Web Wanders

Credit crunch? Money saving tips!

The word on  everyone’s  lips  at the moment is “credit crunch” and every time I watch the news at the moment it all seems doom and gloom for the economy at the moment.

Personally, I have noticed a significant rise in costs, especially for food shopping and petrol and these are both necessities! Its all very well for those in the city to preach the use of public transport or cycling to work, but, for those of us who live in the country, this is impractical as buses and trains often only run a couple of times a day. Public transport can also be a lot more expensive, which puts most people off.

Energy and water prices is another sticking point. The companies are always announcing record profits, yet our bills seem to go up and up! One tip I would give is to check your meter against your bill. We recently had an enormous water  bill, which was based on an estimate. After checking the meter we discovered that we had only used half the amount of water estimated  by the water company! I wonder how many people  pay bills without realising when a mistake has been made with the estimate? If this does happen to you, take a note of the correct meter readings and give the company a ring  so that they can adjust your bill.

Another tip I would give is to use a water saving device (eg. Hippo or Save-a-Flush)  in your toilet. These are  special plastic bags which can be placed in your cistern and prevent the toilet from using so much water with each flush. If you are a South West Water customer you can currently get one of these for free on their website at: http://www.southwestwater.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1624

We added a Save a Flush to our toilet and there is a noticeable diference to the amount of water used. To be honest, since adding the device, we haven’t noticed that the flush is less powerful, so toilets must waste a lot of water!

If you are looking to save money on your bills there are lots of money saving websites about at the moment. Some of the best links I have found are:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

http://www.uswitch.com/

http://www.water-guide.org.uk/

http://www.energysavingadvice.co.uk

http://www.biggreenswitch.co.uk

Just for fun – here is a water saving game from Ariel - http://www.ariel.co.uk/water/game/