It may be a recession and money may be tight, but that doesn’t mean nights out, holidays or even a brand new car need be out of reach. In fact, thanks to businesses with an eye on the economic outlook there are some of the best deals to be had – ever. Here are 10 of the best.
The £4,000 new car
Touted as the world’s cheapest car, India’s Tata Motors is about to start taking orders for the European version of its small car, the Nano. With a price tag of £4,400 it will give other manufacturers a run for their money. However, UK buyers won’t get the best deal. Tata got the "cheapest car in the world" tag by promising to sell it for 100,000 rupees (£1,393) in India. The European version costs more as it has to conform to crash safety and emissions regulations that are unheard of in India.
The £20 business suit
Suits for £20 are available at Asda. Women can choose a jacket with a skirt or trousers for £20. Men get a machine-washable, single-breasted suit for just £19. Anthony Thompson, managing director of George, Asda's fashion brand, said: “With hundreds of thousands of jobs being lost last year, people who want to smarten up often can't afford to. Having a workwear range in-store that will suit everybody, no matter what your profession, is key to helping our customers get through what is going to be a very tough year.”
The £30,000 house
A street in West Yorkshire is the cheapest place to buy a house in England and Wales with the average property costing less than £30,000. Oxford Street in the former coal mining town of South Elmsall has been crowned the most affordable street in England and Wales with homes changing hands for an average of just £25,600, according to property website Mouseprice.com. And if you think you can’t buy anything in the capital for less than £100,000, think again. In Leamington Close in Havering in east London you can pick up a home for £97,800.
The £2.88 mobile
In response to the credit crunch, Carphone Warehouse is selling the Motorola W180 on a pay-as-you-go tariff for just £2.88. To get the phone for £2.88 you have to buy £10 of top-up credit on the Orange network, but you can even save on this initial £12.88 outlay. By buying online using a site like Quidco you could get £5 cashback, bringing the total payable to just £7.88.
The 79p pint
A pub in the West Midlands is pleasing punters with Britain’s cheapest pint – at just 79p. Amazingly, the landlord of The Marksman has lowered his price from 89p after a rival pub started matching his prices. But if you’re too far from West Bromwich to pop in for a pint, the next best place is one of Britain’s 700-plus JD Wetherspoons' pubs. Britain's biggest high street pub chain has cut the price of a pint of Greene King IPA and a bottle of San Miguel lager to 99p.
The £1 coach trip
London to Sheffield for a quid – I doubt you’d be able to beat that, unless you hitched a lift. But Megabus is selling single tickets for £1, plus a 50p booking fee. To get the £1 deal you need to book about a month in advance. If you need to hop aboard sooner than that then you’ll still be able to book a seat for £5 one way. And Megabus sells train tickets too, starting from £1 plus the booking fee. Go to megabus.com to book your trip.
Free theatre tickets (or 10p if you’re over 26)
If you’re under 26 you can get tickets for yourself and your friends for free at theatres all over London, including productions at the Young Vic, the Almeida and the Hackney Empire. Go to anightlessordinary.org.uk to search for tickets. If you’re over 26 then you can grab a 10p ticket at the Royal Court Theatre. It sells eight tickets every evening. To get one you need to turn up at the box office an hour before the show. You’ll be standing and the view is rather restricted but for 10p you can’t really complain.
The £2 chicken
A whole chicken will set you back just £2 at Asda. Such is the lure of this recession-beating price that the supermarket chain claims customers are prepared to cross town to buy Britain’s cheapest chicken. Weighing 1.55kg and displaying a Union Jack label to assure buyers of its provenance, the chicken is flying off the shelves, according to Asda - with shoppers popping up to three birds in their trolley at a time.
The free 42” plasma TV
You can pick up a free LG 42-inch plasma TV when you sign up to a pay monthly deal on a Blackberry with T-Mobile. Phones Limited is offering the TV, worth at least £500, to anyone who signs up for a contract for either 12, 18 or 24 months for a Blackberry 8700. If you’ve already got a plasma you can always opt for one of its other freebies instead – like a Wii fit or a laptop.
The £1 lunch
The Bull’s Head pub in Linthwaite, Huddersfield is offering lunch for £1. The deal is available every Monday from noon to 7.30pm on one dish, which changes every week. You can make a week of cheap eating by heading to the Traveller’s Rest in Meltham, from Tuesday to Saturday. It’s offering roast dinners for £2 from noon to 9pm. While The Will’s O’ Nat’s, on Blackmoorfoot Road, offers a variety of dishes for £3 on weekdays, between noon and 2pm and from 5pm to 7pm.
Source: Emma-Lou Montgomery, MNS Money
