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Clean & Clear Guide to Money
Ten Easy Food & Drink Money Saving Tips
1. Check out the new customer vouchers, especially for your first on-line shop. You can save a pretty penny, even if you never use the shop again! Some supermarkets will offer up to £15 off a £60 shop.
2. Do you really need that premium coffee shop drink on your way to work in a morning? Buy a flask and bring your own, at around £3 a pop the savings will soon stack up.
3. Would you like some water with your meal sir/madam? Yes, please, just tap water thanks. No point paying high end prices for fancy bottled water – it’s still H2O!
4. Plan your food shopping by day/meal and stick to it, it saves impulse buys and also ending up with a trolley full of food that you can’t make meals out of.
5. Try and have a week where you empty the cupboards and freezer to save a trip to the shops. Embrace the weird and wonderful concoctions you can dream up – Alphabetti spaghetti and cauliflower cheese anyone?
6. Beware of the multi-buy discounts, especially on fresh food. No point buying 3 for the price of 2 if half of it ends up out of date and in the bin!
7. Make your own lunch instead of buying out. It only takes you a couple of minutes in the morning and if you’ve planned your shopping, you’ll have stuff in – It could save you about £4 a day!
8. Find yourself throwing lots of food out? Try buying frozen, it lasts a lot longer.
9. Is branded best? Try a budget supermarket for the essentials and just get your branded treats from the big boys. It’s amazing the difference in your trolley cost. The big brands like to keep it quiet, but sometimes it’s the same product in a different wrapper!
10. Eating out? Have a quick on-line search for special offers before you go in, especially with the chain restaurants, they often have a deal available or an online voucher.
Clean & Clear Guide to Money
Ten Easy Lifestyle & Leisure Money Saving Tips
1. Need to keep the kids entertained? Of course it doesn’t always have to cost mega money, why not take them to a local park, rustle up a picnic and make a day of it.
2. Are you making the most of your gym membership? A new breed of low cost or pay as you go gyms are springing up all over the place so you could make a nice little saving.
strong>3. If you’re planning a trip to a theme park, check out the 2 for 1 offers. Quite often they will be on the back of a cereal box or similar – well worth the purchase!
4. Planning a trip to the cinema? Yet a box of popcorn and a drink can be like a second mortgage. Visit the supermarket first!
5. Try a bit of culture, a visit to the museum can be both informative and entertaining. Check out what’s nearby and…. furthermore, what’s free!
6. Make the most of group discounts or family tickets. Buying a family ticket can save you money, and therefore if you need to bring a friend to max out the offer, make sure you do.
7. Visiting a new city? Another great tip is to buy the Time Out guide or similar, because it will tell you the best places to go and even when and where the happy hours are!
8. Calling all students, make the most of your student discount card and look out for the offers when stores double your discount for limited periods. Of course double the discount equals double the money saving!
9. Use those loyalty cards, it might only be a free coffee, but most of all, free is free! Plus, the supermarket cards can make a cash free dent in Christmas costs if you save the points throughout the year.
10. Finally, it’s a big trend in America and we always follow suit, so get in there early – couponing! Check out the local rag and the flyers that come through the door and get snipping!
Ten Easy Commuting Money Saving Tips – Clean & Clear Guide to Money
They say a penny saved is a penny earned, so let’s get money saving. Just a few tweaks to your lifestyle can save you hundreds of £££’s a year!
1. Do a Peter Kaye! – If you can, car share. It’s warmer and friendlier than the bus, plus there’s somebody to join in on those car pool duets – Money saving!
2. Sign up for a travel season ticket. If you are paying daily, you’ll be paying top dollar! There are big savings to be had by paying weekly, monthly or even annually for your public transport.
3. Hunt around for your parking spot – just because you’ve always parked there, it doesn’t mean it’s the cheapest place(except if it’s already free!). Just think if you can save £1 a day, that could 4. mount up to a couple of hundred quid across the year. Check out justpark.com – Money saving!
4. If the suns out, why not get the bike out, or even walk? You’ll be burning off the calories too whilst you save the pound notes!
5. Use a budget airline. Thanks to the internet, the days of having to book a package holiday are over. You can save a fortune by booking yourself onto one of the budget airlines and arranging your own hotel!
6. Book train tickets well in advance and you can pay a fraction of the price compared to booking on the day. It’s not always possible, but it you can plan ahead, you’ll be in the money!
7. Petrol prices can vary tremendously from forecourt to forecourt. As a general guide supermarkets tend to be cheaper, but make sure you avoid the motorway service stations. Fill up in advance!
8.Plan your night out to hit the last bus, tram, train or tube back from town – you’ll save big bucks in taxi fares.
9. Use your cars air con wisely – using your air con increases your fuel costs, it’s a lot cheaper to open the window and feel the wind in your hair.
10. If you regularly use a supermarket for your fuel, make sure you pick up a loyalty card – the points add up quicker than you’d think and you can treat yourself for nothing!
Top Tips to Improve Your Credit Rating
This credit rating top tip list is far from definitive and different companies may pay more attention to one area or another, but the bottom line is that looking after your credit rating is important and can save you a lot of money when it comes to borrowing;
1. Make sure that you are on the electoral roll. You don’t have to wait for a reminder to drop through the post, you can register anytime at gov.uk/register-to-vote
2. Pay your bills on time every time. Credit Reference Agencies hold information that shows when your bills have been paid. If you are late or miss a payment, it is recorded against your credit file. Set up timely direct debits to take the stress away.
3. Make sure that you’ve cancelled any revolving credit accounts (credit cards, store cards, mail order accounts) that you no longer use. It’s so easy to forget and think that they don’t matter. But, if you have a few accounts even with a zero balance, it looks like you have a lot of available credit. Lowering your available credit can help.
4. Ask a lender to carry out a ‘soft search’ just like we do here at Progressive Money. It means if you don’t go ahead with a loan, there is no record of the search on your credit file.
5. Try and pay more than the minimum payment on credit cards. First and foremost, you’ll pay a lot less interest and pay off your balance quicker. Secondly, many credit card companies report on borrowers that only pay the minimum amount.
6. Don’t use the hole in the wall with your credit card. The cash advance interest can be high, and credit card issuers may report this on your credit file.
7. Check your credit file yourself! If you know what’s on there, you will know if the information is correct. If it isn’t, challenge it with the lender.
8. Reduce the amount of debt you have – OK, it’s not easy, but if you can pay off one of those credit cards or loans, it may look better on your credit file.
9. If you are trying to get on the credit ladder, don’t rush out and open lots of new credit agreements at once. This could affect your credit rating.
The Darwin group – which offers secured and unsecured loans to customers through Evolution and Progressive Money – is delighted to announce a new funding facility of in excess of £75m which supports the Groups objective of becoming a leading consumer finance brand in the UK.
The award-winning Evolution, ranked as one of the fastest growing finance companies in the UK as recognised in “The Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100”, and its sister company Progressive Money, have built up a substantial loan portfolio, having lent more than £120m in just over 5 years.
Joining the original funding partners, NatWest and Shawbrook Bank, are Insight Asset Management and another UK-based private credit manager, all four of whom have significant experience in financing consumer finance lenders and a shared desire to see Evolution and Progressive Money increase market share through both organic growth and the development of new and innovative products.
Steve Brilus, Chief Executive of Darwin said “We are entering an exciting new phase of growth and I am delighted to have such forward-looking and supportive funding partners investing in our business. This funding provides the springboard to enable us to achieve our ambitious plans and to take Evolution and Progressive Money to the next level”.
Evolution and Progressive Money were advised by the Financial Services Corporate Finance team at EY.
Mat Beaver, Managing Director of Darwin said “We are grateful to Nick Parkhouse and the team at EY for facilitating this transaction. They have worked closely with us in understanding our business and our plans, and have supported us throughout the process.”
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Progressive Money Limited is a direct lender and licensed credit broker. If your application for a loan doesn’t meet the underwriting requirements of Progressive Money Limited or you wish to consider other lending options, we may with your permission, pass your information onto other selected third party lenders or brokers, including other group companies. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Firm Reference No. 690699. Registered with the Information Commissioners Office No. Z3414982.
