Seven ways to beat higher household bills


Updated on 06 October 2010 | 0 Comments

Rising household expenses are stretching budgets to the limit. Here's how to cut the impact of bills on your finances.

1. Your mortgage

Re-mortgaging to a better deal will probably have the greatest impact on your household finances. An average borrower could easily save £100 or more each month. This could compensate for a large chunk of money lost to higher bills. Visit lovemoney.com’s mortgage centre today to see how much you could save.

2. Your credit card

If you have credit card debts don't pay more interest than you need to. Get your expenditure down by moving to a 0% balance transfer credit card. Take a look at the Barclaycard Platinum credit card which will put a freeze on your interest bill for a full 16 months.

3. Your personal loan

Again if you have a personal loan, consider switching it to a market-leading deal as long as there's no early repayment penalties involved. If you swapped the most expensive £5,000 loan with an APR of 26.9% for the cheapest with an APR of just 7.5%, you could save almost than £3,000 in interest over three years. Find the market-leading loans in our loans centre.

4. Your food bill

Fruit prices have risen by 10%, fish is up 8% and the price of vegetables has increased by 5% over the past year. Read 10 ways to slash your supermarket spend and get tips on  how to beat rising food prices.

Related blog post

  • Serena Cowdy writes:

    Frugal Food - 1 October

    Welcome to this week's edition of Frugal Food. We’ve got new and extended restaurant deals from Pizza Express, Giraffe, ASK, GBK, Las Iguana and Nando’s. We’ve also got a new Dine In deal from M&S, 2 4 1 on Activia yoghurt multi-packs, half-price chocolates, a new family meal deal, 25% off wine, a free glass of Coke, a money-off LIDL voucher and cut-price Taste membership!

Alternatively, finding the cheapest deals for your weekly shop using the price checker at mysupermarket.co.uk. They'll even tell you if your entire shopping list can be bought more cheaply at an alternative supermarket.

5. Your utility bills

We're nearing winter and that means higher energy bills – in fact, thousands of British Gas customers are set to get higher bills this winter. We're so determined you don't waste money needlessly on your utilities we’ve rounded up the top new energy tariffs.

6. Your insurance policies

The chances are if you haven't checked the market recently you'll be paying over the odds for your home insurance and car insurance. As ever the 'shopping around' principle applies!

7. Your budget

I'm sure we're all a little guilty of wasting money on gym memberships we never use, expensive Sky packages we hardly ever watch or rip-off mobile phone and broadband tariffs. Perhaps you could even wean yourself off Friday night's takeaway habit!

You don't have to cut out all your luxuries. Just be a little more careful with your cash and you'll be amazed how much you can save.

Use our online banking tool to track your spending from all your different bank accounts and credit cards with a single log-in.

More from lovemoney.com

Comments


Be the first to comment

Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature

Copyright © lovemoney.com All rights reserved.

 

loveMONEY.com Financial Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with Firm Reference Number (FRN): 479153.

loveMONEY.com is a company registered in England & Wales (Company Number: 7406028) with its registered address at First Floor Ridgeland House, 15 Carfax, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1DY, United Kingdom. loveMONEY.com Limited operates under the trading name of loveMONEY.com Financial Services Limited. We operate as a credit broker for consumer credit and do not lend directly. Our company maintains relationships with various affiliates and lenders, which we may promote within our editorial content in emails and on featured partner pages through affiliate links. Please note, that we may receive commission payments from some of the product and service providers featured on our website. In line with Consumer Duty regulations, we assess our partners to ensure they offer fair value, are transparent, and cater to the needs of all customers, including vulnerable groups. We continuously review our practices to ensure compliance with these standards. While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy and currency of our editorial content, users should independently verify information with their chosen product or service provider. This can be done by reviewing the product landing page information and the terms and conditions associated with the product. If you are uncertain whether a product is suitable, we strongly recommend seeking advice from a regulated independent financial advisor before applying for the products.