The internet is useful for countless things, from improving our communication, to aiding business, to providing tools for creativity and freedom of expression. At the same time though the internet is also great news for consumers and there are many ways that we can save money by going online rather than spending money on things in person. Here we will look at some ways that going online can save you money.
Buying Online: Next time you are in a shop and you’re thinking of buying a book or DVD, don’t. Unless the item you’re looking at is the only one of its kind in the world and was hand made by the store owner, then you would most likely be better off to look online and to find probably the exact same thing much cheaper. One way to do this is to write down the title of the item and to just look for it on your PC when you get back, but another is to look it up there and then on your smartphone and you can even buy it in the shop where you are. If you’re happy to buy second hand then this is probably even better, as sites like Amazon usually have some incredibly cheap second hand options that are as good as new – with books as cheap as a few cents in some cases.
Bills Online: Companies want you to use their services online. The reason being of course that it saves them work and saves them money if you can set up your bill online rather than doing it over the phone where you have to speak to someone. As such many companies will offer you a financial incentive if you book your holidays online and you’ll find you can get a lot of money off of your bills if you book your holiday online.
Book Transport Online: Getting the train is increasingly an expensive prospect, but while many people are upset about this it might put them at ease to know that they could probably be saving a lot more money by booking online in advance. The earlier you book the more you can often stand to save so if you wait until you’re actually in the train station you will be paying the maximum price – not smart.
Do Things Online: You can also sometimes save money by just using the web instead of other services for a range of basic tasks. The most obvious is phone calls – in which case using something like Skype or Vonage to call over a WiFi connection can save you a lot of money compared to calling on your mobile plan or landline.
Vouchers: There are hundreds of voucher sites, and voucher deals on the websites of specific companies and any of these will allow you to get considerable discounts off of things like meals, hotel stays and more. If you are going out for a meal and haven’t yet decided where to go then it is very sensible to look online for vouchers and to choose your venue accordingly.
The author of the above guest post, Kat Edwards is an avid finance and technology blogger and recommends http://www.carinsurancehero.co.uk for comparing car insurance policies online.