ABC Money

Shops in 2 out of every 3 Villages, Towns & Cities will see property values for tax rise in April

Elliot

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2 February 2017

Shops in 2 out of every 3 Villages, Towns & Cities will see property values for tax rise in April

Shop Tax ‘Hotspots’ revealed
Southwold and Blaenavon biggest losers with Merthyr Tydfil and Yeovil biggest winner

According to CVS Business Rent & Rates Specialists, of the 424,110 shops located in the 1,149 villages, towns and cities across England and Wales, Rateable Values- used to calculate business rates- will rise in April in 791 of those locations.

The research carried out by CVS, and recently expanded on in The Guardian, shows that, on average, Rateable Values for shops in England and Wales will rise in April by 8.51% with 507 villages, towns and cities seeing rises in excess of that.

Shops in England and Wales currently account for 82% of all retail properties liable for business rates, which include superstores, large food stores and department stores. 21.54% of every property liable for rates (1 in 5) are classified as shops.

The Government has now adjusted the Rateable Values of every business property in England and Wales to reflect changes in the property market. The new Rateable Value will be used to determine the basis of the tax calculation for rates in April.

The Revaluation of business properties usually happens every 5 years but was controversially delayed by 2 years as a result of the economic downturn. The last Revaluation came into effect on 1st April 2010 based on the property market as long ago as 1st April 2008.

However, according to the detailed analysis from CVS Surveyors, new Rateable Values published show that total Rateable Values for shops overall have increased by a staggering £654million.

Their analysis shows that the 424,110 shops liable for rates across England and Wales had a combined Rateable Value of £7.69billion based on the last property assessment in 2010, which has formed the basis of rates bills for the last 7 years, but this has increased to £8.34billion.

The analysis shows shops in Southwold, Blaenavon, Dolwyddelan, Port Isaac, Rhymney, Kenley and Corwen will also see their shop property assessments increase overall by over 100%.

The 79 shops in the seaside town of Southwold on the Suffolk coast are the biggest losers in the rates shake up as they face an increase of 152.48% in Rateable Value. The 58 shops located in Blaenavon, at the gateway to the South Wales Valleys, will see their Rateable Values rise by 135.71%.

The analysis also shows that shops in 19 villages, towns and cities will see no overall change to their property assessments, and 338 locations will see a fall.

The biggest winner under the April tax shake up are the 337 shops in Merthyr Tydfil. Their combined Rateable Values- used to calculate new tax bills in April- will fall by 46.53% and the 313 shops in Yeovil will see an overall fall of 33.08%.

Mark Rigby, CEO of CVS Business Rent & Rates Specialists said;

“The purpose of a business rates Revaluation is to try and achieve fairness by ensuring that tax liabilities are based upon up-to-date rental values.

“Revaluations create ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ as ratepayers’ liabilities are shifted in line with relative movements in property values since the previous Revaluation.

“April will serve a ‘hammer blow’ to shops, and the consideration should now be to ensure that they will in fact be paying fair and accurate rates.

“It will also be interesting to see how bricks and mortar shops will compete with agile, online retailers which aren’t battling against exorbitant rent and rates bills for the next 5 years.”

How to Save Money on Your Office Electricity Bills

Elliot

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2 February 2017

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How to Save Money on Your Office Electricity Bills

As a business owner, it’s likely that you’ll be constantly on the lookout for ways that you can decrease your overheads and out costs without devaluing your service or product offering. After all, you want your business to be as profitable as possible, right?

Despite may business owners may think, the easiest way to cut costs isn’t to simply stop buying less. Start by review what you’re currently spending your business’ expenditure on and see how you can reduce them – starting with your utilities.

Electricity can account for a seriously large chunk of your monthly office bills. Business Electric share the few simple tricks that can help to cut the costs and get yourself a great deal:

1. Use the weather to your advantage

It sounds simple, but you’d be surprised at how many people turn on the air conditioning in their office before they’ve even thought about opening a window to cool down!

Using the weather to your advantage can be as simple as using window blinds to block out the heat, or using natural light provided to you free of charge a summers day, rather than switching on your overhead lights. Not only will it save you money when you’re looking to cut the cost of your office bills, but it can also help improve the performance of your staff.

2. Shop around for the best deals

Just like you would do when you’re looking for a new office PC, shopping around for what is being offered by business electricity providers can help to save money when running your office. Compare business electricity rates and shop for the best price possible.

There are many free, no-obligation services that you can use to compare hundreds of tariffs. Once you’ve entered details about your current usage, you’ll see a list of plans that are suited for what you require. One of these services found that using their comparison service could save up to 30% on their electricity bills – all without changing their working habits whatsoever!

3. Turn off devices after working hours

If your office is full to the brim with computing equipment such as servers, monitors and computers, ensure that you’re not leaving them turned on when the business is not in operation.

Devices such as printers, scanners and photocopiers can all consume electricity even when they’re not being used or in stand-by mode. You might find that turning these devices off at the mains can be a great way to reduce wastage as well as your bills.

4. Opt for motion sensor lighting

Just like traditional office equipment, it’s a good idea to switch off the lighting in your office when nobody is there to use it. Not only is this inefficient and extremely wasteful, but it could be skyrocketing your electricity tariff.

You could opt for motion sensor lighting that only activates when somebody is in the room. Eliminating the need to remember to turn the lights on and off, this type of lighting turns on when somebody is present and can prevent forgetful employees from contributing to your ever-increasing bills.

As you can see, there are several ways that you can reduce the bills that derive from running an office. Thankfully, they’re all easy to complete and you’ll be experiencing cheaper commercial electricity in no time!

Cheaper Valentine’s break? Head off the beaten track

Elliot

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1 February 2017

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Cheaper Valentine’s break? Head off the beaten track

Each year smitten couples spend thousands to achieve the perfect valentines break, but with some simple swaps people can whisk their partner away without splashing the cash.

The penny-pinching gurus from PromotionalCodes.org.uk have compared accommodation at some of Europe’s romantic cities to charming alternatives with a much smaller price tag.

They compared costs in advance of four and five star hotels across the weekend of 10 – 12 February to come up with a definitive list of the best romantic money saving swaps.

Couples could save a whopping £726 by swapping Paris for the quaint French city of Nantes, and £456.72 by visiting German gem Dresden over Venice.

Lovebirds could also make a saving of £307 by opting for some Italian magic in Turin instead of jetting off to Vienna.

And while most lovers look to London for a city break around valentines, they could make a saving of £258 by opting for the pretty city of York instead.

All of Europe’s hidden jewels have been revealed in this list of cost effective location swaps, each offering its own romantic appeal to loved up couples.

The alternative locations provide a unique getaway without the same levels of crowds and the extortionate prices expected in locations such as Paris, Venice and Prague.

Darren Williams from PromotionalCodes.org.uk said: “Couples face a lot of pressure around Valentines to create the perfect weekend getaway for their other half.

“There’s no wonder that people end up paying shed loads to spend their special weekend somewhere romantic.

“But with some research we found that couples could be saving huge amounts of money without compromising on a special break.

“By swapping popular cities of love for equally as gorgeous alternatives people can achieve a more authentic experience without paying an absolute fortune for the privilege.”

Here is the PromotionalCodes.org.uk list of Valentines city break swaps:

1. Swap Paris for Nantes

Paris is a magnet for lovebirds across the world, but staying in a five star hotel can easily set you back well over £1,000, making the quaint city of Nantes a better option at around £485.

2. Swap Venice for Dresden

Navigating the waterways of Venice while gazing into your partner’s eyes might sound great, but five star accommodation alone will cost over £550. The cultured city of Dresden has its own pretty waterway, and it could be less than £150 to stay five star.

3. Swap Vienna for Turin

You may not know it, but the Italian city of Turin shares some striking similarities to the Austrian hotspot for lovers, Vienna. A big difference is that Turin’s accommodation is much more affordable at around £250, compared to an average cost of £590 to stay in Vienna.

4. Swap Prague for Vilnius

The wonderful architecture of Prague pulls people all year round to its lively streets, but a five star hotel will cost around £640. Lithuania’s Vilnius is just as breathtaking and a lavish hotel is £188.84.

5. Swap London for York

For couples not wanting to face flight expenses on top of accommodation, a UK location could be a solution. But a luxury stay in London will cost almost £700, while an equivalent stay in the pretty city of York will be about £260.

How to remodel your front room without breaking your budget

Property

Sam Allcock

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31 January 2017

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Most of the people want to design the front portion of their house, or the front room, as it is a room, which can create a good impression among the guests. In most of the houses, it is the front room that is also called the drying room of the house. Thus, decorating the drying room is one of the most important tasks, as you can accommodate yourself in any kind of room, but your guests cannot. You should always try to remodel the drawing room or the front room, if it is not in a good condition. Here are a few tips that is not going to break your budget in order to redecorate or redesign your drawing room or front room.

Front room

Drawing room is a room of the house, where all kind of guests meet. There is no surety, what would with a matter that will be discussed in the particular room. Thus, you should keep all the facilities available in such a room, such that the guests as well as you do not face any kind of problems, while you sit in the front room or the drawing room of your house. Providing all the facilities is not a big task, and the ways are discussed here.

Air-conditioning

If you are living in a hot country, your conditioning is one of the most important tasks. You should provide a comfortable air-conditioning in the drawing room, and it is one of the most basic requirements you should have in your drawing room. In a similar way, if you are living in a cold country, you should have the provisions of heat pump or room heater available in your front room or the drawing room of your house.

Color and lighting

The next is the color and the lights available in the front room. As you do not know what kind of activities you will do in your drawing room, it is always expected that you provide decent lighting in the drawing room, such that there is a proper visibility in the room. Nowadays various kind of lights are available in the market, which can consume a very less amount of power, but can give a very high illumination. You can choose one such lights.

Openness

The next is the openness of your drawing room or the front room. As it is the room, which connects to all the rooms of your house, you should check whether there are enough options for the air to play in your house. You can use different kind of Windows, and plastic windows from cut my plastic online, available at https://www.cutmyplastic.co.uk, where the quality of the plastic is quite good, and is available at affordable prices.

Remodeling

Thus, if you want to remodel your front room, there are a number of options available, and you should consider all the possible options such that your room looks quite great. Online shopping is a great idea, as it is free from any kind of problems that are related to carrying and transporting heavy materials related to house decoration.

A British entrepreneur has launched an ‘SOS’ service for the elderly

Sam Allcock

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31 January 2017

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A British entrepreneur has launched an ‘SOS’ service for the elderly which turns any mobile phone into a personal alarm and promises to save families and the NHS millions of pounds a year.

My SOS Family allows pensioners to alert relatives by touching a single button on a mobile phone if they suffer a fall or health emergency.

The system then auto-dials, texts and emails relatives, who can then respond accordingly.

Families currently pay up to £500-a-year for a manned call-centre based monitoring systems which operate via pendants worn around the neck.

But My SOS Family costs just £30-a-year and can be used from any existing mobile phone.

The service is the brainchild of Moony Victoire-Nijjar, who started working on the idea two years ago when his mother-in-law was diagnosed with dementia.

He said: “Modern life has displaced families and it’s difficult to create community security.

“Our goal to bring back those lost community values that protected the elderly & vulnerable“.

Families and councils currently pay between £200 and £300 per year for manned call centre alert systems.

These work by pendants alerting a call centre, which then make contact with relatives who can come to the aid of a loved-one.

But Moony, a married father-of-two from Bromley, Kent, said: “I realised these places are basically call centres where staff simply ring around your relatives until somebody responds.

“I thought there must be a more efficient way of doing things with the technology that we all carry around in our pockets.”

His solution is an alert system which automatically phones and messages a pre-stored unlimited number of contacts in the event of an emergency.

All the user needs is a mobile phone or their home phone which has a pre-set number key to press in an emergency.

My SOS Family system then dials, texts or emails any number of family contacts to alert them until someone ‘responds’ to the call and informs everyone else who has taken responsibility.

Because there are no call centres involved, the system costs just 8 pence per day.

If the system were implemented in councils, it could save millions and allow more people to access the community support at a fraction of the current cost.

With councils spending £65millon per year on Telecare monitored systems, My SOS Family could save local authorities a fortune.

The system could also enable elderly patients to be discharged from hospital sooner, helping to slash the estimated £900million annual cost of delays in discharging patients to the NHS.

Moony, the founder CEO of My SO Family, said: “Our technology not only reconnects communities, it actually helps create connected communities, bringing back the best of those golden community values that protected the elderly and vulnerable.”

My SOS Family is currently available online at www.mysosfamily.com

Boost your personal finances online

Finance

ABC Staff

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31 January 2017

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While the festive season is a lot of fun, it can also have a pretty devastating impact on our bank balances – thanks to the parties and present buying that are essential to it. The good new is that there are a number of options available online for repairing this damage by earning some extra money, with these being a few of the best ones.

1) Selling on eBay

Selling old stuff online is a good way of both making that much-needed extra cash and clearing away the clutter from your home, and eBay is perhaps the most famous site for doing this. Of course, there are ways of improving your chances of getting the stuff sold, including taking a decent quality photograph of the item in question, providing a good description of it and setting a price that is realistic. Furthermore, you can also buy stuff cheap in the shops specifically to sell at a profit on eBay, if you want to make it a more regular source of income.

2) Entering competitions

You might think that this is an unreliable method of making money – after all, you have to win them before you can do so – but in fact many people actually do this as a full-time gig. The UK has an average of 300,000 competitions active all the time, which means that if you have the free time available to enter lots of them, you have a very strong chance of earning a decent amount by doing so. Furthermore, if you make sure that plenty of these are high value competitions – the sort that offers £50,000 or more in winnings – you will only need occasional wins to support yourself.

3) Filling out surveys

This is another way that you can regularly earn additional funds, as there are always paid surveys available – with sites such as Global Test Market, Vivatic, MySurvey and iPoll offering a steady stream. Of course they do not pay huge amounts of money per survey – although some will offer £3 or more – but it is undemanding work that can easily be fitted in around other parts of your life, meaning that you should be able to complete quite a few at a time if you set your mind to it.

4) Online gaming

This is a very popular way of earning extra money, as it is also entertaining and exciting. One way is by entering online poker tournaments, if you are good enough at the game, and another is by playing at bingo or online live dealers casino sites. These often provide welcome bonuses so you can win without risking any of your own cash at first, while mobile casino sites mean you can play from any location.

5) Selling advertising on your blog

If you have a blog such as Daily Prosper that attracts a decent amount of traffic then you can monetise it through advertising – either selling them directly or via a company such as Media.net or AdSense. That way when someone clicks on the ads you will be paid a percentage.

Why not choose one of these ways of making some money and see if you can get yourself back in the black following the holiday period.

FUN, SUN AND FLIGHT DELAYS

Holidays

Elliot

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30 January 2017

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Holidaymakers jetting off to Corfu or Ibiza this Easter may have their time in the sun cut short – as half of ALL flights to the popular tourist spots are likely to be delayed.

As well as busy airports and long queues, 50 per cent of the passengers heading to the top Mediterranean holiday spots are likely to face delays.

And sun-seekers heading towards Lanzarote in the Canary Islands are unlikely to fare any better – with one third of all Easter flights also likely to be delayed.

A table of the worst Easter holiday destinations for delays was compiled by researchers from FlightDelays.co.uk.

They studied flight data from 2016 concerning the top ten Easter and summer destinations for Brits.

The study found that flights to Corfu were delayed by an average of 23 minutes while passengers off to Ibiza were left waiting for 41 minutes.

And these hold-ups didn’t just impact a handful people – travel association ABTA estimated that over 2 million Brits went abroad over the Easter weekend last year.

The worst airlines for delays over the March weekend were Vueling Airlines – which saw 50 per cent of its flights delayed – followed by Norwegian Air Shuttle with 41 per cent of departures failing to set off on time.

According to FlightDelays.co.uk, sun-seekers heading for the Greek island of Crete at Easter are the most likely to get there on time.

However, 40 per cent of 1,500 flights to Heraklion airport on the island between July and August were delayed – making it the worst summer destination.

The last thing you want when you’re setting off on holiday is to be hit by a flight delay, but British airports seem to be getting worse when it comes to getting passengers from A to B on time.

Gatwick airport was the worst culprit for delays – with 33 per cent of flights failing to take off when scheduled last summer.

And figures analysed last year revealed delays at UK airports reached a five-year-high between July to September in 2015.

Over 78 million passengers passed through British airports that summer but more than one in four flights failed to take off when scheduled.

Steve Phillips, at flight compensation expert Flightdelays.co.uk, said: “We always encourage passengers to prepare thoroughly for their flight by arriving at the airport early and having their documentation ready, but sometimes there’s nothing you can do to stop a flight delay or cancellation.

“Our advice is to make sure you know your rights when flying, and to keep copies of all your documentation which might help you file your claim.”

Vickie Sheriff, Which? director of campaigns and communications, said: “Arriving at the airport to discover your flight has been delayed is incredibly frustrating, and something thousands of holidaymakers encounters.

“Passengers on late-running flights should claim the compensation if it’s due and we encourage people to claim what they’re rightly entitled to.”

Most Delayed Destinations over Easter Period 2016

1. CORFU 50 per cent
2. IBIZA 50 per cent
3. Lanzarote/Gran Canaria LAS PALMAS 36 per cent
4. Albufeira FARO 35 per cent
5. Majorca PALMA DE MALLORCA 33 per cent

Most Delayed Airlines over Easter Period 2016

VUELING AIRLINES 50 per cent
NORWEGIAN AIR SHUTTLE 41 per cent
THY TURKISH AIRLINES 39 per cent
WIZZ AIR 37 per cent
EASYJET AIRLINE COMPANY LTD 36 per cent

The 5 Best Personal Finance Apps

Technology

Sam Allcock

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30 January 2017

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We’re at the end of January and many New Year’s Resolutions are likely to be in full swing by now, many of which will be focused on getting our personal finances back into shape.

Whether it’s budgeting, saving or simply managing any debts you owe, if you’re still struggling to kick start organising your personal finances, there are plenty of tools available to help you on your way.

Of the many, many personal finance apps available on both Android and iOS, app building tool, Yappi, has whittled them down to their top five favourites.

Mint

This is known to be a particular favourite amongst many users of personal finance apps. Mint helps you manage your money, by showing you what you owe and when you need to pay it by. It even has settings that you can personalise, so that the app will give you a nudge to remind you when to make certain payments and to who.

Other nifty additions that make Mint a favourite personal finance app, is its ability to compare your spending between months and between years, too. You can also download the desktop software for more detailed information and analysis on the progression of your personal finances.

Wally

Second on the list comes Wally, which is extra special as a free app, as it comes without any pesky adverts! Similarly to Mint, you can easily track your personal finances with Wally, whether it’s managing your payments or keeping an eye on your savings goals.

A unique feature that Wally users get is the ability to tag locations, or even add pictures to each time you log a spend. Although it might initially sound like a useless feature, users are often surprised by how tagging locations or adding pictures makes them consider their spending. It could be that they find they are spending too much money on nights out, or too much money at the supermarket; either way, tagging and adding photos adds that additional food for thought when it comes to managing personal finance.

Debt Manager

The majority of people have their debts, whether it’s student loans or a mortgage, credit card owings or even from borrowing money from a friend or relative. Whatever the reason for your debts, it’s important to keep on top of them to avoid a backlog of missed payments and additional interest costs.

By downloading the app, Debt Manager, users are able to effectively organise their debts and the total amount of money they owe. The app helps users to create a repayment plan as well as displaying the progress of debt repayments. As a user, you’re given advice on how to pay off your debts quicker, to keep you motivated on your journey towards financial freedom.

Qapital

If you’re planning on making a big difference to your savings this year, Qapital could help you with that. Each day, the app encourages you to save through little reminders or tips on what you could do to save more, quicker.

Qapital is perfect for those who want to save, but find that other things often become a priority. You’ll have no trouble saving thanks to the reminders and advice that Qapital provides.

Goodbudget

Remember when budgeting or savings for various different things were separated into envelopes with labels on? This old fashioned method became quickly outdated, especially with the threat of losing an envelope and plenty of valuable money.

Not to worry though, as some apps have recreated this method of handling finances, for those who used to love the idea of separating money in little paper envelopes. Goodbudget is an app that offers this nifty method, but in a digital form on your smartphone, rather than physical.

Keep an eye on the progress on each of your savings categories with Goodbudget. You can also share the information with other users on other smartphones, such as a friend you’re saving up to go on holiday with, or even a partner you’re planning to buy a house with.

Improve your business revenue

Business

Sam Allcock

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29 January 2017

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Life moves at a pretty fast pace in the online world, especially in the business and marketing sectors. What might have worked wonderfully yesterday, no longer necessarily works today, creating an ever-changing landscape, that will keep you on your toes at all times.

Online awareness

As advertisers and businesses become greater in number, so the knowledge and experience of the target audience changes. People grow weary of being targeted by the same marketing methods and with the same information, they reject many obvious attempts to entice sales and they become hardened to older methods.

Just as they are changing, so must you. If you don’t understand the people you are relying on for your business to succeed, the chances are it will go the opposite way and fail. Be aware of your customers preferences, pay attention to their feedback and above all, respect their viewpoints. A successful relationship with a customer begins long before they’ve made their first purchase and continues long after you’ve finalised a sale.

Value

Instead of bombarding your potential customers with endless amounts of pointless advertising, consider it from their point of view. Why would they waste time reading through information which holds no interest to them? Just as you require something from your target audience, they require something from you, so work on giving them more than just spam. Incentives come in all shapes and sizes; from an interesting piece of information to a short-term tracked discount, what will make them stand up and pay attention to you? What will they get out of it? Give them a reason to want to contact you.

Tracking

While it’s a positive move to stay ahead of the competition and keep regular contact with your audience, do you know the results of your hard work? With this in mind, it’s extremely important to track the results of your personal marketer’s toolbox, tracking online promotions, adverts and campaigns, You can’t judge the future direction of your marketing strategy unless you know if the current model is working for you or not.

Platforms

Take advantage of every platform available to you online. Don’t make the mistake of believing a website is enough for continued prosperity. Look into different aspects of social media, follow trends and be aware of the changing ways that customers are finding businesses. Most importantly of all, once you use these methods. link them all together, ensuring you increase your online presence to your very best ability. Some trends don’t last and some plant themselves firmly in the internets psyche, either way it won’t do you any harm at all to stay one step ahead of the rest.

5 Ways to Save Money with Your Friends

News

Sam Allcock

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26 January 2017

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5Putting a penny aside can be quite fun if you do it with your friends. In fact, there are a few techniques that will help you save money while having a great time with your best friends. In this article, we will tell about five excellent ways to keep your budget on track, all while spending some quality time with your closest friends.

1. Group Rates Make for Great Prices

Group of Australian women celebrating the Melbourne cup in the office.

A wide variety of businesses, from travel sites and all the way to restaurants and cinemas, offer better prices to groups and this is something that you could take advantage of together with your friends. If you want to eat out, it will be much cheaper if you scout for group offers. Not to mention you will have a great time sharing a meal with your friends. As for planning trips and vacations, you should really be doing this as a group because the discounts are extremely impressive. And travelling with your friends is bound to be a lot of fun, which makes this an ideal plan.

2. Shopping in Bulk Gets You Great Deals

Shopping cart full of food in the supermarket aisle. Side tilt view. Horizontal composition

Instead of doing your shopping alone, you could make this a group activity because you could buy your groceries in bulk. This will ensure that both you and your friends get far better prices for your entire shopping list. Not only is this a great way to save money, but it is also an excellent opportunity to make your shopping trips extremely fun. As far as frugal living goes, shopping in bulk is one of those strategies that will pay off on the spot, which means that it is well worth trying out.

3. Lottery Syndicates Could Get You Amazing Prizes

Cropped shot of a group of businesspeople high fiving in the office

Playing the lottery is the cheapest way to become a millionaire. If you put in the occasional lottery ticket, then why not do it together with your friends and increase your odds of becoming a winner? When playing lottery syndicates, you and your friends can pitch in and buy more tickets together. This way, you all get a higher chance of actually winning the lottery. If you do, you will share the winnings among yourselves, which means that you can live the millionaire life together.

4. Frugal Entertainment Beats Expensive Outings

Friends having party and dancing in a swimming pool – Young people enjoying vacation in a tropical resort hotel

Going out can prove to be quite costly these days, but this shouldn’t keep you from having fun with your friends. Instead of spending a fortune on expensive cocktails out on the town, you could try making your change in your weekend schedule and try out some frugal entertainment activities. Replace some of those nights out with having your friends over for a theme party. If you’re never really satisfied with the music they play in clubs, this is your chance to dance to your favourite songs and put some money aside. From 90’s parties to board game night and all the way to Game of Thrones marathons, you and your friends can have an amazing time while sticking to the budget.

5. Swapping Books and Magazines Makes for A Great Time

If you and your friends read the same magazines, there is no use for both of you to buy them. Sharing them will help you save money, but it will also give you the chance to discuss the best articles out there. If you are looking for a good book, why not start with your friends’ personal libraries? You probably already have a bunch of good read recommendations from them, so start there because it will keep your budget intact and it will give you the opportunity to have your very own book club.

These simple techniques are virtually effortless, but they will make a significant difference to your budget. And the best part is that they will actually bring you and your friends closer. So, try them out and see just how much you can save while having fun!

1. Use the weather to your advantage

2. Shop around for the best deals

3. Turn off devices after working hours

4. Opt for motion sensor lighting

1. Group Rates Make for Great Prices

2. Shopping in Bulk Gets You Great Deals

3. Lottery Syndicates Could Get You Amazing Prizes

4. Frugal Entertainment Beats Expensive Outings

5. Swapping Books and Magazines Makes for A Great Time

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