Paul Hayhurst asked:




Gas, Electricity price comparison sites have become incredibly popular over the last few years and they can be a great way to save you money. But there are a few things you need to do to make sure you maximise your savings.

Gas, electricity price comparison sites work by comparing how much you pay/use each month with the prices charged by all the major suppliers to find out which ones would charge you the lowest prices. In order to get the best out of this then you need to make sure you provide the comparison websites with the most accurate information.

Where the problem usually arises is that most of us pay our bills by fixed monthly direct debit which is based on our estimated annual usage. In many cases, those estimates are not particularly accurate. Therefore to get the most accurate gas, electricity price comparison it is worth taking actually meter readings and calculating your actual usage.

Another major issue that can arise for people out of this is that where people have paid by estimated bill and this has been lower than their actual usage, his could mean that you end up owing your current supplier a lot of money.

This is fine if you have some money put aside, but if not it could be better for you to say with your current supplier and increase the amount you pay each month until you have paid back he money you owe. At this point you could then do another gas, electricity price comparison.

Despite these potential issues there can be no doubt that the gas electricity price comparison sites have been a great way to reduce your bills.

Bradley

MoneyManagementInt asked:

Research shows that prices can vary for all types of products; therefore it makes good sense to comparison shop before buying. Comparison shopping is especially beneficial when buying expensive items, items you purchase often, or items where the product quality or prices vary greatly. Through the use of advertisements, catalogs, telephone inquiries, or the Internet, comparison shopping is easy and can save you money.

Norman

James W. Stone asked:




Comparison Shopping is often thought to be the way to assure yourself that you are getting the best price for something you are going to buy. While that may be a true statement, there are at least three more strong reasons to make sure you compare your intended purchase to other opportunities to spend your money.

When you take the time to do comparison shopping, you (1) assure the features you are buying are worth paying for; (2) take the time to apply logic to your spending decision; and, (3) reduce the chances for buyer’s remorse.

Not all situations call for comparison shopping. One example is buying groceries. If you’re the grocery shopper for your household, you probably keep track of the cost of things you buy on a regular basis. If prices and quantities in a package remain the same, you accept the repeat purchase as part of your regular grocery buying trip. Of course you might pay attention to sale prices and manufacturer’s coupons in an effort to get a “break” in the price.

A totally different situation occurs when you find yourself in an unfamiliar store. For instance, when you find yourself in a store in a different city you might find a price on a familiar item to be considerably higher than you would see at home. This gives you an uneasy feeling when you want to buy that item. You wonder if the higher price is because the store simply sets prices higher to its customers, or if all prices in this city are higher. If you can, you want to go to another store to get a better understanding of pricing in this town.

If you are shopping for something you don’t buy very often, pricing may have changed since the last time you bought it. Or new models of the product may have totally changed the market. Imagine you are trying to replace something you own because it recently broke. First, you will go shopping to find out if you can replace it with the exact same item you originally bought three years ago. It’s possible the item has been improved. Today’s price might be lower because the novelty has faded. Or, perhaps there are new features you could really appreciate. To catch up on what’s new, you want to shop around and compare.

There are times when the item you are considering buying is so unique there is no way to comparison shop. This might be the case with a piece of artwork signed by the artist. The best thing you can do to improve how you feel about spending your money is to try to get the price lowered. Bargaining is common practice when you are buying a unique item. There are no existing sales that establish a comparative price.

Another feature in “uniqueness” is authenticity and emotions. If you buy the t-shirt that says “Hawaii” in Hawaii it will mean more to you, or to the person you give it to.

Somewhere between shopping for groceries and having no chance of comparison shopping lies the chance to truly “shop” for something that you don’t buy very often. This is where you need to determine what you really need and compare that to what you want. Then look at what you find in the stores. And compare – compare the features, compare the price, consider the uniqueness of the offering, and consider the convenience of the purchase. Make an effort to get the most useful features for the money you are spending.

Remember to ask yourself the Four Essential Questions before your buy:
What problem am I trying to solve? Does this purchase solve that problem? Are there other ways to solve the problem? Does this purchase create a new problem? Online shopping has simplified comparative shopping, but there are some things to compare here, too. Check the customer ratings for the online merchant you are dealing with. Find out if the cost of shipping is included. Find out what the merchant’s practices will be for returns or dealing with damaged goods. Also, watch out for deceptive ads, or practices. Some purchases may automatically enroll you in a continuous purchase plan where your credit card is charged monthly for a service or product you don’t want.

By the time you get to this point in your shopping, if you still want to spend your money, you have a very good chance of getting the most bang-for-your-buck. You have done more than simply find the lowest price for whatever you were shopping for. Assuming you have been totally honest with yourself, you have matched your needs to what you are willing to spend to satisfy those needs; and you have found the most economical way to satisfy them. Now you can be confident about your purchase decision.

Herbert

Celine Cox asked:




The biggest expense that you are going to face while travelling is the cost of hotels. Finding a good deal on a hotel room can save you a lot of money on your next vacation. The problem is that it can be tricky to find the best rate available. This is because hotel prices aren’t straightforward, there are a lot of factors that go into them. A hotel price comparison can help you to find the best rate, but there are other ways to get a lower rate.

We are not really accustomed to negotiating

One way that you can save money on the cost of a hotel room is by negotiating. Most of us live in world in which we are not really accustomed to negotiating we usually just pay whatever we are told the price is. In many situations negotiating really isn’t an option, you wouldn’t haggle with the cashier at the supermarket over the price of milk. However there are some situation in which it makes sense to negotiate and booking a hotel is one of them. It is frequently possible to call up a hotel and ask to speak to the manager and negotiate a better room rate. This is far more likely to work during the slow season when they have empty rooms than it is when the hotel is full. The one difficulty that you may have when trying to negotiate is that since it will be difficult to do a hotel price comparison you will have fairly limited leverage.

Good deal will then get passed on to the traveller

The people who do have leverage to negotiate with hotels to get the best deals work for online booking websites. Sites like Travelocity and Expedia are able to negotiate with the hotels and get much better rates than most people can get on their own. They can do this precisely because they have the leverage that you lack. It is easy for them to make a hotel price comparison since they are negotiating with pretty much all of the hotels. The hotel managers know that if they want to fill their hotel they have to give a good deal to these sites. And that good deal will then get passed on to the traveller.

It is important that you make comparison of hotel prices if you want to get the best deal available. Just remember that the price they initially quote you probably isn’t the best price available. Hotel room rates tend to be negotiable, if you ask for a lower price you very well might get it.

April