Value for Money with Dearbhla Lennon

Monday, 5 October 2009

Dearbhla's back with top tips on getting serious value for money- she's got wine, she's got movies, phone bills, burgers, style and much more- don't miss it!

Having scoured the country for the best bargains during the month of September, you'd think they'd have all dried up. Well that's just not the case!

Each week in this series, we've been looking at topical bargains, current offers and penny-wise prices, today we have 5 more

As the recession has officially taken hold, people are no longer spending their dosh willy nilly! The people of Ireland are demanding value for their hard earned cash and are not content any longer to put up with overpricing and unnecessary overspend. In this strand we'll be looking at everything from supermarket deals to online steals, prices at the pumps and frugal fashion finds.

Dearbhla Lennon:- there once was a deer hunter, now there's a bargain hunter.
Dearbhla is probably one of Ireland's best known dancers, having starred in four runs of "Celebrity Jigs N' Reels". Dearbhla Lennon began dancing at the tender age of two under the expert tuition of her mother, the legendary Móna Ní Rodaigh. She comes from a family steeped in traditional Irish music and dance, her entire family talented in one or other discipline.
Aged just 17, she was invited to join the original cast of Lord of the Dance, where she subsequently performed as principal dancer (in both female principal roles) for over five years. She then went on to become principal female dancer with "Riverdance- the show" in 2005.

Dearbhla graduated with a first class honours degree in Journalism and Media Communications in 2004. She was also awarded "Student of the Year" at Griffith College Dublin. After a brief period as a print journalist, having had a number of magazine cover stories, Dearbhla began working in television in 2005, both in front of and behind the camera. Currently working as a roving reporter for RTEs "The Afternoon Show" she has also recently been involved in an Irish language series for TG4 where she is being followed as she learns to play the concertina! Her most recent project as a judge on Irish Dance talent show "An Jig Gig" is currently airing on TG4, Sunday nights at 8:30pm
One of Dearbhla's favourite pastimes, is hunting for bargains and she is a self-confessed value vixen!

Value for money 1:-

Bringing home baby:
a. Receive your free EUmom starter pack when you make your first visit to your local maternity hospital/clinic at around 12 weeks. The free pack includes a 40 week pregnancy diary, lots of literature and helpful information. The best bit is that within this pack there is also a coupon to collect your free "Mother to be gift-box" from one of the participating pharmacies.
Included in this pack are:-

To check for a pharmacy in your area, click the link below:-
http://www.eumom.com/ie/pharmacies/pharmacies.asp?sessionID=

b. On bargain website www.discountsonline.ie there is a 15% discount voucher for Irish business www.babymoments.ie. All you have to do is input the discount code K948XF to avail of the 15% discount, when you spend €15 or more.
www.babymoments.ie bring "innovative new baby and infant products to the Irish Market". They stock a "wide range of gifts, accessories and toys for both babies, young children and parents".
REF:- http://www.babymoments.ie/

Nursery furniture supplied by Smyth's Toy Store
Available Nationwide.

Value for money 2-

Movie Madness!
www.screenclick.com have the largest selection of DVDs in Ireland.
If you sign up with screenclick.com you get two weeks of unlimited DVD rental for free! You also get a €10 voucher for Domino's Pizza (by way of a voucher emailed to you through Screenclick)
One of the best things about screenclick is that there are NO late fees, and FREE delivery both to deliver DVDs and to return them, so no more having to drive/park/drive back from the video store.

Screenclick are Irish owned and have the biggest selection of Movies in Ireland including all of the latest releases - over 15,000 titles.

Frank O' Grady of Screenclick.com says:-

"Our 1 DVD at a time package costs only 12.99 a month. You simply select the movies you want to see on our website and we send you out one of the top titles in your list. As soon as you are finished send it back by freepost in the special return envelope and we send another title from your list.

There are no late fees so if you get a movie on a Tuesday you can keep it until Saturday to watch. Even if you watch only 1 DVD a week it works out at under €3 a movie posted you your door.

We have 105,000 registered users and even have customers on the Aran Islands.

There is a 2 week free trial so you can get a few rentals free of charge to see how it works.

We are currently partnering with Dominos Pizza so every new Screenclick a/c gets a €10 Dominos voucher so they can enjoy a pizza on us with their movie."

If you decide that the service is for you after your two week free trial, the packages are below:-

Packages: Platinum - €31.99 (unlimited 4 DVD's at a time)
Gold - €24.99 (unlimited 3 DVD's at a time)
Silver - €17.99 (unlimited 2 DVD's at a time) *most popular*
Bronze - €12.99 (unlimited 1 DVD at a time)
Lite - €7.99 (limited 2 DVD's a month)
DVDs are sent one at a time, so although there are no late fees, you won't get your next DVD until you have returned the previous one.

On another note, SKY TV are running an offer in conjunction with Irish website www.bethrifty.ie whereby you get €40 cashback if you sign up with the regular SKY TV package and up to €50 cashback on the SKYplus package.
Check out www.bethrifty.ie for further details.

Value for Money 3:-
Shop till you drop!
A. Kildare Village outlet shopping centre are offering customers an extra 10% off simply by registering online!
" Kildare Village, located just one hour from Dublin's city centre, is an unrivalled shopping experience featuring up to 60% off, every day, all year-round reductions on an exclusive selection of over 50 sought-after international designer brands for your home and wardrobe. Kildare Village is easily accessible by both car and train."

REF;- Kildare Village Outlet Shopping

B. Lovely Irish girl, Sinead Van Kampen set up www.thesavvyshopper.ie one day whilst out walking her dog!

"I thought; 'Wouldn't it be great if you could not only get all these great discounts in one place, but have them posted to you on twitter and rss feeds so that every time an offer comes in you know where to go and how to get it - whatever 'it' is.'
The Savvy Shopper has everything from a discount from your favourite lunchtime spot to a free nights stay in a luxury health spa, it really is that easy - you pick and choose which offers you want.

If you're looking to reduce your budget without reducing your lifestyle, then we think you've come to the perfect place and we very much hope you'll enjoy using The Savvy Shopper."
Ref:- http://thesavvyshopper.ie/?page_id=2

On her website, Sinead features lots of brilliant offers on everything from hotels to restaurants, style to cosmetics and absolutely anything in-between. I particularly love the "freebies" section, where Sinead runs competitions etc for free stuff. This week for instance you can enter to win a free lunch at Fallon & Byrne.
This week, there are two great offers on
www.thesavvyshopper.ie that particularly caught my eye:-
. The Loft Market boutique, which is located in Powerscourt town centre, Dublin 2 are having a fashion show this coming Wednesday, October 7th at 7pm. And on the night, as well as getting to check out the latest in young Irish design, you'll get the benefit of 10% off.

. Online clothing outlet www.egoclothing.co.uk are offering readers of The Savvy Shopper a 15% discount on their site, just by using the code 'savvy' at the checkout. Ego features brands such as French Connection, Miss Sixty, Killah, Firetrap & Miss Sixty.

Value for Money 4:-
Food & Wine- mmmmmm!

A. Wonderful Wine
Tesco are this week doing fantastic offers on top brand wines.
McGuigan Signature Chardonnay or Shiraz is half price at €7.49
Hardy's Crest Cabernet Shiraz or Chardonnay are half price at €6.99 and Lindeman's Sydney Cove Chardonnay & Shiraz - Grenache are 3 for €15! Perfectly acceptable wines to serve whether it's curling up in front of a DVD or entertaining guests in your home, this is a great offer from Tesco but it ends tomorrow - October 6th, so get out and bag yourself a half price bottle!

B. Bumper Burger Deals!

The competition in the gourmet burger market is fierce at the minute with one gourmet burger claiming to have superiority over the next. This creates great competition however and with competition comes Value!

Jonathan Dockrell of Goumet Burger Company, Ranelagh says:-
"We are running a few special offers at the moment.
. The first is a buy one get one free all day and night Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
. The second is 20% off lunch on Thursday, Friday and Saturday
. The third one is buy one portion of our famous buffalo wings and get another free on Saturdays and Sundays. So something for everyone I think.

A little bit about the company...
"Gourmet Burger Company is an Irish owned company who specialise in
100% Irish organic beef, Irish free range chicken and use Irish
farmers and suppliers.
We have had some competition come into the Irish market since we opened in 2007 in the form of English chains and so but it is what we would deem to be of lesser quality to ours and our customers are very happy with our offering, we are busier now than this time last year."

The Real Gourmet Burger , Dunlaoighre, & Ballsbridge are running a lunch special from Monday to Friday 12 noon - 4 pm with a 6oz burger, fries and a soft drink for €10. Outside of the special, this same meal could cost more than €14, so this is a great deal.

The Gourmet Burger Bistro in Bandon in Cork are running a special lunch offer from 12 noon - 5pm Monday to Friday. There are a choice of 4 burgers on their menu to include a chicken burger, beer, lamb or vegetarian. With this you get a portion of fries and either a soft drink or tea/coffee for €10. Very popular choice with the people of Bandon!

Mustard Gourmet Burger Bar in Galway are running a great 2 for 1 offer on main courses. In order to avail of this you must pick up a 2 for 1 card at either the Cottage bar in Salthill or the Oslo bar and redeem it in the restaurant. From Thursday of this week you'll be able to cut out a 2 for 1 voucher from the Galway advertiser. Mustard also do 10% discounts for students with valid I.D.
Burgers are provided by burger companies featured.

Value for Money 5:-

Phone a friend!
International calls from both landlines and mobiles often make up a considerable chunk of our phone bills. But what if there was a really easy way to call your cousin in Canada or your friend in Fiji without the horror of a hefty phone bill.
Irish website www.bestrate.ie

According to the Bestrate website, the advantages to using this service are:-
. "No forms or registration needed
. No pre-pay or PINS
. Your provider will invoice you as usual
. No subscription or hidden costs
. All prices include VAT
. No bills from Bestrate (Bestrate is a service provided by Skytel)"
Ref:- www.bestrate.ie
Garret from parent company Skytel says:-
"Bestrate.ie is 100% Irish owned with services being provided since 2004.

Their mission: to provide low cost international calls without having to switch provider or make a specific purchase (of calling card, pins etc). The service can be used instantly from any phone type.

Facts : 41,800 regular users of bestrate.ie as of June 2009

The most popular countries called using 0818 221 221 are :

USA, UK, Poland, Australia , India, Spain , Germany, France, China, Latvia

80% of calls are made during off peak hours i.e after 6pm in evenings and weekends

Below is a comparison chart for off peak evening calls, which is the most popular calling time. Costs are in cents per minute and include vat. Most providers compare costs with Eircom as they would process the most international calls.

Country Bestrate.ie / Eircom
UK 5.12/ 14.49
USA 5.12/ 15.29
Poland 5.12/ 38.88
Australia 5.12/ 68.8
India 5.12/ 124
Spain 5.12/ 42.07
Germany 5.12/ 24.30
France 5.12 /24.30
China 5.12 /124

Below are the Frequently Asked Questions and relevant answers from their website
Ref:- http://bestrate.ie/index.html

"Q. Can I get some examples on how your bestrate service works?
Example 1 - Making a call from an Eircom landline
Question: I live in Dublin and I want to call my sister in London on the weekend from my Eircom landline - what do I do?
Answer: It's easy dial 0818 221 221 from your landline, wait for the voice prompt and dial 0044 etc (just as you normally would). The rate is 5c/min from your Eircom landline during evenings and weekends.
Example 2 - Making a call from an O2 Mobile phone
Question: I don't have a landline, I only have an O2 Mobile and want to make a cheap call to my friend in the USA - what do I do ? How much does it cost?
Answer : It's easy - dial 1520 666 77, wait for the prompt and then dial 001 +area code + number. It costs 24c/min anytime of day with bestrate.ie and the 24 c/min is deducted from your credit or charged to your bill.
Q. How are the calls so cheap?
You pay only for the access number - we complete the International call for you ...we make on the high volume of calls we process
Q. Who will bill me?
From your landline, your provider will bill you, normally Eircom. From your mobile, your mobile provider will charge. O2 charges 24c/min and Vodafone charges 25c/min incl. VAT for 1520 666 777. That includes the cost of the International call!
Q. How do I use this amazing service?
There is no registration process or anything like that - you simply dial our access number and SAVE huge.
Q. Can I make cheap calls from my mobile phone?
Yes. You can call the UK, USA, all Europe, Australia, New Zealand, etc from your mobile for 24c/min from 02 mobiles, or 25c/min from Vodafone mobiles.
For example, dial 1520 666 777 from your mobile to make calls to UK, Australia, Europe, USA, Canada etc for just 24c per minute from an 02 mobile or 25c/min from a Vodafone mobile.
Q. Can I really use ANY phone to make low costs calls?
You can use Eircom or any other landline provider, O2, Vodafone, Meteor, Three mobiles, your work phone , whatever you like
Q. Are there peak off-peak rates?
Most of our access numbers have one flat rate, the only exception are 1890 and 0818 numbers, which are charged at the following rates depending on your service provider:

Eircom charges 1890 local rate and 0818 national rate numbers as below:

Local rate (1890): Sa-Su: 1.32 cent/min
Mo-Fr 6pm/8am: 1.32 cent/min
Mo-Fr 8am/6pm: 5.17 cent/min

National rate (0818): Sa-Su: 5.17 cent/min
Mo-Fr 6pm/8am: 5.17 cent/min
Mo-Fr 8am/6pm: 8.57 cent/min

For all other landline and mobile charges please check with your service provider.
Q. Why can I not dial some access numbers?
There could be three reasons for getting an unobtainable tone:

1. Some operators like NTL and mobile providers will have to open up our access numbers on their networks. You need to contact your service provider, tell them the access number you wish to call and ask if they can allow you to call the access number.

2. You might be barred from calling premium rate 15xx numbers. Please contact your service provider to have the bar lifted. Meteor do this from mobiles , but if you call them and ask them to unblock the number they will do this.
Q. Is there a contract or sign up procedure ?
No. You only pay for what you use. You pay Eircom or any other landline provider, Vodafone, 02, Meteor or Three.
Q. Can I make calls right now?
Yes. You can use our access numbers right now!
Q. How many people use Bestrate.ie?
We have over 50,000 people in Ireland using Bestrate.ie access numbers."

Websites featured
1. www.eumom.com
2. www.babymoments.ie
3. www.screenclick.com
4. www.bethrifty.ie
5. www.kildarevillage.com
6. www.thesavvyshopper.ie
7. www.egoclothing.co.uk
8. www.gourmetburgercompany.ie
9. www.bestrate.ie