Petrol Wars

Let the petrol wars commence! This week the UK supermarket giants seem to have gone to war to offer the best price for petrol following the reduction in wholesale prices.

But where should you fill up?

Sainsbury's and Tesco do not publish an average of maximum price, claiming they price locally, but Tesco's are offering their common promotion of spend £50, get 5p off per litre of fuel. This ends Sunday 20th May.

Asda have slashed the cost of their petrol and diesel. With the price of petrol now at 132.7p and diesel at 137.7p.

Not to be outdone Morrisons have also dropped the price of fuel to 132.9p.

Moving House Doesn't Have To Cost The Earth

It's no secret that we're finally moving house this weekend, so I just wanted to share with you the money saving tips I have learnt along the way.

Cut the Middleman or Barter
Selling your property yourself can take a lot of hard work and energy, but if the price is right and you market it like mad, it will sell. However, if like me, you are not so brave, shop around before choosing an estate agent. Lowest isn't always best, get a couple of quotes to compare. But always barter on fees with a high street agent to save on selling costs.

Money Matters
Let your finances, not property lust, dictate the process of buying a new home. Ensure to remember all the hidden costs including estate agent fees, surveys, mortgage arrangement fees, valuation fees and stamp duty. Make sure you keep some cash aside from your deposit to cover them.

Haggle
Get thrifty and start haggling over everything from your estate agent fees and removal costs to the property price and any extra fixtures and fittings. Don't forget, if the survey finds any major problems you should ask the vendor to either fix it before completion or knock the repair cost off the price.

Shed The Weight
Moving house is the ideal time to sort through your belongings and decide what you want/need and what you don't. I try to stick by William Morris' words of wisdom:

"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful"

Getting rid of excess belongings, whether you donate them to charity or raise some extra pennies by selling them, is the best way to save money. The more things you have, the bigger the removal van you'll need -  professional movers charge by weight and distance. My fella and I found a local indoor car boot sale to flog our unwanted belongings. I can highly recommend!

D.I.Y
Do the removals yourself. Get a group of friends around for a weekend, hire a big van (a very very big van) and pack and move your possessions yourself.

Time Your Move
If opting to use a removals company, timing is everything. It would seem we've accidentally timed our move well. During the winter months removal companies are quieter (everyone wants to move in the summer because of the weather apparently) so you're in a better position to negotiate. Consider a mid-week move because they have much less demand than on the weekends. I found that pushing my move to the beginning of a month saved hundreds, as solicitor's prefer to finish associated paperwork as a month draws to a close. Remember to get a few quotes from different removal companies.

Keep Expensive Items with you
If you are using a removal firm, let them move the big and bulky stuff while you keep all your important documents and expensive items such as laptops, cameras and MP3 players with you.  These items can travel in the car with you where it is more secure.

So Long Summer

The evenings are darker, the kids are back at school and the post-summer holidays blues have kicked in. Sounds like a perfect time to get thriftful.

Sell any summer clothes or accessories that you no longer want on Ebay  or Gumtree, late summer holiday go-ers will snap them up. But don't go crazy for Autumn/Winter clothes just yet. Get style-savvy and save yourself money by updating your favourite summer clothes for the cooler weather. To a pretty summer dress, try adding a pair of leggings and a mac. Or team your favouite shorts with tights and a wool knit jumper. Reinvention is the key to thriftful wardrobe sucess!

If you have children, hit the pre Autumn/Winter sales and buy the next size up clothes for them to wear next summer. Similarily, maybe you could partake in a car boot sale for any outdoor toys your kids no longer play with/ have grown out of. As for their school packed lunches, instead of buying pre packaged single serve items, use tupperware or other reusable containers. It will save money in the long run. My five year old son's favourite lunch time snack is humous and cucumber/carrot sticks. Easy and cheap. But don’t forget, lunch boxes aren’t just for kids. Taking your leftovers to work the next day will also help save money.

The beginning of autumn is a good time to get thriftfully prepared for the change in season. Shop around using a price comparison site to check you're getting the best possible deal on your services, such as gas and electricity. Some companies are introducing fix rate payments over the next couple of years, and with fuel costs predicted to rise it's a good time to be prepared. As for Christmas, now is the perfect time to start shopping for gifts to help spread the cost. Plan for your next trip abroad and invest in a set of portable digital luggage scales. A good quality set will set you back a mere £15 and as http://www.digital-luggage-scales.co.uk/ notes, "for every kilo you are over your bag allowance it could set you back at least £7.50 with some long haul flights even charging £30 per kg extra". Thriftful preparation at it's best.