Save thousands of pounds on leap day

Use February 29 to make yourself £5600 richer

IT’S Leap Day on Saturday – though that may not mean much unless you have a hectic schedule of proposing/being proposed to.

But it’s an extra bonus day you could put to really good use.

Think of it as a day to take advantage of, an opportunity to end up thousands of pounds richer.

You don’t need to give up the whole day, just a couple of hours to follow our 10-point plan – and you could save up to £5600.

From moving debts to ditching and switching various financial products and bagging a few pounds for shopping more smartly, you could be quids in.

Sarah Coles, personal finance analyst at investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “If you can set aside the morning, in less time than it takes to binge-watch your latest must-see series on Netflix, you could save thousands of pounds.

“While it may not be the most thrilling morning of your life, you’ll still have half a day extra to enjoy relaxing and thinking of ways to spend your impressive windfall.”

Move debt ...and save £3540

Mortgage Rates are currently at rock bottom, so you may be able to save substantially by remortgaging – even when you take the cost of the new deal into the equation.

If, for example, you have a £150,000 repayment mortgage over 25 years on a standard variable rate of four per cent, you’d pay £9492 in a year. If you switched to a mortgage at 1.5 per cent, even if you add on £1000 in remortgaging fees, you’d pay £8200 in the first year – saving £1292.

You can shop around for a better deal online, or leave the legwork to a mortgage broker.

Overdraft Overdraft rules are changing this April, and if you regularly use an arranged overdraft you could see your costs soar. If, for example, you dip into an overdraft to the tune of £1000 for 15 days a month, with a new overdraft rate of 35.9 per cent you’ll pay £153 a year.

A zero per cent money transfer card from the likes of Tesco and MBNA will cost you a one-off fee of about £40 and then you have up to 28 months to pay off the rest of the balance and clear your overdraft for good, saving £113.

Credit Card A typical £2000 balance on a card charging 19.9 per cent will take 18 years to pay off and cost £2195 in

BY TRICIA PHILIPS interest if you make just the minimum repayment each month.

Instead, switch that debt to a 0 per cent balance transfer card – Sainsbury’s Halifax and Virgin all offer 29 months with fees of about three per cent.

You’ll pay a one-off fee of about £60 and as long as you clear the balance within the zero per cent introductory period, won’t pay any more – saving £2135.

Bank smarter ...and make £808

Savings The vast majority of savings are held in accounts with the big high street banks, where an easy-access account pays as little as 0.1 per cent.

With savings of £30,000, in a year you’d receive just £30 in interest.

You could move it all to a competitive easy- access account (Marcus offers 1.3 per cent) and make £392 in a year, or put £10,000 in a competitive easy-access account and £20,000 in a competitive one-year fixed-rate account (Atom is paying 1.65 per cent) and make £463 – leaving you £433 better off.

Current Account Consider what’s important to you, whether it’s good customer service, a leading app, interest on your balance (Nationwide offers five per cent on the first £2500), or a lower overdraft rate (First Direct is still offering the first £250 at zero per cent).

If your needs are fairly middle-ofthe-road, you can focus on the bonus – you can get £175 for switching to HSBC Advance – as long as you pay in a fairly chunky £1750 a month.

Or consider Royal Bank of Scotland – it is offering £175 to new and existing customers who switch their main bank account to them before April 20.

Direct Debits You may find you’re paying for services on direct debit that are no longer useful to you. If so, cancel them.

Don’t just delete the payment though, check if you’re still in a minimum period and whether you have to give notice; then email the company and let them know you’re cancelling.

Make sure you save this email somewhere memorable just in case. This can easily save you £200 a year.

Better bills ...and save £965

There are still 11 million people on

Energy standard tariffs, and while these have

dropped with the introduction of the

price cap, switching to the most

competitive deal will still save you

around £305 a year.

Mobile Check to see if your contract has finished. If so, instead of upgrading your phone, you could stick with your handset for a year and go for a SIM-only deal – saving yourself at least £25 a month or £300 a year. Insurance There are no rewards for loyalty – those who ditch and switch get the best deals. Moneysupermarket says those who switch car insurance can save up to £270, while Comparethemarket says switching home insurance can save up to £90.

Shop smarter ...and make £325

Cashback Websites like TopCashback.co.uk and Quidco.com don’t force you to buy anything you weren’t going to buy anyway, or to shop anywhere specific.

Just sign up and shop via the site and you’ll get money back every time you spend. It’s worth checking while you’re shopping around for better deals, because you may be able to add cashback to your new mobile phone deal or utility switch. TopCashBack says the average people earn over a year via the site is £325.

And finally...

Don’t go shopping without looking for vouchers online which can often get you as much as 20 per cent off. If there are brands and shops you love, it’s worth signing up for newsletters which will usually offer discounts.

You can follow them on social media as well – they sometimes offer exclusive discounts there.

For committed deal hunters there are online communities where people share details of the best deals and freebies – including hotukdeals.com and moneysavingexpert.com/deals.