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How to reduce your Home and Car Insurance

Posting Date Posted on 14th June 2008 at 17:16Tags Tagged under Finance

How to reduce your Home and Car InsuranceIs your wallet feeling lighter than usual? Run out of cash to buy that 400" plasma? Worried about the future of your finances? Whilst there's not a lot we can do about the credit crunch gripping the country, and fixed priced necessities such as food and petrol, there are some simple steps you can take to help avoid financial meltdown. One of these is lowering your monthly outgoings on services and recurring payments - such as broadband, insurance, and energy.

There's goldmines of money to be saved on financial services such as home and car insurance. A saving of just a tenner a month equates to a saving across the year of £120, which isn't to be sniffed at, and could be used for a weekend away or 12,000 penny sweets. A great place to start lowering your insurance is with one of the many comparison websites on the web. One such comparion site is GoCompare.com, where you can compare car insurance or compare home insurance, as well as insurance for vans, motorbikes, travel, and humans.

GoCompare.com is different from other comparison websites in that they use a magical five-star rating system. You tell GoCompare what you require, and they come back to you with not just the prices, but a rating system showing which products most match your requirements. The price you see is the price you'll pay, with up-to-date information and accurate information, and the comparison is made on a like for like basis, so you can choose exactly which insurer you wish to buy from. The comparison takes place at lightning speed with GoCompare's simple four-step process.

As well as comparing prices to get the best deal, there are also a few simple steps you can take to help reduce your car insurance costs:

1. Don't just park anywhere - if you leave your car in a driveway or garage as opposed to on the road, it's much less likely to be hit by a skip lorry or have the windows smashed in by drunken yobs, resulting in a huge saving of between 3 and 7%!

2. Prevent it being stolen - a car with an alarm, immobiliser or tracker is much less likely to be stolen, resulting in lower insurance for you, and saving all the hassle of dealing with a stolen car. Bit of a no brainer really.

3. Unpimp your ride - any modifications you make to your car will result in higher insurance, except security enhancements. Resist the temptation to pimp your ride, and tell Westwood to shove off.

4. Keep it clean - whilst insurers don't charge more for dirty cars - yet - if you have a clean license, less convictions means lower insurance costs.

5. Pay in one go - paying monthly may be convenient, but insurers are likely to charge interest on top. If you have the option to pay it all in one lump sum - go for it, it'll most likely be cheaper.

6. Change your job - think about what you put as your occupation. In a multi-skilled world, if you could define your job as many different things, pick the one you think might result in lower insurance costs. For example, a doctor is likely to have lower car insurance than 'Getaway Driver'.

Similar sort of tips apply to home insurance, by installing additional security features, and not living on a flood plain or in tornado alley, you're likely to be able to reduce your insurance costs. Just use your common sense, and think about what would result in lower insurance costs if you were playing the insurance company. By taking advantage of some of these tips, and comparing your car insurance or comparing your home insurance with our recommended comparison site, GoCompare.com, you could easily save money on your insurance costs. It costs nothing, except for a small amount of time, and could result in a big saving.

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Saving energy is elementary with Wattson

Posting Date Posted on 4th June 2008 at 20:48Tags Tagged under Electronics, Gifts & Gadgets and Home & Garden

Saving energy is elementary with WattsonEven though it looks like a plastic bridge over a purple river of light, the Wattson does a lot more than just look pretty. Wattson allows you to monitor how much energy your home is using, presents it to you in fancy charts and graphs on your computer, and suggests ways to cut your usage. So whether you're a hardcore environmentalist looking to save the planet or simply a savvy consumer looking to save some money on your electricity bills, the Wattson could be the invention you've been looking for.

Developed by the clever people at DIY Kyoto, the Wattson comes in two parts. The first is the main box which looks pretty, and wouldn't look out of place in the most stylish of homes. The second is the sensor clip and transmitter. Even though Wattson allows you to measure the energy usage of your whole house, you won't have to rewire the mains system to be able to use it. The sensor clip simply clips like a peg around one of the cables running into your electricity meter, and the transmitter wirelessly sends this information about the electricity you're using to the main box, which can be positioned anywhere in your home. It's all perfectly safe, and can be done by anyone with half a brain at home without having to call out an electrician.

Wattson relays the information it receives in many ways. When the lights glow blue, you're using less energy than usual, and the planet is happy. When they're purple, you're using about the same amount of energy as usual. And when they're red, you'll have Greenpeace knocking on your door telling you to turn off the plasma TV. If you prefer to work with numbers, Wattson can even tell you how many Watts your home is gobbling up at any moment, and how much it's costing you in the Queen's pounds and pence. If you connect your Wattson up to your PC or Mac, the free holmes software can produce plenty of nifty graphs and charts, showing you how to reduce your energy usage, and even connecting you up to other eco-nuts over the internet to share energy saving tips and tricks. The video below shows some of these nuts turning lights on and off to show you exactly how the Wattson works (warning, watching for longer than about half a minute may cause drowsiness), and we can assure you you'll be doing the same thing as soon as you get your mitts on one.

The Wattson is simple, portable, stylish, and the creators claim it'll help you save around 5%-20% of your electricity bill. It's environmentally friendly, quick and easy to install, and only uses four watts, costing about £4 a year to run. Do you need one? Probably not. Do you want one? That's for you to decide. Will it help you save money on your electricity bills, whilst looking snazzy at the same time? Almost definitely.

The Wattson is currently available from our friends at MyMemory for a short time for the amazing price of £119.96 including free delivery to your door! To take advantage of this price, you need to use the voucher code 'mykyoto' at the checkout. Quick though! They won't be around for long!

Best Shopping Place Price for a Wattson Energy Monitor ~ £119.96 at MyMemory

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How to reduce your Home and Car Insurance

Saving energy is elementary with Wattson

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