As summer comes to a close, our holiday hangovers won’t be soothed any by the looming stress of back to school week. For those of us that may have enjoyed ourselves a bit too much, we’ll already be feeling the pinch and it won’t be long before the “Santy Lists” are handed over.
This does however, give us the perfect opportunity to make our own list. Detailing your household expenses to see where we can make some clever amendments will allow us to make some savings in the following ways:
Shopping Loyalty And Food
With a huge amount of choice on offer now for shoppers, it may be time to ditch the M&S dream and plump for a more affordable alternative. Cheaper outlets as well as generic brands have all improved over the years and so you don’t necessarily have to skimp on the quality. Also, with many current accounts, you can receive money back on certain purchases with different shops. For example, the new Smart Account from An Post, gives you 5% back on every transaction in Lidl over €25. Meaning you can save hundreds each year on the weekly groceries. It also gets you 5% off all holidays with “Sunway”, so you can start dreaming about next years getaway too! Being smart with the way you prepare your meals and packed lunches can also help you stretch what you buy to get greater value from your shopping.
Bills and Grants
As Winter will no doubt arrive in the first week of September and not leave until the following March, your heating bills will be something you will need to examine. If your energy provider contract is up for renewal, be sure to shop around as you may be able to cut costs here. Visit the Sustainable Authority of Ireland’s website for great tips on keeping your home energy efficient and information on possible grants that may be available to you. The same approach should be considered for your Broadband, Mobile and TV providers.
Commute
Could this be the year you finally dust off that bike you got from the bike to work scheme and don those luminous bicycle shorts? Running a car isn’t cheap and with train and bus fares constantly on the rise, this is one of the easiest ways to curb your spending. With many weekly commuter tickets costing over €30, switching to two wheels could save you over €100 a month. Companies such as “GoCar”, which let you rent cars by the hour, could revolutionise car sharing within Dublin and other cities over the coming years.
Clear Out
Summer can be a great time for a complete clear out of the things you’ve been hanging on to. Have a look around your house and see what you might be able to offload for some extra cash. Be ruthless when it comes to old clothes, children’s toys, consoles, phones, gadgets and furniture. Although most might not be fit for the charity shop, other pieces can all be sold on Ebay, DoneDeal or Depop for a lot more money than you might think.
Rent A Room
Having just cleared your house of possibly years worth of stuff, you may even be left with a free room. Convert this or the unused “Home Office” into a bedroom and begin to rent it out. Whether for a foreign student this autumn or as an Airbnb at the weekends, you can start to earn some serious cash straight away.
Send And Save
Protecting your home should never be something to cut corners on, however with our current send and save promotion, you can save some money on your current home insurance renewal price by following the instructions below. We’ll call you back with our best deal on 2 year home insurance (saving you one item from your list come next August).
