We’re all a bit strapped for cash at the moment, but the internet has come to the rescue with loads of brilliant new money-saving websites. We have 40 sites and seven phone apps to bookmark for the year ahead.
Money-saving Websites
We’re all familiar with the web’s most famous money-saving sites, such as myvouchercodes, moneysavingexpert, Quidco and Groupon. These established sites are great for general money-saving tips and bargains, but there are lots of new sites, Smartphone apps and browser add-ons that target specific areas for thriftiness. here, we’ll look at the best of these lesser-known new options, and explain how they’ll help you to shop for less, get something for nothing, and bolster your bank account.
Deals and Vouchers
Sometimes online bargains turn out to be less of a good deal when you add delivery costs. This website offers valid free-delivery codes for hundreds of popular sites, including Asda, Dixons, Maplin and PhotoBox. Expired codes are automatically removed.
ZealDeal offers hot deals, promotions and voucher codes for hundreds of sites and services. It also makes use of QR codes so you can take a deal with you and follow it up later. When you find a deal you like, select it, click the QR code link and use your Smartphone to scan it.
Online gadget store firebox has weekly deals on products that have recently included Bluetooth headphones and flying toy helicopters. The offer ranges from 20 to 50 per cent off the standard price, and last for a week or until stocks run out. If you’re looking for a great gift for someone, it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on the deals, which are updated every Thursday.
This handy Amazon table lets you view deals by category and discount. The category list includes cameras, electronics, music, books, clothing and video games, and you can view items with more 20,50 or 75 per cent off, simply by clicking the relevant option.
ShoppingVouchers offers thousands of codes for more than 2,000 shops, including boots, Argos, marks & Spencer, Currys, Tescoand Asda, and lets you easily view the top vouchers, top deals and top sales. it also offers printable coupons for use in restaurants such as Strada and Toby Carvery.
This daily-deals site from price-comparison specialist Kelkoo presents handpicked discounts on all manner of goods and services. These range from helicopter rides and meals in top restaurants, to cut-price theatre tickets, made-to-measure suits, and cookery classes. Just sign up to receive the latest offers via email.
This page lets you search for local discounts, print vouchers and receive deals by text and email. there are apple and android apps available too, so you can look for deals wherever you happen to be.
A comparison site with a social twist, Shopow lets you browse or search for items you’re interested in buying. it will present you with the best price, along with a choice of shops to get it from. You can view popular products, “shout” about items you want (similar to Facebook’s ‘like’ button), and add them to a wish list. You can also follow other users and they can follow you, too. Connect to Facebook or twitter to find friends to add. But even if you don’t use these sites, it’s still worth looking for deals on Shopow.
MoneySuperMarket’s local deals page lists high-street bargains to be found in your area. Enter the name of your city, town or postcode and it will display a selection of offers, sorted into categories. If there aren’t any local deals nearby, it will show some of the best national ones instead.
The more people who opt to buy a product or BuyaPowa, the cheaper it will be offered for. Past items include an 8gb SanDisk microSDHC card and adapter that sold for 4.99, 13 less than full price, if you’re after a particular product, you can request it. if there’s enough demand, BuyaPowa will offer it.
Like other deal sites. QypeDeals presents visitors with a daily selection of offers sorted by city, as well as a national choice. Deals are only ‘activated’ when enough users buy them, and you can see how many people have bought something, and how close to activation an offer is.
Groupon might be the best known of the daily-deals sites, but it’s not the only one. Deal zippy pulls together deals from the likes of Groupon, firebox, Dealtastic, Wowcher, TreatTicket and living social, and lets you view all the savings in your area. You can refine the results based on your interests and sign up for deal alerts.
Like DealZippy, this site shows you the best offers from daily-deal sites, including Groupon and Kelkoo select. There are travel, shopping and local deals, and you can refine your searches by type, price, discount percentage and time remaining.
We named CouponCoupon the best new UK money-saving website back in march and it’s still one of our favorite voucher sites. You can view featured codes, browse by category or search by name. There’s a newsletter to sign up to, a free apple app, and you can get the latest deals via facebook and twitter.
Fantastic Freebies
If you enjoy free products, competitions and voucher codes, check out wow freebies. You can browse the featured and latest freebie lists, look at popular offers, and explore the various categories. You can also sign up for a newsletter and check the newsletter archive for bargains.
It may sound like a scam, but this website really does give you free national lottery tickets. It’s essentially another CashBack site, but instead of earning money when you buy products through it, you’ll get points that can be converted into lottery tickets. You also earn points by entering competitions. Completing surveys and recommending friends. The only drawback is that the site automatically (and randomly) picks the numbers for you.
You can pick up free products on Netcycler, which is where people give away unused and unwanted items, or offer to exchange them for things that they need listings are arranged in categories and clicking an entry will bring up the offer details and tell you how you can get the item. Usually, you’ll have to pick it up from the owner, but sometimes they will post it to you.Selling your Stuff
If you’ve got something to sell, but you’re not sure exactly how much it’s worth, PriceMyProduct will provide you with an independent valuation. It’s very easy to use: just enter a product title, pick a category and fill in the original price and the item’s age. Then answer some simple questions, such as whether or not the product is damaged and what its overall condition is.
The last few years have seen the launch of many sites that will buy your old phone, but them all offer different prices. MoneySavingExpert.com’s MobileValuer will tell you which sites will give you the most money. it will also find the best payers for iPods, cameras, Satnavs, games consoles and laptops.
Regular eBay sellers will know that sending large products by post or courier can often cost the earth, and potentially put off buyers. MyParcelDelivery lets you identify the cheapest and best sending method, and you can choose the type of delivery option you need, whether it’s same-day, next-day, 2-day or more.
Palyr2 compares the prices of video games and consoles across the major stores to help you bag a bargain. You can also sell or swap your old games.The website lets you use your webcam to scan a product’s Barcode for speedy listing. There’s also a playr2 app for android and apple.
Bargain Entertainment
This new site sells cut-price tickets for west end shows. You can pick up the tickets from the venue or have them delivered straight to your home. As well as tickets, you can purchase theatre breaks and arrange the travel and accommodation at the same time. We found 29 per cent off Shrek: the musical, 42 per cent off we will rock you and 24 per cent of Billy Elliot.
SmartSave has a decent selection of discount vouchers for family days out, restaurants, hotels, shopping theatre trips and experiences, in the UK and abroad. It’s very easy to use: just click a category tab at the top of the screen and browse the offers. You’ll need to either use a code or print a voucher to get your discount.
A ticket master deal offers cut-price tickets for theatre, music, sports and comedy events, as well as family days out and attractions. You browse all the deals, view them by category, or narrow the list by location. You can also sign up to get discounts by email. Offers include buy-one-get-one-free deals, and half-Price tickets.Cheaper Travel
This android app will help you find the cheapest petrol prices in any area. You can locate a petrol station on a map and see how old the pricing information is. Green means it’s less than seven days old, yellow somewhere between seven and 30 days, and red over 30 days. You can help other users by updating the app with newer prices.
Before you book a taxi, Cabubble to find the cheapest option available. Enter the start and destination points, the number of passengers and bags, and the pick-up time and date. Cabubble will suggest some companies to try, and estimate the cost. You can also select a specific type of vehicle, such as one that offers wheelchair access. There’s no booking fee for using the site.
If you live too far away from work to walk, but close enough to cycle, this website can help motivate you to get on your bike. Enter the cost of your bicycle, the length of time you’ve owned it and the journey time. Next, put it how much it costs you to get to work driving or going by train, the distance and journey time. hit calculate and it will tell you how much money you’ll save by cycling, as well as how many calories you’ll have burned off and the total amount of time gained not sitting in traffic.
Train tickets often cost the earth, but you might be able to grab some advance-ticket bargains with RedSpottedHanky because the site doesn’t charge a booking fee. Delivery is free too, with the exception of next-day delivery. The site also offers a loyalty scheme, so every time you buy tickets through the site, you’ll earn points which can be redeemed on future rail purchases or donated to the Railway Children Charity.
SkyScanner’s android app lets you compare millions of flights from over 600 world airlines. If you don’t have a destination in mind, you can find the cheapest places to fly and, if your plans are flexible, you can find the cheapest days to travel. You can email the flight details to yourself, share them with friends and buy tickets through the app.
The Expedia-owned us discount-travel site now has a UK version, promising reduced-price hotel accommodation and car rentals. The site is pretty basic, but offers a comprehensive list of possibilities. It specializes in secret hotel deals, where you’ll be told what area the hotel is in, but won’t be given the name until after you’ve booked.
This apple app lets you search for and compare flight prices from all the major airlines and booking sites, including Aer Lingus, Opodo, Expedia and Ebookers. You can search for return or one-way flights, specify the number of adults, children and infants who’ll be travelling and choose between economy, business and first class.
CashBack Sites
Unlike most CashBack sites, gift to charity doesn’t only reward you, it also rewards your choice of charity. Just sign up and specify how you’d like to receive CashBack from any purchases made through the site. This can be paid into your bank account or given to you as Amazon vouchers. When you make a purchase, you’ll receive your cut and the site will make a donation to your chosen cause (the exact amount varies). Supported charities include the RSPCA, make a wish and the Ellen MacArthur cancer trust.
www.llovecashback.com lets you browse categories and shops, and get a good deal on your car insurance. You can view the top vouchers, offers and shops, and get free cashback offers for things like completing surveys or joining sites. new vouchers are added daily and it already covers more than 1,000 stores.
Shopping Apps
Google’s price-comparison app, which is available for android and apple devices, lets you find the best deals for products when you’re out shopping. You can type the name of the item you’re looking for, or say it out loud using the voice search facility. If you’re looking for a book, CD, DVD or game, just point your camera at the cover of the item and the app should recognize it. Alternatively, you can scan its barcode.
This android app lets you search for bargains on the HotUKDeals website. You can filter and sort the results, view comments and share deals with friends and family. You can also use the app to find vouchers.
This QR reader app for android and apple devices lets you scan in special Zappit codes (found on websites and in magazines) and get money-off deals, free products and more. Once you’ve scanned a code, you’ll receive an email containing further information, and the voucher for the product will be sent to your mobile and stored in a virtual bag.
This android app lets you compare prices across hundreds of top high-street and online stores, including Amazon, Dixons, Tesco and Asda. You can search for an item by category, product code, name or brand, or use the built-in barcode reader to find it. It also searches for matching coupons at the same time, helping you to potentially save ever more.
Browser Add-ons that Save you Money
Available for IE., Firefox, chrome and safari
Shop as you would normally at any of your usual stores and when you encounter a product (or flight) that’s available elsewhere for less.
InvisibleHand will pop up a notification and give you the chance to check out the cheaper seller’s site.
Available for IE, Firefox and chrome
The Booly add-on displays price-comparison information, money-saving deals and coupon codes next to your search results. a red tag indicates the add-on has found price comparisons, while a green tag shows related deals and coupons.
Available for Firefox, chrome and safari (IE version coming soon)
If you use Quidco for Cashback shopping, it’s worth installing this toolbar which tells you when you’re on one of its partner sites. it also keeps you up to date on the latest Quidco offers.
Available for Firefox, chrome, safari and OperaThis add-on monitors the price of items at Amazon and alerts you when they drop. Browse to a product you’re interested in and click the Ookong button. It will show you a pricing graph and let you follow that item.
Available for IE and Firefox
When you want to compare the price of an item to see how much it costs at other stores, just hover your mouse over the WindowShopper’s see similar button. A list of alternative shops and prices will appear in a window.
Save Money at Home
The aim of this site is to help you save money on your fuel bills by reducing your energy consumption. It provides useful articles, energy-saving tips, and information about suppliers, as well as calculators to work out how much electricity and petrol you use. The site is very new, so it’s a little light on content and in need of a polish or two in places, but it definitely has potential.
This site lets you rent out and make money from household items that you own but only occasionally use. Products such as a leaf blower, wallpaper steamer or garden trampoline, for example. You set the price per day, decide if a deposit is required, and choose whether the item has to be collected or can be delivered.
The idea behind GiantClient is to use people power to negotiate cheaper public services. When 10,000 households have signed up, the site will approach suppliers and use this collective buying power to get the best rate for gas and electricity. Signing up doesn’t place you under any obligation, so if you don’t like the deal that’s offered, you don’t need to take it. At the moment just fewer than 1,000 households have registered, so there’s still some way to go. But it’s a brilliant idea that deserves to take off.
If you have a decent-sized garden and live somewhere that people are likely to want to visit, you can rent it out for use as a temporary campsite. How much you’ll be able to charge will depend on where you’re based and what facilities you’re prepared to offer (a barbecue, for example, or WI-Fi access, off-road parking and so on). it could prove very lucrative if you live near to the site of a popular event, such as Wimbledon, because you’ll be able raise your prices according to demand.
If you’re thinking of getting a new phone line put in, this website fromconsumerchoices.co.uk can track down the best deals on offer from companies including BT, Talktalk, Plusnet and orange. In a lot of cases, you’ll save more money if you include broadband and (optionally) TV in the deal.