12 tools you can use to get richer

Rachel Robson rounds up 12 top financial tools you can use to get to grips with your finances - and get richer!

Get richer in retirement

If you're a bit baffled about pensions and want to know how much money you'll have in your pension pot when you come to retire, take a look at the Hargreaves Lansdown pension calculator.

By using this little tool, you'll be able to see how your monthly contributions will add up and what you'll end up with - as well as how much more you could have in your pension pot if you increase your contributions. What's more, if you've still not started a pension and are thinking of putting it off for a few more years, this calculator will show you exactly how much you could be losing out on.

For more information about why you shouldn't delay your pension, read Make this pension mistake and lose £31,000.

Get richer by destroying your credit card debt

If your credit card debt is piling up and you want to find out exactly how long it will take you to pay it off, check out this credit card debt calculator. If you're rather horrified by the outcome and want to find out how you can pay off your debt more quickly, this calculator will also show you how simply increasing your minimum monthly repayment can significantly lower the time needed to pay off your debt.

For example, if you've got a debt of £2,000 on your credit card charging 16.9% APR, and you pay the required minimum of 2% of the outstanding balance each month*, you'll see it will take you more than 31 years to pay off the debt. Yet by simply increasing your monthly payments to £50, it would take you less than five years to pay off! And you'd save more than £2,500 in interest!

To read more about how to pay off your credit card debt, check out Demolish your credit card debt in six steps.

Get richer through cashback rewards

If you religiously pay off your credit card bill in full each month, why not be rewarded for your spending with a cashback credit card? The American Express cashback card pays up to 5% cashback in the first three months (up to £100). After this you'll earn up to 1.25% with no limit on how much you can earn.

If you're not convinced that a cashback card is right for you, or if you'd like to work out exactly how much you could earn back, take a look at the American Express cashback calculator. By using this calculator, you can enter how much you spend on your credit card each month and it will then work out how much you could be earning back each year. You might be pleasantly surprised!

Remember, if you do use a cashback card such as the American Express card, ensure you can pay off your bill in full each month - otherwise you will be hit with a hefty rate of interest. And bear in mind that Amex isn't accepted everywhere, and that it's aimed at big spenders. If you spend less than £1,000 a month it may not be the best card for you. Find out why

Review the American Express credit card.

Get richer by budgeting

If you're struggling to get your finances in order and need some advice on how to start budgeting, take a look at this nifty statement of affairs calculator and this budgeting calculator from the FSA. For both of these, all you need to do is enter your outgoings and earnings in the boxes provided to view an instant snapshot of your household budget and personal balance sheet.

You'll then be able to see whether you're spending more than you earn and where you can make cut backs to help you save more money (or pay off your debts).  For further tips on budgeting, read How to budget in five simple steps.

Get richer by cutting the cost of your borrowing

If you're planning to buy your first home soon and would like to get an idea of how much you can borrow, take a look at lovemoney.com's how much can I borrow? calculator. By typing in your salary, partner's salary, monthly commitments, and deposit figure, you'll be able to get a rough idea of how much money a lender may offer you for a mortgage. Read Top deals for first-time buyers for more advice.

Alternatively, if you already have a mortgage, but are considering making an overpayment, the lovemoney.com overpayment calculator will tell you how quickly you'll be able to pay off your mortgage, as well as how much interest you will save by overpaying. (Make sure you check with your lender to find out if there are any early repayment charges and whether there's a limit on overpayments.)

Alternatively, you can compare your current deal to a new deal using our remortgage calculator. This is a great calculator but you need to be sure to hit 'enter' after you type in anything in any of the boxes. (We're hoping to fix this soon!)

Similarly, if you need to take out a loan and would like to know how much this will cost you in interest, the lovemoney.com loans repayment calculator will help you to work it out. Simply type in how much you want to borrow, the repayment period and rate of interest, and hey presto! Read Top personal loans are getting cheaper for more advice.

Protect your wealth

Finally, this isn't technically a way to get richer - but it is a way to ensure you've protected the riches that you've already got!

I'm talking about getting the right type - and the right amount - of insurance. For example, applying for a life insurance policy is vital if you have dependents. But deciding exactly how much cover you need can be tricky. It's important you don't waste money by taking out more insurance than you need. You may have other policies already in place, such as death in service as part of your employment package. So you'll need to deduct this cover from the total amount you need.

If you want an easy way to work out how much cover you need, check out this fabulous little calculator. Here you can enter all of your monthly outgoings as well as the length of time you need to be covered. The calculator will do the hard work for you and tell you how much cover you need. For more tips on life insurance, read Seven steps to cheaper life insurance.

Similarly, assessing how much home insurance you need can also prove a challenge. So if you're struggling to work out exactly how much all of your possessions are worth and how much insurance you need, take a look at this home contents calculator from NFU Mutual. This clever tool guides you through each room in your house, and all you need to do is add in the value of your belongings.

Another tool worth checking out is the Halifax Virtual Home which provides a range of tips on how to protect your home and how to sufficiently cover your belongings.

For more tips on home insurance, read Avoid this financial disaster.

Tell us your own top tools!

Do you know of any good financial tools out there that can help your fellow lovemoney.com readers build a better relationship with their money? If so, please share them using the comments box below...

*Or £5 whichever is greater.

More: Five steps to a richer future | How not to run your finances