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Aldi summer BBQ Special buys
Aldi has everything to host the perfect Bank Holiday barbeque bash, with its new range of barbeque and picnic kits in stores and online from the 28th April. With everything from great-value cooking gear to attractive tableware, Aldi shoppers can cook their bangers and burgers with ease.
I was especially impressed by their tableware…even the plastic plates in the picnic basket were great quality for the price. M&S, my other favourite store, had comparable plates for £3 a pop, so that’s £12 for four plates and Aldi is doing a whole picnic basket including contents for £29.99 – you really can’t go wrong there.
Now if you like that offer or any of the ones below, I want to give you some advice, get there early. Aldi had this great driveway pressure washer for …
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A thrifty site for DIYers – get builders’ surplus stock
When it comes to home improvements, we all know that a bit of time spent ‘Doing It Yourself’ can save you an absolute fortune on fees for tradespeople. We just saved £450 on regrouting our bathroom tiles…it did take almost two days, but hey what are weekends for?
Another downside of DIY is the experience of traipsing round the aisles of B&Q or Homebase on a busy weekend getting the materials and equipment you need to do a job properly, and knowing that it certainly doesn’t come cheap.
So, I was interested to hear about a new marketplace called Enviromate. Originally set up to help the construction industry cut down on the amount of wasted materials that go into landfill, Enviromate lets tradespeople list any surplus paint, plasterboard, timber, bricks, screws or any number of …
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How we’ll save £700 on energy bills
We’ve been with Utility Warehouse since Mr Bargain Hunter met someone at a business breakfast meeting and switched our energy provider.
When Mr Bargain Hunter originally checked Utility Warehouse offered a good deal, as their utility prices were cheaper than others on the market. They also offered cash back at a few per cent at major retailers.
The mistake
While I check household and car insurance prices every year, and got the same insurance £100 cheaper from the same provider last year, Mr Bargain Hunter always assumed that Utility Warehouse remained a good deal.
Late last year we had solar panels installed ahead of the change in the reduction in feed in tariffs. With the panels we will save on electricity bills and have paid for them in about 10 years….please let there be lots …
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Save money on heating oil
Heating your home over the winter can take a significant chunk out of your annual budget, and while none of us want to be uncomfortable in our own house, we’re all looking for ways to reduce our heating bills.
If you live in a rural area and use heating oil to heat your home, here are our tips on how you can get the most for your money.
The most important thing you need to keep in mind when trying to save money on your heating oil bills is that you should never suffer for the sake of saving a bit of money. It’s important to keep warm over winter, as not only will being cold in your home make you miserable, but prolonged exposure to the cold will increase your risk of illness.
This …
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Best smart thermostat for energy savings – a UK comparison
2016 means green in our house. We have a hybrid car and just fitted solar panels. While it’s great to save the environment, we also like to save money too.
I have been looking into and have tried a couple of smart thermostats recently, and liked the ability to control my heating remotely, so I decided to share my research with you in this list.
I have researched Netatmo, Nest, momit and tado (pronounced tardough). All four systems are more intelligent than traditional thermostats, as they allow you to control your heating remotely via an app on your smartphone or tablet.
I looked into several criteria that I wanted in a thermostat and then ranked the devices per criteria. It’s not scientific, but it may help you make a decision.
Compatibility
These products are developed …
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Are you getting a fair deal on your energy bills?
You’ve probably heard about smart meters being introduced to all households by 2020…well that’s the target anyway.
I heard about Loop Energy Saver monitors today and they claim to offer a credible alternative to the smart meter programme, enabling consumers to monitor both gas and electricity usage in real-time and therefore keep track of energy spend immediately. Currently less than 5% of British households have a smart meter and most households won’t have them until 2020.
The company behind the Loop Energy Saver monitors claim that they differ from other energy monitoring products by:
- Simultaneously monitoring both gas and electricity usage in real-time
- Offering impartial information about energy tariffs via weekly emails alerting consumers to the best deals on the market
- Making it easy to switch either directly to another energy provider or via comparison
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New Aldi Specialbuys kitchen range
What’s Aldi got cooking for us in this Thursday’s Specialbuy? Well it’s a new kitchen range including everything from Spice Grinders and Soup Makers, to Deep Fat Fryers and Slow Cookers. It’s in stores on 22nd October, whilst stocks last.
If you are a coffee lover, Aldi’s retro inspired Espresso Maker (£59.99) may appeal. Available in gunmetal grey, pearl and red, the espresso maker is easy to use and features a built-in steam nozzle for frothing milk to creamy perfection. It could make a very nice gift along with Aldi’s Coffee Glasses (£2.99 – two pack), available in three tasteful designs.
This coffee or Spice Grinder (£12.99) is ideal for grinding nuts, spices or coffee. Again, the colour options are great for a coordinated kitchen as it’s available in red, gunmeatal, pearl and stainless steel.…
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Aldi’s new bedroom, bathroom and home ranges
So if you were in Aldi today, you should have seen the first of their new ranges of bedroom, bathroom and home accessories. Bathroom items were in store today.
They have Egyptian Cotton Bath Towels (£4.99). I tried out a couple and the value is good, especially with the larger towels. While they are 100% cotton, they are more functional than luxurious, as they aren’t super fluffy, but frankly those towels take longer to dry in my opinion. The Egyptian Cotton Bath Sheet is £6.99 and the Hand Towel is £2.99. I got the blue, but saw cream in the store too and there is a range of colours.
The bedroom range comes in next Thursday and I got a sneak peak of the photographic duvet set (from £9.99), an on-trend winter-themed bedding set, available …
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Lowest cost LED light bulbs from Wickes
This may seem like an odd post, but I am always astonished at the price of light bulbs. I refurbished a house earlier this year and bought some from the market, though Aldi had a Specialbuy where they were cheaper at that same time….anyway, light bulbs cost a bloomin’ fortune.
So when I saw this Wickes offer I just had to share. Wickes has launched 30 new, own-brand LED and halogen light bulbs – with prices starting from just £1.99 for the 5W LED GU10. Wickes’ new range is an affordable bulb at one of the lowest prices available in the UK compared to B&Q, Homebase, Screwfix, Argos, Ikea and Amazon.
So why LED? Well LED light bulbs use less energy and last longer than traditional halogen bulbs, cut energy wastage by three quarters, and …
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New app for forecasting energy bills
Wouldn’t it be great if you could see your energy consumption on an app…in money terms?
Well lucky npower customers can do that. The energy provider has launched a new consumer app which can help you to forecast your bills. Available for both Android and IOS platforms, the app’s most distinguishing feature, the timeline, is an industry first (according to them).
The app enables npower customers to better handle their energy accounts – and so their finances – with improved and more intuitive account management. Features include:
- Unique timeline function to see past and future consumption, account events and payments
- Ability to submit meter readings
- View a history of bills, payments and meter reads
- Online chat facilities to help customers with queries
The npower app is available for customers to download from the Apple …
