Three Big Money Savers

Getting married? Buying a car? Booking a holiday? Here's how to cut the costs.

Apart from the monumental expense of buying a house, there are probably three other major things we spend our money on. Cars, holidays and weddings. Here's how to get around the sometimes huge costs involved:

Cars

It's commonly suggested that new cars lose 30% of their value the moment you drive it off the dealer's forecourt. The idea of paying £20,000 for a car, which immediately drops to £14,000 before you've driven it half a mile down the road seems ridiculous to me when there are plenty of good quality second-hand cars around. Let someone else take the depreciation hit, research the second-hand car market thoroughly using the likes of Glass's Motoring Guide and the Carprices website.

If you really want a brand new car though, then this article on how to get it for the best price should help. And don't be taken in by the 0% finance catch when buying a car from a dealer. Usually, only those with great credit records are eligible, you have to find a major deposit and you could get a better deal overall by negotiating a discount on the car price instead.

Holidays

While the price of flights has dropped dramatically with the advent of companies such as Ryanair and easyJet, the cost of getting your car across the Channel is varies hugely in price depending on the day of the week and the time you travel as one Fool on our Living Below Your Means discussion board points out:

We worked out it was considerably cheaper for us to drive to Dover after work on Friday night, get the Speed Ferries boat to Boulogne that evening, then drive to Abbeville (about an hour drive from the boat) and stay in a hotel for the night than it was to get the ferry on Saturday morning. The boat over is only costing £19, instead of the £80-ish it would have been just 12 hours later, and the difference more than covers the hotel cost.

So, consider crossing in the middle of the night or at the crack of dawn and choosing a weekday rather than the weekend.

Weddings

The actual process of getting married doesn't cost much at all - probably less than a couple of hundred quid all told. It's the trimmings that cost a fortune. Use the 'W' word when booking the reception, the flowers, the caterer etc and the price will jump. So always tell them it's for a 'private party'.

And if you can, choose a weekday. You're far more likely to get the venue you want and at a better price too. A Saturday may be more convenient for your guests but what's wrong with a Friday? It's your wedding, after all, and few people would really have a hard time taking one day off work to enjoy your big day especially as they'll have a whole weekend to recover afterwards!