Shopping around is the key to saving money. Check out Aldi and Lidl they are very competitive and are reaping the benefits of their cheaper prices. All the major supermarkets are now offering good value deals in order to retain their customers.

Plan your weekly menus in advance and write out a list so you know what food you require for all meals.

Grow your own vegetables and shop at Farmer Markets for fresh and organic vegetables.

If you live close enough to Newry or Belfast it may be worth shopping there. You could save as much as 30% on an average weekly shopping bill. Alcohol, washing powder and nappies are particularly cheap.

Give up the morning coffee in shops, it will save you around €12.50 a week this is a huge saving of €650 a year.

Buy a kettle or coffee maker for work or bring a flask. Bring your own lunch to work as buying the most basic sandwich and coffee will set you back at least €5 a day. Bringing in your own lunch even twice a week could generate potential savings of €520 annually.

Clubcards and loyalty cards are offered by most big department stores. These cards earn you points which are transferred into vouchers. Tesco clubcard deals offer a variety of very attractive deals.For example exchange your clubcard vouchers and get up to four times their value in clubcard deals. You can make great savings on days out for all the family, hotel breaks throughout Ireland, restaurants, magazine subscriptions and much more. To find out exactly what you can exchange your vouchers for visit www.tesco.ie/clubcarddeals.

Dunne's and Superquinn also offer a points system where your points are also transferred into vouchers which can be used to discount your shopping.

SuperValu offer saving stamps for items such as cheaper holidays or household goods.

Start shopping online and make shopping lists. This will help you to resist all the bargains when you see them and will ensure that you are not enticed to buy items you don't need. Delivery charges usually would be cancelled out by petrol costs and parking. By making a list and sticking to it will mean that you won't forget any of the necessities and you won't do any impulse buying.

Never shop on an empty stomach if you do you will buy a lot more because you are hungry.

Look at the back of your receipt, most supermarkets have coupons on the back with discounted holiday breaks, discounts on fast food outlets and many money saving offers on oil etc.

If you are stocking up on buy one get one free items, remember to freeze the items if you are not going to get a chance to use them by their sell by date this will avoid waste.

Watch the sell by date on fresh meats, salads and vegetables that are discounted because their sell by dates are approaching. A lot of fresh foods are discounted from 30% to 70% as their sell by date is getting closer however make sure you eat them quickly or freeze them.

Shop in the evening, most supermarkets reduce bread and pre cooked foods before closing and these items such as barbecued chickens can be reduced by up to 50%.

Light and Heat

Make the big Switch and save money on your Electricity Bills. Switch your electricity from ESB to Bord Gais Energy for an immediate 10% reduction in your electricity bill. If you pay by direct debit you can avail of a further 2% and if you are an existing Bord Gais customer you get a further 2%. This amounts to a total possible saving of 14%. If your annual ESB bills amount to €1,000 you can save €140. Call 1850493929 or log onto www.thebigswitch.ie

The average ESB bill is around €1000 annually, however you can reduce your bill substantially by doing the following:

Using Energy Saving Bulbs (CFLs) saves electricity in the long run, even though they are around three times the price of an average bulb. CFLs last up to 15 times longer than the average bulb and can save you up to 20% on lighting bills.

Turn down your thermostat by 1°C this will cut your bills by approx 10%. The recommended temperature that you set your thermostat is at 20 degrees.

Insulate Insulate Insulate. Up to 30% of the heat in your house can be lost through the roof. Make sure you have plenty of insulation in your roof. It is recommended that there is 200mm of insulation.

On your washing machines and dishwashers, select the lowest temperature that is recommended by the manufacturer. Also, if buying a new washing machine or dishwasher, watch out for the Energy Rating. Buying an 'A' rated appliance will in the long run be rewarding and efficient in using 33% less energy than an older machine. And always fill your washing machine and dishwasher before using them, because it wastes less water and electricity.

Don't fill your kettle to the top– only ever boil enough for the number of hot drinks you are making.

Install dimmer switches in your home, saving on light bills and adding extra atmosphere to a room.

Don't leave lamps and lights on for your children when they are asleep, a simple nightlight uses a lot less electricity and works just as well.

Plug out or switch the button off on your sockets for your televisions, hi-fi's, computers, appliances etc. Turn off your phone charger – equipment on standby uses up to 20% of the energy it would use when fully on.

Put a timer on your hot water tank, radiators and other appliances, you will save yourself both in pocket and worry.

Tumble driers use a huge amount of electricity. Save a huge amount on your electricity bill by hanging clothes on the line.

CLOTHES

Charity shops and discount retailers like TK Maxx offer great value for money. You could save up to 60% off the regular retail prices.

Shop in the sales. Most sales are now offering between 25%and 70% off, so it may be a good idea to buy clothes and put them away for next year. Stock up on children's clothes during the sales.

Try to keep away from the sterling rip-off stores: Big UK chain stores have been named for failing to pass on the savings caused by a weak sterling. While there have been price-cuts, some of these shops are still overpricing goods. You will never save money unless you avoid shops that don't pass on savings.

Mix labels: Tommy Hilfiger teamed with Penney's will save you big time but still give you an expensive look that will make people envy you.

Have a spring clean and arrange your wardrobe: You may find clothes you forgot you had by arranging your wardrobe and will be able to mix and match a lot easier and find you have more outfits then you thought.

PHONES AND COMMUNICATIONS

The first thing if you have a mobile phone is to choose between a bill phone and pay as you go. If you are a pay as you go customer you will need to consider how much you are currently paying monthly and compare this with bill phone packages to see if switching to a bill phone would work out cheaper. Bill phone customers have to pay line rental so make sure this is built into the price.

Shop around by checking what all the mobile phone companies can offer. Try and get a better deal by negotiating with the providers by telling them you got a better deal with a competitive company.

Check out www.callcosts.ie this website will compare all the phone providers and show you who the cheapest is.

When deciding on which new phone to buy, bring your previous model along and you could receive the new model at a discounted price. For example, Carphone Warehouse offers between €20 and €150 off new phones if you trade in your old one.

For International calls -Set up a Skype account through the Internet. Millions of people across the world have discovered the savings that Skype has to offer. From as little as €4 a month, you can subscribe to Skype and make unlimited calls to all European and international countries.

If you are making an international call check out www.bestrate.ie. Just dial the access number for each country prior to dialling the international number to make huge savings. Calls to UK are as cheap as 1.3 cent per minute to a landline and 5.12 cent per minute to a landline in Australia.

BROADBAND

The price of broadband varies from €20 to €50 per month. It is important to shop around. For example you can get mobile broadband from Network 3 for €9.99 monthly.

www.callcosts.ie is a website developed by the Commission for Communications this is an excellent website which you should visit prior to buying broadband.

Social

Start buying on ebay you will make huge savings however make sure you check the postal costs before buying.

Eat out early. Most restaurants offer an early-bird menu from 5pm to 7pm; you get a great menu with plenty of choice for a fraction of the cost compared to the a la carte menu.

If you are going to the cinema it is cheaper to go before 6pm.

If you are doing anything as a family always ask the cashier if they do family discounts you will be surprised at the amount of social events that offer discounts such as Cinema's.

Read newspapers online and save approx €2 per day which is €730 per annum.

Health

Always keep your receipts from your Doctor and hospital appointments so that you can claim them back against your tax relief/Health Insurer. Also keep your prescription medicine receipts which are also tax deductible. You can apply online for a refund or contact your local tax office and ask them to send out the relevant forms.

Work out how much your gym membership is costing. Then average out how many times you go a week. Then work out how much it would cost if you paid as you go to the gym. In most cases you would save money by paying every time you go instead of a yearly subscription.

Under the drugs payment scheme, no family should have to pay more than €100 a month on prescriptions. Ensure that you are availing of this to cut your medical costs. Check out www.citizensinformation.ie to see if you or your family are eligible for a medical card.

Travel to Northern Ireland or Budapes tfor Dentistry. Dentists in the Republic often charge over 25% more than those in Northern Ireland and you can save over 50% by travelling to Budapest. Ensure though that if you to travel outside the country that there is aftercare in Dublin.

Are you a member of a slimming club? Save money by joining Sparks Diet on line www.sparkpeople.com which is free and have over 3m members who provide support and motivation to each other. The site also offers free diet plans and exercise videos. You could save a registration fee of €20 per year and a weekly fee of €10. Total saving per year is €540.

CARS AND FUEL

If you intend keeping your car for another year, tax it for the full year.If you tax it quarterly or half yearly it will cost you approx. €50 more per annum.

Share lifts with other parents for school runs, soccer, hurling training, ballet, dancing etc.

Make an effort to walk to places that are within walking distance a couple of times a week.

Keep the windows closed and use the air vents where possible.

If you are buying a new car buy a car with the lowest C02 emissions and save yourself on VRT and annual tax.

Driving between 65 and 80kmph will reduce emissions compared to higher speeds.

Stick to the speed limits this will save you paying speeding fines and increased car insurance premiums.

HOUSE AND HOME

If you are buying products for your home find out in stores when they are having their next promotion day or sale for example Homebase have 10% off weekends quite regularly and Debenham's have regular 20% off days.

Get rid of your Sky box. Sky charges between €20 and €68 a month. Removing this cost will save you between €240 and €816 a year. When you cancel your Sky account, you are left with a good selection of 'free-to-air' TV channels. If you decide to stay with sky why not change to a cheaper subscription.

If you are upgrading furniture try sell your existing furniture by placing an advertisement in the local news paper or ebay.

Banking

Most banks are now offering free banking so if you are still paying bank fees it's time to switch your account or talk to your Bank Manager. Some Banks are offering interest on credit balances on current accounts.

Shop around to make sure you are getting the best rate on your savings accounts. Don't leave your savings in your current account unless your bank will pay interest on it when it could be earning money elsewhere.

Tax Relief

Make sure you are claiming all your entitlements.

Mortgage tax relief.

Rent relief.

refuse relief.

Trade Union subscriptions.

Medical and dental costs.

Age credits.

Refund of DIRT if you are over 65.

PAYE Expense allowance etc.

Claim back health levy if your earnings are under 26k per annum.

For more details on your entitlements and how to claim back these reliefs check our tax refunds page by clicking here.

Public Transport

If you use public transport daily it will be cheaper to buy a weekly or annual ticket compared to paying daily.

Save money and time by purchasing your train tickets online rather than buying them at the train station.

Water

Don't buy bottled water. Bottled water costs approx. €1.50 for a 1.5 litre (the recommended daily amount) it really is a very expensive luxury. In Ireland we have perfectly healthy tap water available for next-to-nothing. You can also purchase a water filter at a reasonable price. If you are currently buying two bottles of water a week you could save €156 per annum.

Meals

Try not to skip breakfast. Not only is it the most important meal of the day, it's cheap if you make it yourself. Eating a good breakfast will mean you wont want expensive coffee, sandwiches and chocolate bars mid morning.

Cosmetics

You don't have to buy expensive products. Check out star buys in magazines, usually products that are quite reasonable are the best.

Ask in department stores and chemists for testers/ free samples. These will last you a couple of weeks.

Holidays

If you are booking flights separate to your accommodation, book well in advance. By booking at least a month in advance you may save yourself up to 80% on fares with both Ryanair and Aer Lingus.

If you are booking a package holiday you may get a very good deal a week or two prior to the date you want to depart.

Check papers, internet and teletext for midweek and weekend deals and special offers which can make even some of the most exclusive hotel squite affordable.

Check all the hotel websites that we recommend which can be accessed through our website. Click Here to view the most competitive websites for hotel accommodation.

Book your holidays online as you may get online discounts that don't apply if you book through a travel agency.

Save on travel insurance by booking on line premiums from as little as €8.09. Click here for a competitive quote.

If you have any moneysaving tips of your own please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Back to top