Use these five top tips to make your money go further this year and you'll feel a lot richer in 2010.
A huge sum is spent in the January sales each year (around £5bn this year according to reports), with shoppers often queuing through the night to be the first to get their hands on the discounted goods. But new research has suggested we have already dismissed a massive chunk of those purchases as a waste of money.
According to Bright Grey, almost £2bn will be spent on items that will never be used, an eye-watering sum when you consider the state of the economy.
More than half of those shoppers say they'll spend their money spontaneously, without bothering to check online whether the deal really is the cheapest around - absolutely nuts in my view.
So before you join the cash squandering masses, here are five things you would be FAR better off using that cash for!
#1 - Pay off your credit card debts
The scale of credit card debt is astonishing. Figures from the Bank of England at the end of last year revealed that total credit card debt in the UK is a whopping £54.7bn. Now PricewaterhouseCoopers has suggested that average borrowing on a credit card has now passed £1000 for the first time.
These are really scary stats, and if you have a stack of debt on your credit card, getting rid of it should be a much bigger priority than saving a few quid on a new pair of shoes!
Typical interest rates on credit cards are more than 32 times the current Bank of England base rate, and if you only pay the minimum, the interest you'll have to pay could end up costing you thousands.
Cutting how much you owe on your card doesn't need to be difficult - have a read of Slash your credit card debt in four simple steps and try some of the tips!
#2 - Overpay on your mortgage
Your mortgage is the biggest debt you're ever likely to face, so it makes sense to try and clear it as quickly and as cheaply as possible.
And if you have some spare cash, there are far worse things you can do with it than put it towards overpaying your mortgage.
The vast majority of mortgages allow you to overpay by 10% each month without hitting you with a charge, which can make a big difference. With house prices so turbulent, it's also a great idea to overpay as you quickly build up your equity stake in the property, thereby guarding yourself against negative equity.
We have our own overpayment calculator at lovemoney.com which will help you work out how much you'll save in the long run by overpaying.
For more tips on this check out our goal: Cut your mortgage costs and pay off your mortgage early.
#3 - Get saving!
Far too many of us don't have a decent savings safety net we can turn to in the case of an emergency. If you have enough cash to throw away on a stack of DVDs and CDs that you have no real intention of ever watching or listening to, that money would be far better spent starting up a decent savings account.
If, like me, you are the sort of person that struggles to get into a really rigorous savings routine, then the hints and tips in our Build up your savings goal are an absolute must.
And for the best places to put that extra cash that's currently burning a hole in your pocket, check out The top six places to invest your money in 2010, or this market-leading Cash ISA from Santander.
#4 - Stick it in your pension!
Last year research from Prudential highlighted just how likely it is that we will be working well past the current retirement age in the coming years - the number working past retirement age will most probably more than double in the next ten years alone.
If you don't fancy doing a nightshift in your 90s, you'll need to build up a decent pension pot to pay for your dotage.
Every penny that you put away really makes a difference - last year we wrote about how an extra £100 a month can up your final pension pot by a mammoth £94,000.
Rather than wasting your cash on something you don't want, why not put that cash towards having a slightly more comfortable retirement? Remember, you can get tax relief on your contributions.
#5 - Make a bit of money from it!
If you have £100 burning a hole in your pocket, would you rather waste it on a daft shopping spree, or turn it into £200? Or perhaps even more?
Investing money is a difficult, often quite complex move, and it's not one for the faint hearted. However, if you have surplus cash that you can afford to lose, it's worth considering. It should go without saying that you should really do your research before handing over your cash - making an investment should not be like picking a horse in the Grand National.
We have some excellent hints and tips on how to take your first steps in our goal Make money from the stock market which is well worth a read.
Get help from lovemoney.com
If you need to improve your financial position, there are plenty of ways lovemoney.com can help!
For starters, try following the hints and tips in this goal: Save money in every room of your home
Next up, check out this video: Cut your car insurance costs
And finally, if you have a financial query, why not see if your fellow lovemoney.com users can help by asking a question in our Q&A section?
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