Savings tips

Out and about

Local activities
Your much-earned free time shouldn’t have to cost you a fortune. Glasgow is bursting with free things to do, including museums, historic buildings, city trails, events, gardens, and parks that won’t leave you short of change.

If you want to burn some extra calories without the cost of a gym membership, check out your local Green Gym in Glasgow. It’s a free and fun outdoor session that will put you back in touch with nature. Unlike other conservation projects, the emphasis is very much on health and fitness – volunteers warm up and cool down in preparation for a range of light to vigorous activities to suit all abilities.

Libraries
Many libraries now lend e-books, which means you can load books to a Kindle or tablet at no extra cost. Use your nearest local library and you may never need to buy a cookbook, guidebook or lifestyle manual again. Books and CDs are currently free to borrow and many new DVDs cost just £2.50 a week or £1 for kids’ films.

Parking
Now that your diary is full of free things to do in Glasgow, make sure you don’t pay the price in parking with the help of Parkopedia. Find and compare parking charges (including free street spaces), opening hours and a parking map of all Glasgow car parks.

At home

Rearrange your living room
The layout of your living room can have an impact on your heating bills. For example, if your sofa is in front of a radiator or heater, it will be absorbing most of the energy that could otherwise warm the rest of the room. Even moving the sofa just a few inches from the radiator can reduce the time and energy needed to heat the room.

Boiling the kettle
It may seem like a small thing, but when you consider that the average household boils the kettle 1,500 times a year, it all adds up.¹ Boil just the amount of water you need – don’t fill it to the top.
ECO kettles that only boil the amount of water required can use 20% less energy than a conventional electric kettle.

Switch it right off
Switching off electrical appliances at the plug could easily save you between £30 – £40 per year. ² Remember to fully turn off the TV, the PC and whatever else you keep on standby mode. It’s good for the environment too!

Energy saving bulbs
A Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) uses up to 80% less electricity and can save you £5 a year.
That’s £70 over the 14-year lifetime of each bulb.³ They used to be expensive and bulky, but those days have passed.

Money Management

Plan ahead
According to research, the average family throws away £480 on uneaten groceries every year, while almost half of all the salad we buy goes in the bin. ⁴ Planning in advance (and not shopping when you’re hungry!) can avoid excessive impulse purchases.

A supermarket’s own-brand products are often made by the same companies who make the big-brand favourites. They may also contain less salt and sugar, making it a healthier option without diminishing the taste. Try something different the next time you go shopping and remember, big brands aren’t necessarily better.

Check your tax code
Would you believe that 5.5 million people in the UK have the wrong tax code?⁵ If you notice your numbers don’t add up, you could be paying too much income tax. Notify HM Revenue and Customs if you spot anything unusual.

It’s your call
Are you spending a small fortune on mobile phone bills? Invented by Oxford mathematicians and approved by Ofcom, billmonitor analyses your mobile bills and usage against more than 4 million contracts and matches you to the right tariff. billmonitor’s ‘Bill Check-up’ also tells you how to save during your current contract and alerts you when you’re free to switch to a new contract.