Improve your life in 10 steps

All you need to do is to follow these ten easy steps!

Here at lovemoney.com, we recently published an article about the best cities in the world to live in based on Mercer's annual quality of living study.

To re-cap briefly, Vienna in Austria came top, followed by two Swiss cities – so if you’re planning on moving to a top city, it seems you’ll need to know German. Third and fourth on the list were in Canada and Australia, where they speak something close enough to English for rudimentary conversation. The UK barely featured, with London the only British city in the top 50 – and even then, it only came 39th.

No need to move to another country, however. You can enhance your quality of living by staying put and look to your individual needs and expenditure. After all, why move when you can improve?

It is possible. Out of Mercer's 39 criteria, there are ten issues that you personally can address to turn your home into the best place in the UK to live:

1) Crime

We have lots of cheap options to feel safer and be safer, but don't lace drinks with strychnine as one reader said he was going to do after being burgled twice and having drinks stolen both times. That would still be a criminal offence! There are lots of great tips on the Protecting Yourself website, many are free or may even save you some money.

2) Hospital services and medical supplies

The NHS is wonderful for the millions of people who couldn't afford health insurance, and it's great that we're not being asked for our insurance details when we arrive bleeding to death in A&E. However, we can improve our medical care, sometimes dramatically, with some sort of private cover, provided we buy before something goes wrong.

Private medical insurance is generally worth the price, but there are some great budget options too, such as healthcare cash plans. These typically cover some annual check-ups, even dental ones, plus diagnostics and some treatments, including alternative treatments. You may also want to keep your eye out for speedy diagnostics insurance, which is beginning to get more competitive.

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3) Electricity and telephone services

Most of us in the UK have a good electricity supply, although we could get that more cheaply. As for the telephone, you can read about cheaper calls to overseas countries, perhaps to contact an estate agent in Vienna. When you're there, you can ring back here to tell us how happy and content you are using these tips on phoning from abroad. If you're staying here, read Cut £516 off your phone bill this year!

4) Public transport and traffic congestion

We can't do much to improve public transport unfortunately, but at least we can Slash the cost of our train fares and take advantage of Six more ways to cut train fares.

You can avoid traffic congestion and save money if you can cycle or walk to work. That may sound like a boring tip to you, but Aviva found recently that 71% of us don't even exercise once a week, so it might do us some good.

5) Water potability

Our water's supposed to be taste tested, would you believe? I think many of the testers have no taste buds. Thankfully they've not been stripped away by a load of chemicals in our water, because most of the time it's very safe. However, if you're concerned you could contact your water company; my sister did this once and the supplier sent someone round to test its quality for free.

Related blog post

• Serena Cowdy writes:

  Frugal Food - 4 June 2010

  This week we bring you new and extended restaurant deals from ASK, Caffe Uno, iL BERTORELLI, Zizzi, Prezzo, All Bar One, Slug & Lettuce, Bella Italia and Little Chef. We also have a picnic meal deal for £4, champagne for £14, 50% off wine, half price Kellogg’s cereal, 50% off cherries, 72 jaffa cakes for £3, a £1 tea and scone deal, 20% off train station snacks, £10 off your first online Tesco shop, and some great restaurant offers from ViewLondon!

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6) Meat, fish, fruit and vegetables

We're spoilt for food choice in the UK, but you can cut your bills dramatically by signing up to our emails to get regular Frugal Food tips, and we often help with top tips that slash your weekly food bills.

7) Automobiles

This is something else we're not lacking in the UK, but it's easier to afford a car if you follow such tips as How to get a cheap used car, parts one and two.

8) Banking services

We have excellent banking services, but the problem is it doesn't feel like it as we don't have excellent bank service! The best thing we can do to avoid the stress of being ripped off and poorly treated is to stay on top of any banking tricks, such as these 12 credit-card booby traps and awful current accounts. The lower stress that brings should at least double our quality of life.

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9) Leisure activities

If you're looking for cheap entertainments from a day trip to the city or town nearest you, there's often free radio recordings that travel nomadically to different theatres around the country. Watching TV or radio being recorded is much more fun, especially as you get to see the out-takes – live!

My favourite radio show has always been Just A Minute, and I had the fortune of seeing Clement Freud before he died talking about a fortune teller who had to cancel her garden party 'due to unforeseen circumstances'. The show still lives on with Paul Merton and other greats.

Unsurprisingly most shows take place in London, but right now, for example, you can see a movement of Prokofiev's Number 1 symphony in Belfast for BBC Radio 3. Take a look at the BBC website for other shows, and sign up to its mailing list.

You could also check out SRO Audiences. Again, this is mostly weighted towards London, but right now you can get tickets to see Countdown being recorded in Manchester. With Applause Store you can get free tickets now to the X-Factor auditions in Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester and Birmingham, but there are tickets to good programmes available, too.

For Have I Got News For You and a few others there's Hat Trick, although I think that's London only.

10) Household appliances and furniture

Not only can you transform your home for less by buying furniture and other household goods incredibly cheaply, I also find the idea of repairing or making your own furniture pretty cool.

More from lovemoney.com

We have looooads more tips in the Get the best deal and Make your money go further sections of our website.

If you're off to see what's so good about Austria or Switzerland, don't forget travel insurance.