Wallet Watcher Show

Podcast episode 038

Podshow — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:32:44 +0000

On this weeks personal finance podcast John Rennie gives personal finance advice on:-

We want to hear from you, you can send your emails to walletwatcher@btpodshow.com. Don't forget to read the articles on the Wallet Watcher blog including Free iPod touch from Orange, Guaranteed equity bonds, IKEA pay as you go phones and Avoiding the TV Licensing Authority. This week we've found some secret promotional codes this week including Comet voucher codes August 2008, Papa Johns promotion codes, Play.com voucher codes and August 2008 Comet voucher codes .

This episode of Wallet Watcher is brought to you with GoDaddy and offers you fantastic discounts on hosting and domain names. Use one of the following Wallet Watcher August 2008 GoDaddy codes to save you money - wallet1 gets you 10% off domain name purchases and wallet2 gets you 20% off orders over £25. Some restrictions may apply, see the GoDaddy web site for more details.

Tags: bathroom heaven discounts, currys savings discounts, park holidays uk vouchercodes, personal finance

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Negative equity and avoiding repossession

Podshow — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:21:32 +0000

This week we look at how NOT to get repossessed. Here, first of all are the scary headline figures. The Council of Mortgage Lenders tells us that the number of homes repossessed in the first half of 2008 was 18,900, that’s nearly 50% up on the first six months of 2007. There’s also strong evidence that lenders are getting tougher on those in arrears. There are a number of reasons - with many people coming off fixed interest mortgages and finding new deals hard to come by. Shunted onto the lenders’ Standard Variable Rate they are pushed over the edge by a sudden hike in their monthly repayments. Add the fact that the cost of living has surged in recent months - we all know about the soaring cost of fuel and groceries - and some people have been pushed beyond their limits. Repossessions and negative equity are often talked about in almost the same breath. But though being beset by both at once is VERY bad news, it’s important to separate the two things out.

To clarify - negative equity is when the amount of your house is worth less than the mortgage on it. It’s an obvious risk with so many lenders offering mortgages that exceed the property value in recent years. The gifted deposit racket was one face of this, though Northern Rock’s infamous 125% ‘Together’ mortgages weren’t much smarter … being an instant turnkey introduction to negative equity. The insanity of these deals was easy to hide when prices were rising, but come the fall it all starts to look less clever.

But actually, negative equity doesn’t really matter unless it coincides with a need to sell. You may be left rueing the fact that you overpaid for a property that’s now fallen 10% in price … but unless you put it on the market, it’s irrelevant. Give it five or ten years and the surges and dips in house prices are forgotten. In fact, forget all about the putative market value of your home - it’s somewhere to live in, not a piggy bank.

But what if you ARE forced to sell. That could arise if you start missing mortgage payments, and some lenders are turning the screw after just a couple of missed payments. That’s because they know that things don’t miraculously just get better - the first missed payment is just the top of a very slippery slope.

So what should you do if you start getting into problems? Contact your lender before it gets out of hand. Although we all love to bash the banks, they generally don’t want to repossess homes - it’s not that they are softhearted, it’s simply an expensive business. The first month you THINK you may miss a payment, let them know first. It may be that they can offer a payment holiday, or put you temporarily on an interest only deal … though bear in mind these make the mortgage more expensive in the long run. Have a plan for repayment when you approach your lender - Financial Services Authority guidelines say that they SHOULD listen.

If things get really bad, you may have to sell. Better if you initiate the sale then have your home repossessed and lose the lot. But however you slice it, selling now could see you in negative equity … so take our preventative measures first. Type ‘avoid repossession’ or the like into Google just now, and you’ll find dozens of companies offering to solve your problem by taking your house off your hands for cash. Be VERY careful here - you are far better turning to Citizens Advice first. Short term cash fixes are unlikely to get you anything but a rock bottom price.

Assuming you’re not at this desperate pass yet … What pre emptive measures can you take? Good mortgage deals are hard to come by just now of course, but that shouldn’t stop you searching for the best possible deal. Amid all the angst about borrowers coming to the end of their fixed deals and having to go onto lenders’ Standard Variable Rates, many observers have ignored the fact that a lot of borrowers are on Standard Variable Rates anyway. Many of us are incredibly cavalier about overpaying for our mortgages, loans, credit cards and the rest. If you have a £100,000 mortgage at 6%, and you re mortgage at 5.5%, you’ll save £500 a year.

And don’t pay for mortgage advice. There is great free advice from brokers such as John Charcol and London & Country, and the web is full of best buy advice - see moneysupermarket.com or moneyfacts.co.uk for current best buy mortgages. Indeed, you may not even HAVE to re mortgage. Try your lender first, asking them what is the best deal they can offer you … it’s always worth a try. If you DO have any spare cash, overpay your mortgage as much as possible. You may have cash on deposit in savings accounts earning miserable rates of interest. Put it to work reducing your mortgage and getting you out of negative equity and into the black. People usually don’t realise how much they can save over time by doing this. For instance, overpay by £100 a month on a £150,000, 25-year mortgage and you’ll save more than £38,000 over the term. You’ll also pay it off nearly five years early.

And when you re mortgage, switch to a repayment from an interest-only mortgage if you can. Interest only become very popular when house prices were rising in double digits each year - after all, why worry about a debt that never went down if the equity was constantly rising? But stick with interest only in a flat market and you’ll just be servicing debt that never goes away - get it paid off. There’s another point about these hitherto unfashionable ideas of paying more each month. It’s the old saving principle of ‘paying yourself first’. Reduce your mortgage by £200 each month and you’re effectively saving that £200. After a month or two of higher payments you probably won’t even notice that you have less spending money after the mortgage is paid.

Cut the contingent costs of your home. Shop around (moneysupermarket.com again) for the best deals on buildings and contents insurance. Most of us just take the same deal from the same lender year after year. It goes without saying that you should slice any unnecessary fat from your monthly expenditure … do a budget now! But also consider making some money from your house. The ‘Rent a Room’ scheme lets you earn £4250 a year tax free for doing just that.

Tags: Negative equity and avoiding repossession, Negative equity, avoid repossession, repossession, mortgage, housing

Currys savings discounts

Podshow — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:17:34 +0000

We’ve found some great deals on printers, phones and other electricals from Currys. The electrical giant seems to be having an almost permanent sale just now. Again, you don’t need a code for these ones … they are just fantastic price cuts. A random selection brings up £100 off the Dell Inspiron 1720 laptop; 50% off the Hoover Freespace Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner, and £10 off the Lexmark Z1380 Inkjet Printer - which is now an astonishing £19.99 …. a great budget printer for the home office.

Related: www.currys.co.uk

Tags: Currys, electricals, sale, savings, personal finance advice

Bathroom Heaven discounts

Podshow — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:16:55 +0000

The DIY and home improvement stores are feeling the pinch. With fewer of us moving, fewer of us are fitting new bathrooms. Their hopes that we’d stay put and invest in our homes are looking very optimistic with most Britons stubbornly refusing to spend. Bathroom Heaven have taken an admirably aggressive approach with its Summer Madness sale. You’ll find reductions of up to 80% on mirrors, cabinets, bathroom lighting, wet room screens and much more. And we’re talking everything from pocket change basics to top of the range bathroom fittings costing thousands. Well worth a look at www.bathroomheaven.com, and no voucher code required.

Related: www.bathroomheaven.com

Tags: Bathroom Heaven, discounts, sale, savings, finance tips

Park Holidays UK voucher codes

Podshow — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:16:11 +0000

Loads more of us are holidaying in the UK this year. With rising prices, increases in airfares and an expensive euro it’s perhaps not surprising that families are opting for the UK rather than Europe. And there’s apparently been a surge in interest in caravanning and camping holidays. Park Holidays UK have a great choice of caravan holiday parks in coastal locations across the south of England in Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex, Kent, Essex & Suffolk, and you get an extra 5% discount when you use voucher code PH05 on bookings before 31 August. Note you do need to book online.

Related: www.parkholidaysuk.com

Tags: Park Holidays UK discount codes, personal finance tips

Free iPod touch from Orange

Podshow — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:19:35 +0000

Free iPod touch from Orange: Blink and you’ll miss this deal. UK Orange mobile phone network Orange is offering a free iPod touch player when you sign up for a £35+ mobile contract on selected handsets only from orange.co.uk.

This deal is only valid Monday 18th August until Thursday 21st August, so you’ll have to get in quick. For more on this free iPod touch from Orange, go to the Orange website.

Tags: iPod touch

Podcast episode 037

Podshow — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:32:36 +0000

On this weeks personal finance podcast John Rennie gives personal finance advice on:-

If you’ve got any voucher code deals you’d like to share then you can send your emails to walletwatcher@btpodshow.com .

Head over to the Wallet Watcher blog for articles on IKEA pay as you go phones , Guaranteed equity bonds , Cheltenham and Gloucester cuts mortgage rates and Cheap Edinburgh festival tickets and fringe tickets . This week we’ve found some secret promotional codes this week including Comet voucher codes August 2008 , Snapfish voucher codes , NCP Parking voucher codes and Littlewoods Direct voucher codes .

Wallet Watcher is brought to you with GoDaddy.com and offers you some great discounts on domain names and hosting. Use our Wallet Watcher August 2008 GoDaddy codes to save money - wallet1 gets you 10% off domain name purchases and wallet2 gets you 20% off orders over £25. Some restrictions may apply so see the GoDaddy web site for details.

Tags: ink world voucher codes , ocado voucher codes , time to spa voucher codes , personal finance

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Protect yourself against rising energy prices

Podshow — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:24:51 +0000

This week we look at the shocking recent hikes in gas prices and what you can do to minimise the damage to your bank account. Unless you live on the moon (in which case you won’t be a customer of British Gas anyway) it won’t have escaped your notice that the company last week unveiled one of the price rise shockers of all time - a 35 per cent jump in gas prices.

So big is the increase that everybody missed the fact they also put up electricity by 9.4 per cent … which at any other time would have been headline news. It means anyone on a dual fuel deal will see prices rise by 25 per cent. And this comes just six months after BG raised dual fuel prices by 16 per cent. Fuel prices have now more than doubled over the last four years, and there’s more to come. Analysts reckon there is likely to be another 20 per cent rise at the beginning of 2009. And while British Gas are the current villains, they are likely only to be the first of many this summer. EDF Energy has already announced rises of 22 per cent, and there is sure to be more.

Okay, that’s the bad news … so what can you do about it. Well there’s not much point switching just now - though that would be our usual advice. As the other companies are going to be upping their prices you could end up with a worse deal. Far better to go for a fixed or capped deal. It may well cost you more in the short term but long term you are protected against further price rises. Head to uswitch.com where you can compare the best of the fixed and capped fuel deals. But we’d advise you to hurry as the relatively cheap fixes are starting to disappear as the companies anticipate future rises in the price of wholesale gas.

At time of writing, the cheapest fixed tariff on the market was from EDF, though this is likely to change fast. This fixes the price you pay for electricity and gas until October 2009. British Gas, meanwhile, is offering a fix until 2011, though at a slightly higher per unit rate.

It’s also worth looking at switching to a dual fuel deal if you don’t currently have one, as some suppliers offer incentives to switch. Moneysupermarket.com pays you £30 to switch to dual fuel and Energyhelpline.com pays £15. Bear in mind though that these discounts will be dwarfed by the actual size of your bill - it’s important that you look at the overall cost, rather than being seduced by signup incentives.

The other side, of course, is simply to use less of the stuff. We’re horribly wasteful of domestic energy in Britain - all those twinkling LEDs on your TVs and computers at night represent energy being burnt away. Turn off all those standby lights and you could save around 5 per cent a year on your electricity bill.

Remember to run the washing machine at 40deg rather than 60deg. And to save on gas heating bills, turn the thermostat down. Knocking it down 1 degree C can save an astonishing 10 per cent on your bills. Set the heating to come on later in the morning and click off earlier at night. Ensure your loft is adequately insulated, and investigate grants for cavity wall insulation. And finally, to take my old mum’s advice. Don’t turn on the fire, put on a jumper! It could be the easiest way to save money you’ll find all year!

Tags: Protect yourself against rising energy prices, Energy prices, rising energy prices, how to save energy costs, lowering energy costs

Ocado voucher codes

Podshow — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:23:08 +0000

Voucher code number three comes from Waitrose’s home delivery service Ocado.

Nobody ever shopped at Waitrose to save money … it’s all about quality. But as the tagline for a rival retailer would have it, ‘every little helps’. This Ocado voucher code, VOU4222904, gets you £15 off orders of £60 or more when you shop online at ocado.com. As ever, remember that voucher codes aren’t available for long … so get in quickly.

Time To Spa voucher codes

Podshow — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:22:00 +0000

This online cosmetics retailer has some terrific deals on brands such as Elemis, La Therapie, Steiner and lots more, and has freebies on Elemis Pro-Collagen products just now. ‘The more you spend, the more Pro-Collagen gifts you receive!’ they claim. That’s the sort of money saving advice that makes us shudder and lock up the credit card. Anyway - those Elemis voucher codes in full.

Spend £85 and receive free the Pro-Collagen Trio pack (worth over £50) when you enter the Elemis Voucher Code TTSTRIO at checkout.
Spend £90 and receive free the Pro-Collagen Luxury pack (worth over £80) when you enter the Elemis Voucher Code TTSLUX at checkout.
Spend £100 and receive free the Pro-Collagen Deluxe pack (worth over £100) when you enter the Elemis Voucher Code TTSDELUXE at checkout.

Related: Time To Spa

Tags: Time To Spa, voucher codes

Ink World voucher codes

Podshow — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:20:59 +0000

Ink shouldn’t be expensive should it. But printer manufacturers long ago sussed out that it made sense to make the hardware cheap and make money on the follow on sales. Hence the absurdity of buying a new and very good laser printer for £50 only to find that it costs you £30 every time you want to change the ink cartridge. This Ink World Voucher code should help a little.

The code you need is INKAUGUST. Complete your order at the Ink World online store, tap in the voucher code at checkout and you get 10% off your order. Doing a like for like comparison of inkjet and laser cartridges, we have to say that Ink World is pretty competitively priced anyway, so this one should be hard to beat.

Related: Ink World

Tags: Ink World, voucher codes

IKEA pay as you go phones

Podshow — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:31:53 +0000

No, you don’t have to assemble them yourself … in fact you can even keep your old number. In the spirit of doing everything cheaper than the competition, furniture giant IKEA this week begins its Family Mobile pay-as-you-go package, which promises to be 25 per cent cheaper than comparable offers. The IKEA pay as you go phones have no contract and a flat UK call rate.

The IKEA pay as you go phones package is available exclusively to ‘IKEA Family’ loyalty card holders, and they will be charged 9p a minute for UK calls and 6p for texts. The deal is being offered in tandem with Mobile Partners UK, whose MD Teddy Pederson described the UK as ‘a price jungle.

Comet voucher codes August 2008

Podshow — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:55:46 +0000

There’s a raft of great Comet voucher codes for August 2008 - note that many of these expire in the next week or so, so get in quick.

Comet voucher codes August 2008 on cookery items, digital cameras and GPS: £10 off selected GPS with the voucher code AWSATNAV10? valid until 15 August; £15 off selected digital cameras with the voucher code DSCAW15? valid until 15 August; £20 off selected camcorders with the voucher code CAMCAW20? valid until 15 August; 10 per cent off all juicers & smoothie makers with the voucher code 10SMJC valid until 15 August; 10 per cent off all george foreman appliances with the voucher code 10GMAN valid until 15 August; 10 per cent off all coffee makers over £100 with the voucher code 10COFF100? valid until 15 August; 10 per cent off all food processors over £90 with the voucher code 10FOOD90? valid until 15 August;

Comet voucher codes August 2008 on radios and hifi items: 10 per cent off all portable DAB radios with the voucher code 10SUMMERDAB valid until 31 August; 10 per cent on selected large kitchen appliances with the voucher codes 10WSHR/10DSHS /10FFZR; 10 per cent on selected cooking and integrated appliances with the voucher code 10COOKINT; 15 per cent off iPod speakers over £50 with the voucher code 15IPODSPEAKER valid until 31 August; 15 per cent off selected home networking & data storage with voucher code 15STORENET valid until 15 August; 20 per cent off selected printers with voucher code 20PRINTING valid until 15 August; 20 per cent off TV stands & brackets over £50 with the voucher code 20STANDBRACKET valid until 31 August; 25 per cent off selected landline telephones with voucher code 25LANDLINE valid until 15 August.

For all these Comet voucher codes August 2008, check the Comet website and keep checking back on Walletwatcher each day for more voucher code deals.

Tags: Comet voucher codes, UK voucher codes, UK electricals voucher codes

Guaranteed equity bonds

Podshow — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:33:11 +0000

There are some excellent savings rates on offer at the moment offering well above base rate, but both the Post Office and the Britannia Building Society are offering something a little different, presumably to calm the fears of investors spooked by stock market volatility. Both have Guaranteed Equity Bonds (GEBs) which allow you to benefit from rises in the market, while also guaranteeing you’ll get all your money back at the end of the investment term, even if markets fall.

There are downsides to this - you’re not going to get absolute top rates of interest for example. The Post Office’s Five-year Saver account splits your cash in two, with half earning 5.75 per cent gross interest over the five-year term, and the rest earning 50 per cent of any increase in the FTSE 100 over the term. Should the FTSE fall, you get your original investment back plus the interest you earned on the other half. The account is open until 4 October, with £500 the minimum investment.

Britannia’s Guaranteed Capital Bond is another five-year deal aiming to offer ‘a buffer against the effects of inflation’. It does this by giving you either 50 per cent of growth in the FTSE 100 or any percentage growth in the Retail Price Index, whichever is the greater. See www.britannia.co.uk for more.

Snapfish voucher code

Podshow — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:20:32 +0000

Click open the Snapfish website and you’re confronted with …. arghhh, Back to School once again. Previous readers will know that I bear the scars of childhood trauma, having read the legend ‘Back to School’ one too many times in shop windows while trying to enjoy an unspoiled summer holiday as a child. But I forgive them, because there is an excellent Snapfish voucher code here. Buy any two posters from Snapfish with orders placed before 10 August 2008.

This Snapfish voucher code is SUMMERPOSTER08. You need to type it in when you go to the online checkout to claim your freebie. Note that, as ever, terms and conditions apply, and voucher codes can become oversubscribed or withdrawn without warning by the suppliers, so we’d advise you to get in quick.

You can go looking for your own voucher codes by the way … we just aim to give you a little nudge in the right direction. Simply go to Google and type in the name of your chosen product, ideally followed by ‘august 2008′ or whatever the current month is. This will lessen your chance of digging up ancient or expired voucher codes. For more on this Snapfish voucher code and lots more, check out our daily updates at Walletwatcher. And Snapfish … if they were going back to school those kids on your website wouldn’t be smiling like that.

Tags: Snapfish, cheap photos online, voucher codes

Cheltenham and Gloucester cuts mortgage rate

Podshow — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:29:26 +0000

Cheltenham and Gloucester cuts mortgage rate: Another sign of a thaw in the frozen credit market today as the Cheltenham and Gloucester made its third cut in three to its mortgage rates in as many weeks. C&G cut the rate on its 1½-year and two-year fixed rate loans by 0.14% to 6.05% and 6.15% respectively, while the rate on its three-year fixed loans dropped 0.1% to 6.19%. These aren’t huge falls of course and aren’t much going to affect the affordability of your mortgage. Cutting 0.1% from a £100,000 mortgage will save borrowers £8.30 a month. But coming on the heels of cuts by Nationwide, HBOS and the Woolwich in recent weeks it comes as a reaction to drops in the interest rate swaps, a rather complex derivative, but which is crucially pegged to the interbank lending rate. All that suggests that banks, albeit slowly, are beginning to lend money to each other once again.

What it doesn’t mean is that lenders are touting for sub prime borrowers any more. The entry fee for mortgages is high, with all the C&G loans having a maximum loan to value of 75% and an arrangement fee of £995. Money may be getting marginally cheaper, but for those who really need a mortgage it’s still horribly hard to come by.

Tags: credit crunch, subprime mortgage, Cheltenham and Gloucester, UK mortgage rates

Podcast episode 036

Podshow — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:11:40 +0000

This week on the Wallet Watcher personal finance podcast John Rennie talks about:-

Always great to hear from you, our email address is walletwatcher@btpodshow.com with your personal finance questions. We also have fresh articles on the Wallet Watcher blog including the collapse of Inside Track, petrol prices in the UK , how to save on Royal Mail postage and independent financial advice investment . We’ve found some more secret promotional codes this week, so why not try Koodos voucher codes, Play.com voucher codes, Shoesdirect voucher codes and Littlewoods Direct voucher codes.

This episode of Wallet Watcher is brought to you with GoDaddy and offers you great discounts on hosting and domain names. Use the following Wallet Watcher August 2008 GoDaddy discount codes to save you money - wallet1 gets you 10% off domain name purchases and wallet2 gets you 20% off orders over £25. Some restrictions may apply, see the GoDaddy web site for more details.

Tags: hiffibitz online discounts, pixmania voucher codes, sound and vision online discounts, personal finance

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How to save money on shopping

Podshow — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:14:36 +0000

It’s a good time to go shopping. Yes, we’re all suffering from the highest inflation in years, our mortgages are spiralling upwards and the credit crunch is making many of us twitchy about our employment prospects. But if you have a little cash to spend, you’ll get bargains like never before. It’s all because the shops are suffering too. We’re not spending (June 2008 retail sales were the worst in 22 years) so there are some great deals out there. But let’s see how we can do even better … and get more for less. Here’s my six point plan for saving hundreds on your shopping.

Price comparison sites
Of course you don’t have to rush round comparing prices yourself. That’s what price comparison websites such as pricechecker.co.uk, kelkoo.co.uk and pricegrabber.co.uk are for. The way to use them is this. Find the product you want to buy and be specific about what you’re looking for - it’s crucial that you’re comparing like for like - prices of Duracell AA four-packs, or the iPod nano in baby blue. If you’re looking for the Pirates of the Caribbean two-disc set you don’t end up with the one-disc set. Then type your spec into the comparison site and let the clever robot go off and search for you.
Be a late adopter
Of course early adopters aren’t bothered about saving money, they want the new Playstation or the latest iPhone before everyone else … that’s the point for them. It does mean they occasionally end up with a LaserDisc system or a Betamax video, but hey. But for the rest of us it pays to wait. In fact, you don’t even have to wait these days. Technological change is so quick and so relentless, that you can simply buy the state of the art product from six months ago … and you’ll get a hefty discount.

Take the example of the Canon EOS400 digital SLR camera, the market’s best seller. In July 07 it was selling for £700; this summer it’s literally half the price. There ARE newer and more expensive SLRs now of course … but ask yourself. How much SLR do you need to pay for?
Always haggle
Brits hate doing it but haggling works - another reason to buy instore rather than online of course. I’ve got to admit I’m terrible at this, but I have an indefatigable sister in law who argues the price of everything … and she invariably gets a deal. Cars, electrical goods and other consumer durables are prime targets. In fact the salespeople are often given permission to knock 5% or 10% off without even speaking to their manager. Give it a go.
Travel to the shops
And barmy as it may sound to fly halfway round the world to do your shopping, consider this. Americans generally pay less for jeans, cameras, iPods … in fact just about anything. Factor in the current strength of sterling against the dollar and the US is one big bargain bin just now.

A great idea is to combine a shopping trip with a holiday - because your hotel room and eating out will be cheaper too of course. By the same token, we wouldn’t advise anyone to go shopping in the eurozone just now, as the euro is horribly expensive against the pound. In fact if you can avoid going ANYWHERE that uses the euro in the next few months you’ll do your wallet a favour.
Buy online … with care
You can’t haggle on the internet of course, but the other side of the coin is that online shopping means you’re under no pressure to buy, with no pestering sales people. Compare prices, go away, have a cup of tea, come back to the screen and then push the ‘buy’ button. But do watch out for the online tempters. I’m not Amazon bashing here - they’re brilliant at what they do. But their little buying hints, the ‘if you liked that why not buy this’ are deadly to your bank balance. Again, buy at leisure, never on impulse.

It might surprise regular listeners to know I have my reservations about online shopping. For CDs it’s great … for cauliflowers not so good. I know what I’m getting if I order the new Bob Dylan album or the Wall-E DVD, but I don’t know if those tomatoes are ripe when I order from Sainsbury’s. There are other downsides too. Delivery charges can rack a huge amount onto an online ‘bargain‘. Check that prices aren’t quoted net, with tax then added on (a killer with airfares of course).

And if time IS money, then I’ve spent a fortune waiting in the house for deliveries to arrive - not to mention having to head off to the UPS depot to reclaim my stuff because I nipped out to the shops. Sometimes it’s just cheaper to get stuff at the store.
Voucher codes
We had to mention them eventually. No matter how good a deal you’ve already snared for yourself, you can frequently get an extra 10% off, perhaps free delivery, or extra freebies, by tapping in a voucher code at checkout. A huge variety of retailers are using voucher codes now. The trick is to go to Google and do a search for the product you want, add a PLUS sign and then type in the phrase ‘voucher code’. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Tags: How to save money on shopping, save money shopping, save money online, smarter shopping

Expedia voucher code August 2008

Podshow — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:14:07 +0000

Expedia voucher code August 2008: Not booked your summer holiday yet? Good! No, we don’t want you to spend your entire August reading about voucher codes on Walletwatcher, but we do want you to save a wad of cash for when you do go abroad. This Expedia voucher code is a real find, offering a £50 discount on tailor made packages purchases before 31 August 2008 and for travel up to 31 December 2008. The minimum purchase amount is £600.

Certain conditions apply of course. Purchases must be made online and include an Expedia Special Rate hotel stay. Obviously all purchases are also subject to availability and you can only use the voucher once. You can find all the terms and conditions at the Expedia website. The code you need for this Expedia voucher code August 2008 is AFF50B, and we’d advise that you get in quick. As ever, we want to know if it worked for you … so let us know!

For more on other voucher codes as well as this Expedia voucher code August 2008, go to our archive on the Walletwatcher pages.

Tags: Expedia, travel discounts, voucher code

HifFiBitz online discounts

Podshow — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:07:24 +0000

The excellent HiFiBitz is slashing online prices. Bargains onsite include Boston DSi465 In-Ceiling Speakers only £189.99 and the Samsung DVD-SH871M HDD DVD Recorder for only £154.45 … some £25 below the listed price. Check out www.hifibitz.co.uk for more.

Tags: HifFiBitz, discounts

Sound and Vision online discounts

Podshow — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:06:43 +0000

Sound and Vision have skipped the voucher code route, going straight to their summer sale. You can save 34% off The Yamaha 6.1 Channel Digital Home Theatre Receiver, which is now only £398.99. You can save 44% off The LG 5.1 DVD Home Cinema System, now only £76. And there is a whopping 63% off The JVC HD-65DS8DD system. Check out their site at www.soundandvisiononline.com.

Tags: Sound and Vision, discounts, finance tips

Pixmania voucher codes

Podshow — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:04:28 +0000

Pixmania has a storming voucher code deal on the Samsung LE52A559P - 52″ Widescreen TV. A portable TV this isn’t, delivering a superb home cinema experience. The Samsung usually ships for around £1250, but the Pixmania onsite price is just £1229 including VAT.

Tap in the Samsung LE52A559P voucher code Sam52 at checkout and you should receive a further £39 off. Check out dozens more goodies from Pixmania at www.pixmania.com.

Tags: Pixmania voucher codes, Pixmania, voucher codes, Samsung LE52A559P, Widescreen TV

Shoesdirect voucher code

Podshow — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 07:53:27 +0000

The legend ‘Back to School’ always used to fill me with rage when I was a child. Plastered all over the windows of the local Co-Op it accompanied posters of happy, smiling children, clad in school uniforms, eager to get back to their desks … and this was in late July! Resisting the urge to cry ‘Hey, retailers leave those kids alone’ and let them enjoy their summer holiday, we bring you a ‘back to school’ offer with this Shoesdirect voucher code, which will give hard pressed parents a little financial relief.

Go to the shoesdirect website and type in BTS2008 when you purchase anything from the ‘Back to School’ section. You’ll receive a free school bag along with your order. There are some excellent deals for grown ups too, with 10% off all men’s and women’s Clarks shoes with the voucher code Clarks10. And Shoesdirect has a great range of brands - Birkenstock, Ecco, Barker, Timberland and loads more.

As ever, we’d like to know if the voucher code worked, so let us know here at Walletwatcher. For more on this Shoesdirect voucher code and lots more besides, see our archive of voucher codes.

More: www.shoesdirect.co.uk

Tags: Shoesdirect, Voucher Codes

Play.com voucher code

Podshow — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:38:25 +0000

‘Free delivery on everything’ is a pretty compelling sell for videos, CDs, DVDs and the rest these days. I find it harder and harder to actually get free postage on Amazon, when so much of what I now buy comes from third-party and Marketplace sellers. But the ubiquity of Amazon for ordering your home entertainment is being severely challenged these days. This Play.com voucher code offers another good reason to look at one of the better competitors.

A glance down the lefthand menu gives you a snapshot of what Play.com does. DVD, Blu-Ray, Music, a new section for MP3 downloads, Games, Books, Electronics, Televisions, Computing, Software, Gadgets, Mobile and (rather curiously) Men’s and Women’s Clothing. It looks rather like Play.com is positioning itself to be the new Amazon in fact. Type in Play.com voucher code JULCOS7 and you’ll earn an extra 10% discount at checkout.

So what’s on offer to tempt you? Bargains on site when we looked included a sale of DVDs starting at £2.99, and some very good titles at £5.99, including The Bourne Ultimatum and Batman Begins. Remember, you’ll also get an additional 10% off the listed price of everything when you tap in your Play.com voucher code.

This Play.com voucher code is slated to expire on 31 August 2008. As ever, please let us know if it worked, failed to work, or indeed if you’ve found any other nifty voucher code deals or special offers online.

More great deals at www.play.com.

Tags: Play.com, voucher codes

Koodos voucher code

Podshow — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:38:22 +0000

Koodos is one of the growing number of online fashion retailers making a name both for value and choice. While Primark and the like are scooping up the bottom end of the market, a growing number of online stores are offering dramatic bargains at the mid and high range, offering labels at impressive prices. Apart from the ticklish matter of having to try clothes on for size, we begin to wonder why anyone would endure the misery of scrumming down with other shoppers on the Saturday afternoon high street. This Koodos voucher code makes the value to be had that bit more compelling.

‘The best place to go if you’re a label lover’ according to Look.co.uk, ‘If you love designer handbags, but can’t quite justify the price tag, then koodos.com is the site for you,’ says Marie Claire, ‘an Aladdin’s cave of designer brands, all of which are sold at a discounted price’, says The Guardian, while OK! describes it as ‘the best website for discounted designer products’. So high praise indeed (and the Koodos website yields a host of frothing testimonials from happy customers too). This Koodos voucher code offers an additional 10% off when you check out online.

A recent visit revealed a sale of Valentino men’s clothes, with 70% off men’s polo shirts. The women’s section had great deals on Prada, Gucci, Chloe and Fendi. And there are men’s and women’s watches, jewellery and loads more. To take advantage of this Koodos voucher code go to the Koodos website. and type in BONVOYAGE at checkout. For more on voucher codes see our previous posts at the Voucher Code Archive.

Tags: Koodos, voucher codes

Podcast episode 035

Podshow — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:51:22 +0000

This week on the Wallet Watcher personal finance podcast we talk about:-

Thanks for the emails, keep them coming in to walletwatcher@btpodshow.com. Be sure to visit the Wallet Watcher blog for articles on Independent financial advice investment, how do ISAs work, petrol prices UK and Council Tax rebanding. Our secret promotional codes this week include a Virgin Wine voucher code, Littlewoods Direct voucher code, Papa Johns promotion code and Easyjet promotional code 2008.

This weeks episode of Wallet Watcher is brought to you in association with GoDaddy and offers you discounts on hosting and domain names. Use one of the following Wallet Watcher July 2008 GoDaddy voucher codes to save you money - wallet1 gets you 10% off domain name purchases and wallet2 gets you 20% off orders over £25. Some restrictions may apply, please see the GoDaddy web site for more details.

Tags: fragrance zone voucher code, lk bennet voucher code july 2008, the link voucher code july 2008, personal finance

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