the Green Bargains Blog

Christmas is the season of giving, but showing your loved ones you care does not have to break the bank. Don’t start the new year with holiday debt; instead, follow these tips to play Santa without going broke.

Set a Holiday Budget Early

Well before the department stores start decking the halls, make a commitment to having a debt free Christmas. Start saving in the spring to ensure you have cash to spend come shopping season and do not have to rely on credit cards to make your purchases. You might be surprised at how much spare change you collect during the year. Save it all until late November and cash it in to give an extra boost to your holiday budget.

Research and Compare Costs
Never make a purchase without researching the product first. Compare prices at different stores in your area and look for online deals. Many big-box stores will match competitors’ prices, so print out any deals you find and ask for a price match. Look for coupons and deals for free stuff online to save even more.

Limit Gifts for Big Groups
Purchasing gifts for every member of a large family or group of friends can really put a dent in your Christmas budget. This year, have every member draw names and only give gifts to one person. Set a spending limit per person to save even more.

Be Creative!
Everyone appreciates the thoughtfulness of homemade gifts. Put your skills to good use and offer loved ones baked goods, knitted sweaters, music mixes, personalized ornaments or framed photos. If you are a handyman, offer a day of free work. Take young ones for a day of sledding on a snowy hill. Cooks will love a recipe book featuring your favorite holiday recipes and made-from-scratch cookie jars make baking easier for anyone. A simple glass jar filled with memories written on pretty paper makes a sentimental and memorable gift for the important people in your life. A jar filled with quotations can be just as meaningful. Give the gift of time with personalized “gift certificates” that promise massages, homemade dinners and more special favors. These gifts may not cost much, but are truly priceless because they are so thoughtful.

Be a Stocking Stuffer
Don’t pressure yourself to get huge or expensive gifts for everyone on your list. Making a few small purchases per person can save you money and still have an impact.

Gift-giving should be a joyous activity and can be stress-free if you follow these tips, embrace your creativity and learn to become a resourceful shopper.

Visit Freestuff.co.uk

Posted by phill on December 17, 2011 @ 4:54 pm
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Saw an advert on a bus for a company that claims to pay for any old clothing you want to dispose of:  http://www.rags2riches.co.uk/

The ad’, and their site, claims they will collect and pay cash for “All Mens, Womens and childrens clothing. Shoes, bags, belts, hats, ties and household textiles, etc.”. Couldn’t see any mention of how much they pay but you may contact them for more information on 01675 481848 or email them at collection@lmr-rags.co.uk

If anyone here uses the service, please do let us know how it went by using our contact form or by leaving a comment.

Go to Website

Posted by John on September 14, 2011 @ 2:51 pm
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You can take control of your junk mail, thanks to a new website: greenpreferenceservice.com

It’s free to join and claims to help you control the junk mail you receive by letting them know whether you’d prefer to be receive your junk mail via email or through the post. Businesses who sign up to this service can then check this information and so not bombard you with mail you don’t want to receive thereby saving their printing costs, fewer trees need be cut down and you don’t receive so much junk in the post but don’t lose out on any offers as you can still receive them via your free greenpreferenceservice.com webmail account — everyone wins!

Visit their website for more information

ROYAL MAIL OPTOUT
The Royal Mail service also gives householders the opportunity of opting out of receiving unaddressed ‘junk mail’ at their home. Just email your details to them at optout@royalmail.com Visit their website at www2.royalmail.com/you-home/controlling-your-mail for more information about the service, including alternative contact methods.  This, of course, is a more of a blunt instrument for dealing with junk mail as it will stop all unaddressed mail delivered by the Royal Mail and may lead you to miss out on information that may have been of interest.

Posted by John on April 20, 2011 @ 8:29 pm
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Everyone knows that they can save energy by turning off their TV and other items at the wall rather than leaving them in standby, and with a Power Down Plug that couldn’t be simpler. You just plug your TV into it (and any other items) and just use the remote to turn them all off at once!

The MoneySavingExpert website reports that Eon are giving them away for just £3 to cover the postage & packing (normally £18), and you don’t need to be an Eon customer to order one (though their website is currently experiencing problems because of the high demand so it may take some patience).

Just click the link below and add a TV Power Down to your basket to buy one.

Go to Eon Shop

Posted by John on March 16, 2011 @ 1:19 pm
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Campaign group, 38 Degrees, has set up a Save Our Forests action page to help the fight against the selling off of our publicly owned forests by the government.

There you can read the latest developments, sign their petition (already has over 490,000 signatures), email your MP and read various MP’s replies to date, and download posters and leaflets supporting the campaign.

Visit the Action Page

UPDATE: The government has now dropped their plans to sell off the forests. Read all about it on the 38 Degrees website here: http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2011/02/17/victory-government-to-scrap-plans-to-sell-our-forests/

Posted by John on February 10, 2011 @ 1:53 pm
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You can get yourself a free LIME energy saving plug worth £19.99 and/or a free water widget for your shower by completing a form at: www.freegreengadgets.co.uk and using the promotional code GADGET — Offer ends 11th March, 2011.

The energy plug works by detecting when you have something plugged into it that’s been left on standby, and cuts the power at the plug to save energy. The water widget claims to save upto 70% water use when fitted to your shower, though it’s not suitable for all showers so check the website for more details.

Offer open to residents of the UK mainland only — see above website for full terms & conditions. Once you have received your free LIME plug, you then have the opportunity to buy a second one for £9.99.

Posted by John on January 10, 2011 @ 11:13 am
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The MoneySavingExpert website reports that Megabus are offering 10,000 free tickets on a variety of routes (50p booking fee per transaction though not per route).

Visit the MoneySavingExpert forums to see what routes people have found already.

Posted by John on December 30, 2010 @ 2:34 pm
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Don’t want your scrap car? Why not donate it to charity.

Giveacar is the original car donation service in the UK. They will collect any car or vehicle, anywhere in the UK, free of charge. The service is environmentally friendly, as Giveacar only use authorised treatment facilities, which recycle 85% of a vehicle in terms of weight, corresponding to DVLA and Environmental Agency guidelines. To date the service has raised over £100,000, and it only started this year!

Find out more www.giveacar.co.uk

Thanks to Tom Chance, Director of Giveacar Ltd, for supplying the text for this entry – John

Posted by John on September 1, 2010 @ 7:58 pm
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You could win an Eco-button for your PC from the Carling website. Just press it when you have to leave your PC and it will reduce the power used by the PC whilst you are away.

You must be over 18 to access the site, but entry is free to anyone who registers. The closing date of the competition is 25th June, 2010.

http://www.carling.com/members/winwinwin/win-an-eco-button.html

Posted by John on June 18, 2010 @ 4:02 pm
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The government’s website, Direct.gov.uk, has a guide to moving house, aimed at highlighting the Green issues you may wish to consider when choosing a new home.

These include the obvious aspects such as how close it is to your place of work, schools etc, to its energy rating, saving power, green gardening, and recycling your household waste.

Click to Visit Guide

Posted by John on June 5, 2010 @ 4:34 pm
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