Saving Money tips by switching off, mortgage payments, credit cards, fuel suppliers and watching what you spend!

With all companies:
Check they are competitive at least one every six months, if you think you are paying too much tell them, they will often reduce the amount they are charging you.

1 – Save Money

This may seam basic, but few people realise it, but just limiting yourself from purchasing items you do not need or can get else where cheaper can help. A cup of coffee from Starbucks at £3 a cup when at home it costs £0.03 a cup.

Now this is the part many people do not realise. That £1 in you pocket meant that you had to earn £1.25, as £0.25 was taken for tax and national insurance. So before you start you are £0.25 down!

Then if you used that £1 to pay off a credit card the £1 could be worth £1.299 if the credit card has 29.9% interest. Or the £1 could be worth £1.05 if you paid your 5% mortgage.

So when spending your money, think how much you are losing! NOTE: if you have no debt and are not giving all you money to the bank in interest then spend, spend spend!!! Or look at further investments, shares, ISAs, pension etc….

Some useful links:

2 – Switching Off

Switch off electric appliances which are not being used, do not leave your television, video or DVD player on stand by. Even on stand by some models can consume as much electricity as when they are on. Turn off lights and switch to low energy light bulbs. Only boil the water you need, Tefal ‘Quick Cupp’ kettle saves up to 65% less electricity than a standard kettle.

It is not just electricity, but gas as well! Do you really need the central heating on before you leave the house for work? When cooking, cook your food, do not boil the potatoes for 15 minutes longer than then need to be cooked, other wise it is just 15 minutes more gas and more money!

Some useful links:

3 – Fuel Suppliers

Check how much you are paying for your fuel, sites like Uswitch.com can easily show you the most competitive energy supply companies in your area. Your new supplier will take care of the formalities and switching supplier can often be as simple as one phone call. You receive the same electricity or gas each month, you just pay less.

Some useful links:

4 – Mortgage

i.e. You see a new mortgage that has a lower interest rate of 1.5% for two years, by the time you pay the introductory fee and the leaving fee you are losing money if you switch!

Be careful when selecting a mortgage select one which does not charge you fees to leave, you know you are going to get a good deal as the bank will always try and keep your business, sometimes all you have to do is ask!

To reduce the amount of money you are basically giving the bank you can always pay off more of your mortgage each month than you need to. By paying an extra £25 a week can save you up to £25,000 over the length of your mortgage just in interest

I have found the off-set mortgages are very good, this is where the money in your bank account off-sets the money you have borrowed on your mortgage. I have known friends who use visa cards for all their daily expenses so they have more money in their bank account to off-set their mortgage, then just before they get paid, they use the money in the bank account to fully pay off the visa card. Hence getting no charges from the visa company and reducing the debt off their mortgage. Just by doing this it can increase the interest you are getting on your money up to 8%, while getting only 4% in a normal bank if you are lucky!

Some useful links:

5 – Credit Cards

Credit Cards are often thought of luxuries, the tiny piece of plastic that can buy you anything! You have been mislead, the only thing a credit does is make you pay more for an item, sometimes over 29.9% more. A £1000 worth of purchases could mean the bank charges you £299 making the total you pay back £1299. £299 of your money you could have used for a weekend break, or pay off your mortgage increasing your £299 to £314+.

If you have any debt on your credit card try to get rid of it as soon as possible! Average credit card interest is 15%, so £2,200 over three years will cost you £545 interest, a loan of 6% will only cost you £209, a saving of £336. £336 for what, an hours work?

Some useful links: