108 HEALTH MATTERS Personal finance Shop Around for Clever Budgeting
Eoin McGee reports on how to cut your everyday costs and save money on utility bills with some simple, yet clever, personal budgeting.
H
ave you noticed that most companies, particularly washing-up liquid companies have started to replay their old advertisements? There is a very clever marketing reason for this. As well as it being a very cost-effective way of producing an advertisement, it is believed that during recessionary times people tend to revert back to their roots, finding comfort in what they know. The advertisements are designed to remind you of your brand loyalty, remind you of the quality of the product – and they usually finish with some reminder of how cost-effective the products are.
But brand loyalty is not always a good thing. Sometimes we can get so caught up with a brand that we fail to see what else is available. If you find there is not enough cash available at the end of your month, then maybe you should revisit some of the old reliables and see if you could be saving money. This can be a difficult task to master. All the companies claim to be the cheapest, but with a little research online you can usually find out who is the best option for your particular circumstances.
HOME ELECTRICTIY
With the introduction of the Big Switch from Bord Gáis, this market has got a lot more competitive. They have a handy cost comparison calculator on their website. They claim savings versus ESB range from between b42 and b171 per annum depending on your usage. Airtricity are also competing in this market and claim to deliver similar savings. They opt more for percentages, stating you should be able to save up to 13 per cent on your electricity costs. ESB don’t heavily market any type of savings calculator, instead they are going down the route of informing their customers of how to
cut down the use of electricity in their home. The appliance calculator is actually quite interesting and it helped me win the argument at home that leaving my laptop plugged-in overnight does not actually cost that much.
It will take a few minutes to shop around and see who is the cheapest for your particular usage and costs, but it will be worth it. A lot of people choose not to move because they are worried that they will either have to dig up the house, or in the case of Bord Gáis, that they are not a gas customer. This should not be a concern. The retail electricity industry has been open to competition since February 2005. This meant that ESB had to split into two different companies. One company is responsible for the delivery of electricity to each home and a separate company is selling electricity. This puts all the companies on a level footing, meaning that ESB customer supply is a separate entity to ESB networks and therefore has the same relationship with them as Airtricity and Bord Gáis Energy do. What this means for you is that, regardless of provider, the delivery of the electricity to your home is from the same person.
HOME PHONE
There are a lot more providers in this area and what packages to choose will depend on your own personal circumstances. Do you use broadband, do you ring local, national or international a lot? When do you use the phone? How often do you ring mobiles?
The easiest way to find out how much you can save is to use some of the cost comparison websites. They will enable to you to put in your specific details and will calculate what savings can be made. They will also advise you which company to
use. I used one such site, and discovered I could be saving approximately b70 per annum. I will keep the same number and no technician needs to call to the house.
INSURANCES
To be honest, most people don’t tend to review the cost of their insurances until the renewal date. Legislation was introduced several years ago to try and encourage customers to be more active about looking for better deals throughout the year. The legislation dictates that if you cancel a policy during the year, that you are entitled to a pro-rata refund of any premiums paid subject to a deduction of a reasonable administration charge. This hasn’t had the desired effect and most people wait for their renewal.
CAR INSURANCE
When you do shop around it would be typical to be able to save between b50-80 on a b450 car insurance renewal price. The financial regulator recently published a survey on the type of savings that can be made on car insurance premiums. The results show significant savings by shopping around. For example, a young male driver looking for comprehensive cover can save over b2,000 per annum by shopping around. The cost comparison results are available on the regulators consumer website,
www.itsyourmoney.ie.
HOUSE INSURANCE
If you haven’t got your renewal in the post in recent months, be prepared for a big surprise with prices in some cases rising by about 20 per cent. This is as a result of the
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