Seven top ways to boost your finances

If you only read one article this year, this should be it.

It's been a tough year, financially, for most of us. The credit crunch that none of the experts foresaw - or could prevent - has left many of us in dire straits, anxious about our future, desperate to avoid further financial loss and yet completely confused about who to trust.

As financial advisers, economists and other so-called experts fell from their pedestals, here at lovemoney.com, we came up with an innovative solution for the millions of people who needed help:

The first ever social money site in the UK - a highly-personalised social platform where you can go to seek free advice on your individual financial problems, both from traditional experts (lovemoney.com staff writers) and your peers.

In case it's all passed you by, here's what we've built:

1) Q & A

What is it? A question and answer tool to help people share knowledge, ideas and support.

With our Q & A tool, you ask a question about money and get an answer from the highly-engaged and financially savvy lovemoney.com community.

Here are some recent questions that lovemoney.com members have helped to answer:

Did you know? You can subscribe to Q&A this RSS feed - so whenever anyone posts a question, you can see what they've asked and add your answer in a single click. Visit Q&A now.

2) Personal homepage

What is it? A truly personal experience of our site.

In an innovative step that is unique among financial websites, each of our registered members has their very own personal homepage.

During the free sign up process, we ask questions to identify content (be it articles, goals, videos, Q&A or blogs) you will be interested in - and then, on your personal homepage, we present this content to you.

But the really clever bit is that, once logged in, you are completely in charge of what you are shown - as you use the site, tag items, adopt goals and add people to your network, your personal homepage changes and becomes even more personal and relevant.

Did you know? You can tag any piece of content you find useful around the site with whatever label you think would be useful to you. So, if you like our Frugal Recipe series, you could tag it with 'tasty recipe', 'cheap eat', 'yummy meal' - or whatever you like! Then, anything tagged with the tag you used (e.g. tasty recipe) will appear in your personal homepage.

3) Networks

What is it? A network of members you're connected with.

If you register on the site, you'll be able to build a network of people whose contributions they find relevant and useful. For example, if you add top Q&A posters MikeGG1, manzanilla or time2go to your network, their contributions can always be easily found on your personal homepage. So the best money tips from the most active and financially savvy individuals pass around the community.

Did you know? To add your favourite writer to your network, simply click on their photo at the top of the page. Then, under 'What next?', on the right-hand side of the page, click 'add to network'. Then, all their articles, comments, blogs and videos will appear in your network feed, and you'll easily be able to find their latest piece of work.

4) Goals

What is it? A tool that breaks financial goals down into manageable tasks, stacked with community tips.

Goals are practical everyday tasks, boosted by the community continuously adding their tips to provide a useful central resource.

They vary from Become a buy-to-let landlord to Make some extra money and Destroy your debt and Cut the cost of having a baby, so whatever your financial situation, there should be something for you there.

You can adopt the goal and mark off each task as you complete it, and check out other members who are completing the same goal and add them to your network.

That way, you'll benefit from the tips of those who are in similafr financial situations, who know exactly what you are going through. So you will not be alone with your financial problems, whatever they might be!

Did you know? Our two newest goals are Save money in every room of your home and Save money every day of the week - goals everyone can do! We're keen to get your tips and comments so if you have any advice for other lovemoney.com readers, please add your comment to the bottom of each task!

5) Product reviews

What is it? Honest reviews of products.

You can't trust your bank, you can't trust the so-called financial experts, but you need to know which financial products are any good. What better way than asking the lovemoney.com community? We ask for your rating of customer service, the application process and the product itself - which produces an overall rating for the product.

Some example reviews:

Did you know? You can find product reviews by going to the credit card homepage, then 'search all credit cards', and then 'info'.

6) Videos

What are they? Short videos about top financial topics.

Here at lovemoney.com, we know you like to have a choice about the way that you get your information. So, as well as writing articles, we also make videos about personal finance.

At the moment, we're producing six different types of videos:

Soapbox - a rant about a hot financial topic
Love it or loathe it? - the pros and cons of a particular financial product
Your Two Pence - we get your views on big financial issues
Most Wanted - the most wanted articles of the week
How To.... - how to sort out your finances in every way imaginable!
Frugal Friday - the hottest discounts, deals and bargains of the week

Did you know? Our entire video archive can be found here. Alternatively, why not subscribe via iTunes? You can find us in the Business podcast section.

7) Blogs

What are they? Personal blogs from lovemoney.com staff.

If you fancy something with a bit more opinion and personality than the average article, check out a couple of our top blogs:

Ed Bowsher's Blog - Ed's a commentator here at lovemoney.com. Here's his take on money, finances and anything else that takes his fancy! You can subscribe to his blog here.

Site stuff - Get the latest updates on what's going on the site from our product director, Carl Knibbs. This blog is all about the site itself - what's new, what's next, and what's going on behind the scenes. You can subscribe to Carl's blog here.

Did you know? You can add a blog to your 'watchlist', so all posts appear in your personal homepage. Simply go to the blog you want to follow, and then click 'add to blog watchlist' on the right-hand side of the page.

About us

Finally, if you want to find out a bit more about lovemoney.com, check out the 'About us' section of the website... it's very cool and funky! Learn more about us.

So there you have it... seven ways to boost your finances using the free resources here at lovemoney.com. Why not head over to Q & A now and post a question? Or read Ed Bowsher's Blog? Or watch one of our top videos? If you do, it might just give your finances the boost you were looking for....

If you haven't already done so, register now on lovemoney.com. It makes the whole site a more integrated experience!