How To Find The Best Deals On Bills
*This is a collaborative post on how to find the best deals on bills, but all thoughts and words are my own
Household bills can be the bane of your life. You spend so much money on electricity, gas, internet, mobiles etc that it can feel like you’re throwing money away. But finding the best deals on bills doesn’t always need to be tricky. When we moved into our new house we kept the electricity/ gas supplier as it was a company we had planned on going with anyway. But I’ll be keeping my eyes on that over the first 12 months to ensure it’s the best fit for us.
Here are some tips on how to find the best deals on bills.
Save water and reduce your water bill
Did you know that the water we drink comes from the local environment, flowing through nearby rivers and streams. Affinity Water are running Save Our Streams which is the UK’s biggest ever water saving initiative to focus on saving streams and the habits of local wildlife.
All you have to do is answer a few questions about your water usage and you can get some free gadgets that can reduce your water waste by 25 litres a day. This means you’ll use less water and your bill will go down, but you’re also saving your local streams. You’ll get a personalised water saving plan, and you can even have video consultations to help you save even more water.
You can sign up here for free items to help you reduce your water bill.
Find the best deals on bills by using comparison sites
Comparison sites can be great to give you an idea of which suppliers to look into. We used Compare the Market when we were looking for our home internet provider, just to see what the options were. Once you think you know which supplier you want to go for you’re best to then go through to a cashback site and buy through there. We ended up with Plusnet for our internet (as Virgin haven’t added enough capacity yet) and we got £60 cashback by signing up. I’ve done a more in-depth look at cashback for bigger ticket items here but don’t forget about it as it’s free money.
Most of us probably use cashback sites for car and home insurance but you can use them for electricity, gas, broadband, TV and so much more. You can also use sites to compare boiler cover and ensure you get the best deal out there.
Don’t be afraid to switch suppliers
To get the best deals on bills you’re likely to need to switch around between suppliers over the years. It’s very unlikely that the best supplier to suit your needs is going to be the same one all the time. It might seem daunting but if you find a better deal elsewhere call up your supplier looking to cancel and explain you’ve found a better deal. In most cases, they’re likely to let you go and you can sign up for the new deal. But sometimes you may be able to get a better deal on your existing supplier without having to move.
There are sites like Look After My Bills who do that for you and each year will search around to find you the best deal and automatically switch you. So if you’re worried it will take up too much of your time you can use a site like this. Look After My Bills is a free service to use as they get their commission from the supplier they switch you to.
The best deals on bills tend to be for new customers
Thinking about switching suppliers as I’ve talked about above sadly companies tend to give the best deals to new customers to entice them in. This is why you’ll see great deals on broadband for the first 18 months before it goes up in price. For example, I got a sim only contract with O2 for £20 with unlimited everything. But once my first 12 months is over it goes up from there. So what I’m likely to do is cancel that contract and move over to another new customer deal. If you’re looking at a new mobile deal here are some ways you can cut down on your mobile data usage to get a better deal.
Saving £10-20 a month might not seem like much but it adds up to hundreds of pounds a year. Hundreds of pounds of your own money.
I love to use Money Saving Expert who shows some of the best deals around, how to see if you’ve overpaid your council tax and so much more. When it comes to energy providers, exploring options like for different providers could potentially lead to significant savings. If you can find a referral code for Octopus Energy (or whatever provider you’re looking at) that may offer exclusive deals and benefits too.
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21 responses to “How To Find The Best Deals On Bills”
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Rhian Westbury
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I’m lucky my bills are actually inclusive with my rent atm but I’m sure these tips will help lots of other people to shave £££s off their bills!
That’s so lucky, even when I rented I had to do them myself which was a pain x
I finally got my Dad to agree to me trying a comparison site for his bills last year, they are great and now he will let me look for cheaper alternatives
Sometimes switching suppliers can work wonders to get you a better priced ontract. I’ve done it a few times and made good savings.
I did it for my parents on their broadband and they saved over £50 a month which is crazy x
Most of the time I’m put off by how difficult it seems to switch providers when I’m looking for deals. We’re in a fixed contract currently but I’ll have to check out the app when it’s time to renew our contracts!
I am a regular deal hunter in fact my friends often come to
Me for advice on who to move to!
It’s really important to keep checking and make sure you’re not being over charged for things simply because it’s the easy option.
Great advice x
This is really helpful right now as loads of my contracts are coming to an end and I need to get a better deal!
I think I need to look into swapping energy suppliers, my bills have suddenly started to climb. Unfortunately we’re having to move house within the next 6 months, but at least that should mean that we get to take advantage of some new customer deals.
Oh yeah you should get some good new customer deals then x
Some fabulous tips, especially for this time of year… AND after the year we have had! I am a lot less nervous about swapping suppliers these days, having only just done it recently. Money is there to be saved! Sim x
I have to admit I am absolutely awful at shopping around for bills, I only ever remember to do it with Sky, I definitely need to do it with our energy bills as I’ve never done it.
Thanks for these tips, I can image that a lot of people get used to the same vendors and forget that they should price hunt and switch suppliers to save them some money
I think for some people it’s convenience and it’s just easier to leave it as it was x
My husband is in charge of keeping up to date with bills and trying to save a few pennies if we can
Has he been doing a good job at it? x
I love shopping around for the best deals, it can be time consuming but worth it to save money.
I cll all of the things I have contracts or ongoing relationships with at least twice a year and make sure I’m in the best package for us. It truthfully really annoys me that the better deals are only available to new customers.
It is so annoying isn’t it, brands don’t cater to loyalty which I think is awful x
I love Moneysavingexpert! I go there first when I’m looking to cut my bills. The forums are great too
I love how much can be saved from shopping around though it seems a shame the focus is always on best deals for new customers rather than rewarding old ones.