There’s a bit of belt-tightening going on a around New Zealand at the moment. Rising mortgage rates are putting the squeeze on home owners, fuel prices are steadily increasing and personal tax cuts aren’t on the agenda. But don’t let it get you down – there’s a tool at your fingertips that can save you money in ways you’ve never even thought of. That tool is, of course, the Internet. Saving comes in many forms – it’s not only about getting something for less. It can be about saving your valuable time and transport costs. Savings can also be made from lifestyle changes, like learning how to use your money more wisely or how to cut unnecessary costs.
You may already be aware of some ways the Internet can save you money, but there’s nothing wrong with a refresher course every now and then. We think you’ll find that there are a few money-saving gems you have never considered before – whether it's using VoIP or embracing so-called ‘last-minute deal’ sites.
Shop Online
(Savings rating: $$)
Everyone knows you can get some real bargains shopping online – don’t they? Well, you can, but – as NetGuide always says – it pays to shop around. The lower costs for retailers operating online, instead of from a traditional storefront, mean they can pass their savings on to you. The best bargains can often be found through small operations that have no physical retail presence, a skeleton staff and only sell online. However, some of these sites are parallel importers, who may certainly be cheaper, but may not offer valid warranties or ongoing support for their products. Also, if buying from overseas sites, be sure to take into account shipping costs and local import tax on some items.
www.etown.co.nz (electronics)
www.gpstore.co.nz (gaming)
www.amazon.com (almost anything)
www.alibris.com (hard-to-find books)
www.musicstack.com (rare music)
Price Comparison Sites
(Savings rating: $$$)
Smart shoppers have been making use of price comparison sites for years. At the click of a button, these sites deliver prices from various retailers for the same product. This saves you the trouble of going to several sites, locating the product and manually comparing prices. The best deal is delivered in seconds, with no fuss.
You can usually search either by broad product category (eg: “TV”) or by specific product name (eg: “Sony Bravia Projection Television KS60R200A”) if you know exactly what you’re looking for.
Price comparison sites are made possible by programs called Shopbots, which regularly search a variety of online stores and collate the results, which are then presented to you. The more regularly these sites scan the Web for updated prices, the more useful they are. Often the date when the latest price was found is included in the search results, so you can be sure it is up to date.
Sites We Like:
www.pricespy.co.nz
www.staticice.co.nz
www.froogle.google.com (international price comparisons)
Read Your News Online
(Savings rating: $)
We know there’s something comfortably familiar about flicking through a real paper newspaper over your morning coffee, but there are many reasons to seek your news online. Not only will you save several dollars a week and reduce waste, but online news is updated as it happens – instead of daily – which means you are better informed of the breaking stories. Plus, with the help of RSS feeds, you can tailor your news to your interests and have it delivered right to your inbox.
Media companies are realising that more and more people want to get their daily news fix online. They are responding to this demand by making the digital news experience much more interactive and functional, encouraging reader feedback and voting to identify popular stories.
Sites We Like:
www.stuff.co.nz
www.nzherald.co.nz
www.news.bbc.co.uk
www.newsvine.com
www.cnn.com
Book Your Travel online
(Savings rating: $$)
The advantage of booking travel online is that you can do everything in one place – from arranging flights, to insurance, car hire and hotel reservations. Making all your travel arrangements through one source will often result in a healthy discount. If an online travel retailer does not mention a discount for booking everything through them, ask for one – you’ll be surprised what sort of purchasing power you can wield with this approach.
The other big bonus with booking travel online is the freedom to endlessly tinker with your desired departure times, dates and preferred airlines until you find a package that not only meets your specific needs, but saves you plenty of cash. Travel agents don’t always go that extra mile to hunt for the perfect solution to your needs at the lowest cost, but you certainly will. Experiment with searching for flights at less sought-after times and on less frequented routes, and you may discover a bargain.
Sites We Like:
www.houseoftravel.co.nz
www.flightcentre.co.nz
www.airnewzealand.co.nz
Budgeting Advice
(Savings rating: $$)
There is no better way to save money than to learn how to spend it wisely and invest it well. If you’ve been stuck in a pattern of bad spending habits for some time you’ll need trustworthy advice and support to help turn your financial mindset around. There are many sites on the Web that will teach you how to manage your money, deal with debt and change your unhelpful spending habits. Many of these Web sites include online calculators to help you stick to a budget, work out mortgage repayments or plan your savings.
Sites We Like:
www.sorted.org.nz
www.moneyideas.co.nz
moneywisdom.info
Online Banking
(Savings rating: $)
Internet banking is one of the joys of the information age. Not having to waste time standing in line for a teller can make your day that much more pleasant. Many banks (including ASB, WestPac and ANZ) will reduce or remove your monthly account fees if you choose to stop receiving paper statements in the post. Most of us don’t read these statements anyway, so why not reduce waste paper while cutting your costs at the same time?
Many banking functions such as setting up regular bill payments and making one-off payments to another person’s account can also be done from the comfort of your home computer. This saves you the transport costs of driving or taking public transport to a bank branch.
Stay in touch with VoIP
(Savings rating: $$$)
Sick of huge bills for national and international phone calls? VoIP is the answer. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) allows you to have conversations over the Internet for a fraction of the cost you are probably used to. Plus, if you call from one VoIP phone to another VoIP phone, calls are free. Yes, completely free!
Wireless Internet providers such as Woosh (www.woosh.com) can go one better. Because their signal comes through the air, you don’t need a Telecom phone line - which immediately saves you around $40 per month. Woosh can then provide an Internet phone that lets you call any national landline for 10c per minute (compared to Telecom’s best discounted national call rate of 18c per minute). Woosh also offers very competitive rates for international calls, including 10c per minute to 40 countries. (*Please note: you must be in a Woosh wireless coverage area to take advantage of these savings.)
When Local Loop Unbundling of New Zealand’s communication system occurs, VoIP will become a common addition bundled to many broadband plans. It is also likely that you won’t require a special handset to make VoIP calls and will simply be able to use your existing phone.
Free and trial software
(Savings rating: $$$)
There are literally thousands of quality programs available for free download online. From freeware to shareware, you can save hundreds of dollars by using them instead of full-priced software. This free software may not offer as many in-depth functions (or any helpdesk support), but should satisfy the needs of most people. For example, OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org) is a free alternative to Microsoft Office (which can cost up to $1000). Another popular piece of free software is AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition – an alternative to commercial anti-virus software from companies such as Symantec. However, be warned that software downloaded from some less trustworthy Web sites may contain viruses or spyware. A good anti-virus program should be able to check software for hidden nasties before you download it.
Also, if you’re not sure whether an expensive piece of software is right for you, many can be downloaded and used free for a 30-day trial period. When the 30 days are up, you can choose to buy a licence or not. It’s much better than spending hundreds on a top-shelf piece of software that you quickly discover doesn’t suit your needs.
Sites We Like:
www.download.com
www.tucows.com
www.topshareware.com
www.freedownloadscenter.com
Buy Music Online
(Savings rating: $$)
If you listen to most of your music through an mp3 player or on your computer and don’t care about the snazzy packaging and artwork that comes with CDs, downloading music online can save you plenty of money. For example, iTunes store New Zealand will sell you a full-length album as a digital download for $17.99, compared to an average CD cost of $25-35.
However, if you’re a music purist who is pained by poor-sounding mp3 files, be sure to download the highest quality files you can find. 320kbps is the highest standard for mp3 music files.
Sites We Like:
www.amplifier.co.nz (New Zealand music)
www.digirama.co.nz
www.apple.com/nz/itunes
Retailer Loyalty and rewards sites
(Savings rating: $$)
Every time you spend money at certain retailers you earn points that can be viewed or used on loyalty Web sites. Points are accumulated over time and can be spent on the products and services of your choice. The best shopping loyalty sites have many different retail chains connected to them, so you can regularly earn points for everyday purchases and spend your reward points on a greater range of things.
Rewards sites are similar to loyalty sites, except that you earn points by completing certain tasks such as reading advertising emails, completing surveys and clicking on links. Every time you complete a task you are rewarded with points that can be spent on products or redeemed for cash.
Sites We Like:
www.flybuys.co.nz (loyalty site)
www.aa.co.nz/rewards (loyalty site)
www.smilecity.co.nz (rewards site)
Sell Your House Online
(Savings rating: $$$)
Selling or buying a home is one of the most important financial decisions you will ever make. There is increasing frustration at the high commissions charged by real estate agents, and people are seeking ways to cut out the middle man and maximise their profits. A new breed of property marketplaces on the Web charge a flat fee for their services, eliminating the usual 3 or 4% commission charged by agents.
Just remember to be vigilant for hidden add-ons and extra marketing fees that could substantially increase the fee these sites charge to sell your home.
Sites We Like:
www.gogecko.co.nz
www.houses.co.nz
www.thejoneses.co.nz
www.homesell.co.nz
Online Auctions
(Savings rating: $$)
Okay, we know auction sites are the most obvious way to get a bargain online, but some people still don't take advantage of them to save money. There are so many different auction sites selling new and used items and, with the Kiwi dollar presently very high, there's no better time to nab a great deal on overseas auction sites such as ebay.com The key is being a smart bidder; knowing a good deal when you see one and only paying what you're willing to part with. Research and a shrewd eye for a bargain will guarantee you make substantial savings in both time and money. Just be wary of depositing money into the accounts of traders who haven’t built up a good reputation, or you could become the victim of a rip-off merchant.
Sites We Like:
www.sellmefree.co.nz
www.graysonline.co.nz
www.trademe.co.nz
www.ebay.com
A clever way to better better deals at auction sites is to use a tool known as an auction sniper. These monitor bidding on items that interest you, and can place your bid for an item at the last minute. This can be helpful, as some sellers will try to drive the sale price up by bidding against you in the closing stages.
Free auction tools:
www.bidnapper.com
www.AuctionRaptor.com
www.auctionstealer.com
www.auctionlotsnipe.com
Expert Opinions
(Savings rating: $)
If you’re in the market for something technical like a digital camera or a high definition television, but don’t know the first thing about these products, expert opinion Web sites can be a huge help. They usually specialise in one type of product (say digital cameras or mobile phones) and have hundreds of independent comparative reviews of almost every model on the market from people who know them inside and out.
These sites will prevent you from being persuaded by an unscrupulous salesperson into buying an expensive top-of the range model when all you needed was something middle-of-the-road and reliable. Expert opinion sites can also help you create a shortlist of quality products to prevent you from buying a lemon that you will regret later.
Sites We Like:
www.dpreview.com (digital cameras)
www.hdtvorg.co.uk (HD televisions)
www.imobile.com.au (mobile phones)
www.consumer.org.nz (various products)
Last-Minute Deals
(Savings rating: $$$)
Web sites that have last-minute deals on things like flights and accommodation are a great way to save money. They offer strictly limited deals with very tight conditions that are available on a “while stocks last” basis. The best deals can sell out in less than an hour, so it pays to act quickly. In order to get the jump on other penny-pinchers you should sign up to RSS feeds or regular email alerts from these sites to inform you of the latest deals.
How much can last-minute deal sites save you? Well, in March Air New Zealand’s Grabaseat Web site offered 220 return flights to Los Angeles for as little as $496 each. Return flights to LA usually cost more than three times that amount.
Sites We Like:
www.grabaseat.co.nz (Air NZ deals)
www.ezibed.com (local accommodation)
www.lastminute.com.au
Home Efficiency Tips
(Savings rating: $$)
We all know our homes can be a bottomless money pit. Constant bills for electricity, water and maintenance can have a serious impact on your finances. Thankfully, the Internet comes to the rescue again, with plenty of useful information and tips to help you reduce your costs by creating a more efficient home. Think about installing energy-efficient light bulbs, taking shorter showers and turning electrical appliances off instead of leaving them on standby mode.
Sites we like:
www.energywise.org.nz
tinyurl.com/28g48m
www.squidoo.com/home-energy