Go to auctions. As economic woes cause more businesses to go bankrupt, there are rich pickings at auctions. Many firms that go into liquidation sell off their stock and assets at auction. “Everything from fridge freezers to sofas to jewellery can be bought at a substantial discount,” says Steve Payne of Auction News in The Times. To find your local auctions, visit Auctionnews.co.uk.
See a show for less
You can now see some top West End shows for just £50 for a family of four. A new £50 ‘crunch buster’ ticket admits two adults and two children to see one of several musicals, including Mary Poppins. Without the discount, tickets could be as much as a third more, says Ali Hussain in The Sunday Times. For tickets, go to Crunchbustertickets.com.
Check your bills
Almost six million people who pay their energy bills by direct debit are in credit to their gas supplier by an average of £79, says Niki Chesworth in The Daily Telegraph. While people need to build up credit in summer in order to cover the extra costs of winter bills, if the amount of credit is substantial, you can ask to get the money back and adjust your monthly direct debit amount.
Get your boiler serviced
Boilers produce less heat from gas consumed if they are not serviced regularly, making them costlier to run. A regular service will help keep heating bills down and reduce the chance of your boiler breaking and the crippling cost of repairs.
Get breakdown cover
As we prepare for the great Christmas migration, it’s well worth checking your breakdown cover is up-to-date. If you break down without cover you could end up facing a £100 call-out fee and anywhere between £2 and £25 per mile for recovery of your car. At Christmas these costs can be even higher. With the average British motorist breaking down 20 times in their lifetime, not taking breakdown cover is “likely to prove a false economy”, says Melanie Wright in The Sunday Telegraph.
Cheap Christmas shopping
Time is running out for Christmas shopping. But plenty of shops have got sales on, or money off vouchers. Oasis is offering a 25% off voucher until midnight on Monday and House of Fraser is offering £10 off a £50 spend, plus free deliver by entering the code “OFMC111” on its website when you make your first online order before 25th January. For a round-up of the current sales and vouchers, see Moneysavingexpert.com.
Discount dinner
For a cheap meal this weekend, head to Marks and Spencer. They are once again running their meal for two for £10 deal. The offer gets you a main meal and side dish for two, dessert and a bottle of wine for £10; just get to the store by closing time on Sunday. It’s worth getting in early, otherwise your food options will be limited – last time, salmon and sprouts were all that was left by Saturday afternoon at my local store.