Save £12,000 this year

You could save £1,000 every month in 2010 by following these 34 simple tips...

Getting started

Congratulations! You've taken the first step saving yourself thousands of pounds a months 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. I've also given each task a 'difficulty rating' of 1 to 5, where 1 = easy-peasy and 5 = hard work.

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 15 months. If you can't get a 0% card, you might want to consider taking out a lifetime balance transfer card instead.

Typical monthly saving on £1,000 of credit card debt: £14

Difficulty rating: 3

Goal: Transfer your balance to a new card

Avoid minimum payments

If you make minimum payments only, your debt could take decades to pay off and cost you thousands of pounds of extra interest. To avoid this, you should overpay by as much as you possibly can. To find out more about the dangers of MMRs, read this article.

Typical saving: £1,000 over the life of the debt

Difficulty rating: 2

Goal: Destroy your debts

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 family with a £95,000 mortgage on a £160,000 property could save £148 a month by remortgaging from a SVR of 5.5% to a market-leading tracker at 2.69%.

Typical monthly saving: around £150

Difficulty rating: 3

Goal: Get the best mortgage deal

Start snowballing

'Snowballing' your debts will help clear them as quickly as possible. Clear your most expensive debts (those with the highest interest rates) first, while making sure you keep paying the minimum repayments on your cheaper borrowings. Once the first card has been cleared, use all the freed-up cash to tackle the second most expensive card - and so on. Any interest-free debts can be repaid last.

Typical saving: £1,000 over the life of the debt*

Difficulty rating: 2

Goal: Snowball your debts

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 our energy comparison tool, 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 use our gas and electricity comparison centre 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

Difficulty rating: 1

Goal: Cut your gas and electric bill

Squash your water bill

By fitting a water meter, you'll only pay for the water you actually use. The meter should be installed free of charge and if you change your mind within 12 months, you can usually go back to a non-metered supply. But it's not right for everyone - read more about the pros and cons before you decide.

Then, adopt this goal for more ways to cut your water bill.

Typical monthly saving: up to £10

Difficulty rating: 2

Goal: Cut your water bill

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).

Difficulty rating: 1

Goal: Slash your council tax bill

Get cheaper home phone and broadband

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.

Typical monthly saving: £10

Difficulty rating: 2

Goal: Reduce your communications bill

Call abroad for less

These days you can pick up your landline and make cheap international calls without keying in all those numbers. If you're savvy enough, you can even make free calls from your computer. This article tells you all about it.

Typical monthly saving: It depends if you make international calls at the moment, but if you do, the saving can be as much as £15

Difficulty rating: 2

Cut your mobile phone costs

If you're paying over the odds for your mobile - take action today! Here's how to slash your costs.

Typical monthly saving: £15

Difficulty rating: 2

Goal: Cut your mobile phone bill

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, adopt Cut your food bills.

Typical monthly saving: £30

Difficulty rating: 2

Goal: Cut your food bills

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

Difficulty rating: 3

Use price comparison websites

Use a price comparison site like Kelkoo or PriceRunner when you're shopping online. These sites will scour those retailers with an online presence, to find out where to get the item you want at the cheapest price.

Typical monthly saving: £5

Difficulty rating: 2

Don't spend - swap!

If you can't afford to buy an item, see if you can swap something for it instead. Read this article to find out about a host of swapping solutions.

Typical monthly saving: £15

Difficulty rating: 3

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 American Express Platinum Express Cashback 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.

Typical monthly saving: around £23

Difficulty rating: 2

Goal: Make money spending money

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 this article to work out which is best for you.

Typical monthly saving: £10

Difficulty rating: 2

Goal: Make money spending money

Cheaper medicines

If you take regular prescription medication, a pre-payment certificate could save you money. Branded medicines often have the same active ingredients as their cheaper, non-branded equivalents, so you could cut costs here, too. For more health-related tips read Save money on medicines.

Typical monthly saving: £5

Difficulty rating: 2

Cut-price optical gear

Read Save up to 73% on contact lenses! to see how you could make big savings. If you prefer to wear specs, find out how you could Cut the cost of your glasses by 63%!

Typical monthly saving: £10

Difficulty rating: 2

Affordable dental treatment

Find out whether you're entitled to free dental treatment - and investigate the other affordable options - in How to get cheaper dental treatment.

Typical monthly saving: £10

Difficulty rating: 3

Get fit for free

Getting fit doesn't have to be expensive. In fact, there are lots of ways to shape up that cost absolutely nothing. Read The cheapest ways to get fit, The frugal guide to gyms and Get healthy on a budget to find out more.

Typical monthly saving: £40

Difficulty rating: 3

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

Difficulty rating: 3

Goal: Cut your fuel costs

Get cycling

According to research from Sainsbury's Bank, more than three million people have started cycling to work to keep costs down. Sainsbury's says that commuters who switch to the saddle save an average of £1,768 a year! Read Time to get on your bike for a host of cheaper cycling tips.

Typical monthly saving: £140

Difficulty rating: 4

Shop around for insurance

When it comes to insurance, new customers very often get the best deals and discounted rates. So, don't automatically renew with your current insurer when your policy comes to an end. Instead, use our online comparison services to scour the market for the best possible new deal. Click 'compare products' (the orange box above) and select the insurance engine you want.

Typical monthly saving: £100 over all insurance products

Difficulty rating: 1

Goal: Buy the best policy at the best price

Pay upfront for insurance

 An insurer may give you the option of paying in monthly instalments. However, if at all possible, pay the full amount upfront. This is because your insurer is likely to charge you a hefty interest rate on monthly repayments. If you don't have the cash to hand, consider paying on 0% purchases credit card.

Typical monthly saving: £10

Difficulty rating: 2

Goal: Slash your insurance costs

Don't double up on cover

 Don't make the mistake of doubling up on cover and spending more than you need. For example, many of us buy extra insurance in-store to cover the loss, damage or theft of valuables that are already covered by our home insurance. To find out whether you're paying twice, read Don't double up on cover.

Typical monthly saving: £10

Difficulty rating: 1

Goal: Don't double up on cover

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

Difficulty rating: 3

Goal: Cut the cost of your car insurance

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

Difficulty rating: 3

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 Save up to £5,000 with low cost life insurance to find out more. Another good way to reduce your life insurance premiums is to get in shape!

Typical monthly saving: £10

Difficulty rating: 3

Goal: Lower your life insurance costs

Up your income

Try to earn a bit on the side every month, then use this to pay bills or pay off debts. Make some extra money should get you on the right track.

Typical monthly saving: £100

Difficulty rating: 4

Goal: Make some extra money

Claim what you're entitled to

Don't be too proud to claim what you're entitled to. This website should help you track down the relevant benefits and tax credits.

Typical monthly saving: If eligible, £100+

Difficulty rating: 1

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

Difficulty rating: 4

Goal: Make money from your old junk (even if it's broken!)

Find forgotten money

Track down any funds you've forgotten about. This article shows you how to hunt down dusty premium bonds, cash in dormant accounts and unclaimed tax.

Typical monthly saving: £200 overall*

Difficulty rating: 2

Got any tips of your own? Please share them using the comments box below!

*not included in our headline figure of £12,000