Since becoming a member of What Consumer, I have come to realise how many others here are in a similar situation to myself, suffering in the current economy and always on the lookout for ways to make there money stretch further. I have therefore put together a list of my top ten money saving websites and would like to share them with What Consumer members.
1. Kelkoo
No matter what I need to buy, Kelkoo is one of the first places I look. Kelkoo is a price comparison site comparing prices across a wide variety of products, such as electrical goods, computer equipment, books, games and DVDs.
2. GreasyPalm
Once I know what I want to buy and from where, I always check to see whether it can be purchased via a cashback website such as GreasyPalm . GreasyPalm is my favourite cashback site, simply because it is the one I have used for years. I find the site easy to navigate and the cashback deals good. I also like that I can read customer reviews on the deals before committing to purchase. The only drawback of GreasyPalm is the length of time I have to wait to receive my cashback payments, usually over a month, and my account needs to have a balance of at least £25 before a cheque is issued.
I have also made purchases through the cashback website Rpoints a few times over the years. The benefit of this cashback site being that once your account reaches the withdrawal threshold you can transfer funds directly into your bank account rather than waiting over a month for a cheque to be issued.
3. MySupermarket
I do my weekly grocery shopping online and it definitely saves me money. I use the mysupermarket website, finding the site easy to navigate and much more user friendly than the supermarket's own websites.
Mysupermarket compares the contents of my virtual trolley at leading supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys as I shop, and makes recommendations along the way to help me get the best value for money. Once I have finished my shop I simply click to send my trolley to my supermarket of choice for payment.
Shopping through the mySupermarket website also earns you ipoints which once accumulated, can be exchanged for high street vouchers, magazine subscriptions and more. ipoints also has other ways to boost your points, such as visiting advertisers websites and completing surveys.
4. DiyFixIt
I like to try my hand at DIY. Some jobs I enjoy, others I do to save on the expense of paying somebody to do them for me. I discovered DiyFixIt about six months ago and have since referred back to it time and time again. The website provides practical advice on how to do almost any project, such as plumbing in a dishwasher, fitting door locks, and electrics.
5. MoneySupermarket
I use this price comparison website to help me find the best deals on utilities, insurances and other financial products and services.
6. ReadItSwapIt
ReadItSwapIt is where I swap the books I have read for the books I am interested in reading. Signing up and listing books to offload is free. If someone wants your book, you can browse the books they have on offer and either accept or reject the swap. You can also set up a wish list and receive an alert when a book on your wish list is added to the site. ReadItSwapIt currently has over 200,000 books listed. They also have a feedback system similar to eBay. The only drawback I have found is that when I add a book to my wish list, I am encouraged to buy it from Amazon, which I feel defeats the whole point of the site.
7. TravelZoo
I am on the look out for a cheap holiday for later in the year. I recently subscribed to the TravelZoo Top 20 Deals newsletter and am amazed at the holiday deals I am receiving by email.
8. PetrolPrices
I use petrolprices.com to find the cheapest fuel prices in my local area. All I have to do is enter my postcode or town.
9. Freecycle
Freecycle is a massively popular recycling website and an excellent place for getting rid of unwanted items and picking up bargains. Everything that is offered on Freecycle is free.
Freecycle works through local Yahoo groups, which means that all items should be in your area.
If you have anything that you no longer want and would like to get rid of you list it on freecycle for someone to come and collect.
If you see something you like, you email the owner, and if agreed you arrange the collection.
10. eBay
I have always enjoyed browsing eBay and have picked up some amazing bargains over the years. I have made money selling on eBay in the past, offloading my unwanted junk, though I tend not to bother these days, the high level of competition and the eBay charges putting me off. I have recently been browsing other online auction sites such as eBid and Tazbar, though I have yet to buy or sell through them.
1. Kelkoo
No matter what I need to buy, Kelkoo is one of the first places I look. Kelkoo is a price comparison site comparing prices across a wide variety of products, such as electrical goods, computer equipment, books, games and DVDs.
2. GreasyPalm
Once I know what I want to buy and from where, I always check to see whether it can be purchased via a cashback website such as GreasyPalm . GreasyPalm is my favourite cashback site, simply because it is the one I have used for years. I find the site easy to navigate and the cashback deals good. I also like that I can read customer reviews on the deals before committing to purchase. The only drawback of GreasyPalm is the length of time I have to wait to receive my cashback payments, usually over a month, and my account needs to have a balance of at least £25 before a cheque is issued.
I have also made purchases through the cashback website Rpoints a few times over the years. The benefit of this cashback site being that once your account reaches the withdrawal threshold you can transfer funds directly into your bank account rather than waiting over a month for a cheque to be issued.
3. MySupermarket
I do my weekly grocery shopping online and it definitely saves me money. I use the mysupermarket website, finding the site easy to navigate and much more user friendly than the supermarket's own websites.
Mysupermarket compares the contents of my virtual trolley at leading supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys as I shop, and makes recommendations along the way to help me get the best value for money. Once I have finished my shop I simply click to send my trolley to my supermarket of choice for payment.
Shopping through the mySupermarket website also earns you ipoints which once accumulated, can be exchanged for high street vouchers, magazine subscriptions and more. ipoints also has other ways to boost your points, such as visiting advertisers websites and completing surveys.
4. DiyFixIt
I like to try my hand at DIY. Some jobs I enjoy, others I do to save on the expense of paying somebody to do them for me. I discovered DiyFixIt about six months ago and have since referred back to it time and time again. The website provides practical advice on how to do almost any project, such as plumbing in a dishwasher, fitting door locks, and electrics.
5. MoneySupermarket
I use this price comparison website to help me find the best deals on utilities, insurances and other financial products and services.
6. ReadItSwapIt
ReadItSwapIt is where I swap the books I have read for the books I am interested in reading. Signing up and listing books to offload is free. If someone wants your book, you can browse the books they have on offer and either accept or reject the swap. You can also set up a wish list and receive an alert when a book on your wish list is added to the site. ReadItSwapIt currently has over 200,000 books listed. They also have a feedback system similar to eBay. The only drawback I have found is that when I add a book to my wish list, I am encouraged to buy it from Amazon, which I feel defeats the whole point of the site.
7. TravelZoo
I am on the look out for a cheap holiday for later in the year. I recently subscribed to the TravelZoo Top 20 Deals newsletter and am amazed at the holiday deals I am receiving by email.
8. PetrolPrices
I use petrolprices.com to find the cheapest fuel prices in my local area. All I have to do is enter my postcode or town.
9. Freecycle
Freecycle is a massively popular recycling website and an excellent place for getting rid of unwanted items and picking up bargains. Everything that is offered on Freecycle is free.
Freecycle works through local Yahoo groups, which means that all items should be in your area.
If you have anything that you no longer want and would like to get rid of you list it on freecycle for someone to come and collect.
If you see something you like, you email the owner, and if agreed you arrange the collection.
10. eBay
I have always enjoyed browsing eBay and have picked up some amazing bargains over the years. I have made money selling on eBay in the past, offloading my unwanted junk, though I tend not to bother these days, the high level of competition and the eBay charges putting me off. I have recently been browsing other online auction sites such as eBid and Tazbar, though I have yet to buy or sell through them.