What family doesn’t look forward to that annual holiday away from work, school and all the mundane tasks of everyday life? If you are trying to plan a super exciting holiday for the family, there are some ways to make it the most exciting ever, even on limited funds. Let’s take a look at where you can save some money so that you have more to spend with the kids.
A Word on Avoiding Hotels
Yes, it’s lovely to think about staying in a posh hotel by the beach where you can get room service and you don’t have to clean up much because there are maids on staff. However, you pay for those amenities and if you are trying to plan a fabulous holiday without spending your life’s savings, why not take the campervan this year? In fact, taking a road trip around the UK in a campervan will probably appeal to the kids (and the husband!) more than you can imagine.
Everyone knows that living in the Bay Area can be fairly expensive in comparison to other areas of California and the rest of the country. Despite the fact that the median home price across the region’s nine counties declined in 2019 for the first time in 7 years, that figure is still at $830,000, which is considerably higher than the national average of $226,000. Of course, homes aren’t the only things that cost more in the Bay Area, as all products and services tend to come at higher prices. With such a costly lifestyle to keep up with, it makes sense that Bay Area property owners would be looking to reduce expenditure in the following 17 reasonable and sustainable ways:
1. Install a Solar Panel System
While the cost of installing a solar panel system represents a significant upfront investment, the long-term savings will more than pay off. Most homeowners will recoup their investment within 5-8 years and after that your property will have access to free energy indefinitely. Most solar panels can last anywhere from 25-50+ years without requiring any form of maintenance, so you’re looking at about 5 decades of expense-free energy.
Leading solar providers in San Jose and other Bay Area cities often provide warranties that cover you from having to pay for premature maintenance. For example, Semper Solaris provides American-made solar panels that are backed by a 50-year Platinum protection warranty. They’re ranked as one of the best solar power companies in Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and numerous other cities throughout California.
If you want to buy a private number plate and put it on a lease car then this is possible, and it’s a fairly simple process. It does come with some procedures and paperwork, but as long as you follow the regulations, you should find putting the number plate on a lease vehicle quite easy.
In this day and age, more and more of us have lease cars and private number plates, so it is important that the two can combine. Experts in the motoring field predict that there will be very few people that own their own vehicle in 10 years-time. This is due to the wide variation of options when it comes to cars and the desire for a new one every few years.
If you are unsure of how to place your private plate onto your lease vehicle, then we’ve come up with a comprehensive guide on how to.
How to put a private plate on a lease car
Purchase a private number plate
Fill in the ‘Nominee Details’ on the V778 Retention Document
Send the Retention Document to the DVLA
Assign the private plate to a lease vehicle
At the end of the contract, remove the plate
!. Purchase a private number plate
Before you consider putting the plate onto a lease vehicle you need to purchase a private number plate. You can buy a private plate on a website that buys and sells used plate, via the DVLA website or at an auction, or through an independentwebsite. No matter which option you take, you will need to bring the required documentation with you. These documents must show proof of your name and address, as well as the documents to prove that you can purchase the plate.
When you have a child, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by how much extra cash you need to dedicate to your expenses each month. Most consumers around the UK today are already scrambling to make their cash go further. Bring a kid into the mix, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed.
The good news is that if you’re committed to living a more frugal lifestyle, there are plenty of things you can do to get more control over your cash.
Here, we’re going to look at some easy ways that you can save money as a family, without trying to accomplish too much, too fast.
Organise your Food Shopping
How much unused food do you throw away each month? If the answer is more than “nothing,” it’s time to get more control over your shopping habits. Start by creating a list of items you need before you go to the supermarket each week and take an envelope with you that includes only the money you need for those items. This will prevent you from accidentally overspending when you’re tempted by a treat at the checkout counter.
I stayed at the Travelodge Aberdeen Central for three nights (Friday to Monday) in mid June 2019. I booked the room during a 35% off stays for three nights promotion during April 2019. I paid £80 for the three nights, on the non-refundable Saver rate. I thought that this was a good price for a weekend stay.
I checked in a few minutes after the earliest check in time of 3pm. I was fortunate to be allocated a room on the top (fourth floor) at the side of the hotel away from the road junction. The view was over the roof of the adjacent Trinity Centre. I could see the North Sea on the horizon.
Unusually for Travelodges, the room had two chairs. This is good if there are two people in the room, so one person doesn’t have to sit on the bed.
The room was a good size and had a large desk area. There was plenty of space for the kettle and my Chromebook.
The bathroom was also a reasonable size, with a bath. Many newer, city centre hotels only have showers.
I wasn’t disturbed by any interior or exterior noise on any of the three nights of my stay. This is unusual for a city centre location.
In summary, I thought that Travelodge Aberdeen Central offered great value for money for comfortable accommodation right in the heart of the city.
The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), one of the four venture capital schemes, was established by the UK government in 1994, to encourage investors to help early-stage businesses and start-ups to secure the finances they need in order to grow.
This scheme is extremely beneficial for both parties involved. For investors, the EIS offers substantial tax relief benefits, which they would not have secured unless investing in a small, early-stage business under the scheme. For SMEs, the EIS allows them to gain the necessary funds to kick-start their business.
Imagine you are looking to buy your first house but don’t know where to turn for a mortgage. Your estate agent recommends a high street bank or your local building society. A friend suggests you turn to a mortgage broker instead. What do you do?
There are plenty of good reasons to go directly to lenders in search of a mortgage. The same is true for re-mortgages. But when you are talking specifically about financial considerations, mortgage brokers tend to come out on top for one simple reason: they can save you a lot of money.
Your bank or building society may only offer one mortgage or remortgage deal. If they offer two or three, that would be a lot. But visit that mortgage broker on the other side of town and you are likely to hear different story. If this mortgage broker suggests he/she can look at a dozen different deals, you suddenly have more choices to work with.
Why Mortgages Cost Money
To understand how a mortgage broker can save you a lot of money, it is important that you realise just why mortgages cost you something. Remember that all forms of borrowing come with costs included. If you are borrowing £100,000 to buy a house, you will pay interest on that money. But that’s not all. There are also costs associated with underwriting a loan, processing it, managing payments, etc. You pay all of those costs.
Wondering what a house you want to buy or already own is worth? Well, the simpler answer is that: The residence is worth what a buyer will be willing to pay to acquire it. The more detailed answer is that its value will be determined by the prevailing market conditions. Price may also be affected by whether you are asking a county tax assessor, realtor, or a financial lender.
Learning how to calculate the value of your property with trained professionals and online tools prepares you to refinance, sell, buy, or even tap into your available home equity options.
According to Property Price Advice, you can use the following 4 ways to value your property:
1. Using Online Valuation Tools
A quick search online on “how much is my home worth?” will reveal dozens of house value estimators. In fact, a recent survey in the US found that 22% of homeowners who established the value of their properties used online value estimators.
Professionally, the tools are known as AVM or automated valuation models. The tools are typically availed by real estate websites and lenders. They try to predict the value of your home based on recent listing prices and sales in your region.
They also rely on public records like tax assessments, ownership deeds, and property transfers. However, it is important to consider talking to a local realtor to gain more insight into the valuation process, even after using an online valuation tool.
With more and more bloggers on the rise, it is hard to stand out from the digital crowd. In order to allow potential like-minded readers to find your blog, you may have to rely on more than just creative and authentic content, but also to aim to show up on Google searches.
The higher your blog is to rank on Google’s Search Engine Results Page for a particular keyword. This can be achieved by using search engine optimisation (SEO), a long-term strategy, or pay-per-click (PPC), a quick strategy.
In true Help Me To Save fashion, I have been on the look out for ways to save money now that I am 60. As I live in Scotland, I have a free bus pass, officially named a National Entitlement Card (NEC). I also shelled out £70 to purchase a Senior Railcard, which gives me one third off most UK rail tickets.
When I was loading a bonus 200 Boots Advantage points to my card, I noticed that Boots offer additional rewards to the over 60s. So I took a look at the benefits.
The main perk appears to be that you receive 10 points per £1 spent on Boots branded products, as opposed to the standard 4 points per £1 spent on almost all purchases at Boots. If you buy a lot of Boots own products then having the Over 60s Rewards could potentially more than double the number of points that you can collect.
I think it would be more straightforward and transparent if Boots offered the additional points on all purchases, perhaps a slightly lower rate e.g. 6-8 extra points for every £1 spent.
To apply to join the Boots Advantage Over 60s Rewards, I logged into my account and pressed the join button. This generated a bar code which I had to print out and take to a Boots store along with ID to complete the application process. I was able to use my bus pass as ID.
I don’t shop that much in Boots. I find that most toiletries are cheaper in shops such as Savers, Superdrug and Semi-Chem. However ,it is good to earn some additional points in the Boots Advantage Treats for over 60s loyalty scheme.
I’ve had a Boots Advantage Card for years and have amassed around £31 worth of points. Quite a few of these points have been earned through bonus points vouchers. I’ve never been influenced into buying anything at Boots in order to earm Advantage Points.
I’m Karen Bryan, founder of the Help Me To Save website. As a canny Scot, I’ll help you save money, spend less & enjoy life.