20 Ways to Save Online

Life's little luxuries

VIRTUALLY FIT Personal trainers used to be all the rage in the '90s, but today they've been superseded by a high-tech, low-cost alternative called "virtual" trainers. Fitness sites like The Biggest Loser Club and Get Fit offer online training regimes, and because you never actually meet face-to-face, it's cheaper. But the downside is you'll have to sweat it out alone (there's no-one to scream, "One more rep!"), so it's best left to those with plenty of self-discipline.

EYE FOR A BARGAIN If you've got your eye on a pair of designer sunglasses but don't want to be robbed blind, try looking online. Internet discount stores such as Vision Direct don't have the overheads of department stores so they're able to sell their goods at wholesale prices. All come with a one-year manufacturer's warranty.

VALUE VINO Looking for a top-shelf drop of the good stuff at a bottom-shelf price? Try visiting Wine Robot. This free site trawls through 10,000 online wine retailers to find the best-priced wines. All you have to do is key in the wine name and hit the search button. We researched the 1998 Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz and were given three separate listings ranging from $60 to $85. But you don't have to be label-literate to use the site. Simply enter your favourite wine (shiraz or chardonnay, etc) and the price you're willing to pay, and it will find a match.

SCENTS FOR CENTS You can save up to 70% by buying designer fragrances online - as long as you don't mind not trying them first. Join eFragrance to save up to 50%. Otherwise, outlets such as Fragrance Heaven sell direct to the public with a reduced mark-up. We found Envy by Gucci 100ml for $52 - a fraction of the $170 retail price; for the guys, meanwhile, Hugo Dark Blue by Hugo Boss 125ml was $61 - well below the $137 shelf price.

Fun and games

MUSICAL SHARES Downloading music rom the web used to be the cheapest way to buy music - but that's no longer the case. Music retailer Dirt Cheap CDs sells the latest CDs for just $15, as well as older releases (from artists including Mariah Carey, REM, Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac) for $10 each. That's cheaper than the $16.99 you'll pay to download them at iTunes - plus you get the CD cover, lyrics and disc.

STAY IN THE GAME Keeping up with the latest video games can be an expensive business, but sites such asGames Warehouse help take the sting out by offering the latest PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo games at reduced prices.

CLASSIC LINE-UP Like free books? You can download a whole library of copyright-free classic books at Project Gautenberg. There are more than 17,000 books available at no cost, including works by Virginia Woolf, Rudyard Kipling, Jane Austen and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Read them on your iPad, Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android or other mobile or cell phone.