THRIFTY TRICK

Get paid to pay your bills. Switch to a NatWest or RBS Reward current account, and you’ll earn 2% on direct debits for your council tax, water, gas, electricity, mobile phone, landline, broadband and TV package. NatWest reckons the average customer earns £83 a year, so you’d be £59 up even after account fees of £2 a month. Just make sure you pay in £1,500 a month and log into online or mobile banking at least once a quarter. Lower income? Check out the Santander 123 Lite current account instead.