Classic Tips

Welcome to New Visitors
You will find a wealth of bargain information on our pages so please take your time and dig in. There are masses of current bargains on Top Tips, general bargain hunting strategy here on 'Classic Tips', opinions and advice from the public on 'Your Tips' and 'Q & A'. There is a search facility and and if you do not find what you are looking for you can always post a question on the site You can also tell us about your bargainhunting experiences. Last but not least you will find all the latest Supermarket Offers on 'Off Your Trolley' and discount coupons and codes on 'Coupon Crazy'.
I believe that our most valuable asset in life is time, and time cannot be bought. If we spend our money wisely, we have more time for the things that are more important to us.
I hope you have fun with our family run site - Best wishes Jeanie Reid
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MY BARGAIN-HUNTING RULES
Over the years I have established a set of classic rules which apply to most of my bargain hunting quests.

Firstly, don't buy anything which is reduced if you did not like it when it was full price. This is a waste of money. Only buy the things that you really like and know that you will use.

As a rule, don't rush and buy on impulse. If you see something and say 'I want it and I want it now', you will usually pay full price. If it is something that may go into a sale or on special offer or you may find cheaper somewhere else, it could be well worth just waiting a while. (I tend not to apply this to size 14 women's clothes which rarely turn up in the sales, where everything is either size 8, size 22 or just plain awful)

On large expenditures such as mortgages, holidays or other expensive items, it is well worth while doing some research. I have saved hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds just by spending a couple of hours checking and comparing prices. Research can include use of Which? Magazine, the internet and teletextholidays . It isn't just about price but about quality and reliability.

Which? online offers access to independent, expert, consumer advice on a vast number of products and services. Reports range from audio visual equipment to cars…from food issues to legal advice. For nearly 50 years, Which? has been helping people make the right choice for them through it's magazines, books and online resources. See how Which? can help you by taking out a 30 day trial for just £1 to www.which.co.uk

It helps to be flexible on time and place when looking for holiday bargains. Being flexible can create bargains for you in other areas.

Consider loyalty cards and any special offers on loyalty points when they are available and appropriate

Christmas shopping can be spread over the year and good presents can be bought at anytime, especially if they are at bargain prices. This can help lessen the usual extra financial burden at Christmas.

Coupons and vouchers can be very good but do not spend hours looking for them, especially the ones for pennies. I go for the big ones. Cut them out if you come across them and if there is something you plan to buy and you have a coupon use it. Do not buy an item you are not keen on just to use the coupon,
Before you commit yourself, ask for the discount or special deal. This is especially effective over the phone or if you can play off one store against another. Remember, they want to make a sale.
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***SAVE UP TO HALF ON YOUR WEEKLY SHOPPING BILL!***
You will find a list of the major supermarket BOGOFs and special offers in the 'Off Your Trolley' section. BOGOFs are Buy One Get One Free offers. The durables such as loo cleaner, toilet rolls, washing up liquid can be kept so you shouldn't ever pay full price. Just buy plenty of the ones you use when they are on offer and keep them. You can do this with frozen food, provided that you have room in your freezer or if you have a friend you can go shopping with, you can share the BOGOFs on fresh and frozen offers, and halve the petrol cost. I REGULARLY VISIT TWO OR THREE SUPERMARKETS JUST TO GET THE SPECIAL OFFERS AND BOGOFS!!
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***SPECIAL OFFERS PLUS ANOTHER 30% OFF AT SUPERMARKETS***
Many supermarkets (but not all) accept manufacturers coupons for products up to 30% of the purchases, even if you do not buy the products. This is often down to the discretion of the store and changes periodically. If you buy the BOGOFs and use the coupons, you could be paying as little as a third of the normal price.
They will be throwing themselves on the tills!!
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***FIVE STAR HOLIDAYS AT THREE STAR PRICES!***
Many experienced bargain hunters will know this one already.
Never pay the brochure price. Even high street travel agents will give you a better price just for asking and there is a lot of competition out there so always ask.
My prefered methods are a choice of TV or INTERNET.

1. TV, Teletext
This is my favourite method and I have found some fantastic deals this way. Look at Teletext Holidays, page 200. There is a wide selection of destinations and travel companies. Details of named accommodation and the price quoted can be checked in travel brochures, but allocation on arrival is normally cheaper still. The more flexible you can be the better the deal you can get. New hotels are not normally in the brochures but you can get fantastic deals and often there is a website you can find to check out the hotel. Make sure you ask about building work. You do not want to be in the middle of a building site. I always have a few brochures so I can check out the value of the deal.

I booked a five star cruise for A QUARTER OF THE BROCHURE PRICE from a company I found on teletext. My favourite holiday companies at present are www.portland-direct.co.uk and www.thomson.co.uk I think that they are consistently good value for money. We went to a new four star superior hotel in Lanzarote with Portland at the beginning of January and paid £140 less than the brochure price for each person.

2. Internet
I do use this method also but find I get more information about the accomodation on TV Teletext.

Many individual travel companies have websites with special offers but I prefer to use a great website called teletextholidays , which is also good for finding cheap flights. You will find all the company bargains there on one site but you will have to contact the individual company to get the name of the accomodation.
Make sure you always check prices against brochures. Not all bargains are what they claim to be.
One last tip. Always pay for your holiday by credit card (not debit). If the holiday is not up to what you have been promised you have added rights under the consumer protection laws. You may get much better attention from your rep and/or travel company if you are not satisfied and you mention this.
How do you find bargain holidays? Let me know.
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***TVs, DVDs, WASHING MACHINES Etc. AT BARGAIN PRICES!!***
There are many price comparison sites such as www.priceguideuk.com and www.pricerunner.co.uk that will tell you where they think the cheapest bargain is.

If they are not already cheaper, they will usually match the cheapest prices quoted elsewhere. If you subscribe to Which? magazine, as I do, they will also give you an extra discount. One purchase could save a whole year's subscription to Which. Which is produced by the Consumer Association and is completely unbiased in its assessments of quality and durability of many household items, and they assess many other items such as insurance, pensions, banks and savings accounts etc.. They also have many other tips and advice for consumers. I have subscribed to it for many years now.
To see the 30 Trial Offer for only £1 go to http://trial.which.co.uk/


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***FREE HOLIDAYS! FREE ENTRY TO THEME PARKS! FREE CINEMA TICKETS!***
This is the fourth year I will take a FREE holiday. I have had three so far in a four star hotel in the Italian Lakes.

This is how I do it.
I have a Tesco credit card and I get reward points when I use them in Tesco or anywhere else.
So I don't even have to shop at Tesco to earn reward points.

I get 2 points when I use my credit card and elsewhere I get half a point for every pound. Each point is worth one penny.
I get my shopping and petrol at Tesco and I use my Tesco Clubcard Plus. I also buy offers which carry extra free points. Every three months Tesco send me vouchers based on the amount of points I have accumulated.
I could spend these vouchers at face value in Tesco if I wish, but I can get much more for my vouchers if I save them. I can use the vouchers to buy special deal tokens for four times the value of the Tesco vouchers. So with up to 2 points to the pound and four times the value that can be worth 8% of the money I spend in Tesco and 2% of all the money I spend anywhere else. So I save up my vouchers and exchange them for Holiday tokens. So far I have had three lovely holidays, five days, six days and nine days and all totally free. If I want extra days I just pay for them at the brochure price.

I have now been told that Tesco is not having any new customers for Clubcard plus account but you can still get points with their credit card

I can also buy airmiles, hotel breaks, cinema tickets and loads of other goodies with my vouchers.

Just a basic weekly spend at Tesco of £100 on shopping and/or petrol would earn me £104 in Tesco vouchers over one year. This would buy £416 in holiday or other tokens. Taking advantage of extra points offers instore and on-line and using my Tesco credit card for all your other purchases earns many more points, but it is important to me to pay off my balance at the end of each month or those free holiday tokens would be costing me a lot of money because of the interest due on the credit card.

You can get details about a Credit Card instore.

You can see a list of Best Buy Credit Cards and Loans on our new financial Best Buys page if you Click Here
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***Cheap Flights, Car Hire, Hotels & Holidays***
A great way to check for the cheapest flights is to go to www.expedia.co.uk it will search for the best price for your destination with all the main airlines.They usually come out cheaper than if you go to the airline direct .
You can get some great deals give it a try it is very easy to use and you can also look up Cheap Holidays, Weekend Breaks, Car hire, Hotels, days out etc.
Another good site I always try now is www.alpharooms.com not only do the do discounted hotels here and abroad but they will check the airlines for the best price flights.
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***Great prices on Electrical items***
If you are looking to buy any electrical items check out these sites first:

www.tribaluk.com

www.currys.co.uk

www.comet.co.uk

And always check on coupon Crazy page for extra discount codes to use.

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***I SAVED MY DAD HUNDREDS OF £££££s***
Just last year I saved my dad hundreds of pounds by helping him change his house and car insurance. He had been with the same company for years and they were really taking liberties instead of rewarding his loyalty.
It is well worth checking out how much you are paying for car insurance. For a detailed car insurance quote, go to Go Compare . Fill in just one form and they will search to find you the cheapest quote from car insurance companies on the net.
Also find competitive rates on almost any financial purchases and savings, it is worth checking out www.moneysupermarket.com who will compare 60 companies for home insurance and do comparisons for almost any insurance policy you may be looking for, including pet insurance, health insurance and travel insurance.

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***A BIG FINANCIAL DECISION?***
Anything which involves a major financial decision should be researched before committing yourself and a great site that impartially compares credit cards, loans, mortgages, savings accounts, current accounts and insurance is www.moneysupermarket.com . They also compare introductory rates, best balance transfer offers and best cashback offers on credit cards. It is well worth a look before you make your decision.

**To compare credit cards click here

**To compare mortgages click here

**To compare loans click here

**To compare savings accounts click here

**To compare current accounts click here
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***If your company has a bargain that you would like to offer our site visitors, click on the Contact Us button below and tell Jeanie all about it***