Blog – Page 12 – Make Money, Save Money

Trying to find shoes that fit me is really hard work, so it is something I try to avoid. So when the time comes to get replacement shoes, I will go for the easy option of trainers. A few years ago, I purchased some cheap trainers, in a supermarket, for £5. Now you might be thinking "what quality can you get for only £5?", but in the beginning I enjoyed them. Fast forward a couple of months, and the weather starts to get warmer. Unfortunately the glue that held the insoles in place started melting, which meant the insoles started sliding around inside the trainers. Far from ideal. So I returned the trainers, complete with receipt, to the in store customer services desk. You'll never guess what they said to me. Read more to find out. Make Money Sell Designs There are companies who allow you to upload your designs, and place them on stickers, mugs and t-shirts. If you promote these products, then you will make a cut of each transaction. Could you design a logo for others with People Per Hour? Teach computer usage Not everyone is confident using computers, and will spend as little time in front of the screen as possible. Maybe they know enough to get them online, but struggle taking full advantage. Even Facebook can be quite daunting if you rarely use it. Offer to help your friends and family with their computer issues, and remember to ask for referrals. You will need to be confident with computers and be comfortable explaining how these things work. House / Plant / Pet Sitter Going on holiday should be a fun time, but some people who don't have family/ friends nearby worry about what they leave behind. Will their house be broken into? Will their plants dry up without regular watering? It could even be that they need someone to feed their pet snake. Offer your services on your local selling pages - that you can check as often as needed - and charge a small fee. Save Money Check your Terms and Conditions Do you have broadband, or a mobile phone contract? If you are still within your minimum contract term, and your provider is trying to put up the monthly price, then you need to check your terms and conditions. A lot of contracts allow you to exit your minimum term contract early if they materially alter the deal. What does materially alter mean? They would be materially altering your deal if it will end up costing you money. If you have a mobile phone with an allowance of 2000 minutes, and they tell you that this will be reduced to 1000 minutes, then it will only be materially altered if you habitually use more than 1000 minutes. Read more Monitor Your Energy Usage Keep an eye on how much energy you use in your house. It's very easy to consume gas and electricity without realising. I've even built a website called How-Eco.com that helps you track your energy usage by adding in your meter readings. How-Eco.com allows you to compare your usage to the benchmarks the utility companies use. As a bonus How-Eco.com can track your water usage which gas and electricity companies don't offer, but only if you have a water meter. Sign up Check your receipt When you're out shopping, before leaving, double check your till receipt is for what you purchased and for the price you expected it to be. If you bought something because of a promotion, then double check that the promised discount has been applied. Watch out for being charged for too many items being charged full price for reduced items a promotion not having been applied When paying by credit card, watch out for retailers who have to manually type in the total amount; double check that the receipt amount matches the credit card receipt. Places to double check Newsagents Local Takeaways Local Shops If you do experience a discrepancy, the first step is to raise the issue with your the person who served you, before escalating if necessary. Hopefully, these suggestions give you money-related ideas! That's it for this newsletter. See you next time! If you have any suggestions or questions then drop me a reply to this email.