You could easily save more than £500 this month by following these 15 simple tips...
Congratulations! You've taken the first step saving yourself hundreds of pounds a month by deciding to read this article.
The next step to find out exactly where your money is going every month. You can do this by using a Budget calculator, but I'd also recommend registering for online banking right here at lovemoney.com. This will allow you to log into all your bank and credit card accounts at once, and see all your transactions at a glance. You can then categorise your transactions so you know exactly what you are spending your money on.
Once you've got your head around your exact financial situation, you'll be better able to work out a sensible everyday budget. For more tips on getting this sorted, adopt this goal: Draw up a budget.
It's also worth keep a 'spending diary' for a week (or a month if you can manage it). That way, you can keep track of everything you spend, and you'll see where the money is 'leaking away'.
And now - on to the main event: the lovemoney.com bumper guide to beating your bills. With each task, I've included an estimate of the typical monthly saving you'll make. And, where possible, there's a relevant goal you can adopt (if you're registered on lovemoney.com) to motivate yourself.
1) Pay less interest
You need to minimise the interest you're paying on credit card or loan debt. If you transfer your debt to a 0% card, you won't pay any interest on the balance for a set period of up to 16 months.
Typical monthly saving on £1,000 of credit card debt: £14
Goal: Transfer your balance to a new card
2) Remortgage
Remortgaging got a little trickier in the credit crunch, but if your introductory deal is about to come to an end - or you don't have a special rate at all - you may be able to make big savings. For example, a typical family with a £150,000 mortgage could save £263 a month by remortgaging from a SVR of 5.5% to a market-leading tracker at 2.29%. Read Cut your mortgage rate to 2.29% - penalty-free! to find out more.
Typical monthly saving: around £263
Goal: Get the best mortgage deal
3) Switch and save
Make sure you're not paying more than you need to for your gas and electricity. According to quotes given out by lovemoney.com energy comparison service, 90% of you could save £100 by switching suppliers, while half of quotes reduced bills by £180 or more. It takes just 10 minutes to get a quote to find out exactly how much you could save. Then adopt this goal for more tips on how to slash your heating bill.
Typical monthly saving: at least £8
Goal: Cut your gas and electric bill
4) Cut your Council Tax
If you're in the wrong Council Tax band, you could be paying far more than you need to. Adopt this goal to find out more.
Typical monthly saving: It depends on your local council, but there's typically a difference of around £16 a month between bands (plus you may be eligible for backdated claims).
Goal: Slash your council tax bill
5) Reduce your phone and broadband bills
Many of the cheapest deals at the moment are those that offer a combination of home phone and broadband. Some deals roll in mobile and digital TV as well. This goal shows you the steps to take to get cheaper broadband and home phone facilities, and this goal shows you how to cut your mobile phone costs.
Typical monthly saving: £10
Goal: Reduce your communications bill
6) Slash your food shopping
The Mysupermarket website allows you to compare the price of items sold at Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Ocado - so you can hunt down the cheapest broccoli or the best value beef. For more tips on slashing your food bill, read our Frugal Food blog.
Typical monthly saving: £30
Goal: Cut your food bills
7) Shop secondhand
One man's trash really is another man's treasure. Freecycle, eBay, eBid, house clearance shops, rural auctions, charity shops and car boot sales are all great sources of secondhand gear. Read Where to find buried treasure to get you started.
Typical monthly saving: £20
8) Don't spend - swap!
Insetad of buying a book or a DVD, swap one you no longer want instead. Read Stop spending, start swapping to find out about a host of swapping solutions.
Typical monthly saving: £15
9) Use cashback cards
If you pay for everything with a cashback credit card, you could earn hundreds of pounds in cashback. American Express, which provides the market-leading card, reckons the average family spends £18,000 a year on everyday expenditure. That would net you £279 of cashback in the first year of the card.
You must, of course, always pay off your balance in full each month - or the money earned will be negated by the interest you have to pay. Read Get paid to spend interest-free to find out more.
Typical monthly saving: around £23
Goal: Make money spending money
10) Use cashback websites
Several cashback websites - like Quidco, Top CashBack, RPoints and GreasyPalm - will give you back a percentage of what you spend (in cash or vouchers) if you use them. Each one operates a slightly different membership system and payment scheme, so read Earn cashback on everything to work out which is best for you.
Typical monthly saving: £10
Goal: Make money spending money
11) Buy cheaper Petrol
PetrolPrices a simple to use, free website dedicated to finding cheap fuel in your area. The site lists nearly 10,000 petrol stations up and down the country, with prices updated regularly. For four more ways to cut your petrol bill, read this article. And for other moneysaving car tips, adopt this goal: Cut your car costs.
Typical monthly saving: £50
Goal: Cut your fuel costs
12) Cut your car insurance costs
There are several steps you can take to lower the cost of car insurance. For example, keeping your car as safe as possible (by parking in a garage, for example) will significantly lower your premiums. For more ways to cut your car insurance costs, adopt this goal.
Typical monthly saving: £25
Goal: Cut the cost of your car insurance
13) Cut your home insurance costs
There are ways you can keep the cost of your premiums down while still getting the cover you need. How to buy home insurance is a good place to start.
Typical monthly saving: £10
14) Cut your life insurance costs
Have look at some low-cost life insurance alternatives. For example, rather than using a level term assurance policy, you could go for a decreasing term assurance plan. Read Buy life insurance while it's still cheap to find out more. Another good way to reduce your life insurance premiums is to get in shape!
Typical monthly saving: £10
Goal: Lower your life insurance costs
15) Turn your trash into cash
Have a clear out and make some money at the same time. Auction sites such as eBay, eBid and Amazon are the way to go for your best items - simply post a clear photo and let the bidding begin. The best way to sell off numerous items is via a car boot sale.
Typical monthly saving: £40
Goal: Make money from your old junk (even if it's broken!)