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Recently I was walking through the high street in my City, and when I looked around all I saw were thousands of people rushing for the buy one get one free, three for two and even three for one offers!

This week here at Supa Swap I would like to talk about a bargain. Is it really a bargain if you do not need it? Is it not better to have the money in your pocket rather than on things that will probably go out of date as you did not really need it?

Think

Think carefully when you go out to shop, and make sure you come home with exactly what you went out to buy, and if they are two for one then it is a bargain, otherwise it is a con to get you to buy things you do not really need. This in turn leads to throwing out a lot of things that have gone out of date and in the end costing you more money.

Crafty

Some supermarkets sell what is known as profit loss items, where they sell things cheaper than they actually pay for them, this in turn will attract you into a place to buy it and end up spending double on other high profit items you did not really want. Very clever marketing, even down to putting popular things on high shelves to make you pass the not so popular items. Playing slow music makes you shop for longer, and have you ever wondered why your local supermarket keeps moving your favorite items? This is because people get use to rushing in straight to what you need and out again, so moving it will take you a different way passing items you have often missed.

So the next time you shop, stop and think do I really need this or can I save that money.

Interest free borrowing seems to be more and more available as the countries borrowing rate is at an all time low.

No Interest

Supa Swap discus how companies like Tesco, capital one and Chase Bank are offering borrowing at 0% interest for the first year.

Making Money From Money

Let the money earn you the extra cash, most interest given on money investment is now offered as tax free to try to get more people to invest in the banking system, so for example if you can borrow the maximum you can on an interest free basis and invest it wisely, and of course safely then the benefits can be very rewarding.

Example

If you borrow 50,000 and invest in a high interest account and lock it away for 1 year at 6% tax free interest, then this will bring you in 3,000 in interest for the year, the payments you have to pay on 50,000 will be around 5% for the year (2,500) so the interest will cover the payments, at the end of the first year you pay back the capital, minus the payments made, leaving you 3,000 profit in one year without doing anything. A very good return for free money.

Risks

Beware of the small print, make sure there is no early payoff clauses if you repay the loan within a certain time, most of these are if you pay more than 95% of the loan, maybe consider paying back 95% and reinvesting the rest with another interest free loan. Remember to ALWAYS read the small print.

On average Supa Swap wants to point out that the average family could save up to 25% of their cash flow by stopping waste.

Work Through Your Bills

This can be achieved by carefully working through your bills and finding out if you have the best deals on everything.
Below you will find a list of easy steps to follow.

Guide

Do you spend more than you earn?

The easiest way to find that out is do you have debt? If so then you probably spend more than is actually being brought in to the household.

Pain free Savings

This is simple, if you get the same thing but pay less then do so, every penny helps at the end of the month.
On average you could save annually just by changing a few simple things and in just a few minuets.

Changing your electric or gas company can save up to £400 per year.

Shop around in supermarkets saving up to £750 per year.

Council tax, most people in the UK are in the wrong band and a 10 minuite call could save up to £300 per year.

Home phone and internet, get a bundle package and save an average of £200 per year.

Look into cash credits for child minding this could save a whopping £4000 per year.

Calling mobiles, cut the calls in half saving average £100 per year.

Get a water meter, saving £200 per year.

Look at ways to consolidate your credit cards and loans together to save on interest payments, saving average £2000 per year.

Just following these simple steps could save your household £7950 per year, this money could be for the special family holiday or paying off the debts, think how much easier life would be to have a little more disposable income.