Worried saving will always be a strain? Think again...
Tired of skimping on all the little luxuries you love?
Cutting back your spending and staying out of the red doesn’t always have to be painful.
Here are eight suggestions for how to do it – which might even mean you don’t need to give up making the purchases you enjoy...
Many home owners are still sitting on their lenders’ standard variable rate – which the mortgage reverts to when a particular deal comes to an end.
Despite the Bank of England base rate rise in November, there are still many low-rate mortgage deals available.
Switching could provide you with an instant win and potentially save huge amounts of cash.
Check you’re not doubling up
Are you paying twice for a particular service? As many as 10% of adults may be paying twice to protect their personal gadgets, simply by not checking their contents insurance terms and conditions.
In a comparethemarket.com survey of more than 2000 adults, one in 10 admitted they’ve taken out separate insurance on items already covered by their contents policy.
Chris King, head of home insurance at the price comparison site, says: “It’s always worth checking your contents insurance before making any big purchases, as you may find that you do not need to take out separate insurance to cover your must-have gizmo.”
Save on your energy bills
More than 100 fixed energy tariff deals end in the first quarter of 2018, comparethemarket.com has also found.
Its analysis found the average increase to energy bills could potentially be £192 per household. Peter Earl, head of energy at comparethemarket, says: “When fixed tariffs are coming to an end, it is essential to engage with your supplier, shop around and switch on to the best deal to avoid being rolled on to these expensive default tariffs.”
Ditch unwanted subscriptions
If you’re paying for something you don’t use, it’s money down the drain. Check your regular outgoings and cull anything you’re not getting value from. For example, if you’ve got a gym subscription but you don’t make trips there very often, work out whether it might be cheaper to pay for individual classes. Make sure you’re aware of cancellation policies, though.
Have a spring clear-out
Boost your income and by selling items you don’t use on websites such as ebay and Gumtree.
Use cashback and discount sites
Before you make a purchase, see if you can find a cheaper deal by using a website with a discount code, or one offering cashback on your purchase.
Cut the cost of your debts
See if you can reduce the cost of paying off any debts, such as by making a credit card balance transfer.
Make a PPI claim
If you’ve been meaning to make a claim for mis-sold PPI, now’s the time – as the deadline for claims is August 29, 2019.
As well as complaining about mis-selling, you can also now claim about the commission a provider earned from the sale of PPI – even if you had a previous complaint about mis-selling of PPI rejected. For more information, visit fca.org.uk/ppi