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