10 life hacks to save you time and money

We’ve put together the ultimate list of hacks that, when combined, could save you thousands of pounds every year and make your life easier. Many people don’t know about these hacks, because companies aren’t shouting about them. These are secret savings that you can only get if you know how.

They don’t want you to make these huge savings, but we do! That’s why we’re sharing our best hacks.

1. Stop buying expensive medication TODAY

This simple hack is a money-saving game changer, and will take less than a minute of your time. When buying tablets, many of us assume that own-brand versions won’t work as well as big-name companies, so we favour pricey medication over their cut-price counterparts. But, did you know they could be EXACTLY the same pill!?

So, how can you tell if you’re getting ripped off? The secret is in the PL code on the side of the packet. A PL code is a number unique to a particular drug made by a particular manufacturer. For example, PL 12063/0104 is a cold and flu remedy. If two different brands have the same PL number, they are IDENTICAL products.

Our researcher found Beechams Ultra All In One Hot Lemon Menthol Powder, priced at £4.99, had the same PL number as Wilko’s own Flu Max All In One, priced at just £1.85!  That’s a huge £3.14 difference for the same product. Once you learn this hack you’ll never get conned by shiny marketing again.

2. Ease the burden on loved ones with funeral insurance

No one likes to think about it, but the earlier you plan for your funeral, the better.  Would you really want your children to spend their hard-earned money on your burial, rather than putting it towards their own mortgage, or their children’s education? For many, the answer to that is no.

That’s where funeral insurance comes in- an easy way to put a lump sum of money towards your funeral when you pass away, easing the burden on your loved ones at a devastating time. It’s a thoughtful final act that your family will always be grateful for. Funeral insurance has made it to this list because it is actually extremely affordable- fill in the form below to see just how cheap it could be for you.

3. Avoid queues at the till every time, AND save up to 75% on your grocery spend

It’s a great feeling when you find a yellow reduced sticker on some food you were already planning to buy, and manage to get yourself a good saving. But did you know that there’s actually a specific time to visit the supermarket to take advantage of these price reductions?

Most supermarkets start slashing prices mid morning, but the real bargains appear in the evenings- which is also the time the supermarkets are at their quietest- meaning you can bag big savings and have a peaceful food shop! Here’s a handy list that shows you when all the big-name supermarkets put out their biggest price reductions.

Another tip for when you’re doing your ‘big shop; always check the products on the lower and higher shelves. The more expensive products are always at eye level, because the shop wants you to buy those!

4. Relieve chronic pain with Acupressure insoles, save hundreds of pounds on treatments

You may think that aching joints, back pain and a stiff neck just come with the territory of getting older. You might think you just have to ‘put up with it’. Well, you’d be wrong! Before giving up, you have to try out these brilliant new insoles, that are only just making their way to the UK market.

Users report an increase in energy, a dramatic decrease in back and neck pain and improved posture. So, what’s the secret? It’s all to do with the specific alignment of the prongs in the insole, which target key acupressure points in the feet. There are also several magnets in the insole, which improve blood flow and relieve everyday stress placed on the body.

These have to be tried to be believed. At less than £30, they’re far less costly than acupuncture, chiropractor’s appointments or anything else you may have considered to get rid of your chronic pain. What have you got to lose? Click here to get yours.

5. Save money on your car insurance by changing your job title… yes that simple!

Car insurance applications can be a huge pain, and the tiniest thing can affect your premium– even what day of the week you do the quote on! It’s far too time consuming to fill out loads of quotes and changing a detail every time to see what the price comes out at, but luckily MoneySavingExpert have done all the hard work for us.

They discovered that by tweaking your job title to another, similar job title, you can save money on your premium. For example, an ‘illustrator’ receives a cheaper premium than an ‘artist’. It sounds crazy, but it works! Use their calculator to find out what you could switch your job title to, and how much money you could save.

6. Never wrestle with blister packs again

How many injuries do you think you’ve caused yourself wrestling with blister packs over the years!? Ridiculously difficult to get into, hacking away with scissors usually leaves jagged plastic dangerously poking out. Well, there’s a much simpler, safer way to open blister packaging- using a can opener. Click here to watch a quick video on how to do it correctly, and never break your scissors on tough packaging again!

7. Discounted life insurance for over 50’s

By now, you’ve probably realised it pays to prepare for the unexpected. It doesn’t bear thinking about, but if you’ve got loved ones who depend on you financially, then life insurance is absolutely essential for protecting them if anything were to happen to you. What happens to them if you’re gone? Who would scrape together mortgage payments each month?

Unknown to many, UK residents over 50 are actually entitled to special life cover rates. Best of all, there are no medical checks required and, thanks to new comparison sites that can check your details in a matter of minutes, you don’t even need to get off the sofa to get insured. Premiums start from less than 2 pounds week! Click the button below, fill in a 30-second form, and find out your best possible rates.

8. Look after your wallet as well as your health with THIS trick

If you get more that one prescription a month, you could make big savings by switching to a ‘prepayment certificate’. A three-month certificate costs £29.10 and a year’s costs £104, meaning you can get as many prescriptions as you need in a year, for the cost of about one a month.

Another great bonus is that if you’ve already paid for prescriptions before you got the certificate, you can backdate it up to a month, and reclaim the money! This tip is a godsend for those who get regular medication. Click here to learn more.

9. Clear your cache when searching for flights to avoid being ripped off

Unknown to many, airlines and travel website are using your search history against you. If you’re looking to book flights or a holiday, chances are you’ll search a few times before actually purchasing flight tickets, which initially seems like a sensible thing to do. However, thanks to your cache or cookies, airlines known you’re looking for flights, and will actually increase the price of the seats you’re looking at. This means you’ll likely never see the seats as cheap as they were the first time you looked at them.

Thankfully, there is a handy little hack to outsmart the ‘dynamic pricing’ of travel websites, and that’s clearing your cache. This effectively deletes your search, meaning the airlines won’t know you’ve been searching for the flights. Here’s how to clear your cache on any browser.

10. Get some peace and quiet by stopping spam text messages once and for all

Unwanted, dodgy texts are a modern problem, that infuriates all of us. Sometimes, even replying ‘STOP’ doesn’t halt the texts– some of the worst companies may even tell you to reply stop to opt out just because they want you to confirm you’re a real person. In fact, any numbers that are confirmed are likely to be sold onto other companies who will further spam you!

Thankfully, there are 3 steps you can take to stop receiving these messages. Firstly, forward the message to the number 7726, making sure to include the senders number. This reports the number to your network provider. Secondly, you can report the number to the Information Commissioner’s Office, which can fine firms up to £500,000 for spam texts! Finally, block the number, so you don’t receive any calls or texts from then again. Obviously, this isn’t failsafe, as they could use a new number to contact you again, but it should stop them for a while.