I’ve saved £1,300 with easy bill swap trick – it paid for my family’s holiday and anyone who doesn’t do it is bonkers

SAVVY shopper Heidi Flaherty has saved £1,300 by getting paid to swap bills. 

The 31-year-old lives in Thetford, Norfolk with her husband Declan, 31, a warehouse operator, and kids Willow, 8, Aria, 6, Eden, 5, and four-year-old Koen.

The nursery worker regularly gives her finances a makeover by hunting for cheaper deals on bills and finding cashback to help maximise her savings. 

Heidi says: “I saved almost £900 because I shopped around for new internet, pet insurance, phone contracts and water provider deals.

“And I received £450 worth of Amazon gift vouchers, cash back and contract pay offs as ‘switch incentives’. 

“My average saving was 34% and on some bills I saved more than a half off my monthly bills. That’s huge!.

“I am shocked more people are not doing the same thing.” 

Heidi and her husband bought and renovated their £266k now five bedrooms, forever, family home at just 26 and say scrimping and saving even with four children at 31 is possible.

Firstly, she looked at her broadband bill. 

Heidi said: “I was paying £38 a month with Vodafone for internet but switched to Light Speed and now only pay £32.99 – that’s an annual saving of £72 a year.” 

She also got a £150 Amazon voucher via Light Speed as an incentive to swap.

“I got it via mail to spend on what I want.  

Next, she found cheaper pet insurance for the family’s Cockapoo called Stitch and the two cats Pixie and Ariel.

The family had been forking out £39 a month to cover their beloved pets and now thanks to Heidi’s haggling they only pay £27.

She also managed to get £150 cashback from TopCashback for switching. 

Heidi’s water is provided by Anglia Water, and the family had been paying a flat rate of £82 a month.

“Most people think the flat rate, especially with a family of six, is cheaper. I discovered it was not, and I could save money.

Heidi had a water meter installed two months ago and says despite her research she was worried about her first bill.

When it arrived, it was £57 on the meter instead of the normal £82 cutting a staggering £25 or 35% off their water bill.

“For our family it is a huge saving and a reminder to always be water aware”, Heidi adds. 

“I wanted a new iPhone 16. If I had gone to normal phone provider, I would be looking at around £60-72 a month for the new iPhone and usage.

Instead, Heidi decided to go straight to Apple and use the low interest Apple Finance plan for her new phone.

“I got a 24-month contract and paid just £30 a month for the phone and £12 for a SIM for calls.

This means Heidi now pays £42 for her iPhone 16 and calls rather than £72 from phone contract providers.

“That is close to half price or 52% off my monthly bill.”

In total Heidi has saved £72 a month of these four bills or £864 a year.

Once Heidi had found the deals that saved her money, she checked for cashback.

Websites like Quidco and TopCashback help you save money through shopping but also when you take out new financial contracts. 

In total, Heidi managed to find £450

That took her bill swapping total to £1314.12 for an evening’s work.

“I know people often feel overwhelmed about shopping around, but many sites do it for you.

“I have alerts on my phone for new deals. I also ensure whenever I buy a new deal I do it via Topcashback or can use my Nectar Card or credit card which gives me club card points.”

“It only took me an evening to sort out. 

“Most of the cash will pay for our next family holiday. 

“If you don’t ask, you don’t get. If it means more money in the bank or free money everyone should do it.”

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