If you are fed up hearing the term “credit crunch”, then join the club; so are we!
There can’t be many of us left that aren’t feeling the pinch but there are some things you can do to help make your money stretch further and make your piggy bank happy.
SORT OUT YOUR FINANCES
1. REMORTGAGE
If you are paying your lender's standard variable rate, you are likely to be paying more for your mortgage than you need to. Many lenders have failed to pass on the recent emergency interest rate cuts.
Check to see if you have any redemption penalties on your mortgage; if not, move to a better deal. Use an unbiased adviser who can put you in contact with lots of different lenders, to help you find the best mortgage to suit your circumstances.
2. CHANGE CREDIT CARDS
If you have debts on a credit card that charges a high rate of interest, switch the balance to a card that stays at a low interest rate until the debt is repaid. It saves the effort of making repeated applications for short-term 0% deals, which will charge you a fee each time you move your balance.
3. EARN MORE INTEREST ON YOUR SAVINGS
If you aren't using your cash ISA allowance this year, then you should be; You can save up to £3,600 this year in IT. It means you don't pay any tax on the interest earned, so if you have spare cash in your current account, move it into a best buy ISA.
4. GET MORE FROM YOUR CURRENT ACCOUNT
Don’t stick with a poorly performing current account, so choose one that will save you money. An Alliance & Leicester account, the Premier Direct account, is the best for interest, paying a massive 8.19% on balances up to £2,500 for the first year.
5. CLAIM WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO
A staggering £9.9billion of tax credits and other means-tested benefits went unclaimed last year, and, with the cost of living continuing to rise, it's more important than ever to ensure you aren't missing out on any extra money. To find out whether you are missing out on any benefits, visit entitledto.co.uk.
6. DON'T PAY OVER THE ODDS FOR FINANCIAL PROTECTION
If you want cover that will pay out in the event you can't meet mortgage payments because of accident, sickness or unemployment, get a quote on cover that is considerably cheaper than that provided by high street lenders.
7. SORT OUT DIRECT DEBITS
Go through your bank statements and check to see if you are paying for anything regularly that you no longer need, use or want. For example, unless you make use of your gym at least twice a week, cancel your membership.
8. CUT CHILDCARE COSTS
See if your employer offers vouchers to help you pay for childcare. The maximum yearly saving you can make is £1,195 per parent, equivalent to £243 per month, so if both of you take childcare vouchers you can save up to £2,390 a year on costs. Find out how much childcare costs you could save by going to childcarechoice.co.uk/findoutmore.html
AROUND THE HOME
9. MAKE IMPROVEMENTS
Steep mortgage costs and falling house prices mean that increasing numbers of you are opting to stay put and improve your existing properties rather than move. According to Abbey, the only home improvements that will currently make you money are repainting and decorating. These can be expected to add up to £2,227 over and above the cost of the work and may cost only around £100 if you do the work yourself.
10. DE-CLUTTER AND EARN MONEY
Sell unwanted items through online auction sites such as eBay.co.uk, or through a car boot sale. Pitches tend to cost between £5 and £20, and you can find sales in your area at carbootjunction.com.
11. SELL YOUR UNWANTED MOBILE PHONE
There are an estimated 80 million old phones lying around in Britain, worth a total of 1.6billion and there are plenty of people prepared to pay for older models. For example, websites such as envirofone.com will buy your old phone. All you do is put in the details about the make and model of your phone and they will tell you how much they will pay for it.
12. CONSERVE ENERGY
According to the Energy Saving Trust, 20% of all heat loss in a typical home is through poor ventilation and draughts. It says that if all of us in Britain draught-proofed our homes we'd save around £130 million (£20 a year per household), make sure your home is properly insulated.
13. CHECK TO SEE IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR GRANTS
There could be grants available to help you pay for things such as draught-proofing and cavity wall insulation. For more information call the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre on 0800 512012.
14. TURN ELECTRICAL ITEMS OFF
Don't leave items such as televisions and stereos on standby as this wastes electricity. Only fill the kettle with as much water as needed and turn lights off when they aren't needed.
15. SWITCH ENERGY PROVIDERS
Don’t pay more than you should on gas and electricity. Websites such as energyhelpline.com and uSwitch.com enable you to compare energy deals and switch online.
16. PAY BY DIRECT DEBIT
Most gas and electricity providers offer discounts of up to around 10% if you pay your bills by direct debit rather than by cheque or any other means.
17. USE THE SAME PROVIDER
Switching to an "all-in-one" package, where you get your television, phone and broadband from the same provider, could result in significant savings. uSwitch comparison service can help you save money by combining your broadband, television and home phone deals.
18. BE THRIFTY IN THE GARDEN
Plants can be expensive, so if you buy a large plant you may be able to divide it up so that you get two or three for the price of one. Most perennial plants can be increased by division.You should also ask friends and family for cuttings wherever possible.
SUPPLEMENT YOUR INCOME
19. EARN MONEY THROUGH SURVEYS
Participating in online market research is a simple way to earn extra cash. whichsurveys.com currently lists around 200 survey companies offering to pay for surveys in cash and prizes. Another site, valuedopinions.co.uk, also rewards you for taking part in market research surveys.
20. GET PAID TO REVIEW MUSIC
The website Slicethepie.com enables you to earn money reviewing new music by becoming an online "Scout". You review random anonymous tracks and in return, Slicethepie pays you for each review.
21. RENT OUT A ROOM
Under the Government's Rent a Room scheme, you can earn up to £4,250 a year (around £350 a month) from rental income before you have to pay tax.
To qualify for Rent a Room tax relief, the property must be your main home and the room must be furnished. Any rent you get above £4,250 will be taxed at 20% if you pay tax at the basic rate or at 40% if you are a higher-rate taxpayer.
22. WORK AS A FILM EXTRA
Working as a film extra can earn you from £80 to £100 a day. You can earn more if you provide your own costume, or do overtime. Uni-versalExtras specialises in finding film work for students, but also finds work for non-students.
23. BECOME A MYSTERY SHOPPER
Retail Eyes has a wide variety of mystery shopping jobs available, which range from going to the pub through to airline assignments and staying in hotels. Your feedback will help improve customer service and the assignments pay on average between £5 and £10.
HOLIDAYS
24. TRAVEL OUTSIDE PEAK TIMES
Book travel tickets for Tuesday to Thursday to save money, as it is usually cheaper to travel on a weekday than at the weekend. If you can travel outside peak periods such as the school summer holidays, this will also reduce the cost of your break.
25. FIND CHEAP TRAVEL INSURANCE
Don't just opt for the insurance offered at the time of booking your holiday, as this will usually be more expensive than other cover available. Remember too that if you go abroad two or more times a year, annual travel insurance is often much better value than buying several single-trip policies.
26. ORGANISE YOUR FOREIGN CURRENCY IN ADVANCE
Don't get your foreign currency at the airport as exchange rates are often poor. If you are taking plastic, the best debit card to use is Nationwide's as it doesn't charge for foreign use. If you are taking a credit card, Abbey's Zero card is the best, as again there are no extra charges for using it in foreign climes.
27. KEEP MOBILE COSTS ABROAD DOWN
Most networks offer cheaper calls to and from foreign destinations in return for a small fee, so contact your provider before you go. And remember, texting is cheaper than calling…
MOTORING
28. DON'T PAY OVER THE ODDS FOR CAR FINANCE
Car sales are down because of the credit crunch, but if you do buy a new car, you could be a part of the total of £168 million wasted by paying over the odds. On average you could be throwing away an average of more than £800 by using a showroom finance deal rather than a low-cost personal car loan.
Want to sell your car, buy a new or quality used car?
29. CUT YOUR PETROL COSTS
Use petrolprices.com to find the lowest petrol prices in your area. You have to register on the site to find out where you can buy the cheapest fuel, but its free to do so and you get information on over 9,500 petrol stations.
30. INCREASE YOUR FUEL EFFICIENCY
Reduce your fuel costs by making sure you aren't using more than you need to. Make sure you regularly check your tyre pressure (low air pressure can increase fuel consumption by up to 10%) and by watching your speed. Driving at 70 mph can consume almost 25% more fuel than driving at 50 mph.
31. REDUCE YOUR CAR INSURANCE COSTS
Never just accept the renewal quote you are offered for either home or motor cover. It is always worth doing as much research as possible when buying car insurance, so get quotes from different insurers before buying. Comparison websites such as Quotezone and uSwitch.com can all provide you with a range of quotes.
32. PAY FOR COVER UPFRONT
If you can afford to buy your insurance in a lump sum you should do so, as you usually pay more to spread the cost monthly. You could also consider increasing your excess (the portion of any insurance claim you pay yourself ) in order to reduce your premium.
33. GET MORE QUALIFICATIONS
Another way to reduce your premium if you are a newly qualified driver is to take part in the Pass Plus Scheme. According to the AA, having the Pass Plus certificate can slash your first year's car insurance premiums by up to 35%.
34. JOIN A CAR CLUB
If owning your own car is still too expensive, consider selling your own wheels and using a car club, which enables you to hire a car whenever you need one. The website carclubs.org.uk has a calculator to help you work out exactly how much you could save using a car club car.
35. SWAP FOUR WHEELS FOR TWO
If motoring costs are still too much for you to bear, consider travelling by bicycle. You may be able to get a bike at a reduced cost if your employer belongs to the Cycle to Work scheme. This is an employee benefit and is run through "salary sacrifice", where you agree to temporarily reduce your wages to pay for the loan of a bike and equipment. You pay back the loan from your gross pay, rather than your net pay, allowing you to benefit from income tax and National Insurance relief.
36. WALK
If you can, start walking to work, or walking the children to school. It will make you healthier and mean you don't have to fork out for petrol and/or car parking!
SHOPPING
37. PICK UP A BARGAIN
The website offeroftheday.co.uk provides constantly updated information on the latest and best offers from some of Britain's biggest retailers. You can pick from the day's best offers or browse through some of the latest deals, and some goods are reduced by up to 90%.
38. USE VOUCHER CODES FOR DISCOUNTS
The website myretailcodes.co.uk includes regular updates on online retailers' discount code offers and voucher codes every day and claims to have more than 2,000 codes available at any one time.
39. EARN CASHBACK
You can earn money back while spending at the same time by using cashback websites. For example, Internetcashback.co.uk offers you cashback if you buy goods from more than 700 major online retailers via its own site, including Argos, Apple, B&Q and John Lewis. The amounts that can be earned vary between 3% to 15% of the purchase price.
40. USE A CASHBACK CREDIT CARD
You can also earn cashback by using cashback credit cards. These work by giving you back a percentage of every pound you spend. However, this type of card is really suitable only if you pay off your bill every month and avoid interest.
41. CUT SUPERMARKET BILLS
if you do a big supermarket shop every week, then go to www.mySupermarket.com. The site enables you to compare how much different supermarkets charge for the items you are buying, and claims you can typically 20% on your weekly shop. The online supermarkets featured on the site are Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and the Waitrose service Ocado.
42. BUY IN BULK
Buy items such as toilet paper and kitchen rolls in bulk, as they will usually cost less. It also saves you from having to go to the shops to stock up on these items. Take advantage of 2 for 1 offers when shopping too.
43. REDUCE FOOD WASTAGE
To avoid throwing away unused food, try to write a weekly meal plan, so you buy only what you know you will be eating each day. When food shopping, don't always go for the names you know. Compare the prices of products you are buying and go for "value" brands wherever possible.
44. DON'T BUY READY MEALS
They are usually much more expensive than making a meal from scratch, and are often a lot less nutritious too. Try to cook a different meal at least once a week, and make more than you need so you can freeze some for a later date.
45. USE SHOP LOYALTY SCHEMES
You should never choose where to shop solely on the basis of loyalty schemes, especially if you can find the goods you want cheaper elsewhere. But if you are shopping somewhere that offers a loyalty scheme, you should always use it; you can redeem points against your shopping or use them to get discounts on days out.
46. HAGGLE!
Don't be afraid to try to negotiate prices down. This works particularly well on larger items, such as furniture or electrical goods, and you may be surprised at how much you can get off the market price. Hey, its nothing ventured, nothing gained right?
47. AVOID EXTENDED WARRANTIES
You are often persuaded to buy extended warranties with your purchases to ensure that the cost of repairs, theft and accidental damage will be covered if anything goes wrong. But ask yourself if a policy that could cost you up to half the price of the appliance you are buying is really good value for money, especially given the fact that electrical goods are more reliable than they used to be?
GOING OUT
48. MAKE USE OF FREE ATTRACTIONS
The website familydayoutuk.co.uk offers a "50 Free Days Out" report which it will email to you if you click on the "Free Days Out" tab on the home page. The guide is separated into different areas of the United Kingdom, so you can find the attractions closest to you.
49. TAKE A PACKED LUNCH
If you are planning a day out, then take a packed lunch with you rather than relying on food outlets at the attraction you are visiting, where prices are usually high. Give each child a small amount of money for them to spend while they are out. If they know they have a budget to stick to, it should help prevent them pestering you to buy them expensive souvenirs at the end of the day!
50. DON'T PAY MORE THAN YOU NEED TO FOR TICKETS
The website scarletmist.com is an independent site that isn't owned by or connected with any of the festivals or concerts it lists, and its aim is to introduce buyers and sellers to one another. Tickets change hands only at face value or less, so you will never end up paying over the odds for tickets you really want.
So, there you go, a few handy tips to help you through these troubled financial times!
If you know any other great tips, put them in the comments below.