Spend less without cutting back in 2011

Trying to reduce your outgoings doesn't have to mean making cutbacks...

These days most of us are trying to save money. However, while the idea of spending less is a sensible one, many of us will be wondering how much we’ll have to sacrifice in the process.

After all, spending less money sounds like you’ll have to sacrifice your social life, get rid of your mobile phone and your car, and start eating beans on toast on a regular basis.

Fortunately, however, reducing your outgoings doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to make lots of cutbacks - as I’m about to reveal.

#1 Spend less on energy

Perhaps the most obvious way to save energy is to watch how much you consume and start using less. But if you’re already pretty energy-efficient and the idea of living by candlelight and turning your heating off for the remainder of winter doesn’t appeal, there’s one really easy way to cut the cost of your energy spend. And that’s by switching energy supplier.

With energy prices having gone up for millions of us at the end of last year, checking to see whether you can get a cheaper tariff is more important than ever. And luckily it’s really easy to do! All you need to do is use the lovemoney.com gas and electricity comparison centre which compares a wide range of tariffs. You can save an average of £256 a year by switching through our service. 

All you need to have in front of you is the name of the tariff you’re currently on and how much you spent on energy in the last year. Then, if you find a cheaper tariff, simply get switching! You can find out more about the switching process in A step by step guide to switching energy.

It’s worth noting that choosing an online tariff and opting to pay by direct debit should also help to cut the cost of your energy bills. In addition, it may be cheaper to opt for a dual fuel tariff – where both your gas and electricity comes from the same supplier.

#2 Get a better mobile deal

Spending less on your mobile doesn’t have to mean cutting back on the number of minutes and texts included in your contract. However, it is worth examining whether you really do use all of the minutes and texts on your current tariff – your bill should tell you what you’ve used each month or your mobile provider should be able to tell what your average usage is each month.

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Once you know how many minutes and texts you need, shop around to see whether you can get a cheaper deal. Mobile phone websites such as Recombu have nifty little tools that will scour a wide range of deals. You can use the slider tools to choose how many minutes and texts you need, together with how much you want to spend, and they’ll find a tariff to suit you.

Don’t forget that if you’re happy with your current mobile, it’s worth considering a SIM-only deal and don’t forget to look at giffgaff. Find out more in Save £180 a year with a SIM-only mobile phone tariff.

#3 Switch broadband provider

Similarly, you might be spending too much on your broadband. But the good news is you can compare a variety of different packages at broadbandchoices.co.uk to see whether there’s a cheaper deal for you.

Don’t forget that many providers offer a discount if you pay by direct debit. Read Six steps to cheaper broadband for more information.

#4 Do your food shopping online

With food becoming more and more expensive, trying to keep costs to a minimum can be a challenge. Fortunately, there is an easy way to do this without reducing how much you put into your shopping trolley.

Using website mySupermarket.co.uk is a great way to lower your food bills. That’s because it compares the prices at four of the major supermarkets – ASDA, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose/Ocado. So you’ll be able to easily see where your basket of goods comes out cheapest.

The downside to this, however, is that mySupermarket.co.uk doesn’t include deep discounters such as Aldi, Lidl and Netto. So you may want to check out these separately – particularly for fruit and veg as this can work out to be considerably cheaper than shopping in a major supermarket.

#5 Get a better credit card

Spending less doesn't mean you can never spend again. But if you are making an important purchase - perhaps you're paying for a much-deserved holiday - and you're not sure how you will be able to afford it, make sure you're using the right plastic.

Forking out lots in interest for the privilege of spending on a credit card is completely unnecessary. Instead, switch to a 0% on new purchases credit card as this way, you won’t have to pay any interest on your spending for a set period.

For example, the Tesco Clubcard Credit Card offers an interest-free period of 13 months. So you’ll have over a year to pay off your debt without worrying about the interest stacking up. Think about how much money you could save!

Just make sure you do pay off the debt in full before the 13 months is up, otherwise you’ll be hit with an interest rate of 16.9%. Read more in The best credit cards for spending.

#6 Shop around for petrol

Short of ditching your car altogether, cutting the cost of owning a vehicle can be tricky. And with petrol prices at record highs, it’s even harder.

However, by using a website called petrolprices.com, you’ll be able to reduce how much you spend on fuel.

The website lists more than 11,000 petrol stations up and down the country, and prices are updated regularly. To gain access to the service, you’ll need to register your details, but once you’ve done that, simply enter your postcode, say how far you’re prepared to travel, and the site will then tell you where the cheapest petrol prices are in your area. There’s also an iPhone app for the site.

#7 Shop around for insurance

Insurance might be boring, but in many cases, it’s essential. So don’t think that cancelling your car insurance, home insurance and life insurance policy will get you anywhere, because it won’t.

It might save you money in the short-term, but when you get caught driving with no car insurance, or someone breaks into your home and you have no home insurance, or the worst happens and your dependents are left with no financial support because you didn’t have life insurance, the price you’ll have to pay will be far higher.

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By simply shopping around for your insurance policies, however, you can soon see the savings stack up. So instead of simply accepting your renewal quote, do some research of your own using our comparison centres and see how much you can save.

#8 Save on eating out

Finally, it’s still possible to get out of the kitchen from time to time and enjoy a meal out without breaking the bank.

Many restaurants have some top offers on right now, such as 50% off your total food bill or two meals for the price of one. And the best bit is, you don’t have to hunt around for these deals because we highlight the best ones in our weekly Frugal Food blog!

Websites such as TopTable, 5pm or Skiddle are also packed full of find money-saving meal deals. For more tips, read Eat out for less.

So now you know, you can spend less without cutting back! Good luck!

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