Every month we gather all of our best blog pieces together and present them to you in a handy bulletin so that you never have to miss out on any money saving tips. Sign up to our newsletter to have the bulletin emailed to you each month.
Summer has come to an end at last and while school kids head back into school grumbling, many more school-leavers are looking forward to the excitement that college life will bring.
If you’ve been too busy running around getting things ready for the new academic year (or indeed, just enjoying the last of the summer days) to keep up with the latest personal finance news and tips, don’t worry!
We’re here to run through all of the latest changes in the worlds of energy, banking, broadband and more with Your August Bulletin.
Let’s get to it!
The month kicked off on a high note in the energy sector, with SSE Airtricity setting off a mini-price war with its appealing new range of dual fuel discounts. Not to be outdone, just hours after the launch of SSE Airtricity’s new deals, Energia dropped their own new price-topping offers.
Competition between suppliers can only mean good news for customers but when there are so many different types of offers out there, it can sometimes be difficult to figure out which one is offering you the best value - especially when it comes to cashback offers. Here’s our guide to know when cashback offers are good value.
As we begin to head into the colder months, it might be a great time to switch suppliers before those bigger bills roll in. A new report found that switching in Irish households remains strong, and why wouldn’t it, when you can take advantage of so many great discounts to save you money?
If you don’t want to switch but still want to save money, installing a NightSaver Meter could be the perfect option for you.
Yet more bad news for savings account holders this month, as RaboDirect joins the likes of Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB in the savings rate cutting trend.
However, KBC had a good month, reporting the pay-off from its digital-first strategy towards its customers. The bank was one of the first to introduce Android Pay and Apple Pay to its customers in Ireland and other banks are following suit. Check and see if your bank carries these popular apps here.
August was a busy month in the Broadband, Phone & TV sector too.
Sky launched its new loyalty programme Sky VIP as well as a range of great new discounts including its Fibre Unlimited broadband at its lowest price ever - just €30 per month!
Virgin Media also launched its new range of Freedom bundles which includes Freedom Broadband - the only contractless broadband deal currently on the market.
We also found out the best and cheapest way to buy a brand new iPhone 7 and found out where Ireland ranks globally when it comes to broadband speeds.
When it comes to TV, as always we have lots of great streaming recommendations for you, including our favourite anthology series and where to watch the best of the Premier League this season.
Some good news for anyone entering the mortgage market as Permanent TSB has just launched a new and intriguing cashback initiative which runs alongside their established 2% offer.
If you’re new to the world of mortgages and you’ve no idea where to start, check out our comparison of the best rates for first time buyers and if you’re a seasoned mortgage customer, there’s also some good news for you, as a number of new proposals from The Central Bank could mean that mortgage switching could be about to get a lot easier...
Finally, as part of back to college season, we’ve done our bit and compiled our top tips for saving money on a student budget, rounded up the best student-friendly broadband deals and written up our 2017 review of the best current accounts for students.
As we well know, banks love to snap up new student customers in and around Freshers week by enticing them with freebies and offers. So far, KBC is the only bank offering a sign-up incentive but we’re sure others will follow suit in the coming weeks…
Tip of the month
If you’ve missed out on season 7 of Game of Thrones, catch up quickly on NOW TV before the series leaves the service! You can also read our full review of the on-demand streaming service here.
Did you know?
As well as providing great discounts on travel fares (as you would expect), did you know that the Student Leap Card also gives you access to super discounts for a range of shops and restaurants?
Question of the day
What’s your go to savings tip? Tweet us your answers @bonkers_ie
We’ll RT our favourites!
Until next time
That's everything for this month. If you have any topics that you'd like us to cover in the blog do get in touch! You can email us at hello@bonkers.ie or tweet us @bonkers_ie.
