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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The energy suppliers count on you not doing this to boost their profits; it is up to you to make sure that they don’t get away with this.

Here are our top tips to help you slash your energy bills.

1. Use a price comparison site
   There are a number of price comparison sites available to help you reduce your utility bills. One example is Money Supermarket which will now help you reduce the cost of your utilities.
2. Save money without switching provider
   Changing your energy provider is a hassle, but you can still save by ensuring that you are on the best tariff from your existing provider. All that is needed is a quick call to make the switch and start saving. For example did you know that if you pay monthly by direct debit most providers will give you a 10% discount, many also have Internet only tariffs that often provide an additional 10% discount.
3. Meter Readings
   You should provide the energy company with accurate electricity and gas meter readings on a regular basis and correct estimates if they are used on your bill. You don’t want to get any nasty surprises in the future if they have been underestimating and you don’t really want the utility companies to be earning interest on your hard earned cash.
   Having accurate data on your electricity and gas usage will also remove the guesswork when choosing the cheapest provider when using price comparison websites.
4. Dual Fuel
   If you are not getting your gas and electricity from the same provider then you should really switch to a dual fuel tariff as it will often be cheaper.
5. Pensioners
   If you or anybody living with you is over 60, you can get a fixed tariff not based on usage for the whole year from Eon called Stay Warm. Although this sounds attractive, it may not be the cheapest option and you still need to compare it with other energy providers.
6. Cut your Energy Usage
   This may seem obvious but the easiest way to reduce your bills is to cut your energy consumption. Things that you can do include using energy saving light bulbs, lagging your hot water tank, installing double-glazing and loft insulation. The Energy Saving Trust has loads of practical advice.
7. Capping your Energy Bills
   A number of providers have started providing capped utility bills because of the rapid increases in gas and electricity prices in 2008. These are less attractive in 2009 as prices are starting to come down. If you are already on one of these capped rates, don’t forget to take any exit fee into account when using price comparison websites.

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1. Write a shopping list and stick to it. Don’t be tempted by clever offers such as ‘buy one get one free’ offers. The price of one may be more than double two of another brand. And do you really need it anyway?
2. Experiment with cheaper alternatives. Often you will not be able to tell the difference between premium branded products and value alternatives. There is very little to justify any kind of price difference in basics such as salt, sugar, milk, flour and butter. Therefore buy the economy brand and you will lose nothing.
3. Economy packs of fruit and vegetables are often the ones which were too small, too large or misshapen to get into the standard packs. There is no difference in freshness or quality
4. You will see how much the inclusion of meat in any dish drives up the price. Experiment with substitutions such as oyster mushrooms instead of chicken, pancetta instead of bacon.
5. Buy dried pasta, not fresh. The quality will be the same and will able to get that al dente effect. Shop around for the most reasonably-priced dried pasta – as with most things, there is a huge price difference between branded and supermarket own-branded. The only time I would recommend fresh pasta would be for lasagna as it significantly reduces cooking time
6. Have you noticed how expensive boxed cereals are? Porridge oats are far cheaper, contain no added sugar or salt, and are nutritionally superior.
7. Frozen is often much cheaper than fresh, particularly when it comes to fish.
8. Items which are ready to eat or involve less preparation from you are more expensive. Examples from our list are things like frozen pastry blocks (vs fresh ready roll), custard powder (vs ready to serve). To save the most try making as much as possible from scratch.
9. Rice is a much cheaper alternative to pasta and can be flavoured by boiling in stock rather than water.
10. It is more cost effective and will save time to make a large amount and eat it over two days. Flavour can significantly improve overnight. Invest in some small Tupperware so that you can also freeze portions.

More on money saving:

• Eat well, save money – can you make it from scratch?
  
• The results of the What Consumer money saving study
• Money saving forum

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Have you ever looked at all the ready meals or packaged stuff in your trolley and wondered whether you could make it yourself? From scratch? Would it work out cheaper? Would it be healthier? In other words, would it be worth it?

What Consumer has carried out a unique and comprehensive study, comparing the cost of typical pre-packaged or ready meals with the costs associated with making the same dish from scratch. The study looked at 50 family favourites from Toad in the Hole to Sweet and Sour Sauce to Bakewell Tart, and found some surprising results. The results of the money saving study can be found here.

Why make from scratch?

• Home-made quantities generally yield larger amounts and will contain higher percentages of meat or fish per serving.
• You control exactly what goes in. There is no excessive addition of salt or sugar, no bulking agents, and no artificial additives to improve taste and appearance such as acids, stabilisers or emulsifiers.
• Salt and sugar are used as natural preservatives to help keep food longer. One is often used to counteract the other which is why foods can contain such high amounts of both.
• Canning and bottling often involve pasteurization which subjects the food to high temperatures to kill off any harmful microorganisms. However, this process also kills vitamins and creates a rather synthetic taste which also suppresses natural flavour.
• You can choose to incorporate better quality, or organic ingredients. Pre-packaged or ready meals don’t give you the choice.
• Let’s face it’s not only more healthy but it is just so much more satisfying!

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The following should be noted:

• Not everything has been made from scratch. You will see the inclusion of pastry blocks and jars of pre-prepared sauces, but only where the time saving significantly outweighs the cost saving. Some concessions have been made for the sake of convenience!
• The ingredients listed are standard branded items or supermarket own brands. Cheaper alternatives are available and savings can be made by sourcing fruit, vegetables, meat and fish elsewhere, such as local markets.
• Only quality cuts of meat or fish have been included in each recipe. Frozen fish has been used for the fish pies and fish cakes to keep price down, although this will not affect the quality or flavour.
• All eggs included have been priced as free range.
• The chicken fillets are supermarket standard and are neither organic nor free range.
• The majority of herbs are fresh. Savings can be made by using dried herbs.
• In most cases, luxury or premium brands have been used so that so that a like for like comparison can be made. Standard or economy foods will often incorporate lower quality ingredients, artificial substitutes and bulking agents such as starch, water, pork fat etc to increase size and weight.

The results

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The results speak for themselves – baking your own bread is about 50% cheaper than buying it from the bakery. For pastry the difference is less marked at only 12% but it will taste much better and will contain far fewer additives.

Bread

It is quite hard to believe just how easy it is to make your own bread. There are some excellent bread machines on the market that make it really easy and you can be as inventive as you like. Using this simple bread recipe you will save about 50p for every loaf of bread that you make, this means that once you have made 35 loafs of bread the bread machine will have paid for itself*.

Bread Ingredients:

• Bread flour: 500g – 28.3p
• Yeast: 1 sachet – 10p
• Sugar: 22.5 g – 1.8p
• Salt: 15 g – 0.5p
• Milk powder: 20g – 8.2p
• Butter: 25g – 8.4p

Total: 57p*
Shop bought farmhouse white: £1:00
Saving: 43p (43%)
*Cost of bread machine: £70 – £90

Pastry

The ingredients below will make 500g of pastry – enough for a large pie to serve around 6:

• Flour: 300g – 12.9p
• Butter: 150g – 50.4p
• Egg:1 – 22.6p

Total: 86p
Shop bought frozen pastry blocks (500g): 98p
Saving: 12p (12%)

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Key Findings:

All the chicken dishes are more expensive than the chicken ready meals.  The main reason for this is obvious – you can use good quality chicken fillets instead of the usual poorer quality (in some cases mechanically reconstituted) chicken which is commonly used in ready meals and processed dishes.

Lasagna and shepherd’s pie, the  dishes containing minced beef,  are 48% and 61% cheaper respectively if you make them yourself.

Main courses that provide an opportunity for profit margins to be increased by using low grade ingredients and bulking agents  rather than quality ingredients are more expensive to make yourself or cost the same.  Examples  include fish cakes, quiches, pie and meatballs.

The vegetable dishes are all much cheaper to make yourself with the exception of the vegetable tart which is only slightly cheaper.  (mushroom risotto 39%, mushroom stroganoff 58%, vegetable tart 2%, cauliflower cheese 43%)

Cauliflower Cheese

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower: 1 small – 78p
• White sauce: 1 portion – 70.2p
• Cheese: 100g – 51.7p

Total: £1.99
Luxury cauliflower cheese ready meal (600g): £3.49
Saving: £1.50 (43%)
Main Course Index

Chicken Curry (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Chicken: 2 fillets – £3.85
• Onion: 1 – 18p
• Garlic: 3 cloves – 9p
• Mushrooms: 300g – 46.5p
• Curry sauce: 1 jar curry paste (not cook in sauce) – £1.09
• Coconut milk: ½ can – 45p
• Fresh coriander: ½ packet – 39.5p

Total: £6.52
2 x standard chicken curry ready meal: £6.18
Saving: -34p (6%)
Main Course Index

Chicken Nuggets (100% Chicken Serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

• Chicken: 2 fillets – £3.85
• Egg: 1 – 22.6p
• Breadcrumbs: ½ tube – 44p

Total: £4.52
Breaded chicken fillets: £4.32
Saving: -20p (5%)
Main Course Index

Chicken, Leek and Bacon Pie (Serves 4-5)

Ingredients:

• Chicken: 2 fillets – £3.85
• Leek: 1 – 55p
• Bacon: 150g – £1.41
• Stock: 1 cube – 10.3p
• Flour: 1 tbsp – 0.6p
• Pastry: 250g – 49p

Total: £6.41
2 x luxury chicken, leek and bacon pie ready meal: £4.58
Saving: -£1.83 (40%)
Main Course Index

Fish Cakes (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Frozen salmon fillets: 2 – 2.19
• Potatoes: 3 large – 54p
• Eggs:2 – 45.2p
• Butter: 50g – 16.8p
• Double cream: 100ml – 28p
• Fresh parsley: 39.5p
• Breadcrumbs: ½ tube – 44p

Total: £4.46
6 standard fish cakes: £3.45
Saving: -£1.01 (29%)
Main Course Index

Fish Pie (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Frozen salmon fillets: 2 – 2.19
• Potatoes: 3 large – 54p
• Eggs:2 – 45.2p
• Butter: 50g – 16.8p
• Double cream: 100ml – 28p
• Fresh parsley: 39.5p
• Breadcrumbs: ½ tube – 44p

Total: £7.97
2 x luxury fish pie ready meal: £7.96
Saving: 1p (0%)
Main Course Index

Meatballs (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Minced beef: 250g – £1.69
• Onion: 1 – 18p
• Garlic: 1 clove – 3p
• Egg: 1 – 22.6p
• Fresh herbs: 39.5p

Total: £2.52
Luxury Meatballs (320g): £2.49
Saving: -3p (1%)
Main Course Index

Moussaka (Servers 4)

Ingredients:

• Aubergines: 2 – £1.95
• Lamb mince: 250g – £2.15
• Onion: ½ – 9p
• Garlic: 3 cloves – 9p
• Plum tomatoes: 1 tin – 52p
• Red wine: ½ glass – 25.8p
• Fresh mint: ½ packet – 39.5p
• Stock: 1 cube – 10.3p
• White sauce: 1 portion (above) – 63.2p
• Eggs: 1 – 22.6p
• Grated cheese: 50g – 25.4p

Total: £6.67
2 x luxury moussaka ready meal: £7.98
Saving: £1.31 (16%)
Main Course Index

Mushroom Risotto (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Onion: 1 – 18p
• Garlic: 3 cloves – 9p
• White wine: 1 glass – £1.08
• Stock: 1 cube – 10.3p
• Parmesan: 100g – £1.09
• Fresh parsley: ½ bag – 39.5p

Total: £4.91
4 x luxury Mushroom Risotto ready meal: £8.00
Saving: £3.09 (39%)
Main Course Index

Mushroom Stroganoff (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Mushrooms: 450g – 52.2p
• Onion:1 – 18p
• Garlic: 3 cloves – 9p
• Cream: 300ml – 84
• Fresh herbs: ½ packet – 39.5p
• Wine: ½ glass – 25.8p
• Rice: 300g – 33p

Total: £2.61
2 x luxury mushroom stroganoff ready meal: £6.18
Saving: £3.57 (58%)
Main Course Index

Quiche Lorraine (Serves 6)

Ingredients:

• Pastry: 400g – 78.4p
• Bacon: 200g – £1.89
• Eggs: 5 – £1.13
• Milk: 100ml – 7.9p
• Cream: 200ml – 56p
• Cheese: 200g – £1.02

Total: £5.46
2 x luxury quiche lorraine: £4.38
Saving: -£1.08 (25%)
Main Course Index

Shepherd’s Pie (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Minced beef: 250g – £1.69
• Onion: ½ – 9p
• Garlic: 3 cloves – 9p
• Carrots: 2 – 16p
• Tomato puree: 1 tbsp – 15p
• Stock: 1 cube – 10.3p
• Worcestershire sauce: dash – 2.8p
• Potatoes: 3 large – 54p
• Butter: 25g – 8.4p
• Grated cheese: 25g – 17.7

Total: £3.11
2 x luxury shepherd’s pie ready meal: £7.96
Saving: £4.85 (61%)
Main Course Index

Spaghetti Carbonara (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Smoked pancetta: 75g – 72.5p
• Mushrooms: 100g – 15.5p
• Double cream: 150ml – 84p
• Parmesan: 50g – 54.5p
• Spaghetti: 100g – 12.8p

Total: £2.39
2 x luxury spaghetti carbonara ready meal (450g): £2.89
Saving: 50p (17%)
Main Course Index

Steak and Ale Pie (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Stewing steak: 500g – £3.98
• Onion: 18p
• Garlic: 3 cloves – 9p
• Carrots: 2 – 16p
• Mushrooms: 150g – 46p
• Ale: 400ml – £1.17
• Stock: 2 cubes – 20.6p
• Pastry: 300g – 58p

Total: £6.82
2 x luxury steak and ale pie ready meal: £4.40
Saving: -£2.42 (55%)
Main Course Index

Toad in the Hole (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Sausages: 6 – £1.41
• Yorkshire pudding mix: 1 portion: £1.52

Total: £2.93
2 x luxury Toad in the hole ready meal: £4.49
Saving: £1.56 (35%)
Main Course Index

Vegetable Tart (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Pastry: 400g – 78.4p
• Tomato passata: ½ carton – 22p
• Courgette: 1 – 34p
• Peppers: 2 – 92p
• Red onion: 1 – 21p
• Garlic: 3 cloves – 9p
• Dried mixed herbs: pinch – 7.8p

Total: £2.64
Luxury vegetable tart: £2.69
Saving: 5p (2%)
Main Course Index

Lasagne (Serves 6)

Ingredients:

• Minced beef: 500g- £2.89
• Ragu sauce:1 portion (above) – 98.6p
• White sauce: 1 portion (above) – 70.2p
• Lasagne sheets: 100g – 24.4p
• Mozzarella:79p
• Grated cheese: 50g – 25.4p

Total: £5.87
3 x luxury lasagne ready meal: £11.25
Saving: £5.38 (48%)
Main Course Index

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