Don't Exchange Vouchers For
Food!
Apparently Tesco have 15 million Clubcard members (now that’s what I call a
database!) all collecting points which can be spent in store. Money saving expert Martin Lewis cautions against
spending these on food, no matter how tempting a discounted Turkey might be at this time of year. Instead, he says
you should trade them in via Tesco’s Clubcard reward scheme, where you can get up to four times their value
on things like days out, gifts and magazine subscriptions. That makes £10 worth of points worth £40 when exchanged
for rewards. If you have points hanging around, it’s a good idea to spend them now though. From December 6th,
you’ll only be able to get three times the value when converting points to rewards, rather than the current four
times.
Cut
Maintenance
Costs
Apartment block management providers Urban Owners are saying that an
average of 30 per cent of the costs of running a block of flats could be cut if flat owners took charge
themselves.
They say that apartment owners are ‘throwing away a staggering £700 million a year in service charges’ because of
excessive fees and hidden costs from managing agents.
Under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act of 2002, leaseholders have the power to buy the freehold or to have
the ‘right to manage’ their block’.
It's
'Snow'
Joke
The hottest topic today is the snow and whether you're entitled to
pay if you can't get into work. This Is Money has a good summary of the position. The question is asked, 'I
live out in the countryside and drive fifteen miles to work each day, but in the recent snowy weather, I
haven't been able to get in. Is my boss right to dock wages for not being able to get to work safely?'
The Trades Union Congress replies, 'There is no legal right to be paid if you do not come in to work, but many
companies have 'bad weather' policies so that employees who are kept away from work are still
paid.'
Christmas
Bargin
Hunting
We're all looking for bargains at this time of year. These websites
are worth a visit...
www.myvouchercodes.co.uk - you can download an app if you have an Apple iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and have a look
at local offers too at www.myvouchercodes.co.uk/local.
www.whatafind.com - this website sells off overstocks and returns from catalogues etc; well worth a look.
www.hereforaday.com - you can pick up everyday household items at this site at bulk-buy prices; without having to
buy in bulk.
Have a look and tell us what bargains you've bagged in the run-up to Christmas.
World Cup
Effects
So what will be the impact of Russia hosting the 2018 World Cup and
Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup? According to tourist marketing experts, Pangaea Network, hosting a World
Cup does more for a country than any other sporting event.
Taking Brazil 2014 as an example, their Minister of Sport says that the World Cup will create about £3 billion for
tourism in the country and have a knock-on effect in a variety of ways; 330,000 permanent new jobs will be created
for example.
There are a range of profit-making opportunities here, such as hotel investing for example.
High
Street
Warning
The big news story today – snow and World Cup aside - is that the
Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is warning Joe Public to be alert to misleading price offers on the high
street.
There are all sorts of ‘special offer tricks’ pulled by the high street stores including very limited, by time or
quantity, offers to get members of the public into the stores. There are also offers where a basic price on offer
is inflated to a less competitive one once card and delivery charges are added on
Sometimes, special offers are simply not as cheap as those selling at normal prices. The OFT quotes the example of
Tesco where a ‘bigger value’ three-pack of tuna worked out at about £1 more than buying three separate tins at the
‘ordinary’ price. Best advice? Don’t take anything at face value.
Money-Making
Ideas
We’re currently looking at three money-makers.
One, rent out your spare space – loft, garage, driveway etc – via www.spareground.co.uk.
Two, make art and craft things and sell them on sites such as www.folksy.com.
Three, answer online surveys for money from sites such as http://today.yougov.co.uk.
Check these out – we are currently doing some research with a view to articles in the next two to three
weeks.
Use Your
OMO
Picking up on the recent story that most people don’t know what an annuity is, it’s now been revealed by the
Pensions Regulator (TPR) that 77 per cent of people taking a pension just take what they are offered by the pension
provider.
Only 23 per cent take up their OMO – ‘open market option’ – which is effectively their chance to shop around for
the best deal. That’s plain awful!
The difference between the best and the worst annuity – ‘pension pot’ - can be as much as 20 per cent. So, by not
taking advantage of your OMO, your pension could be, let’s say, £25,0000 a year instead of £30,000. Ask your
pension provider for details of your OMO, take professional advice, and use it.
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