How to Save Money on Fuel in Spain
More and more supermarkets and businesess in Spain are beginning to hook up with petrol stations, and offer discounts. Carrefour offers 4% off with Cepsa, and you get your 4% back in your Carrefour club card. The good thing about this scheme, is if you also have a Cepsa card, you will still get points towards your Cepsa card balance.
Dia supermarkets also offers a 3% discount with Shell petrol stations. Shell also offers a loyalty card called Clubsmart. For every liter of fuel that you put in your vehicle you will get one point. When you sign up, you initially get 200 points towards your balance.
Check Your Supermarket Receipt
How often do you check our supermarket receipt? The other day as I was paying for my grocery bill in the supermarket, I thought it was a bit high. When the check out assistant gave me the receipt, I stepped to one side and checked it. To my surprise, I had been charged for freezer bags that at Euros1,41 I had never purchased, and I had also been over charged by 60 cents on avocados that I had bought. Funnily enough, the lady behind me had also been charged for freezer bags that she had never bought. In total I had been overcharged by Euros 2,01.
Not everyone leaving the supermarket checked their receipts, but I keep on wondering if they had been charged for freezer bags as well. One hundred shoppers would have mean another extra Euros 141,00 for the supermarket without anybody having bought them.
Get Coupon Savvy
One of the best ways to get more vouchers from your local supermarket, is by being disloyal. Two eeks ago, I was “disloyal” to one of the supermarkets that I do my weekly shopping in. The next week, I was given a 10% discount off their meat counter. As they had some really good offers on, I popped into to claim my discount. My purchases from the meat counter came to Euros 12,10 and yes, I did get my 10% off at the till. A fantastic saving altogether with good prices on meat and my extra 10% discount.
You can pick up saving coupons online in Spain. Check out sites such as www.cuponesespana.com. Sign up for their newsletter, and they will let you know when they have coupons available. They also have a sister site where you get free samples.
Buy Generic Medications
If you are not entitled to the Spanish National Health, you may be paying out a small fortune for medications. Saving money by buying generic medications is a good idea, and most pharmacies do stock generic medication. It is just a matter of asking for it. The most popular pharmaceutical company here in Spain is called Normon, and they are based in Madrid. All of their products are produced in Spain, and are excellent qualities. If you would like to know more about Normon, check out their website.
Saving Money on Currency Transfer
No, you don't save money by transferring your money in between the UK and Spain using Paypal. It is actually a very expensive way to transfer money in between two countries. I know that a lot of people advocate doing it, but it is really expensive. If you truly want to save money on foreign exchanging currency, you should use a specialist such as an expat currency transfer company. Yes, a local paper recently recommended Paypal, but it is way too expensive. Another service similar to Paypal called Propay was also mentioned. It can work out expensive so check things out carefully before you proceed. All in all, it is better to use a professional foreign currency exchange service. You will be able to speak to somebody in your own language, and the company may even have an office near you.