Each of us spends nearly a whole day online every month. A total of 22 hours and 15 minutes, according to statistics from the UK Online Measurement company (UKOM).
But odds are that most of us aren’t using much of that time particularly productively. Well over 20% of the time spent surfing is given to social networking sites. You might not want to give up on the online chat, but you can make your time online a little more useful simply by getting into the habit of using these four websites. Each one will save you money.
First Direct Internet Banking Plus
The internet may have introduced a new era of convenience. But there is a big drawback – and one that mostly doesn’t seem very convenient at all. Passwords. I used to lose many minutes every day stabbing furiously at my keyboard as I tried to remember which of a dozen passwords is the right one for any given website. No more – or at least no more when it comes to my current accounts, savings accounts, investments, and credit card log-ins.
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First Direct offers a fabulous website that anyone can use. You don’t need to be a customer, you just need to have a PC – Macs aren’t compatible with the software. First Direct Internet Banking Plus allows you to view all your bank accounts, credit cards, loans, mortgage, and investments – basically any financial accounts you have – on one page.
The first time you set it up you enter all the different accounts and passwords. They are all then stored on a digital safe within your own computer and from then on when you log into the site, you just enter your First Direct password and all your accounts appear with the correct balance for each. If you need to access one you just click on it and First Direct logs you in to that specific account. Because the data is stored within a digital safe on your own computer it is perfectly safe and First Direct can’t log into your accounts without your knowledge.
I’ve been using it for years and it’s invaluable. By being able to see all my accounts in one place with accurate balances, I am able to keep a much closer eye on my finances. I am pretty sure I have saved both time and money as a result. The only downside with it is that it doesn’t work on Macs.
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Mysupermarket
Regardless of whether you prefer to do your food shop online or in store, Mysupermarket is a very useful site that you should incorporate into your life.
You do your weekly shop via the website using whichever supermarket you prefer out of Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Ocado. As you shop you can see at the top a comparison of how much your basket of goods would cost at each of the other shops. And as you go along you can use the ‘Swap and Save’ facility to take advantage of deals or switch brands in order to get the best price.
When you’ve finished shopping you can pick which supermarket you want to use on the basis of the cheapest basket. Or if you are very brand loyal, you can stick with the one you always use but safe in the knowledge you’ve got the best prices thanks to ‘Swap and Save’. Then you can either click through to that supermarket’s website where your basket will be automatically transferred and you can check out, or if you prefer to shop instore, you can print out your shopping list.
I usually shave about 5% off my shopping bill by using Mysupermarket. Not bad at all given it takes no extra time to use them over using a supermarket site directly.
Skyscanner
If you are planning a trip abroad, find the cheapest flights at Skyscanner. Simply put in the details of where you want to go and when, and it will search all the major airline and travel agent websites to pull up the best deal.
Even better, if you know where you want to go but don’t really care when you go you can do entire month or even year searches where the site will tell you the cheapest days or months to travel. That said, if one month is substantially cheaper than others you might want to take it as a warning. Check it isn’t hurricane season before you book.
East Coast Trains
When you are planning train travel in the UK, visit the EastCoast.co.uk. Its primary focus may be trains running on the East Coast line but it sells tickets for journeys anywhere in the country. The website is simple to use so it is easy to find the cheapest fares. It also doesn’t charge any fees or booking charges unlike the better known TheTrainline.com and RailEasy.co.uk. These both charge a £1 booking fee, with RailEasy charging a further £1.50 postage.
East Coast really comes into its own when it comes to advance travel. If you know your travel dates more than three months in advance then you can sign up for an email alert. This will notify you as soon as train tickets for your day of travel go on sale so you can get in quick to get the best deals. When it comes to Christmas, set up a separate alert for your outward and return travel dates so that you don’t miss the best outward deals – the site won’t email you until your later tickets go on sale.
This trick has saved me a fortune over the years, allowing me to head from London to my homeland of North Yorkshire for £20 – £30 return, even at Christmas. Two years ago I even travelled from London to York on Christmas Eve for under £10. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t have done that without East Coast Trains.
• This article is taken from our weekly MoneyWeek Saver email.
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