Save Money with your weekly shopping - automatically!

This is one of the best things I have come across in a while.

My Supermarket - allows you to shop online at your usual store.

The clever website then compares each product in your basket against the other leading supermarkets to see if they have any cheaper deals on any of the products you have bought.

The system then allows you to switch the deal.

It also has a health checker where it checks your products and recommends healthier ones of the same type, with lower fat or calories.

You then complete your order and the supermarket of your choice then sends out your weeks shopping complete with all the best deals. It's amazing!!!! Saves you visiting 4 supermarkets to get the best deals.

Check out the demonstration.

One customer saved £50.00 on her weeks shopping - That's £600 a year!!!!!

Give it a go today.

Cheap Holiday Destinations to escape the EURO!!!

So where will it be for your October holidays?

Over the last year the value of the Euro has increased dramatically with you now getting about 122 Euros for £100.

This is making it more and more expensive to visit Europe, and pay for goods and services in the Euro Zone.

Now's the time to start thinking about alternative destinations:

Let us know of any good value countries you have visited by adding a comment.

Here's a few to get you thinking:

Budapest - Excellent hotels, coffee shops, and history with cheap flights!

Croatia - An attractive island-hopping option is the sun drenched Dalmatian coast of Croatia.

Although Dalmatia has been steadily gaining in popularity in recent years, it's still possible to take advantage of the pound-stretching Kuna and enjoy the warm peach architecture and the Italian influenced cuisine for less.
Istanbul is one of the world's best kept secrets.

How about Istanbul?

For sightseers the Hagia Sophia church, Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace rival the Colloseum and the Pantheon in terms of impressiveness.

One of the best ways to get around is by ferry which costs less than a pound and offers panoramic views of the city to be enjoyed while sipping Turkish black tea onboard.

The modern part of town offers sophisticated nightlife and quality restaurants, where paying with Turkish Lira you'll struggle to spend the equivalent of a ten pounds for a meal.

Afterwards you might even want to even try smoking a hookah pipe like the locals do, commonly called 'hubbly-bubbly'.

Morocco

Morocco is about as far away from Europe as you can get for a 3 1/2 hour flight, and with charter flights flying direct to Marrakech prices are very competitive.

If Barcelona has Las Ramblas, Marrakech has Djemaa el Fna, the famous square where all manner of street performers entertain onlookers, which is surrounded by a maze of shopping markets - don't forget to haggle!

If the crowds get too much, retire to one of the city's lush riads or indulge in world class beauty treatments at a sliver of the cost in the UK.

Crave the beach? The coastal resort of Essaouira is only a day trip away.

Bulgaria rather than Nice!

The Cote D'Azur is renowned for ritzy glamour, but at a cost - get beachside opulence at a fraction of the price at Varna, known as the Bulgarian Riviera and the country's summer capital.

Millions of savvy sun seekers head to the region each year, where popular beachside resorts like Golden Sands and Sunny Beach provide exactly what their names suggest.

As a major shopping and nightlife hub take advantage of the Bulgarian Lev which will be phased out in favour of the Euro by 2010.

Another plus is not having to deal with notoriously prickly French service; however expect some culture clash as in Bulgaria a nod of the head means no and a shake means yes!

Finally Tunisia

Just a 3 hour flight from the UK, and with cheap package deals being widely available, its little wonder that Tunisia has become an increasingly popular holiday destination.

While it offers a taste of North African exoticism with desert landscapes and colourful markets in easy reach of Mediterranean beaches, it is also one of the more liberal Islamic countries and alcohol is widely available.

It's safe to expect hot weather all year round (high summer is perhaps too hot for some) and popular beach resorts offering water sports and reputable golf courses.

Visit Sky Travel at wwwtravel.sky.com for more information and also cheap deals.

Time for £30 worth of deals at Burger King

Burger King are offering you a superb 12 voucher booklet, just by filling in a few details. All that you have to do is visit the Burger King website, click on 'Download £30 of Vouchers Now', fill in your details, and the next window that appears will ask you to print out your voucher booklet.

Here are a few examples from the voucher booklet:

Two vouchers for Buy one Whopper and get one free', Two vouchers for 'Free fries and drink when you buy an Adult burger', 'Free regular drink and regular hash browns with any breakfast butty purchased' and 'Buy one Angus Burger and get another one free'.

This is easy peasy to do and will save you stacks!

Print it out today.

www.Burgerking.co.uk

Save £547.50 per year!

Just take a minute to stop and think how much you spend each year on bottled water!

Lets say that you buy 1 bottle of water each day from a motorway service station. You could easily end up paying almost £600 a year for bottled water. This doesn't include bigger bottles for the house and your water rates!

Your granny would be turning in her grave at the thought of (1) the waste of money and (2) the waste of plastic

Why not dump your bottle today and purchase a reusable water bottle. I have done a bit of research and there's a reusable bottle, complete with a built in filter available at the Guardian's online shop. Click here to check it out



Have a look at Think Outside the Bottle.org
It's the simple things that make all the difference both to your pocket and to the environment. Buy a bottle now!

Lessons from the Painters!

How do you find a painter that is reasonably priced, will do a good job and that you can trust?

Getting tradesmen can be very expensive and you often have no guarantees about the standard of their work, or how they will treat your property.

I'm in the process of getting some decorating work completed around the house, so I thought I'd share my experiences.

I decided that I would get three quotations for the work to be completed, so that I could ensure I was getting a good deal. This is probably the first key point - make sure you get more than 1 price!!

So I had a choice of 3 people - I decided to go on 1 recommendation from another Canny Squirrel, one from a flyer that came through the door from a Polish Company and one from a business card I found in the local post office.

It is really amazing the differences between each of the prospective decorators. The recommended painter came with measuring tape, notepad, colour charts and loads of options. He was really impressive and was so keen to help. He's gone off to put his quote in writing by post (not arrived yet)and if I agree can do the job in 4 weeks time (he's a busy boy!) 2nd key point - it's always key to be professional, organised and go that extra mile to ensure people feel valued and will recommend your services to friends. It is no surprise that he came highly recommended.

The polish company have just left. After a call off yesterday he arrived very prompt this morning with notebook and pen in hand, ready to quote for the job. Not so many options given here - especially around the woodwork and colours and finishes. He is very busy too, but could fit me in at the weekends or in the evenings - he has a big job on that will take 1 month to complete! He did however take my email address so that he could get the quote to me asap. He brought his diary and it was bulging with people to call and quotations to do! His flyers must be working. 3rd key point. If you have services to offer you need people to know you are there. Simple things like flyers are cheap to produce, but could keep you in work for months to come. Always think outside the box about how you can promote your business or services.

The final painter has also been (remember he was the business card in the post office). I called him about 11.55am to see if he could come to quote sometime and he agreed to come at 12.30 that day!!!!! Impressive Speed! He arrived without anything - no pen, no paper, no samples, nothing! I had to provide him with a pen and some paper to enable him to jot down my requirements. Technically he seemed to know his stuff and was keen to help. He said that he would call me at 7.30pm that night with his quote, which he did! I wasn't available to take his call, and now my voicemail has deleted his message, so I only have his quotation in memory. The final lesson from the Painters is - Under promise and over deliver - I was impressed by his speed to action. Always be prepared - pen, paper, business cards and the basic tools of your trade. Follow up important details in writing, so that your clients can reflect and discuss the details to help them make a decision.

I haven't heard from Painter 3 since he left the voicemail. He must be sitting thinking that he as too expensive and didn't get the job. Whereas the truth of the matter is, I haven't decided yet as I'm waiting on the other 2 quotations. How nice it would be if he called to check I got his quote ok and to ask if I had any questions - that might just swing it from him, if the other two are much more expensive.

I will let you know what the three quotes are......when I get them!!!!

Expensive Rumbling Tums

Every day our pockets and wallets are just hemorrhaging money!
Think about it - you pick up a "posh" coffee on your way to work - £1.80. Next you pop out to get a sandwich for lunch - that could amount to £4.50 with crisps and juice at least. Add on another £1.00 for the vending machine and you could be looking at £7.30 per day. Even more if you have another coffee in the afternoon.

£7.30 per day doesn't sound much - but just think what that is over a working year. almost £1500 per year. That would pay for a lovely holiday for you once a year!

It is even scarier if you think how much it costs for a 30 year working life - £85,000 +++

The solution: Buy yourself a packed lunch carrier - you can get them in most supermarkets for about £3.00 and then pack your own lunch. Remember it will only cost a fraction of the price above and be smart when you are doing your shopping.
Plan ahead for the week and buy in bulk to save money!

When did you last check who you pay Direct Debits to?

Right oh - I have been off on a wee holiday over the past few days - hence no posts!
While I was away, we have had an email in to the Canny Squirrel mailbox Gaeldom5@aol.com from York with a really excellent tip.

REGULAR PAYMENTS FROM YOUR ACCOUNT!

When did you last check what Direct Debits and Standing orders were set up on your Bank Account and more importantly, when did you last call that company to make sure that you were getting the best deal. You will find that companies become complacent for existing customers but offer new clients getter deals to get them hooked. A simple phone call to the company can often result in your monthly bills being reduced, by simply swapping to a different plan.

Here is what to do:

Firstly if you have Internet Banking go online and print out a list of your direct debits and standing orders. If you don't have internet banking your bank will be able to supply this list.
Next go through and check that all payments coming off, are still current and still should be paid each month. I ended up cancelling 2 direct debits totaling £35.00 that were being paid to some obscure charity that I signed up to ages ago!! £420 per year saved immediately!

If there are any you're not sure about - check with your bank, just incase they are something important like life cover or home insurance before cancelling any!

Next - once you have a clear idea of what your set "cleared out" expenses are each month - you need to start shopping around, to make sure you are getting the best deals.

I have used moneysupermarket in the past as it really shops around for you. You will see a link above. You can also just call each company - the electric, gas, mobile phone, home insurance etc etc and ask them if they have any better deals available.







Say something like " I have been with you for over 2 years now and I'm looking about to see what the best deals are. Am I on the best deal with you? Is there anything you can do to get me a better deal?

Give it a go - you will be surprised how much you can save on a simple phone call. Add a message on to this post to let us know how much you save!!