Stacey is a paediatric nurse using Snoop to save money and find greener ways to spend
I’ve been using Snoop since around April 2020. I came across the App while researching financial apps with a friend. My friend and I are hugely competitive and we like all things finance, the type of people that enjoy a good spreadsheet session. Anyway, upon researching I discovered Snoop. Excited at the prospect that I may save more money than my friend, I eagerly downloaded it with the aim to use the app for a few months then boastfully share the app and wait for the round of applause.
As it turned out, my use of the app was different from what I anticipated - in a good way! I found that I started logging into the app each day as part of my daily check-in on my finances. I don't tend to look at my transactions but like to browse through all the daily Snoops. I found it had a great variety of money saving opportunities and knowledge boosts across a whole range of things. I found myself looking for local flights, to sourcing local products or just telling me about things that I may not be aware of - like I had no idea I could watch my Amazon Prime through my Sky Q!
As a family we are very much ‘eco-warriors’ and try where we can to source local produce, reduce waste and help the planet. Also, we like to give back to those less fortunate. I’ve found it is like Snoop shares the same views, or it is a lot smarter than I thought at reading my transactions.
Regaining my Mojo and renting designer clothes…
So, what have I been doing through January? Other than spending the first half wondering what day of the week it was, then coming to the realisation that it was still 12 weeks until payday – or least it felt like it.
During these phases, I have come across an array of things on Snoop. Firstly, it began with reviewing my mortgage which linked to Mojo. It was quick and painless, and they arranged to call me back. We now have a plan in place to aim for a 75% LTV (Loan to Value) ready for our next remortgage. During this journey, Snoop provided a link to show me that I could easily reduce my mortgage term by 18 years and save a whopping £33,000 in interest! That is mindboggling!
From houses to clothing … so, there is such a thing as being able to rent clothes?! Who knew?! All those wonderful designer clothes that I dream of owning but cannot bring myself to spend the £££ on, I can now rent them! The article from Snoop was aimed at me making money from my wardrobe but instead has provided me with a way of experiencing all these wonderful clothes at a much more affordable rate and - it allows me to feel good about reusing rather than buying.
Finally, Snoop has highlighted spend at ‘the bakery’, situated at my workplace, as a regular payment for this week. I don’t know whether to be proud of this or to hang my head in shame…
Anyway - in one month, I have a mortgage plan, I have a way of renting fancy new clothes for as and when we are allowed to socialise and I need to cut back on my bakery purchases.
Have a fab Feb 😊
It’s a lot of trust to put in an app…
Like many others, most of my evenings are spent scrolling through the endless shows on Netflix 👀, trying to find a decent programme to binge on.
The only problem I found with Netflix is in my half-awake state it gives me exactly 0.01 seconds to stop the next episode playing and I end up in a heap of blankets with a mild concussion from trying to get to the remote. Snoop not only showed me how to stop the autoplay feature but also showed me how to stop the adverts for the shows, which if you have nosey children like my own will stop them from seeing things they should not 🙄
Apparently, this month the fixed rate with my energy supplier was expiring….Snoop not only provided me with a handy reminder but offered me £25 to switch. #WinWin. The process was easy and they had a range of energy providers on there. Admittedly I was slightly dubious, it is a lot of trust to put in an app, so I checked the deals in the usual areas and ended up right back with Snoop, taking my exclusive deal and my £25 voucher. Not only that, but it is with a renewable energy company ♻️ 👍
This month I have also started using Snoop differently, I have been pinning longer articles to read through later and I have been using the transactions list a lot more. I am still a pen and paper girl but I normally use separate apps for my banking and write down my transactions, whereas this month I spent time checking how accurate and up to date the list was, turns out very and saves me a tonne of time as it puts it all in one place.
That is all for this month. I am off to read my pins...
Pearls of wisdom, changing payments and pensions
This month Snoop upped my political game with a 60-second budget round up.
Starting conversations such as “well basically it means …” like I had figured this all out myself, only later to disclose that Snoop had provided me with these pearls of wisdom 😅.
In other news, Snoop calculates your overall spend with a company and informed me of the embarrassing amount of money I spend at Amazon!
I have to say it was like being slapped in the face by a wet fish. A daunting realisation and wake-up call 😵
Since this timely Snoop I can safely say that I have thought twice about what I need to spend on and what I want to spend on!
During the month I did manage to counteract some of my hideous spending and Snoop showed me I could get a £7 voucher for uploading photos.
I guess every ‘Snoop’ helps when you are attempting to bankrupt yourself via online shopping!
However, a proud moment here, you will be pleased to know that my bakery spending was highlighted as a changing payment ... it had gone down by £1.70!
Yes, yes, I know it’s obviously still showing as a regular spend but it’s the small wins that count 😊 #winning
Finally, I transferred my pension pots. I've changed employers a few times and wondered how it would work at retirement but never did anything about it.
Snoop had a read through section about pensions and a few great links to explore more info.
After reading through and comparing my pensions, I decided to take the plunge and have them all in one place.
This is an area that I would never have even considered looking into, but it’s massively important, and I'm really pleased Snoop made me act – no-one’s getting any younger after all! 👵
Over and out for March, see you in April
Stacey had an ‘Appy April
This month my active savings were lower than normal, but I still managed to get another £5 Amazon voucher 😊
I think my expectations are pretty high for Snoop so £5 seems low to me but I do have a lot of ‘pinned’ items for the future, such as £100 cashback for switching my mortgage. (And to be fair none of my other apps gave me £5 this month!)
Meanwhile, I took part in my first Easter Egg hunt in years. Snoop ran their own hunt where you had to find the little robot holding an egg.
This was great fun, and I found a load of new features that I had not been aware of before. As such I edited some names and end dates on my contracts in the Payment Hub.
This ensures Snoop will provide me with a reminder closer to the time to get these in order.
I also came across a few money blogs, all about ways that I can save money, reclaim money, vouchers, and discounts - all pinned and primed ready to go!
This definitely makes my competitive money saving expedition against my friend so much easier #winning
More on the update front - Snoop is my go-to for getting jargon free updates on the government changes.
I find the way the updates are worded so much easier to digest and I can pin it and come back to it whenever I want.
Finally, I love how you can contact the app so easily and they respond and listen.
I have sent over a few suggestions about things that I think would work well or possibly need changing and they actually respond to you.
Over and out, See you next month 😊
Snoop brings Stacey some sanity in the madness of May
May has been madness. Work has been so incredibly busy and short staffed that there are points where weeks go by, and I don’t even notice.
This normally results in me losing complete control of where I am financially and spending my day off unravelling the carnage spending at the bakery.
This month Snoop was my saviour. Whenever I had a bit of time, I would login and I see all my accounts, in one place, and that they were looking great.
I also had a browse through some of my snoops and came across some corkers!
Snoop found me an app called Cosmetify. This bad boy lets me browse through discounted makeup (eek) and set price alerts to make sure I get the best deal on my favourite products.
Love it – It’s like the Snoop gods read my mind!
With my makeup sorted I need somewhere to go right?
Enter Snoop once again - a Cineworld cinema pass courtesy of my already existing Clubcard points.
Not only that – Snoop also highlighted an app that shows me where there is either no cost parking or spaces available.
Therefore, I shall thoroughly enjoy my date night out, free parking, free movies and affordable makeup.
Next up has to be great deals on clothes and/or drinks…
While I wait for the Snoop gods to answer the above I shall browse through my latest Snoop which has analysed my top spending and found ways of making my money go further, including my Just Eat treats!
Over and out, see you in June 😊
Snoop helped me spot a sneaky price hike
Well that was June – another month that has sped past and I’ve barely been able to catch my breath.
Over the past few weeks I’ve been planning a hen (for the 4th time), overseeing building work at home and then my washing machine gave up the ghost.
Anyway – back to Snoop!
Snoop showed me a free app called ‘Heads Up’, which I've played before and loved, a few games in the garden with family during BBQs, perfect!
I also managed to bag some great free washing samples. Fortunately, I used them before my washing machine broke!
Finally, this one was a little worrying for me as I thought I watched my finances well but apparently not.
I had been watching the different payments going out of my account and thought that they all looked normal.
However, Snoop had highlighted a £20 increase in my Sky spend!
When I clicked on the notification it showed me that I had come out of contract, and it had jumped up in price.
On further investigation, it was due to go up by another £15!
Because my bill with Sky had become very similar to my Sky mobile bill, I would have missed this completely and would have been paying over the odds for however long it would have taken me to catch up.
So, thanks Snoop. After negotiating with Sky, I am now paying less than I was before.
See you next month.
Kitty cover, staying cool and a sea of Lego
Another month seems to have sped by. I’m not sure if it's lockdown that has warped my perception of time, but I feel like I don’t really see much of the month anymore and crave the times of simplicity.
Anyway, this month I needed to reinsure my crazy feline. Insurance is essential for my kitty, due to her being a little silly and getting herself in a pickle.
It just so happens that Snoop has added pet insurance to their insurance comparison – bingo. Insurance compared and arranged within the day and saved £15 on last year’s price. Feline stupidity protection in place!
Like the rest of the UK, I have been slowly melting and went through a stage of complete sleep deprivation due to being unable to adapt to breathing in purely hot air.
Snoop had written up a little piece on how to keep cool, complete game-changer. I had ice in front of my fans, sheets hanging up…the works.
I don’t know if it physically cooled things down but even if it was a placebo it worked.
More freebies this month. The most epic is the app Brick It (https://brickit.app/). This thing is brilliant! You can scan any pile of Lego and it tells you what you could make from it.
Word of warning though, I would spend just a smidge more time than I did telling my kids about this as within five minutes of it being downloaded there was an avalanche of Lego.
This resulted in what I can only describe as a sea of Lego covering my eldest’s room!
Another interesting discovery was Picniq tickets. The idea is they sell discounted tickets for attractions. I haven’t used them yet but I’ll update you when I do.
Finishing with more freebies, as we all love them - this month Snoop bagged me a free cleanser and dishwasher tablets. Every little helps!
See you next month!
Increasing bills, a new puppy and a new challenge
Once again, another month that has sped past and another month where bills have increased.
Three of my Sky mobile contracts expired during the month and had started charging me more.
Quick as a flash I managed to get a deal on all my contracts saving myself £10 a month. Happy days!
In other news…we bought a puppy. I am in the mix of loving and debating my decision but most of all we adore her. She is now 12 weeks old and her name is Mila.
That meant I needed pet insurance…enter Snoop.
Snoop managed to find a company that I had not heard of before and not only was one of the cheapest but provides me with access to a vet 24/7!
I have found myself a bit lost with money over the past few months and spending quite frivolously - like purchasing a dog and everything they need. I mean, she definitely needed the 10th toy I bought.
But what grinds you back down to earth (in a good way) is how Snoop shows you that you are haemorrhaging money with hints and tips to keep you in check.
The “all accounts” bubble on my homepage also has a way of not so subtly hinting when I need to rein back on my spending.
In September I am challenging myself to lower my spending and I want to see a definite downward trend on my spend analysis charts!
So far, I am spending less than I did this time in August. Just need to keep that going. We shall see!
Halloween and Christmas sorted with Snoop
I know I say this every month but how are we in October already. I am honestly flabbergasted that it I’m prepping for Christmas.
Through September I started exploring the total spend on categories and do you know what I found?!
That I spend an atrocious amount of food!
I have trawled through my transactions as I was convinced it must be wrong. But embarrassingly it is accurate and ashamedly I do actually spend way too much than I’m comfortable with.
During October I will be using Snoop to find ways of reducing my food spend. It’s not good, for my waist and my bank balance!
While we are on food it seems my bakery spend has started to creep back in, I was kindly reminded that it is returned back to a regular spend 🙈.
Although, counterproductively Snoop showed me that Prime members can get free delivery with Deliveroo 👀.
Sooo… I will have to take advantage but maybe on something cheap or healthy 🙈. Or maybe I can use this and only buy treat food once a week. Let’s give that a try!
Halloween is almost upon us and we’ve decided to have a party. I will be using Snoop to search for deals and discounts to avoid a scare at the end of the month!
My next thing to tackle is the mass expense of Christmas. I start early and make a list of everything I am going to buy.
I then write down the current prices and only purchase when I can find a discount or a deal. I save £££s each year and I hope Snoop can give me even bigger savings this year.
Until next month, over and out.
Thrills, regular bills and boycotting McDonald's
I’ve had so much fun this month!
I had a girly weekend in St Ives to celebrate some big birthdays that we missed due to Covid.
This included matching PJs, hot tubs, dancing, and alcohol, so perfect.
I also had 2 nights away to Alton Towers and Thorpe Park, cheap hotel stays and ticket purchases thanks to Snoop.
Last month I was going to delve into my spending trends over the last few months.
This timed in wonderfully to a money workshop that I am taking part in. The numbers were horrifying!
I honestly feel that I am sensible with money. I budget every month and I know what all my bills are and when they come out.
Thanks to Snoop I am on the cheapest contract for what I believe to be all my contracts. (Except for my gas and electric as it seems you must pay a little more for fully renewable energy – something I’m prepared to do.)
What transpired is that I do know all my regular bills, I do go to the effort of writing them all down.
After taking a closer look I realised that I’m spending £27 a month with Apple.
How can that be the case when I’m only paying £0.79 for extra storage, I ask myself?
Off I go onto my subscriptions. There they all are … Music, TV, larger storage than I thought … some arcade thing???
I can only assume I love a freebie but don’t note down the day it expires.
On to Amazon…How can it be that I’m paying £6.99 a month when I’m a prime member?
That, my friends, would be the reading subscription on top of the free prime reading I have.
Why do I have an audible payment? Yet another subscription deal I signed up for which is now expired and costing me money!
Needless to say I have cancelled them all.
So there you have it. You may think you know your bills, but it really is worth going through your actual transactions.
Snoop can do it by transaction or by supplier - the total transaction by supplier can be real eye opener. (I’m 100% boycotting McDonald’s for the month as the total spend put me on the verge of tears!)
In my defence, not all of these subscriptions are mine, some are my partners. Now I have all my accounts linked to Snoop I can keep an eye on everything!
Thank you Snoop - I have not only saved this month, but in the months ahead I’ll save a fortune!
I’ve already saved over £300 on Christmas Gifts
It’s almost Christmas – a time of year when I come into my element.
As well as the obvious ways to make savings like sales and discount codes, I’ve used Snoop to find creative ways to save even more money, and saved over £300 on Christmas gifts!
Firstly, I saved in the Timberland sale. I’d been watching a couple of items on another website which I was planning to buy, then Snoop showed the sale direct from the retailer and I saved 40% on both items.
If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts you’ll know I spend a fair bit at Amazon. Snoop showed me that I could buy a £50 wallet top up and get an additional £6 loaded to put towards another gift.
The list goes on and on, from sales to discount codes.
Snoop is continually improving the user experience and lets me know about items that I need to be aware of similar to a Facebook notification feed. It’s clear and easy to go back to when you want to review.
In other news, I’m coming up to renewing my mortgage and Snoop users can get free advice from Dynamo which normally costs £549.
Snoop has grown with me. I used to check it every day, but if I’m honest I don’t so much anymore.
If I have spare time, I will browse through the Snoop feed, but I know I can leave it and rely on it enough that it will notify me if I need to pay attention to something.
It really is like having my own financial advisor in my pocket, keeping tabs on everything.
That’s it from me this month- time to start making New Year resolutions and hope to fit in all the same clothes by the end of the month!
New plan for Christmas and tips to avoid 'greenwashing'
How expensive is December! Luckily, I budgeted for this throughout the year.
December use to wipe me out - I always needed to buy these extravagant gifts for everyone as this made Christmas.
As my children became older and their presents more expensive the quantity did not ease, my expense bill just increased.
Then COVID hit and we couldn’t go anywhere or see anyone. My children had gifts, but the time was different. I realised they craved experiences and family.
From that point on I realised that although they do love a pile of gifts, this was not what they really wanted. They wanted special train rides, ice skating, sleepovers, wrapped up on cold family walks.
Next year I am debating starting a secret Santa, one with friends and one with family. But make the budget more of a substantial amount.
I normally spend an average of around £30 per person and I have 9 people to buy for - a whopping £270!
If we did a secret Santa and the budget was £100, then it would be a more substantial gift for one person and more money to spend on activities or save. Unfortunately, that’s next year!
This year I battled through with the help from Snoop, who secured me a lot of money-saving, from highlighting sales to providing codes.
I’ve also signed up for a Mor card, which is free for Snoop users for the first 3 months. In all honesty the featured products are quite luxurious - with a price tag to match (even when discounted) but worth a mention.
Snoop has added the ability to check the green codes for companies.
The planet’s health is so very important and companies are quick to shout about what they deem as “green” qualities. Snoop explains what to look out for and helps you check credentials.
Don’t get me wrong, if you’d like to join in and help the planet you don’t need to check every company before you purchase something, you can normally tell from the outset.
However, if you’re torn between two companies, this may help you select the most eco-friendly!
The jury’s out on bundling my bills
This month I decided to switch to a company called Utility Warehouse. They claim to clump all of your bills together and then promise to make them cheaper for the first 12 months. So far it has been a little stressful - my phone porting has taken over a week and I’ve had to call several times to sort out problems. How they perform overall we shall see, but I’m hoping it’s worth my time and effort in the long run. I will let you know!
At the start of the year Snoop went through all of the money that I had spent and this was very sobering! Being aware of how much you spend is a really good, eye-opening experience and, although it won’t happen overnight, I continue to adjust my spending habits.
Snoop taught me two things I was unaware of this month. The first thing was the intended purpose of changing the Bank of England base rate. I never really appreciated that it’s used as a tool to help combat inflation and it was good to get a deeper understanding.
The second thing I learnt was about what the increase to National insurance will mean for me. I already feel as an NHS worker that I don’t get paid a grand amount for the responsibility of my job and the increase to contributions come April will take another big chunk out of my income.
Finally, I enjoyed reading Snoop’s tips on how to get a pay rise. Although it’s not something that I can really apply in the NHS it was another enlightening read and definitely worth taking a look if you’re in the right type of job!
See you next month.
Snoop shows me activities and adventures I didn’t even know existed (for less!)
I love using Snoop to arrange days out and activities that I can do at much less cost.
This half term I had kids eat free at the Beefeater, along with a day out at a local activity park for free.
Half term holidays can be expensive and I feel there’s definitely a pressure on parents nowadays to keep up.
Snoop allows me to keep up but in an affordable way. Not only that, Snoop shows me activities and adventures that I didn't even know existed!
We’ve all been hit by increasing energy price, but I was actually quite stunned by how much it was going to increase by.
Snoop told me what they anticipated my price rise to be based on my current spending and it was very accurate!
I was able to use this info to start working out my new budget. It didn't ease the shock but helped with budget planning.
Snoop kept me up to date with the drama of Amazon and Visa. In short, Visa wanted to charge Amazon a lot for using their services.
Amazon decided rather than roll over to put their feet down and stop using Visa. Visa then caved and reduced costs.
Well done, Amazon. Maybe we can take a leaf out of their books and put our foot down over the energy increase!?
Finally, having escaped it for the past two years I caught COVID! During my isolation Snoop showed me that you can use a few different apps to check crime in different areas.
Pretty useful if you’re looking to move, or if you are just incredibly nosey like me! 🙂
Kill Bill(s), cheaper fuel and freebies
This month has been all about the bills!
Bills in general have increased significantly, especially my fuel cost.
Initially I was not too concerned about this rising but I’ve seen a big increase in my costs and find that I am watching when I can opt for alternative ways of getting places.
Snoop showed me an app called Petrol Prices which searches your local petrol stations for the cheapest fuel. Just like that I feel like I'm beating the system in my own little way, and actually surprised at how much petrol stations vary!
Another saving this month was a cheeky £10 voucher for Not on The High Street. If you spent over a certain amount, they gave you a £10 voucher.
I bought a birthday present through them, then used the voucher on a Mother's day present later in the month, happy days.
Snoop tracked that I had started spending more at M&S and highlighted that they have a rewards card where I can get freebies. Not only did I save money on offers, I actually had my basket completely free one day!
I'm now gearing up for April with the list of "kids eat free" offers and hoping Snoop may run their easter egg challenge again!
Until next month, over and out!
Kids for free, DIY for less and free chocolate
April brought half term madness. Snoop helped me to plan out some places and things to do where kids ate free! It was a great way of exploring new areas and places to eat with friends.
I also used the half-term to start decorating our bedroom. We have done both of the kids several times over the years, but never quite got around to ours.
We had been given a voucher at Christmas and I combined this with a £5 off voucher for B&Q, so it total I had my entire £85 purchase for £20.
Easter obviously equals chocolate, along with other equally important things. So what else would Snoop do than locate free chocolate – brilliant!
Finally, we are fast approaching the hotter weather when I will be endlessly watering my astro turf and refilling paddling pools.
To help counteract the hike I will be inevitably experiencing with my water bill, I’ve seized the opportunity Snoop presented to me to get some water saving freebies!
Until next month!