• Have great night out and see the ‘celebs’ at recordings of popular TV offerings such as Top Gear with Jeremy Whats’isname and the ‘X’ Factor. These can be found on offer at  www.applausestore.com
• A good night out for the kids (aged 15 to 25 years) at the theatre can be theirs for nothing at www.anightlessordinary.org
• Or if you are more into cinema then giving away movie tickets is www.momentumscreenings.co.uk.
• How about a good read? You can download free books at the website www.gutenberg.org.
• All that glitters isn’t gold but it can be of value to someone, www.swapcycle.co.uk enables two people to swap any item imaginable for any other more desirable object.
• Sample beauty products can be had with an email registration at www.free-samples.co.uk
• Cash money isn’t exactly gold but it is a lot more liquid and surfers can get it by shopping at some popular online retailers with cash-back sites such aswww.quidco.co.uk
• Classical music gold is given away on a specific free album each week with www.classical.com
• www.freecycle.org is a golden idea where the haves can get together with the ‘have nots’ and have their unwanted items taken away and put to good use.
• All the clothes you no longer wear in your wardrobe can be turned over at an online ‘swishing party’. Swap your boring old garb for the ‘new to you’ stuff of your friends - www.swishing.org

Once you start to change your mindset about the Internet it can become a goldmine of freebies and promotions. You just have to know where to look. Make your starting point the consumers’ champion site whatconsumer.co.uk

Of course the real gold nuggets to be found at Which? are the invaluable tips for economic living and the unbiased well-informed advice. You will find useful knowledge on everything from bank account charges to weddings.

Which? are campaigning for more transparency and competition in energy price setting. The six energy suppliers on the UK, E.on UK is just one of them. All of these companies profit hugely when wholesale prices drop. Indeed British Gas has transferred £349 million to its holding company, Centrica. Gas and electricity rates are 50% lower now than they were a year ago but prices charged to the consumer are not. There always seems to be mitigating circumstances that prevent the energy companies from passing on wholesale price reductions. However the increases are passed on immediately and in full.

The key question for Which? on behalf of all consumers is, are the energy companies treating their consumers fairly? The answer to this question is that there is no way of knowing. The energy market is simply not transparent.

OFGEM is the independent official watchdog of the energy industry. This organization focuses on the National Grid, Elexon and Energywatch. This last is supposedly the independent watchdog for the energy supplying companies. The aim is to consumer friend and advocate with best advice and second level complaint handling. All clear then? Well unfortunately no, because Which? is receiving a continuous stream of complaints and correspondence around energy supply issues.

In the meantime, every household in the UK is striving to keep up with very high energy prices and stay warm in the cold months of the British climate (June, July and August). If every household in the UK immediately switched to E.on as the latest company to cut prices and then did the same again when the next energy supplier offers a lower price deal and so on, then perhaps the energy companies would begin to act as though in a truly competitive market. Every household should use the price comparison websites to find the best deal for themselves and enforce competition on the likes of E.on.

Approximately 65%, or two thirds of consumers surveyed said that the recent stretch of cold weather has caused them to think more about their energy bills. 38% of these people admitted that they had concerns about being able to pay this month’s energy bill. Some of them revealed that they had had to dip into savings to cover their higher energy costs while others balanced their budgets by cutting spending in other areas such as cancelling vacations or gym memberships. More than half of the UK residents surveyed said that they were trying to cut back on heating bills by wearing more clothing. Approximately one-third of these consumers admitted that they had either switched to another energy provider in an attempt to save money, or had called to ensure that they were paying the best rate possible.

According to Which? editor Martyn Hocking, cold temperatures give people no choice but to turn up the heating, so people are inevitably going to be worried about their energy bills. Hocking says that it is worthwhile for people to log on to which.co.uk/switch to check energy rates and see if they are getting the best deal, or if they can save money by switching. It is fast and easy to switch energy providers, and doing so can potentially amount to hundreds of pounds in savings.

People who find that they are already on the best possible tariff can take steps to cut energy bills even further. Changing to an online account, paying the bills by direct debit or paying on a monthly basis are other ways to save money.

With no immediate end in sight to the cold snap, Which? investigated the most popular actions that consumers took to keep warm during cold temperatures and found the top five methods:

84% Wear extra clothing
73% Drink warm beverages
40% Eat hot, filling meals
38% Block draughty spaces under doors and windows
37% Remain in bed.
* Three people even confessed to keeping warm by making love.

Which? wants fair tariffs and energy bills that are easier for consumers to understand.

Which? Switch discovered that seven out of ten of all North East residents involved in the survey had changed their energy suppliers, compared to less than half of all Londoners surveyed.  People who live in the West Midlands and South West were also among those who were less likely to switch.

County Durham resident Andrew Gunn discovered that he would save almost £1,200 by changing his energy supplier.  Gunn said that he was relieved when he learned how much money he could save simply by changing energy suppliers, and he has already noticed a substantial decrease in energy costs.

Typically, people receive the year’s largest bill following the Christmas season, so this is the ideal time to evaluate energy options and find the best price.  Other ways to save money besides switching include paying by direct debit and changing to online billing.

By taking a few simple steps, consumers can keep energy costs in check during the Christmas season.

• Avoid leaving the TV on standby.  Instead, turn it off when nobody is watching it.
• Remind guests to turn lights off when they leave a room.
• Turn down the thermostat and dress more warmly.  Turning the thermostat down 1ºC can cut heating costs by up to 10%, which amounts to annual savings of about £40.
• Use the smallest amount of possible when boiling vegetables
• Switch to a cheaper supplier.  UK residents who used Which? Switch to help find a supplier with better rates saved an average of £263.

Which? also feels that energy bills could be made easier to understand so consumers can see what their energy consumption is and how much it costs.  They have been pressuring Ofgem as well as the government and energy companies to simplify energy bills and tariffs to make them easier to understand, to help consumers monitor their consumption and reduce their costs.

In the meantime, the best way for people to get the best deal is to change suppliers.

According to Martyn Hocking, editor of Which? magazine, it is a relief that display units will be included as part of the upgrade because they will give consumers the necessary information for them to cut energy expenses by monitoring their energy usage.

Unfortunately, consumers could be forced to shoulder the bulk of the many billions of pounds that the project will cost to save the energy industry hundreds of millions of pounds each year.

Although 2020 is still a long way off, the industry could take a few simple steps to help people understand their bills, such as simplifying them to make them easier to read.  A simpler looking bill that makes it easy to compare tariffs would make life easier for millions of people by allowing them to more easily monitor their energy consumption so that they could control their usage.

Which? would like to see mandatory distribution of portable wireless monitors with all smart meters so that consumers have access to real-time information about their energy usage.  Without a display unit, people have no way of knowing how much energy they are using until they receive a bill.  Wireless energy monitors display real-time information that people can use to reduce usage, especially during peak times.  They also want to see a system of minimum standards for energy monitors put in place alongside the roll-out of the units, along with a consumer education programme that will teach people how to get the most out of their new meters by using the energy monitors.

The consumer champion also feels that there should be some form of security system in place to protect the data collected by smart meters because such data should be considered personal and treated accordingly, in keeping with the current data protection laws.

Overall, Which? is in favour of the installation of smart meters, provided that they are not going to leave consumers significantly out of pocket in the beginning, and that measures are taken to allow consumers to benefit from them as much as possible.

Which? recently enlisted a panel of experts to test 14  brands of champagne that are available at various supermarkets to find out how well they stacked up against the more expensive brands of bubbly.

Of the 14 champagnes that were included in the comparison, the following bargain priced brands landed at the top of the list, proving that good tasting champagne does not have to cost a bundle.

Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut NV Champagne came out the leader with a rating of 90 percent, at a price of £31.91.  Following a close second at 89 percent was Sainsbury’s Blanc Noirs Brut NV Champagne, and at only £15.98, it is about half the price.

Another champagne that scored an 89 percent was H Blin & Co Brut NV at £24.99, available at Oddbins.  Not far behind with an 88 percent was Les Pionniers Brut from the Co-operative with a price of £15.55.

At the bottom of the list was Moët and Chandon’s Brut NV.  It came in at 13 out of 14 champagnes that were tested because experts reported that it had “aggressive acidity” and a “slightly medicinal” aroma.

The experts at Which? also tested a variety fo sparkling wines with the following results:

The top choice wat Bluff Hill Brut from M&S at £8.99, with an 87 percent rating.  Testers liked the scent, which was described as “vibrant citrus” and the flavor, which they found to be refreshing and well-balanced.  Another favorite with a rating of 86 percent was Graham Beck Brut, which is available from Waitrose for £12.99.

The best value sparkling wines, both with a rating of 85 percent were Aldi’s Phillippe Michel Crémant du Jura Brut and Griffiths Park Sparkling Brut, available at Morrisons and Asda for less than £7.

According to Which?  editor Martyn Hocking, it is good to know that it is not necessary to spend a lot of money to get a good champagne this holiday season.  For example, Sainsbury’s own brand is exceptional.  It is also worthwhile considering serving sparkling wines, to keep the party flowing for a fraction of the price.Budget Bubbly

Editor of Which? Computing, Sarah Kidner said that as long as you know where to look, you can do virtually anything you want to do on a computer for free.

Which? Computing magazine performed a research study in September 2009 across the internet to find ways consumers could save more than £1000 by switching from paid services to free software found for download online—among the services researched were security software, home office, editing software and music services. The results were as follows:

• By switching from Microsoft Live OneCare to Best Buy AVG Anti-Virus Free,  saved £40.
• Switching from Adobe PhotoShop to Gimp as a free alternative saved  £615
• Dropping Microsoft Office for OpenOffice.org as a home office suite saved £400
• Two albums on iTunes cost £16, but listening to the same music on Spotify with a free account cost nothing.

The total savings based on the product switches above was £1071.

Although there are many excellent free programs online that are comparable paid software and services Which? did find that there were no up to date free equivalents for watching video content or for making phone calls – Skype, which is free for PC to PC calls between Skype users, is not free for other calls, such as PC to landline or mobile calling.

In addition, to download and use the programs researched by Which? users must have an internet connection—paid for by the user— and free programs do not come with technical support. If users find a problem with the software they must rely on other users through technical forums and blog posting in order to fix the problem.

According to a recent Which? survey, computer users across the UK are already using free alternatives available on the internet. More than 19% of those surveyed had already switched one or more programs to freeware.

According to Which?, consumers who look at their Ts&Cs prior to making a switch can save themselves a lot of money and ensure they are getting the best deal possible.

Alison Morrison of Which?  said that most people will see the largest energy bills of the year during the winter season and that makes this time of the year the perfect time to switch.  However, Morrison warns that switching without knowing the Ts&Cs  associated with the contract can be costly now and in the future.

For example, those consumers who are currently using services provided by Scottish and Southern Energy may be unpleasantly surprised by the £75 fee they will be charged for cancelling their dual energy contract — this fee is applicable to all customers who cancel prior to December 31, 2009.  This information was not necessarily offered to customers upfront at sign up or at any time during the contract period.  However, it is listed in the terms and conditions of service that all customers are required to abide by.

As with Scottish and Southern Energy and all other energy services companies, costumers should carefully read terms and conditions. This would include searching for things such as fees and penalties associated with late payments, meter fittings, additional readings, shut off, shut off or moving services to a different address.

However,  there are other things consumers should consider as well. Many companies are now offering extra benefits, such as one month service rebates, charitable donations and free repairs on boilers during the contract period. Reading the Ts&Cs provided will help consumers find plenty of ways to save.

Which?  has called for OFGEM to place minimum standards on tariffs in order to make energy bills simpler to read and to point out the important elements of marketing deals and offers in a way that makes them easy to compare.

The Plain English Campaign recently received an assortment of energy bills sent from Which? magazine. They described the bills as riddled with unintelligible words. The language used on the bills confused most people, especially when one person noted that a minus sign actually meant a credit. Terms such as calorific value or normal primary units are examples of the sort of language used on the bills.

Nearly one quarter of those who agreed to answer the questions spoke of  difficulties trying to understand what they actually owed the energy company. For example, one Npower customer  could not explain how they arrived at the costs on his bill.  The reason the customer selected Npower in the first place was because he believed the energy company to be inexpensive but now he can’t tell if the service is cheaper or not.

Which? magazine’s contributing writers concluded that improved energy bills should include basic features such as  a simple summary. It should be easy to read and in plain language.

When Which? analyzed  the survey responses, they discovered that all of the big six electricity and gas utilities achieved some of the lowest customer satisfaction rates the magazine had ever seen. Npower trailed in the ratings for a third consecutive year with 28%. British Gas fared not much better at 38%.

The energy companies with the highest satisfaction ratings included Utility Warehouse with 75%, and Ebico with a 66% customer satisfaction rating. Even banks rated higher than this group of energy industry leaders!

Which? magazine’s editor Martyn Hocking said that it would make sense that some energy customers might think of food when they read ‘calorific value,’ which could lead to an understandable confusion.   He also questioned the ability of consumers to proactively cut their monthly usage of energy if they cannot possibly understand the language used on their monthly energy bills. He concluded that better customer-oriented services and clearer language printed on the monthly energy bills would go a long way to helping the overall success of the energy companies.

Customer satisfaction is currently 62%  compared to last year’s rate of 58%, which is a 4% increase. Many lenders have performed better in all areas of service.

The smaller lenders and building societies are still leading the field in terms of customer satisfaction. First Direct scored the highest with a customer satisfaction rating of 91%. One Account scored next highest with 77%, followed by Coventry Building Society with 75%, then Britannia Building Society with 74%.

The big lenders generally scored below the average  with Halifax only scoring 45%, followed by Northern Rock at 47%, Abbey at 50%,  Barclays at 52%  and the Royal Bank of Scotland at 53%.  The four worst lenders in 2009 were also among the worst  in 2008.

Consumers reported they are more satisfied with the clarity of their bank statements as well as how they are informed of the dates of any rate changes. Yet one is four consumers are totally dissatisfied with the information provided by lenders as to the best deals available .

Which? Money’s five top mortgage tips:

1. Always search the market for the best deals available at price comparison websites.
2. Select a fixed interest rate when you want to have a specific mortgage payment instead of a flexible rate that will make the monthly payments vary.
3. If you do decide to select a flexible interest rate, make sure you can afford the payments when the rates increase in amounts up to 3%.
4. Remember to take the mortgage fees into consideration as well as the interest rate when selecting a mortgage loan.
5. Before selecting a mortgage, seek the advice of an independent advisor or broker for additional information and suggestions.

Editor of Which? Money, James Daily believes that the cost of the mortgage deal is the top priority for most when selecting a mortgage lender and reiterates the importance of shopping around  for the best mortgage and to always consider all the fees associated with the mortgage loan to avoid paying more for the loan over the years.