Its been a week of changing weather, we had an inch of snow, but then three hours later it was gone. An exciting walk to school but then disappointment from the boys when it was all gone!
I have done a lot of admin this week that has cost me money, but I have tried to do it in a money saving way, more to come on that.
And I had one day in London for meetings where I discovered a bargain place to sit and work with a glass of wine. Itsu had plug sockets and wine for £3.25 a glass!!
Car insurance
My first admin task was to sort out and pay for my car insurance. This is least favourite bill to switch each year, mainly because you have to enter so many details into each comparison site to get your quotes.
My renewal came through and said £460, last year was £252 so I was pretty distraught! How has the car insurance gone up by so much? I tried calling them (Go Skippy) and they were so unhelpful on the phone. I just said I was moving elsewhere!
Next, I did a comparison using the Top Cash Back car insurance comparison tool and still the quotes were coming out at £430ish per year. I know that part of this is due to me getting a speeding fine last year but £180 extra??
Recently I did some work for a new car insurance company last year called By Miles, which is pay as you go insurance. I got a quote from them as well and the price was comparable with a great option to save. You pay an upfront amount and then a month amount each month depending on the miles that you drive.
My quote was £169 as an upfront payment and then 3.2p per mile driven. If I was to drive 8000 miles then the total cost across the year will be £430, similar to the best quotes I had already received via the comparison site.
There is a great incentive here to drive less miles, so anything I can do less than 8000 will save me money. For more information on this By Miles policy go check out this post that explains how it works.
Car Recovery Service
Whilst paying for my car insurance I also decided to sign up to RAC as By Miles had a £29.99 offer. Not a bad price for a recovery policy for my car!
Mortgage application
Hurrah for an agreed mortgage. I have been going through a re-mortgage application process (I am buying out my ex partner from the mortgage) for a few weeks and I finally got the thumbs up that my application has been fully agreed by Santander. I used Trussle as my mortgage broker and highly recommend them as a brilliant online mortgage broker.
Originally I really did not think that I would be able to get the mortgage needed to keep my house but Trussle did all that they could and gave me great advice meaning that the application was accepted. I am beyond happy that my boys and I get to stay in my house.
Life insurance
And with an agreed and higher mortgage my life insurance requirement are changing. My current policies are based on older mortgage applications so I need an additional policy for a higher amount. Lifesearch have been helping me with the application and have found a great value policy that will have me covered for the duration of the new mortgage, more to come on this in a blog post about the application process and the importance of life insurance.
Refer a Friend Deals
I wrote an article this week about my favourite refer a friend deals. I often recommend companies and services that I have used and rate highly, and these will include a link to the company. This is link is often a refer a friend code.
These links have a double benefit, both the person signing up will get a bonus and so will I as the referrer. For example Octopus energy, we both get £50 credit to out bills if you chose to switch using my refer a friend code.
Then once you are a customer you can then refer the company to your friends and make money..win win for everyone. Check out my post to see what my favourite companies are, make some money savings and make some money too!
British Pie Week
It is British Pie week, indeed there is a day or a week for everything nowadays! So this means you can get a great deal on pies, including Higgidy pies whom have a great range of vegetarian pies. Get a Higgidy pie for £3 in Tesco this week or 2 for £6 in Waitrose.
This post contains affiliate links or refer a friend links where I will receive a small fee if you sign up, in no way affecting the price you pay.
One Response
Thank you Lynn for a great post. Xx