Who needs a new iPhone?
With iPhone 9 due to be released later this month, there were bound to be deals on older/existing models. The folks at Techradar pride themselves on their impartial insights so it’s worth looking at their take on best iPhone deals in September 2018. Along with comparing prices, they’ve listed the advantages and disappointments in each model. You can see at a glance that buying an iPhone 8 on a Telstra plan (their Editor’s Pick) will automatically save you $22 a month over an iPhone X on a Telstra plan – more than $500 saved over two years.
Join the movement and save on energy: community solar
In late August we saw the launch of a new bulk buy campaign in Sydney which means regular citizens can invest in solar and battery systems to power their homes – and cut their energy bills by up to 90 per cent. With $1667.20 the average annual electricity bill in NSW, that’s hundreds of dollars a year saved per household.
The kicker is there’s no upfront cost, no maintenance, equipment replacement or insurance costs – you just pay for the energy you use at a “low fixed rate”.
It’s a movement led by a number of community organisations who banded together to “flip the script in Australia – from the world’s highest power prices to a people-powered solar revolution.” Information events are happening all around Sydney September to October.
How to save using a pink basket
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. Jody Allen from Stay At Home Mum uses what she calls The Pink Basket Method to save up to $120 a month. Wait for it: she puts any food that’s about to reach its use-by date in a (pink) basket in the fridge to remind her to use it. So simple!! But by wasting less food, you can save almost $1500 a year. Jody also wrote a book called The $50 Weekly Shop Weekday Dinners with recipes for using those pink basket ingredients.
Orla Kiely’s just in time for spring gardening
If you’re a fan of designer Orla Kiely’s goods, there’s a whole lot of her gardening-inspired stuff reduced at catch.com.au. Buy a cute garden trowel ($9.99), a garden fork ($9.99) and a pair of potting gloves ($9.99) and just there you’ve saved $119 off the combined RRP. They also make great gifts.
Watch this space
Some of us still like to wear a watch (old-school we know) and DealsDirect have some big reductions on really schmick-looking Fossil, Emporio Armani, Guess and Citizen watches for men and women. Save $721 on an Emporio Armani Silver Resin Quartz Diving Watch for instance, save $1041 on a Citizen Eco-Drive Black Leather model, or $251 off a ladies’ stainless steel and pink leather Guess watch.
Lawyer up on the cheap
Lawyers are known for their expensive suits and for charging like wounded bulls, but CHOICE has published an article to help explain how much you should be paying for various types of lawyers and agreements, and alternative ways of securing legal representation. On average, they say, you should expect to pay between $350 and $650 per day for a lawyer’s services, plus disbursements (and they can add up).
The HireALawyer site has some good tips for saving – for instance, there might be legwork you could handle yourself up front, like collecting all the required documents. Save a day of a solicitor’s time and you could save up to $650! If you can also reduce the number of emails you send, and the calls you make and store up your questions for scheduled meetings – that will have an impact as well.