makes sure the other news networks raise their standards.
I’d say it’s well worth paying £1 a month for this – that’s just 3.3p a day.
CBeebies and CBBC
My price: 75p a month / £9 a year
Let’s say it costs 75p a month (£9 a year) to have these channels – and I don’t even have kids! If you do you probably would say it’s worth paying more to get this essential content.
I grew up watching shows like Going Live, Blue Peter and so on. And more recently my niece and nephew loved programmes like Justin’s House and Operation Ouch.
And during the pandemic the BBC really raised the bar in shows to help with homeschooling.
Yes, you can get other kids shows via Sky but these are largely cheap overseas imports and I don’t think they have the same education and quality you get from the BBC.
BBC Online
My price: 0p a month
In previous years, I’d allocate 50p a month for this, as it was the place I’d go to check the weather, the news, the football scores and more? Now I hardly visit it other than to play Sounds or iPlayer, which I’ve covered in other sections. So lets treat it as something you get as part of your ‘contribution’ to news, sports etc.
Other stuff
My price: 29p a month / £3.50 a year
Then there’s plenty of stuff we don’t see, but do benefit from.
There are technology developments which make a big difference to how we watch TV (such as iPlayer) and how other programmes are made by other people (like the cameras built for Blue Planet).
We might not listen to the World Service, but it does a fab job of promoting the UK around the world and supporting nations that really need it – while also building ‘soft power’ across the globe.
Oh, and the licence fee is also used to make sure everyone in the UK gets broadband, especially rural areas. It did the same for digital TV.
Right, I’ll shut up now. But let’s say we pay 29p a month towards all this (a total of £3.50 a year).
Money well spent or a waste of cash?
So just to quickly summarise, for me the £14.54 monthly TV licence cost could be broken down like this.
£7 a month for all the drama, comedy and documentaries (£84 a year)
£3.50 a month for all the radio (£42 a year)
£2 a month for sport (£24 a year)
£1 a month for news coverage (£12 a year)
75p a month for children’s TV (£9 a year)
29p a month for the innovations (£3.50 a year)
plus all the BBC websites
I still think the licence fee is a really good investment. In fact I think these values I’ve assigned are too probably too low for what you get, especially in the cases of sport and radio.
Yes I have made up the values above (in reality the split is different), and there will certainly be parts you don’t use at all. But it’d be easy to justify assigning higher values to the ones you use and less to those you don’t – for example if you’ve got kids you’d probably think £2 a month for CBBC is great value.
And if you consider what you might pay for all the separate parts at commercial rates, even if you only chose one or two, you’d likely pay just as much.
Should the Licence Fee be scrapped?
Andy’s analysis
I do recognise there’s growing resentment in some parts of the public, particularly by people who simply don’t watch any BBC (or live) TV at all. I’ll often see posts in money saving Facebook groups about scrapping it, with the majority of the hundreds of comments in favour of ditching it.
However, much of what I see in these conversations is misinformed, and fuelled by media like the Mail and Murdoch’s News UK (The Times and The Sun), and the previous Conservative government, who all have vested interest in getting rid of the BBC.
So I hope this article can help balance some of the arguments (I find it frustrating that the BBC’s own impartiality policies prevent it from delivering any decent defence).
Like the NHS, we’d really miss the BBC if it was gone. No matter how many amazing US imports are available to watch, there’s still fantastic TV made in the UK, and a big part of it is down to the BBC. Even if you still think it’s too much money, I do think that it’s important we fight to keep the BBC independent and strong.
Alternatives
If people genuinely don’t use any BBC service then I do think it’s unfair that they should be forced to pay for it. It seems something really does need to change. But what?
It’s really tough to find a solution that could protect what the BBC stands for and enable it to produce the services it does to the standard it does without the full fee.
I also think there is a chance that for lots of people the cost will go up in order to get all the services. A report from the BBC said it’d likely cost £37 a month to get all the services.
That doesn’t sound too far off. The pick and mix approach to Sky via NOW TV can save you cash versus a normal Sky subscription, but if you want Entertainment, Cinema, Kids and Sport you’re still looking at paying £60 a month.
An advert funded model is another option, but ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 aren’t swimming in cash, and adding the BBC into the market will mean there’s less money to go around. So we’ll see all the free-to-air channels suffer.
And we could see the BBC outbid for some of the important big events and programmes by the likes of Amazon – forcing people to shell out more.
I imagine it’d have to be some kind of blended model. Perhaps some services funded by a reduced licence fee with others subscription only.
How to stop paying the Licence Fee
If you genuinely don’t watch any BBC TV, reckon you could do without, or don’t feel you should pay for the other BBC services then you can cancel your licence.
You can tell TV Licensing that you don’t require a licence here. Just make sure you don’t watch any live TV or use iPlayer.
You’re likely paying hundreds of pounds too much on your mobile phone.
For the first 12 years of having a phone, I followed the same pattern. A two year contract with a shiny new handset, which was then renewed with an upgraded phone, and then repeated when each contract ended.
But a decade ago I switched things up. I moved my tariff to a new network, and bought a new handset direct from Apple. Since then I’ve moved between networks on a regular basis and bought and sold new handsets. And saved a ton of cash.
And you can do it too: from going SIM-only through to downsizing your data, there’s no reason you should be paying more than £8 to £10 a month. Here’s how you can save on your mobile phone contract.
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Split your handset and your tariff
Go SIM-only
The best prices are often with SIM-only deals. Here you keep your old handset or buy a new one separately and pay just for your minutes, texts and data. Since you aren’t paying for a new phone, the monthly costs are also considerably less.
You can get contracts that run from 30 days to a year, giving you far more flexibility than the 18, 24 and even 36-month deals you’re tied to with handsets (though longer SIM-only deals are still available).
At the time of writing you should be able to get a more than adequate data allowance from the major networks for under £8, and potentially as low as £5 for networks offering 5GB. And that’s before you factor in cashback or other offers.
Don’t get your handset via your network
Once you go SIM-only you’re no longer caught in that bi-annual cycle of getting a new phone when you don’t really need to. Ideally you’ll keep your handset for more three or four years. But with poor batteries, broken screens and ‘depreciated’ operating software (when updates are no longer supported on older phones), we all need to upgrade at some point.
However, you should generally avoid getting one as part of your contract. Most networks will charge you a premium on top of the handset price to get a new phone bundled with your SIM.
It’s very rare for these deals to work out cheaper, particularly for the latest handsets. Instead, you’ll save money buying it outright from Apple, Samsung or the likes of John Lewis.
Of course, the high cost of these handsets can be a barrier, but even then you don’t need to resort to including it in a contract. Apple and Samsung often offer 0% finance for two years, while you could choose a 0% purchase credit card instead. Do check your credit score first though.
Don’t forget to sell your old handset too. There are a number of sites that’ll give you a fixed amount, or you can hope for a better price via sites like eBay. Here’s more on selling old phones.
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Choosing your new phone tariff
Whether you stick to a combined phone and SIM deal or split them up, you can still bring down the cost.
Don’t pay for more data than you’ll actually use
One of the biggest ways we waste money on our mobiles is via upselling, and now the networks are all about getting us to pay for more data than we need.
A few years ago when I haggled a new SIM-only contract with Three, the salesperson said “It’s only £3 more for 20GB”. Sounds good. Except I didn’t need 20GB. I didn’t really need the 12GB I had (but that was bizarrely cheaper than the 5GB option).
And I see this upselling all the time. There are always a number of promotions offering unlimited data at what looks like fantastic prices. But you really don’t need unlimited data, so however good the price, you’re still overpaying.
Most of you will be fine with 5GB or 6GB, perhaps less, while heavier users are still likely fine with under 12GB. And that’s assuming you can’t connect to wifi at home or work to use data even less. It’s easy to check your usage history via your account. So far this year I’ve used between 5.3 and 6.57 GB each month – and the latter was when I was on holiday!
Saying that, those who also get broadband with Virgin Media should take a look at O2 as you’ll get double data, worldwide roaming and double internet speeds via an offer called Volt. Just make sure you’re getting a decent price on each service.
Don’t just stick to the big companies
You’ll have spotted that most of the cheap deals are with smaller networks. And I bet you’re warry of switching in case you can’t get reception.
Well, there are actually only four different phone networks – O2, EE, Three and Vodafone. All the others “piggyback” on one of these. So, for example, Giffgaff runs on O2 and Lycamobile uses EE.
This means you get exactly the same reception as someone on the host network but at a far lower price. The only real difference will be in customer service, though you’ll also lose network-specific benefits from the big brands, such as O2 Priority Moments.
I’ve written in more detail about these so-called ‘virtual mobile networks‘, including which ones operate on which main network.
It’s also relatively easy to bring your number with you. My moves across different networks all took less than 24 hours though it might take longer if weekends or bank holiday get in the way. Just ask for a PAC number, which you can get just by texting your network.
New Trading 212 customers get an increase of 0.61% AER to 4.67% for 12 months
More details ▼
Additional Info
Existing Trading 212 customers get a rate of 3.85%
FSCS Protected?: Yes
Allows transfers in?: Yes
Flexible ISA?: Yes
▲
Finding the best price
Check if you’re out of contract
Text INFO to 85075 and you’ll receive a message from your network outlining if you in our out of contract. If you are still locked in you’ll also be told how much it’d cost to end the deal early.
Make a note of this date, and you can usually negotiate with your network up to 30 days before the end of a contract. This gives you the chance to see if you can get a better deal with your current network, and if not start the process of moving to a cheaper one.
But if you’re already passed that minimum term, you’re free to hunt for a new deal.
Compare prices
Just as you would with your gas or broadband, it’s important to see what other networks are offering. MoneySupermarket or Uswitch are decent price comparison sites, though they don’t include all the SIM-only networks.
You’ll also often find lower prices for the big networks via these sites, allowing you to access some (though not all) of the freebies available by those companies.
Check for cashback
If you’re switching network or upgrading without a new handset there’s less of a chance for cashback, but it’s worth checking anyway. Try both Topcashback and Quidco for SIM only too. And if you’ve never used cashback sites don’t forget the new member bonuses to get even more back!
You can also earn cashback to knock more off your bill using the app Airtime, but only with the major networks and a handful of others.
Call your network to see if they’ll negotiate
It’s still worth calling your network to see if they can match or beat the total savings you’ll find from the tips above. It helps to do some research first so you know what you can get if you switch.
Then ask to be put through to the ‘terminations’ or ‘disconnection’ team as they’ll usually have more sway. You can even do this over live chat if you prefer.
I did this the most years with Three. I either had my price knocked down or data added for the same price, beating what I’d get elsewhere. None of these deals were available on the Three website, but came from saying I wanted my PAC.
A warning here though. You will be starting a new contract if you do this, which will overwrite pre-existing offers such as free roaming with some networks.
Top paying interest, ethics and a decent switching bonus make the account worth considering again.
There’s been a revamp of the account. Not only does it offer one the highest interest rates (for some), newbies can also now get 1% cashback on spending. Plus you can nab a decent switching bonus. It also ranks well as an ethical bank and scores highly for customer service. However, the building society has ditched the large 0% overdraft.
So are these extras enough to make it your main account? Here’s what you get with the FlexDirect, and whether you should open up an account.
Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.
What is the Nationwide FlexDirect account?
The FlexDirect account is a current account from the Nationwide Building Society. It’s free to open and use, though you do have to pay in at least £1,000 a month to get the interest. That doesn’t need to be in one go, or stay in the account.
You cannot get the account if you already have four or more Nationwide current accounts.
Unlike many competitors, Nationwide has a decent network of branches you can access across the UK, and there’s also a phone support line.
In account interest of 5%
Nationwide’s FlexDirect account is one of the few current accounts that pay interest on balances held in the main account. And it’s usually a much better rate than you’ll get in normal easy-access accounts.
You can get 5% interest on savings – which is hard to beat right now. The rate is also fixed, at 5% for the entire year.
And you can boost your earnings if you’re in a couple. You can each have an account, and then open up a joint account too, meaning you’ll earn the 5% on £4,500.
You have to pay in £1,000 every month to qualify for the interest. This can’t be from another Nationwide account.
Sounds good? Well it has its limits.
First, there is a very important rule that could be an issue – this rate is for first-time account holders only. So if you’ve had the FlexDirect account before, you won’t get the new rate, even if you open up a new account.
You also only earn money on the first £1,500. Above this you get 0%. This means if you have the full amount possible in the account for 12 months you’ll make £75.
Also the rate also only lasts for one year (after that it drops to 1%), so you will want to move your money in 12 months.
A new feature is cashback on spending with the debit card. It’s only for new customers who’ve not had a FlexDirect in the past. You also need to be paying in the same £1,000 each month to trigger this as you do the interest, though that’s a single payment for both perks, not each.
As with the 5% interest, this cashback is only for the first 12 months. It’s also capped at £5 cashback each month, so it’ll only apply to the first £500 you spend each month.
Cashback won’t be paid on gambling, crypto transactions or cash withdrawals.
FlexDirect 0% overdraft
Sadly with the addition of the 1% cashback, Nationwide has ditched the sizeable 0% overdraft that was available for the first year.
In its place there will be a £50 interest free buffer across all Nationwide accounts. Our guide to the cheapest overdrafts will help you find a larger alternative – though there aren’t many options left now.
Nationwide had an ongoing £175 incentive for bank switchers which ended 31 March 2025. It could return at any time.
The previous offer was open to new and existing customers, so if you open or upgrade to a FlexDirect account you’ll be eligible.
You can only claim the cash once on a personal account, but unlike other banks, you can get an extra bonus if you switch a joint account (there’s just one payment for both of you on this). So as a couple you could have three switching bonuses in total.
Though there’s no guarantee it’ll still be on offer in 2025, for the last two years Nationwide has offered members with an active current account and savings or mortgage product on top, a £100 ‘Fairer Share’ bonus. Here’s everything you need to know about when Nationwide last offered this free cash.
Nationwide’s app
So far so good. Now the bad. The app is one of the main reasons I moved my main banking from Nationwide to Starling a few years ago.
There have been some massive improvements, but it still falls short of the features you get from challenger banks like Monzo, Starling and Chase.
So what does it do? You can activate a couple of features to help you save. One, Impulse Saver lets you add money to your savings account from the homescreen of the app.
The other is a round-up feature, as you see with many other banks. If you turn this on a small amount of money will be transferred each time you spend. So say you spend £1.20 on your debit card, 80p will go to savings.
You’re also able to lower your contactless limit, freeze your card and block gambling transactions.
My big frustration is that you still need a card reader. Though a recent update has reduced how often this is required, including for app payments, you can’t throw it away. And it’s not clear when you will and when you won’t need it – it just says “for some other things”, which looks like could still include setting up new payees. Of course, that might not be a bad thing as it does add an extra layer of security, but it’s not something most of the other banks I use require.
You also can’t access card details, and it’s a few clicks to find and copy or share account numbers. There are also no tracking or budgeting features.
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Account ethics
Something I’ve been thinking about more over the last few years has been how the money I keep in a bank is being used. It’s not sitting in a vault, it’s being invested and loaned by the bank. And that could mean it’s used for things I really don’t agree with – from supporting arms manufacturers through to funding new oil pipelines.
If this bothers you too then Nationwide is regarded as one of the best options. A big part of this is that it’s a building society rather than a bank, which means it has to use 75% of its holdings to lend to home buyers.
That prevents it lending large amounts to unethical sources – but it also has a positive investment policies. For example your money will not be invested in fossil fuels.
Nationwide is also a mutual – meaning it’s owned by and run for the benefits of its customers (or members) rather than shareholders.
Ethical Consumer rates Nationwide ahead of all the other major banks, so it’s a good bet if you want to put your money somewhere other than low-scoring banks such as HSBC, Natwest, Barclays, Lloyds, Santander and co.
And while the top-rated current account for ethics is from Triodos, that comes with a £3 monthly fee and a more limited app, so Nationwide represent a good alternative.
Should you open a Nationwide FlexDirect account?
Andy’s Analysis
With savings rates dropping on easy access accounts, Nationwide’s FlexDirect has sprung back into contention. That 5% can be beaten, but not with a fixed rate.
The £1,500 limit for this rate will be a frustration for some (especially since the balance used to be £2,500 a few years ago), but if that’s not a worry and you want to lock in a rate it’s worth a look – for one year only though.
And the switching offer is a fantastic extra too, especially if you’re a couple who can also switch a joint account.
The app has also improved massively, though it’s not as good as the offering from digital banks Monzo, Starling or Chase.
The cashback might sounds good, but it is limited by the £5 monthly cap – and it’s only for one year. You can beat this with a credit card like the American Express Nectar.
But, vitally in my opinion, it’s a great account to go for if you’re concerned about how your money will be invested.
What do customers say?
Customer reviews on our sister site Smart Money People rate the FlexDirect account at 4.24 out of 5, liking the customer service and the availability of high street branches. The app is where people think it could do better.
Nationwide Flex Direct summary
Cashback
1% cashback on spending for the first year (capped at £500)
Interest
5% AER (fixed) interest on the first £1,500 saved for 12 months (drop to 0.25% after a year)
Access to 6.5% AER (variable) Flex regular saver (max £200 a month)
Overdraft
£50 0% buffer
Fee
None
Requirements
Pay in £1,000 a month
Multiple accounts?
Two – one personal and one joint
Notes
Transfers in from other Nationwide accounts don’t count towards the £1,000
Kindles can be great ways to read on the move. While you may prefer to hold a proper book, the Kindle can be an essential item for holidays and travelling.
It’s also possible to save a lot of money on the books you buy with hundreds of Kindle titles on sale at just 99p, and many more available for free.
And these aren’t just books you’ve never heard of. — selections change all the time, but you can get bestsellers and Booker and Pulitzer Prize-nominated titles.
Here are the best ways to get free or cheap ebooks for your Kindle.
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Free Kindle books for all
Kindle Unlimited free trials
For £9.49 a month you can get access to Kindle Unlimited – a library of over 1 million Kindle books (as well as magazines and audiobooks). This is a subscription so you’ll keep paying every month unless you cancel it.
However, there’s also a 30-day trial to give it a go. After that, it’s £9.49 a month. You should be able to take a free trial every 13 months (so 12 months after a 30-day trial ends).
Amazon Prime members can sometimes get a longer trial though the offer you’ll get can vary. Click the link below to see what you can get.
It’s possible to pick up free Kindle copies of older books that are no longer under copyright.
For example, a quick look has found titles like Homer’s The Odyssey, Tolstoy’s War and Peace and HG Wells’ The Time Machine all part of a series called Amazon Classics. And the vast majority of the titles in this group are free with only a handful coming in at £1.99.
You can also see all the free Kindle books via the EReaderIQ website. However, there are so many books listed that it could take you hours to go through them all and find anything decent.
You can filter by rating to help weed out the trash, and you may want to select “also available in paperback” (not that there won’t be some decent self-published books).
If you have Amazon Prime then you’ve got access to Prime Reading, a selection of titles you can read for free, including the Harry Potter series. It’s a smaller version of Kindle Unlimited.
There are some decent books in this selection, so it’s worth taking a look if you haven’t already, or if you’ve been disappointed in the offering before.
Another offer for Prime members, First Reads gets you a copy of a new title that hasn’t been released yet. A new selection is released on the 1st of each month.
New Trading 212 customers get an increase of 0.61% AER to 4.67% for 12 months
More details ▼
Additional Info
Existing Trading 212 customers get a rate of 3.85%
FSCS Protected?: Yes
Allows transfers in?: Yes
Flexible ISA?: Yes
▲
Cheap Kindle books
You can also pick up very cheap books every day on Amazon. Prices can go up and down all the time, but there are a couple of regular offers to keep an eye on.
99p daily deals
Every day Amazon sells five or six titles for just 99p (or just over). These deals last just 24 hours before new offers replace them. I’ve picked up quite a few titles from this deal and have signed up for a daily email so I get a nudge to check what is on offer.
On the 15th of every month, a new selection of 80 different Kindle books is made available at just £1 each. These titles are usually also available via Kindle Unlimited.
Prices of Kindle books can jump up and down all the time and it’s easy to miss a book your after at a lower price.
However you can actively track specific books and set up alerts so you’ll know if it drops to a price you are happy to pay. You can also track by author.
It’s back on that EreaderIQ website. You do need to enter your email address to access this feature and though a donation is welcome you don’t have to pay.
Kindle device deals
You don’t actually need a Kindle to read Kindle books – you can download the free Kindle app to your computer, phone or tablet.
However it’s a better reading experience if you do get one, and there are often deals to bring down the cost.
Cheap Kindle device trade-in deal stack
If you’ve an older Kindle you can trade it in for 20% off a new one, but if you time this for when the Kindle is on offer (such as on Prime Day or Black Friday), that 20% should come off the original price (make sure you check!).
So a £94.99 Kindle, reduced to £79.99, would be discounted by £19 to £60.99.
And even better, there could be gift card on top of this, depending on the age and condition of your existing Kindle. For me, I was offered a £30 gift card for my two year old Kindle Paperwhite, and £20 for my wife’s seven-year old version.
Using the £20 voucher brings the total we’d pay down to £40.90 – more than 55% off.
You could supersize this stack and opt for the Kindle Kids edition. This is the ad-free Kindle, comes with a two year warranty, and a case (though the cases are now very kiddy). You’ll need to set it up with a kid’s account, but you can then log out and log in with your own – and it’ll work as normal.
It retails are £114.99, but can be reduced to around £94.99. With the trade-in 20% discount, you’d pay £71.99. A gift card of £20 would bring it down further to £51.99.
