Every month we gather all of our best blog pieces together and present them to you in a handy bulletin so that you never have to miss out on any money saving tips. Sign up to our newsletter to have the bulletin emailed to you each month.
We’re now well and truly into autumn now, and those dark and dreary winter days aren’t too far off but on the bright side, it means that Christmas is just that little bit closer and of course, Halloween!
Been too busy to keep up with the latest personal finance news and tips? No problem!
We’re here to run through all of the latest changes in the worlds of energy, banking, broadband and more with Your September o Bulletin.
Let’s get to it!
The month kicked off with the unwelcome news that wholesale gas prices have gone up by 30% which means that we could soon be seeing some price hikes for winter.
Energia customers needn’t worry though as the supplier is eager to help you offset those winter bills with their new Cosy Homes scheme.
If you’re looking to switch suppliers altogether (something we always recommend you do if you haven’t done so in the last 12 months) you might want to check out Just Energy, Ireland’s newest electricity supplier, which launched earlier this month.
Confused about whether you should go for a dual fuel deal or go for separate suppliers when it comes to gas and electricity? This month we broke down the pros and cons of both to help you make an informed decision.
Finally, in energy news, we found out that smart electricity meters are coming to Ireland and will be rolled out across the country within the next 5 years.
The current account market is finally starting to get a little interesting! This month we took a look at An Post’s new Smart Account - a current account for day-to-day banking which offers customers the chance to earn money back with certain shops and businesses.
KBC launched a new app which enables you to open a new account in just five minutes.
And in light of the above two pieces of news, we decided to compare all current accounts on the Irish market to see who’s coming out on top.
There was lots of news this month in the telecommunications sector. First we learned that Pure Telecom and open eir have agreed on a €35M infrastructure deal which will be great news particularly for those in rural areas, where Pure Telecom plan to expand.
There’s currently huge competition in the tripleplay market, so we decided to carry out several comparisons to help you find the best broadband, phone and TV deal including a side by side comparison of the big four; eir, Sky, Virgin Media and Vodafone as well as a look at 10 of our favourite deals across all providers available right now.
There was big news for Apple fans, as the release dates for both the iPhone 8 and iPhone X were announced and Virgin Mobile was quick to announce its own debut dates for when the two phones will be available with the network.
And finally, listen up TV fans! bonkers.ie got investigative this month and we discovered that if you ditch your tripleplay bundle and switch your TV viewing habits to online outlets, you could save yourself a whopping €667 in a year.
There were two great pieces of news for both existing and potential mortgage customers this month. First, AIB announced mortgage rate cuts for new and existing customers and less than a week later, KBC reacted with new rates of its own, a range of 10-year fixed mortgages.
We had a look at what these new rates will mean for both AIB and KBC first-time buyer customers. Spoiler alert - it’s good news!
As always, every week we give our recommendations for what to watch on the best streaming services available in Ireland. This month we decided to trial Amazon Prime Video with favourable results but of course we also reviewed movies and shows from your favourite services such as Netflix, NOW TV and All 4.
With the 2018 Budget just around the corner, we are exploring Irish billpayers' attitudes to their day-to-day finances and we’d love to hear your opinions. Take our quick 3 minute survey and be in with a chance to win a €100 One4All voucher on us.
Tip of the month
Amazon Prime Video is running a two-week free trial to get you started on the streaming service. Check it out now.
Did you know?
You can now voice search on your Virgin Media TV Anywhere app? Say goodbye to endless scrolling!
Question of the day
Apple fans, do you think the iPhone 8 is worth it? Or would you hold out for the iPhone X?
Tweet us your answers @bonkers_ie. We’ll RT our favourites!
Until next time
That's everything for this month. If you have any topics that you'd like us to cover in the blog do get in touch! You can email us at hello@bonkers.ie or tweet us @bonkers_ie.
