How to Cut Your Broadband Bill When Saving for a Baby

If, like Sparkles & Stretchmarks’ Hayley, you’re expecting a baby, your thoughts may have turned to saving money to help you prepare for your new arrival.  After all, children don’t pay for themselves unless you’re planning on yours being a child star - but that’s a topic for another blog post!
Cutting costs is one of the best ways of saving money, but while you may have thought about seeing if you can pay less for car insurance, home insurance and gas and electricity, one household bill you may not have considered is broadband.
A study conducted by broadbandchoices.co.uk last year found that more than a third of people in Britain haven’t switched broadband in four years. If you’re one of them, here are five tips that will help you save a bundle for your little bundle of joy…
1) Switch
It may sound obvious, but as our research showed, a lot of people don’t do it. It also showed that broadband and phone packages now cost an average of £62 a year - over 50% less than four years ago. So, if you’ve been with the same provider for yonks, you could save £60-70 a year just by switching.
2) Compare
Broadband is like anything else you pay for - you have to shop around to get the best deal. By using a comparison site, you can do it without having to spend ages on providers’ sites. Enter your postcode and you’ll see packages you can get where you live in seconds, so you can compare them in one place.
3) Look out for offers
You now have more choice than ever when it comes to broadband, and the best thing about this is there are almost always offers on as providers want to entice you to switch. For example, right now you can get Sky Broadband Unlimited free for 12 months - on a 12-month contract! All you have to pay is line rental.
4) Consider all the costs
While you can save a lot on broadband by taking advantage of an offer, before you sign up check it’s as good as it sounds. Take upfront costs like delivery and activation into account, as well as, say, how much you’ll pay once any introductory offer ends, to make sure you’ll save money over the course of the contract.
5) Knock the extras on the head
If you’ve got a fully-loaded broadband, phone and TV package now, think about what you could do without before you switch. If you’re paying for speeds you don’t need, calls you don’t use or channels you don’t watch, bin ‘em - after all, you’re unlikely to have more time to use them once the baby arrives!
This post was written for Sparkles & Stretchmarks by Kelvin Goodson, senior writer at broadbandchoices.co.uk , the mobile, TV and internet experts.
If you enjoy my blog, please consider following me on Bloglovin'