6 ways to save on your broadband
Hello everyone!
Today I have an exciting collaboration post for you!
I'm joined by Jake Butler, money saving expert from Save the Student who is going to give us 6 tips to help you save on your broadband.
Enjoy x
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Cut the cost of broadband in 6 easy steps
There probably isn’t a student out there that could live without the internet. It’s almost as essential as a roof over your head and 3 square meals a day. How else would you be able to access endless hours of cat videos?
But, as with most things in adult life, it’s never easy to work out if you’re getting the best deal or whether you’re being ripped off for something that could be more than half the price with a few simple tweaks.
Here’s a few quick and easy tricks to slash the cost of your broadband bills for your student crib.
1. Choose the right contract for you
No two internet contracts are the same. Most vary on the main things such as speed, download limits, added extras, customer service and area coverage.
You need to decide if you’re a house full of gamers that need fibre broadband or even a group on iPlayer fanatics that need an unlimited download limit.
The best thing to do is to decide what type of speed and download limit you want and then check out all the best value options in that category.
There’s a good broadband comparison table here.
2. Don’t get stung by cancellation fees
If, like most students, you don’t sort your broadband on the 1 st July when you’re house contract starts you might be facing a few months when you move out in the following year where you’ll still be paying for broadband.
The important thing here is to sort it early, look for 9 month contracts or even take on the charge for the overlap.
Please make sure you cancel the contract 30 days before it finishes though or you may be charged for any extra months you don’t want.
3. Try a bundle
If you buy more as a package you generally make bigger savings.
Ok, a Sky/Virgin/TV contract isn’t for everyone but as a student you can split the cost between a few of you.
If you live in a house of sports fanatics you could save by not going to the pub for games or
film fans can save by not heading to the cinema regularly.
4. Consider not having line rental
For some crazy reason the majority of providers still require you to have a landline in order to access their internet. Despite new rules saying this price is now included as part of the broadband cost it’s still crazy that you gotta pay for it.
There are some companies like Virgin and Vodafone that no longer require you to have a landline but they’re not always cheaper.
If you do have a landline in your contract you should find out when you can make calls for free and use it to call home.
5. Look out for shock price increases
In recent years a lot of the broadband companies have been increasing their broadband and/or line rental costs during the contract. They’re allowed to do this as it’ll be mentioned in your contract when you sign up.
However, they also offer you the ability to cancel your contract there and then. While switching to another 12 month contract won’t benefit most students it’s worth chatting to the company you’re with and suggesting that you’ll leave… you never know what they might offer you ;)
6. Weigh up freebies
Every now and then a company will come along with a top freebie (eg. Get our broadband and we’ll give you a £100 voucher). While this may seem like a top deal on the face of it it’s always a good idea to work out the effective value of the freebie.
For example, a £100 voucher is pointless if the broadband is going to cost you an extra £200 a year.
Hope this helps, good luck saving!