Savings Stories – How Lydia saved £172 on her mobile bill with Nous

Lydia, 32, works in HR and lives in Manchester with her husband and her one-year-old son. She saved £172 on her mobile contract after joining Nous when she was offered membership by her company, IAG Loyalty.

How did you manage your household bills before you joined Nous?

We kept on top of the payments, but what I wasn’t doing was scanning the market to see if we could find a better deal anywhere. I’m sure there have been times when contracts have come up for renewal and we didn’t check if we could move to something better.

What put you off looking for better deals?

It’s a pain and I thought it wasn’t worth it – but it really is when you add it up. We’re also very time poor as working parents. When a contract ended we would just stay with who we’re with. I once read that you’re more likely to get divorced than change who you bank with – that didn’t surprise me!

What do you look for in a provider?

With my mobile it would mainly be cost, as well as reliability and using a decent network. For things like our mortgage I’d look more at the customer service as it feels more important for something like that. For things like TV and broadband it would mainly be cost. If we were getting really bad customer service that would probably be the thing to prompt me to look for something else.

How has the rising cost of living affected your family?

I’ve been looking more at ways we can save a bit of money here and there. With our one-year-old we’re now paying nursery costs, so that's a massive chunk of money that we would have had left over before to spend on other things. 

I’m more interested in saving on things like mobile and broadband than I was before when things were a bit more comfortable. Previously it didn’t bother me or wasn’t a priority when things went up in price, but now we want to be a bit more savvy. We're trying to find deals where we can and not spending money for the sake of it.

We’re watching the energy bills, but that feels like something we can’t do that much about. We need the heat – we’ve got a baby and both work from home. 

It’s a case of not saving very much at the moment and there's some anxiety around that. Whereas before we would have been more comfortable to put money away every month there's less left now what with the nursery costs and other costs going up.

How did you feel when you were offered Nous membership by your employer?

I thought it sounded great and I was interested to find out more. I think it says they’re in tune with what people need and that they see people in the round. Financial wellbeing can be incredibly stressful if you’re not in a good place, so supporting people to find better deals and make savings is great. We've got people that work for the company on a really wide range of salaries, so I think it acknowledges that not everyone is an executive earning loads of money. 

What are some of the best things about being a Nous member?

Nous does all the stuff I wouldn't want to sit down and do myself at the weekend. With my mobile, the idea of having to find a deal and get a PAC code and all that just felt like too much of a headache and something I didn’t have time for. I would never have saved the money myself because I wouldn't have found the time, I always prioritise everything else before sorting my bills. The money-saving is great of course, but  the peace of mind is really nice too.

‍Were you surprised to find out how much you can save on your mobile contract?

I didn’t realise I was overpaying that much. Before I was paying more than £20 a month and now it’s £7 a month, so that was a good save. I’d finished paying off the handset, but I didn’t bother trying to find a better deal because that always feels like such a faff. The money can go towards all the extras you need for a child, like all the berries he eats! It’s nice to have a bit more pocket money for everyday treats.

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