Save money on your electric bill

It is so easy for bills to creep up in cost and the electric bill is often one of the worst due to all the things that can change how much we use. Follow these simple steps to help reduce you electricity bill. I would alway recommend comparing supplier and don't assume your are with the cheapest option. In addition avoid pre-paid cards/keys as they work out much more costly, unless you are struggling with budgeting for bill then paying as you use (and topping up only when you have the cash) may be a better short term option. 

Turn off the lights when you leave the room and don't leave items on standby. I find that by using an extension cord it is easier for me to remember to turn of switches as I can do several in one go. 

Use big appliances like washing machine and tumble dryer in off peak hours (usually at night). Also try to run them on shorter/ eco cyces.

Avoid using a tumble dryer if possible. A good old fashioned washing line works great most of the time  or an indoor laundry maiden 

I don't use my kettle much but when I do I make sure to only fill up as much water as I need. So I am not using energy to unnecessary heat up extra water. 

If you don't already had energy saving lightbulbs these may a good item to invest in as in the long term it will reduce energy use or consider solar lights for outdoors. 

Keep your fridge/freezer in good condition, with no ice build up and 2/3 full (even if its just water bottles) for maximum energy efficiency.

Use energy efficiency appliances such as a croc-pot (slow cooker) as an alternative to other more expensive ones. Also look at the energy rating when purchasing a new appliance. 

How do you save electricity? 

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If you are new to our blog, we are all about finding new ways for students and millennials to make and save money. Here are some of our favourite sites and products to help you out:

• Start a blog. Blogging is our side-hustle just over a year ago we didn't think I would bring us any income . You can create your own blog here with my easy-to-use tutorial. You can start your blog for as low as $3.49 per month plus you get a free domain if you sign-up through my tutorial.
• Save money with gift cards Whether its for buying clothes, your weekly shop or dining out use Zeek to buy discounted gift cards to get more bang for your buck. 
• Use Swagbucks for your online searches. Swagbucks is a passive way to earn gift cards. Over the course of a year you could earn $500.  Swagbucks is just like using Google to do your online searches, except you get rewarded “points called SB” for the things you do through their website. Then, when you have enough Swagbucks, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, and more. Receive $5 for signing up today.
• Try matched betting. Matched betting is a great way to may easy money online. Despite the name it is not gambling and could see you earn £500-£1000 a month for only a couple of hours work a day see here and here. For your free trial head to profit accumulator or join the Facebook 'getting started' group.  
• Sign up for a cashback site like Quidco. where you can earn CASH BACK for just spending like how you normally would online. The service is free too! Plus, when you sign up through my link, you also receive a free £10 bonus!

*This post contains affiliate links, all opinions are our own*

How to vacation on a budget

It is that time of year where summer vacations are nearly there. Chris and I are off to USA for three weeks on a road trip from California to Colorado and back very soon (we are both super excited for this). But holidays are expensive, for us this is the last big holiday for several years as Chris is starting college in September, and I'm in law school. Despite being a big holiday, we have worked hard to find the best deals and keep the cost as low as possible when booking. Today we will be sharing our tips on having an amazing vacation on a budget.

Make an itinerary. Know when you want to fly out. When you need accommodation for what locations and what you plan on doing during your days, this especially important for day trip planning. Though having some flexibility on your dates is helpful and will help you to be able to pick dates which offer the best value for money. 

Flights- Book early. We booked in January for a June/July holiday, but the prices were even cheaper when we looked in November/December. We found SkySkanner a really helpful site for comparing flight prices. Also think realistically about how many of the 'add-ons' you need. For us we knew that where we would be staying would have laundry facilities so we decided that we would share one 'hold' luggage and them both have our carry-ons (Chris has promised me that he will be able to fit all his stuff in his carry on; though we will see how that pans out). A lot of the cheaper airline make up their profits with add-ons. Food on the flights worked out as a £50 pp add-on. There is no way the food is worth that, and so we will be taking our own pack ups (and buy drinks in duty-free as we have to work around the liquids limit). We are flying with Norweigan who worked out £150 cheaper than everywhere else (plus I got cashback through Quidco)

Car Hire- At the end of the day all you need is a car to get you from A to B. It doesn't have to be a fancy model just ensure it can fit the number of passengers and the right amount of luggage. Big names such as Hertz and Avis often don't work out the best price. Plus never wait until you arrive in the country to pick up the car you sometimes pay  double what you would if you book online in advance. Also don't forget to compare the cost of the drivers if there are several of you travelling. If any of the drivers are young or have points/penalties on their license then the costs will increase. Consider whether someone else could opt to drive. 

Accommodation- I personally really love hotels.com for booking accommodation. Firstly they offer some of the best prices out there. They have a really good cancellation policy. Plus for every ten nights you book you get one free. For our road trip, we have been super blessed and are able to stay with family and friends along our journey (we have only had to book eight nights out of the 20). Hotels.com also works through several cashback sites so you can save even more on your holiday. By being able to pay in advance you avoid paying debit-card international transaction fees. 

Foreign exchange- Monsey Saving Expert has a super useful tool for comparing exchange rates which are what we used when determining who to go with for our travel money. Never use a debit card abroad as the charges are extortionate. Though the site is correct in that there are a select number of credit cards that do provide slightly cheaper travel money. At the end of the day, they are still credit cards and so there is the temptation to spend much more than your budget as you can go into debt. However, if you have the financial diligence, then this may be the best option. If you want the security of having money on a card without the issue of debt or card fees, then a travel cashcard/passport works well. We opted to convert some of our money onto Travelex cash passports and the other in cash (in case we cant get to an ATM).

Theme parks- Booking in advance rather than on the day can save huge amounts. They are often 2/3x as expensive on the door also look for multi-day savings passes. Food at theme parks is also super expensive so bringing a packed lunch is often a good idea (though check how much a locker will cost). Another good thing to do is look online at what food places that are within your budget. Disney allows you to search their food outlets online based on cost p/p.

How do you save money on your vacation?

Making the most of casback

Who wouldn't want free money just for shopping? We that is exactly how cashback works. Whenever I make a large online purchase I look to see if I can get cashback. 

Currently some banks offer cashback on purchases made. The Santander 123 Credit Card (and I'm only advocating credit cards if you can use them responsibly i.e. pay them off every month and even then I strongly caution against them) has a staggered cashback depending on the type of purchase. Lloyds offer an 'everyday offers' scheme which provides cashback and is available on all current account including student accounts (and can be used on a debit card). Also if you are a Lloyds customer be sure to sign up to their 'its on us' scheme where they can randomly pay for something you purchased on your card during the month up to the value of £500.

My favourite online cashback scheme is Quidco. I have found myself using it a lot whilst booking my holiday to America this summer. We managed to get cashback on our flights, accommodation, car hire and currency exchange which has saved us quite a bit of money and all for buy what we would have bought in the first place. Plus there is a handy app so you can see what inshore cash back offers are available in your area. Though the cashback may not seem like huge amounts it quickly adds up. But remember to not let it encourage impulse buys purely because of the cashback. 

Grocery cashback- Quidco, Shopitiize, Checkoutsmart and TopCashback all offer cashback schemes for shopping where you upload your receipt and if it coincides with any cashback offers they are running you get the money back. I find that it works well to check these sites when you are writing your shopping list. Though don't be fooled sometimes it still works out cheaper to buy generic store brand rather than the branded product with cashback. For all my English readers out there head over to CouponShop for the latest top cashback deals and where best to use them. 

What amazing deals have you found with cashback schemes?

Living on an irregular income in college

This past week was Student loan/grant payment time for those studying in England. For many it was long over due.  Often students find themselves really struggling to budget with such an irregular income resulting in them going overdrawn or having to borrow from another source. However, there are a number of simple but effective ways to deal with an irregular income. 

1. When your student loan/grant comes in divide it up into the number of months that it needs to last you (usually 3 or 4) and put everything but this months money in a easy access savings account. This way you can pay your self a monthly pay cheque making it much easier to budget as you know how much you have to spend over shorter periods of time as well as long term. This essentially provides you with a regular income through an artificial means. Though it requires self-control to do this is really pays off and aids budgeting.
2. Try to have all bills frequent and rent infrequent. If you are fortunate like I am my landlord lets me pay my rent when student finance comes in, allowing me to pay 3 times a year. If you let your landlord know this before you sign the contract they are usually fine with it. For bills try to have them monthly. Quarterly/biannual bills are awful because it is so easy to forget about them, they are hard to budget for and it is hard to change your usage habits if you don't know how much you are using. 
3. Try to have fixed bills. For example at the moment my internet bill is a fixed monthly amount. This allows me to budget this easily as I know exactly what it will cost each month. Whereas my electricity bill is not fixed and so it is much more difficult to budget. If you don't have a fixed bill try to produce an average and allow a little more (about 10%) so as to give you some flexibility.
4. Splurge at the end of term, not the beginning. So your bank account is fuller than it has been in months. Stop, and think about much more rewarding it would be to have a treat at the end of term. Try to budget to leave your self an 'emergency fund' but if your are lucky and there are no emergencies this term you should have a nice pot of money to treat yourself or invest.
5. Stay out of your overdraft. Yes they are often charge free and interest free in student accounts but this is a habit to build for life. At the end of the day it is not your money and therefore do not consider it part of your student 'income'. This may be difficult but with careful budgeting (and potentially increasing income through part-time work) it is possible
6. Try to add a regular income into your budget. The best way to do this is to take up part time work. Adding some routine into your budget will make things easier and more manageable plus you'll have extra money to work with. You could use your part time work income specifically for bills to aid in the creation of a financial routine. 

Happy saving :)