Every week, Lucy will give you top money-saving tips on getting the best deals. From the High Street shops to the taxman, we'll show you How to Save It...
Pocket some cashback
Don't buy anything online without first checking whether the shop is listed on a cashback site. Otherwise it's just like turning down free £10 notes - and often more - at the till. When you buy something from most internet retailers, they send referral fees to the site that brought you there. Cashback sites such as quidco.com and topcashback.co.uk pay that fee straight into your bank account. Quidco, for example, is currently offering £10 cashback plus 30% off shopping at gap.com, 15% cashback at Avis car rental and 10% of Hotels.com. It keeps your first £5 of earnings each year but the cash quickly adds up.
Check up on council tax
Work out if you could trim your council tax bill. The original banding system was based on council staff simply driving up and down streets, making snap decisions on values. That left thousands of homeowners in the wrong band. Check if your home could be one of them via the Valuation Office Agency's website at www.voa.gov.uk. Enter your postcode, and if you discover your property's rate is considerably higher than that of a neighbour's, contact the VOA on 0845 602 1507 to state your findings. Any errors, and you can cut the cost of your current bill and receive back-dated refunds.
Cut software costs
With the children going back to school and freshers off to university, make the most of student software discounts before splashing out on new technology. Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 costs £240 from PC World, but can be bought for only £33 by anyone with an 'ac.uk' email address - ie, school pupils, university students or teachers - via software company Viglen (viglen.software2.co.uk). Apple offers a student discount of between 12% and 14% on most of its products.
Claim mystery gifts
Have you paid for gym membership, a pizza takeaway or a Subway sandwich recently? Grab them all for nothing by becoming a mystery shopper. Companies including Retail Eyes, Grassroots, Gapbuster, and Retail Maxim pay cash when members sign up (free) to spy on their clients' customer service, food quality or other features. I've received three free months of Virgin Active gym membership plus almost £100 for my regular reports through mystery shopping.
