Slash your living costs in seven days

We show you how to squash your daily expenses over the course of a week.
What are your biggest outgoings every month? The chances are it's your mortgage payment or rent - followed by transport, food and utility bills.
Trim your everyday expenses and you should find you have some spare cash to pop into a rainy day fund. And having this savings pot has become more important than ever, as the economic uncertainty continues and many people's employment prospects look ever-more precarious.
Here's a step-by-step guide to slashing your daily expenses – all before this time next week!
Day 1: Trim transport costs
Regular travel costs really mount up, whether it's because you're buying petrol for your car or a travel card to get to work.
One of the best ways to trim transport costs is - literally - to get on yer bike. Cheap bicycles are often available on community sites like Gumtree or Preloved. If you're really lucky, you might even be able to get one for nothing from a Freebie initiative like Freegle or SnaffleUp.
And if you cycle instead of driving or taking public transport, there will be another financial benefit, too: You'll get fitter for free, so you can cancel that pricy gym subscription!
If you really can't do without a car, make sure you check the Petrol Prices website. This helps you find the cheapest fuel in your local area, emailing you a list of the five cheapest petrol stations near you.
Day 2: Switch suppliers
If you've been with the same gas or electricity provider for more than a couple of years, there's a good chance you're paying over the odds.
Use this energy comparison tool to see if you can save by switching suppliers. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes - and many people find they save hundreds of pounds a year.
Day 3: Compare food prices
Now it's time to tackle your grocery bills. Specialist comparison website MySupermarket allows you to check the price of items at Tesco, Sainsbury's, ASDA and Ocado - so you can work out where to get the cheapest basket of shopping.
You can shop online via the site - or just use it to help you decide where to visit.
Day 4: Ditch the caffeine fix
We're mid-way through our money-saving week - and it's now time to curb your caffeine addiction. If you buy a £2 takeaway coffee every working day, that equates to over £550 a year!
So, ditch the Starbucks, invest in a nice thermal flask and brew up some coffee before you leave the house.
Day 5: Frugal lunch
If you're always nipping out to buy lunch at work, you could easily be spending £5 a day. That equates to around £115 a month; so get up ten minutes earlier in the morning and throw together a simple packed lunch instead.
It doesn't just have to be a cheese sandwich! You could rustle up a really posh packed lunch for just £2.43 a day.
Day 6: Chop your interest bill
If you're currently paying off debts, one of your biggest regular expenses may be your interest bill.
This outgoing is one of the less obvious ones, because it wings its way out of your bank account without passing through your hands. However, many overdrafts and credit cards charge interest of 15-20% APR - and those charges could really be cutting into your monthly budget.
If you're paying interest on credit card debt, consider shifting the debt to a card offering 0% on balance transfers. The longest 0% transfer deals currently last 16 months, so you have well over a year's breathing space to clear the balance.
Just remember that you will have to pay a transfer fee (typically around 3%).
If you're paying interest on an overdraft, have a look for a current account that offers a decent 0% overdraft. For example, the Santander Preferred Overdraft Rate account offers a 0% overdraft for 12 months, and says it will match existing overdrafts until to £5,000 (dependent on individual circumstances).
Day 7: Cut your phone costs
See if you can get your phone bills under control using Skype. This online service lets you make unlimited free phone calls to other Skype users (over the internet) so if you work from home, or regularly speak to loved ones overseas, it could save you a packet.
The service is free to download and use, and also offers cheaper-than-normal calls to landlines and mobiles.
Finally, avoid having to call premium rate numbers by using the Say No to 0870 website. It lists lots of well-known companies, along with their equivalent (standard-rate) geographical numbers.
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Comments
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Just heard that Asda will be the newest addition to the Utility Warehouse cashback card with effect from January 2011...meaning even more savings for my UW customers!
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Nope, I think you're absolutely right Axel. Comparison websites only get paid when they get someone to switch - and that's why they can never be truly "independent" or "impartial". In fact I remember an excellent article entitled, "On the level: whose prices can you trust?" by Jeff Howell in the Sunday Telegraph a few years ago highlighting that very point, stating, "So when an energy-comparison website claims to be independent and impartial, it is possible that this is not entirely true, and that it has a financial incentive to direct you to switch to the energy provider that pays it the most commission. The result is that if you type your postcode and energy consumption details into three or four comparison websites, you might well find that you come up with three or four different recommendations, with each of the energy companies in question allegedly offering the best deal each time." Interestingly the article goes on to say, "most medium-use customers who pay by monthly direct debit, the cheapest electricity and gas is likely to be from Utility Warehouse, but some of the switching services do not list the company. They say this is because Utility Warehouse has an agent-based recruiting network, and does not provide them with its latest price tariffs. Utility Warehouse says it is because it refuses to pay them commission." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/propertyadvice/jeffhowell/3344685/On-the-level-whose-prices-can-you-trust.html See just how much YOU could save by taking multiple utilities all on one single monthly bill:- www.saveasuearn.co.uk
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I dont trust comparrison websites as the companies pay them to list their products. Or payment on referal. So its in the financial interest of the comparrison websites to push the big payers. Or am i just cynical?
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03 November 2010