How to beat the Credit Crunch ONLINE! – Top 10 money saving tips for the internet

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Let’s face it, we’re in the pits right now… but it’s not
the end the end of the world. There is no-longer any reason to let the recession
cramp your lifestyle.
In fact, you can even improve it with these Quick and Easy
solutions.
 
Here are 10 ONLINE credit-crunch-crunching tips that will help tackle the
tight purse:
 
1.    Make FREE phone calls online
 
Use Skype to make calls to your
friends anywhere in the world online for free. If they’re not also Skype users
then you can call landlines for ridiculously low costs and they have some
fantastic international rates.
 
 
2.    Listen to over 8 million songs online for free
 
Spotify, the new online music
system, has just declared war on iTunes. They offer their whole collection of
music, free to listen to. Not only do you save money on purchasing new music,
you can save on that new hard drive you would have needed to support your
massive music collection! No more pay per download & before you ask… Spotify is
completely legal!!
 
 
3.    Free Stuff Websites
 
There are hundreds of freebie
websites offering free stuff, free samples, great offers and competitions all
over the web. Check them out to get free stuff for your baby, coupon codes for
shopping, free mobile stuff, free magazines and loads more.
FreeStuff.me has been flagged recently as one of the fastest growing UK sites for Free Stuff.
 
 
4.    Do your shopping online
 
Shopping online is almost
always cheaper than going to high street stores if you know what you’re doing.
Look out for sales and look for the large online stores selling the products you
are interested in… and don’t forget eBay! Big online stores have a much larger
target market than high street stores which mean they can lower their prices
accordingly. Recent statistics show that nearly 24% of the world’s population
use the internet – that’s over 1.5 BILLION potential customers! [1] – That’s how
they can afford to lower their prices.
 
Sites such as
MySupermarket.co.uk let you compare prices of supermarkets across the UK. Just
fill your trolley and they compare prices between Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and
Ocado. They boast an average 20% savings! (They also offer to save calories).
 
 
5.    Get PAID cashback for shopping online
 
Sites such as Quidco or
TopCashBack.co.uk offer cashback rewards when shopping at major online
retailers. Quidco offer you the full percentage of the commission that they
would get for referring you to a site for a measly £5 annual fee. With cashback
at over 10% for some stores this fee can be easily paid back to you (and some!)
with your first purchase.
 
 
6.    Compare stuff online
 
Moneysupermarket.com is a
comparison site which allows you to compare car insurance, travel insurance,
loans, broadband and LOADS more.
If you are thinking of taking
out a loan or insurance then you have to check out this site, you are guaranteed
to make a saving. See for yourself!
 
 
7.    Sell your old stuff
 
Most people have loads of old
stuff hanging about the house in cupboards, under the stairs, up the attic or
wherever it may be. Do you need it? How much is all of it worth? I bet it’s more
than you think.
Write a list of what you’ve got
and do a search on eBay to see how much similar items are worth, I think you’ll
be surprised how much extra cash you could make.
 
Here’s a good way to look at
it:
If it takes 10 minutes to list
each item on eBay and 10 minutes to package and post each item, you are getting
paid for your time the selling price of 3 items an hour. More appealing now
isn’t it?
 
Some people are too lazy to
sell their old stuff but work out the profits and you’ll be pleasantly
surprised. Gumtree and Craigslist are good sites to get rid of stuff too.
 
 
8.    Send free text messages online
 
Save your credit! Use services
like cbfsms.com to send text messages for free to your friends. Also useful if
you have no mobile signal.
 
 
9.    Download Free Software
 
With Microsoft Office 2007 retailing at over £250 it’s no
wonder people are downloading the free open source alternative OpenOffice.
There’s a massive selection of free software to download at sites like
download.com.
 
 
10.    One mans rubbish is another mans GOLD
 
Uk.freecycle.org is a site where people get rid of their
unwanted stuff. You can get hold of televisions, sofas, microwaves, monitors and
all sorts as long as you’re quick enough to reply to the ads. In some cases it
will even be driven to your door!
 
 
 
Follow these easy steps to immunise yourself against the
recession and perhaps even stick a little cash in your savings account.
 
 
 
References:
1: Stats from internetworldstats.com