Steve Saunders has used Snoop to get a better tax code, boost his credit score and claim £376 back from his water company

I’m Steve Saunders, I’m 56 years old and I live in East Devon where I work at my local council in a small team that helps event organisers with licensing and planning festivals and outdoor events. It’s a full time job and I have been lucky to avoid furlough and redundancy at work, although I know just how tough things are for most people and for businesses that I work with. During the first springtime lockdown, I realised I needed to start thinking about how to plan and budget my family’s finances because of what we are all going through. Snoop has been so helpful in that respect with budget planning and other tips I’ve received so more of that shortly!

I’m married and my wife, Louise works part time. It would be fair to say that although we aren’t particularly well or badly paid, we were drifting along without too much regard or thought to our finances until the pandemic. My wife was furloughed and although we still had some of her income, we realised that we needed to prepare and to plan how we could live efficiently or as the saying goes, ‘within our means.’ Snoop has really helped in that respect and has saved us money too. We have two grown up kids, our son, Jack is in full time education in Oxford and our daughter, Alice moved to London in the summer after her contract with the NHS here in Devon ended. I’m immensely proud of how they have both coped and how they have used the challenge to shop around for better deals, to think about savings and to consider their own finances more than they would have done before. 

We still have a mortgage which we’ve had with Santander since moving home 4 years ago. Both kids rent their properties and so as a family we’re always looking at the best options for saving money. For me, the option of just receiving a mortgage statement every year is no longer enough and by using banking Apps and more recently Snoop, we understand how to check our remaining balance along with keeping an eye on potential mortgage deals. When my son needed to apply for his rented accommodation, using Snoop he already has his budget and outgoings prepared and ready to send. 

So I downloaded Snoop in June 2020 after reading positive reports online at ‘money to the masses’ which featured the bank accounts I have. I liked the style of Snoop that was shown, it appealed to me that it was free and also that it was a new App receiving positive feedback in the first few months. At that time I was using another App that begins with ‘Y’ that seemed too complicated when linking my bank accounts and so I changed over to Snoop. I have nothing but praise for it and I can’t think of any other app or website that has helped me with my finances as Snoop has. It was so simple to set-up, to link my accounts and although it was only launched in April 2020, it has become really important for what we need it for. 

I have passed on Snoop tips and help to my friends and to my own kids who are both Snoopers and they have started using the App to help with monthly budgeting and managing their own spending. The great thing about the Snoops I receive is that they are so up to date and current, whether it money off at supermarkets or voucher offers, or just the helpful Snoops about your spending and the little nudges about whether I’m overspending with utility companies. I’m now an avid and passionate Snoop user.

Since downloading the app, there have been many occasions that Snoop has helped. Here’s just a few:

✅ We’ve taken up the Snoop to set up a Family Spotify account recently to merge one Spotify account,

✅ I used the HMRC tip to gain a better tax code because I’m working from home, that has reduced my tax payments, something I’ve not had in my working life before!

✅ I’ve taken on the tips to boost my credit score so when I look at re-mortgaging we’ll be in a stronger position,

✅ Snoop saved me £376 this year with the wonderful tip about contacting my local water authority and guess what, I had been over paying my water bill for the last 4 years and received the refund I didn’t know I was entitled too. This has given my family a 6 monthly holiday from paying water bills!

✅ My wife has a lovely new iPhone coming for Christmas thanks to the Snoop about four months 0% credit with Paypal. I know I wouldn’t have seen this offer without Snoop.

I love ‘pinning’ Snoops that really relate to us as a couple and for us, the simple explanations of the furlough scheme have been really helpful. Snoop has changed my way of thinking about our finances, which for a couple in our mid-fifties is great. Last year we wouldn’t have even considered how much we spent on broadband, mobile phones or the weekly shop and so Snoop offers all this information when it is needed more than ever! I check my incoming Snoops daily now, the easiest thing to do is to sit down with a coffee first thin in the morning before the day gets started to see what updates have been sent along with checking my spending summary. It’s even easier now that it’s possible to Pin relevant Snoops and also by browsing Categories too.

Steve’s Snoops are making sure his bills aint jumpin’ and the Spotify tricks mean his house is pumpin’

Snoop’s success from January continues as we begin to emerge from lockdown!

After helping us to organise our finances last month, I’ve continued to eagerly checking my regular bills with Snoop (every Sunday) to see what’s coming up for the week ahead. Snoop really is that loyal friend who just keeps giving!

I personally can’t wait for Snoop’s new ‘Skills’ (coming soon) that will provide a new ‘Payday Predictor’ to project how much money will be in your account. Thankfully, whilst waiting for new developments, we can still rely on Snoop to keep a close eye on Energy, Credit Cards, Broadband and Mortgage spending. 

I’ve added all my accounts now after the latest app makeover to show pending balances and payments. Spotting changes to payments for recurring bills is now even easier to see and Snoop helped me spot that my council tax payments were spread over 10 months rather than 12 with helpful details for changing payments across the full year. Although it may help some of us by having February and March clear of payments, this tip has helped me by having 12 lower monthly payments spread across the coming year.

Online shopping has never been easier, or more necessary, and so when Snoop alerted me to available deals, I took advantage of the Co-op the ‘freezer deal’ discount and also for 20% off wine box orders at Morrisons. Snoop also helped me to see that I have been spending frequently in one local supermarket and I spotted the tip for downloading the Lidl app to get £5 off a +£25 shop as a new customer.

Looking ahead, Snoop has alerted me to the fact that we’re overpaying for energy and by calculating when my current energy deal ends, I’m planning on being one of the customers who can switch providers to save over £130 a year.

I’ve mentioned before that Snoop offers something for everyone and I shared the tip with my son about switching a current account to HSBC. By arranging his income along with two standing orders, he’s now one of the new customers eligible for the £125 incentive to switch accounts.

Snoops smart tip about importing music files into Spotify really was a gamechanger for my wife and we’ve added her favourite tracks from the 1980’s and 90’s using the update. You can also check out other cool Spotify tricks so you’ll not only be saving money with Snoop, you can also have all your favourite music playing around the house to boost your mood and lift your spirits too!

Snoop is helping Steve overcome the loyalty penalty 💪

After saving my family money over the first three months this year, it was time to check my April monthly payments with Snoop which was really helpful. 

Snoop informed me that my home broadband payments were too high and a quick look at the link to check Broadband deals saved us £15 each month along with receiving a £75 voucher gift card by switching providers. 

I wouldn’t have checked this without Snoop letting me know that I was overpaying and also out of contract, the yearly saving will be £180 so it’s really worth checking.

Another useful check that I am using is the monthly ‘Your Money’ option where Snoop lists my monthly bank transactions. 

I previously used another app for this (🤯) however with Snoop the details are clearer (😌 🤟) you can check your spending easily and the display shows the logo or brand of every payment made. 

If that’s not enough, clicking away from ‘Transactions’ and on to ‘Categories’ will help you see where the big hitters are in your spending! 

Just checking the groceries category has helped me realise I was showing too much loyalty and spending at one supermarket. 

That’s helped me to focus on checking deals and value for money with other supermarkets. 

Other categories include transport, shopping and eating out and will help if you spend over budget month by month. 

A tip to remember is to keep connecting all your bank and card accounts because this will help you realise how much money is being spent month by month.

If that isn’t sufficient to keep you on track - the Snoop Payment Hub really helps by showing spending on products such as your mortgage, home insurance, energy bills and credit cards.

This section has helped me to see where savings can be made and I can recommend checking your own Payment Hub regularly.

Saving and budgeting deserves a reward and so we’re planning some days out - we all need those right now!

The entertainment Snoop for ‘Days Out Deals’ offers something for all ages and anyone interested can get 60% off, free children tickets along with 2 days for 1 in London when travelling by train. 

So our family is looking forward to a cheaper train journey and meeting relatives at Thorpe Park with 36% off ticket entry. Can’t wait!

There’s also information in the Entertainment section of Snoop on using Codes for Netflix if you decide to stay home, together with a 3 month trial of free music from Amazon.

In the month ahead, the greener apps promoted by Snoop for swapping groceries with Olio are drawing my attention and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s available in my local neighbourhood.

Once again, tips and help from Snoop have saved me even more money in the year ahead along with offering some quick wins with purchases too, thank you Snoop!

It’s never too late get in good financial shape

I’ve been a keen follower and fan of Snoop for nearly a year and it’s so helpful to know that Snoop still has my back by helping me to prepare ahead of Christmas.

Times are currently downbeat and so it’s more important than ever to plan ahead. It helps to know that Snoop is always there for us with money saving tips and updates.

The Snoop guide ‘100 days to Christmas’ helped me by crunching all the numbers for my spending over the year to date.

Snoop even predicted how my spending will increase in November and December to help make some savings right now.

There was a really helpful tip about cancelling old subscriptions and I found that I was paying a £15 monthly membership that I don’t use.

I’ve cancelled the subscription leaving me with £60 in my account that I wouldn’t have had by the end of the year.

I also took Snoop up on the tip for booking train journeys well in advance and have saved money by planning to see my family in December by booking right now.

There was also an option for switching bank accounts to Nationwide which I put my son on to and he’s going to be better off by £100 for switching his account.

Being a pet owner, I read Snoops ‘8 tips to cut the cost of pet ownership’ and found savings through buying pet food in bulk along with some online purchase options with special offers.

Snoop also found me further savings by signing up for a Co-op member card along with taking advantage of Lidl plus, both being local shops.

Snoop had already alerted me when I was shopping too regularly in one supermarket and there were tips for savings and offers at M&S and Waitrose too, giving savings at four local shops.

For me it’s really worth taking time to sit down with a coffee at the weekend to read the latest tips from Snoop along with checking the ‘Your Money’ section of the app to see where my money is going.

That time is well spent each week - keeping a close eye on credit cards, broadband and utility bills along with Snoop’s helpful links to speedy comparisons for insurance.

Although saving money is important, Snoop can also help us to enjoy our free time.

The tip on 3 months unlimited cinema tickets for just £9.99 was too good to miss and by signing up for a minimum of three months, I’m looking forward to seeing some long awaited films at my nearest Odeon cinema….and at much lower cost.

It really is never too late to start budgeting to get in shape financially and with Snoop on our side, there is something for everyone to help cut bills and to save pounds!

The Christmas squeeze isn’t so tight with Snoop

With Christmas fast approaching and the extra squeeze on our finances, it’s great that Snoop keeps bringing everyone tips to save money in so many areas of our lives. 

Snoop helpfully reminded me that my car insurance was due to end a few weeks before renewal and saved me over £130 on my car insurance for the year ahead.

I also saw the helpful Snoop update about checking mobile phone contracts and found that my wife was coming to the end of her contract. 

The phone itself is absolutely fine and so by taking Snoops advice and choosing a SIM only deal with the same mobile phone provider, we’ve slashed the monthly payment by half!

Snoop has also helped with getting ahead with Christmas shopping.

When I saw the tip about an extra 15% available on selected orders at Millets, it was too good to miss and has helped me with some perfect outdoor clothing presents already.

Snoop also identified various savings and money off at my local supermarkets.

I’ve made the most of this and recently took advantage of the tip to spend more than £25 to get 10% off at Co-op when buying drinks for Christmas.

So it a big ‘cheers’ from me to Snoop for helping me to keep saving money. It’s been another successful month and Snoop has really helped us with our finances again!