25 MONEY SAVING TIPS

MONEY SAVING TIPS TO HELP IN TODAY’S FINANCIAL CLIMATE

I thought I would also add into my website some Money Saving Tips, which could not only help you to pay off any credit cards you may have but also help you to get started with your own home based network marketing business. The money you save could be put into your new business to make yourself even more money. Its up to each of us individually to manage our money the best way possible, to save money where ever possible and use it to improve our finances even further.

It was recently reported that British credit card holders now owe an average of £2,200 on their plastic and with retailers reporting a slump in sales not seen for two decades, it is clear that shoppers are reining in their spending. In short, it's payback time. To clear a debt of £2,200 on a card that attracts an interest rate of around 15% will take more than two years assuming a monthly repayment of £100. There are, however, plenty of simple ways to make significant savings on your regular spending that could clear the debt many times over in less than a year.

Here are some Money Saving Tips for you to try:

Money saving tips 1. Change your attitude to your mortgage

The most expensive item you are ever likely to buy is your home. If you're not in the privileged position to pay cash, make sure the loan you use to finance it is the best available. For example, if you are paying your lender's full standard variable rate (SVR) you are probably paying hundreds of pounds a year more than you need to. There are thousands of deals to choose from and while it is vital to check the small print for hidden catches, this is a relatively easy way to save a lot of money. Remember: loyalty to your bank benefits your bank, not you. Even better, if you can afford to make overpayments on your mortgage, you'll clear your debt several years early and make massive savings. For example, if you borrow £100,000 at 6% over 25 years, you'll pay it back at £643 a month. The total charge for credit will be £93,000. But if you can overpay by £100 a month you'll clear the loan in less than 19 years, giving you 6 years of mortgage-free living and saving a staggering £25,000 in interest.

Money saving tips 2. Clear your credit card debt

One of the golden rules of financial planning is to clear your most expensive debts first, in other words your credit cards. OK, credit cards offer a convenient way to pay for goods and services but if you can't clear the balance every month, consider a low-cost loan as an alternative. Do the sums: a credit card debt (APR 15%) of £2,200 over three years will cost £545 in interest. A loan at 6% will cost £209. A saving of £336.Saving: £100s

Money saving tips 3. Cut the cost of your fuel bills and save money

As the global demand for power threatens to outstrip supply, prices are rising. But that doesn't mean you need to be ripped off. The domestic market for fuel is a competitive one and you can change supplier with a few clicks of the mouse. Your new supplier will take care of the formalities - you just pay less every month. The ‘BEST UK ENERGY SUPPLIER’ awarded by the Independent Consumer Magazine ‘WHICH’ is UTILITY WAREHOUSE. They have been awarded 5 stars for ‘Value for money‘, 5 stars for ‘customer service‘, 5 stars for ‘billing’ and 5 stars for ‘technical support‘. They came out well ahead of the other Big top 6 energy suppliers. A typical household can save over £500 a year with Utility Warehouse and get better service! You can check out their services and switch on-line today by visiting - www.usavecash.co.uk . Just fill in your details and they do all the switching for you, inc contacting your current suppliers. You then just look forward to the switch over date when you’ll start saving money! FRENCH and SAUNDERS also promote Utility Warehouse, you’ll see some of their ads on the site! I will put a link to their site at the end of these tips if you wish to visit their site and take a look,

Money saving tips 4. Cut your home phone bills and save money

BT may seem to behave like a monopoly but it most definitely is not one. If you must use your phone there are scores of cheaper alternatives than BT with exactly the same quality of service, if not sometimes better! Again not to blow UTILITY WAREHOUSE’S trumpet too much but as they allow you to put ALL your household utility bills onto one simple monthly bill, you can save a packet with them. ‘WHICH’ magazine have recently also given them a ‘BEST BUY’ award for their Phone and Broadband bundle, only £19.99 for the lot! (Includes Line rental. Free calls and 24mg Broadband!) Without broadband their Line rental is only £9.90 a month, that’s the cheapest in the UK! You can also get FREE calls by taking another of their services. Again you can sign up and start saving money today by visiting- www.usavecash.co.uk again they’ll do all the switching over for you once you’ve entered your details. Again a link to this site can be found at the end of these tips.

Money saving tips 5. Consider a pay-as-you go mobile to save money

Ask yourself this: is your mobile phone absolutely necessary? If the answer is yes, then ask yourself whether you really need all those minutes and texts that come as part of your package. If you hand over £50 a month to your mobile phone company, that's £600 a year – or around £1,000 of your gross salary. But you can buy a pay-as-you-go phone for as little as £30 and only pay for calls when you really need to make them. One of the cheapest Pay As You Go mobile sims is available from ASDA and can save you a lot of money every month. Again Utility Warehouse also do a cheap Pay As You Go sim card which can be topped up when needed and just added to your monthly utility bill!

Money saving tips 6. Make a shopping list to save money

Food shopping forms a significant part of our monthly outgoings and the supermarket is where the bulk of the money is spent. Tesco takes £1 in every £8 spent by UK shoppers. But be warned, stores spend a small fortune studying ways of making us part with more of our money than we would otherwise intend to. Have you ever wondered why your favourite song is playing in the background as you navigate the aisles? Have you even noticed the background music? Possibly not, but you will have noticed at the checkout that the bill is often more than expected. To circumvent this, simply make a shopping list. Dig out the cookery books, plan a few meals and only buy what you need. Consider buying ‘Own Brand’ products in the supermarket, some are just the same quality, your just not paying the extra for the brand name and the advertisements you see on the TV. Also consider visiting your local market or butcher for some of your food products, you’ll be pleasantly surprised on how you can save money at these places.Saving: £10 a week = £520 a year!! You can see how, just by taking on board a few of these tips, can save you a lot of money each year which you can invest in better ways.

Money saving tips 7. Sell your clutter on eBay and make money

Take this quick test: You're at home. Open a cupboard. Look inside. If it's full of clothes you haven't worn, or 'good ideas a the time' you haven't used, for, let's say, three years - you don't need them. So why not sell them to someone else who does? Ebay, the online auction house, has opened individual sellers to a world of buyers. And you can flog anything for the cost of a small commission. Tip: you may want to buy a few items first to build up your rating as a respectable eBayer before you start selling. Income: Will depend on what's in your cupboard, one of my friends has made hundreds of pounds by selling all the clothes they no longer wanted. Set up your own account and get started, you’ll be surprised what people will buy.

Money savings tips 8. Do DIY and save money

We're a nation of obsessive DIYers and for around £100 you can take a course at your local adult education college to improve the skills needed to tackle most household repairs. If the college runs plumbing courses you could soon be on track to wiping out costly call-out charges and extra insurance policies once and for all. I will admit, I am useless at DIY and have had to pay ridiculous bills for jobs which I know probably aren’t that difficult to do, you just have to know how! I am definitely looking into this myself at the moment which is why I thought I’d add it into this saving money piece.Saving: £100+

Money saving tips 9. Shop around for the cheapest household/car insurance and save money

If you drive – car insurance is mandatory. Own a house - you don't need insurance. But it's strongly advisable. Can you afford to foot the bill if your house burns down? Probably not. Similarly, can you afford to pay over the odds for the same policy available elsewhere because you can't be bothered to shop around? Possibly, but it's not advisable. The internet has made finding cheaper insurance easy and you can compare hundreds of policies in minutes. My favourite comparison site if money supermarket, this is where I find all my insurance deals. I cut my Car Insurance in half on here!Saving: £100’s

Money savings tips 10. Choose cheaper breakdown insurance and save money

The breakdown sector is dominated by big names such as the AA and RAC. But being towed home if your car breaks down is just another form of insurance like any other and there are scores of cheaper alternatives. Check out your local Car Garages or local breakdown firms for cheaper alternatives.Saving: Up to £100 a year

Money saving tips 11. Book early to save money

Low-cost airlines have created a market in holidays for people prepared to fly to any destination provided it's cheap. You can benefit from this too. Just remember, only a few seats on each flight are sold at bargain-basement prices and once they're sold, the prices rise. So book early. There is a mis-conception that leaving it to last minute means you’ll pick up a bargain, this is not the case.Saving: £100

Money saving tips 12. Book your own 'package' holiday online and save money

The popularity of High Street travel agents is waning as more and more people warm to the benefits of researching and putting together their own holidays on the internet. If your holiday consists of flights, accommodation, transfers and possibly car hire, then take this test. Order a brochure from a leading holiday company and work out the price of your holiday including all the complicated supplements. Now go online and, starting with the flights, try to put the same package together. You’ll be surprised how much cheaper it can be if you do it yourself.Saving: £100+

Money saving tips 13. Don't pay full price for theatre or theme park tickets and save money

If you are prepared to tolerate the unwieldy website and hit-and-miss customer service, lastminute.com regularly boasts some amazing deals for London's theatres and the nation's theme parks. At the time of writing you can see top West End show The Producers plus a two-course meal for less than £20 a head, a saving of £60 per person, and tickets for Chessington World of Adventures cost from £12, a saving of nearly £50 for a day out for a family of four. Saving: £100s

Money saving tips 14. Ask yourself: do I really need this?

Imagine the scenario. It's lunchtime and you've got an hour to kill. You find yourself in a department store and there's a sale on. You pick up a beautifully packaged selection of barbecue tools and associated garden paraphernalia. And it's half price. Now, stop! Ask yourself: Do I really need this? Exactly. Now, put it down and walk away.Saving: £100

Money saving tips 15. Walk/cycle to the station/work

It maybe a bit of hippie notion to many people but it's free and it will keep you fit, which leads me onto my next tip.Saving: £100

Money saving tips 16. Cancel your gym membership

If you pay your £40 a month by direct debit and you use the gym three times a week, great. If not, cancel your membership immediately. You'll soon save enough to buy your own bike and, if you're so inclined, a rowing machine. Consider running home from work three times a week. It's free. Saving: £480 a year

Money saving tips 17. Use your library

The local library is a mecca for the money saver. You'll never need to buy another cookbook, guidebook or lifestyle manual again and if you can bear to wait a few weeks in the queue for the latest blockbuster, you never need to buy books again. CDs and videos are great value too. Saving: £100

Money saving tips 18. The three-for-two trick

Now, there's a lot to be said for buy-one-get-one-free deals, especially if they pass the 'Do I really need this?' test. Then there's three-for-twos; a particularly cynical way of stores to entice shoppers to buy an extra item they would not otherwise buy. The 'offer' is always priced into the deal so do your sums and shop around.Saving: It's a principle at stake here, don’t fall for it.

Money saving tips 19. Buy clothes and presents in the sales

So you need a new suit and the one you like comes in at a cool £300. Wait! The chances are that you can pick it up in the sale – and there's always a sale just around the corner – for £150. The same applies for birthday and Christmas presents. Buy in bulk in the sales and you not only save money, but you enjoy stress-free pre-Christmases and no last-minute birthday worries. Saving: £100s

Money saving tips 20. Use your Isa allowances (Financial advice)

If you're not already aware, you can save up to £3,000 a year in a tax-free savings account called an Isa (for the more financially savvy there's also a stocks and shares Isa). It means you don't pay any tax on the interest accrued so, if you have spare cash in your current account, this is the difference between earning next to no interest and up to £150 a year. Ask your bank for details on their ISA account.Saving: £100+

Money saving tips 21. Do you need all those TV channels?

Britain is switching to digital-only television and time is running out for you to choose your new digital TV provider. The choice is already bewildering and with telephone-based services now being launched it's going to get more complicated. Packages range from the full monty, including every sports and movie channel costing around £50 a month, down to Freeview, which is free. Choose wisely. If you are not watching everything your paying for, down grade your package and save money. Saving: £100+

Money saving tips 22.Avoid extended warranties and save money

Electrical goods are more reliable than ever. If your new radio won't last three years perhaps it's not worth buying in the first place. Think about it: how many times has your fridge broken down in the last five years? And do you really need the hassle of claiming for repairs to a £15 toaster? Saving: £100

Money saving tips 23. Shop online

The internet is gradually taking over. Online grocery shopping is getting better all the time and there are plenty of comparison websites to help find the best prices for bigger items. Give it a try, unless of course you like fighting your way through supermarket crowds. It will also stop you making impulse buys which the supermarkets pull you into as mentioned earlier, and you will save money in the long run.Saving: Your sanity

24. The Citizen's Advice Bureau is your friend

If your debts are out of control please seek help immediately from your local CAB – their advisers can help you work out a sensible strategy to get you back on your feet. Saving: It could save your life

Money saving tips 25. Take control of your household bills, this will be your biggest money saver!

Remember take a look properly at exactly what you are paying for your Gas, Electric, Home Phone, Broadband, Mobile Phone, Insurances etc AND SHOP AROUND. You find you can probably pay a lot less for exactly the same thing!! As recommended by myself and the independent consumer magazine ‘WHICH’ I would strongly recommend you take a look at UTLITY WAREHOUSE for all your home utilities and save money by switching on-line at www.usavecash.co.uk remember to check out FRENCH and SAUNDERS advice while you there.

I hope these MONEY SAVING TIPS have helped you with some ideas on how to SAVE MONEY in today’s difficult financial times. Don’t forget the money that you can save by doing the smallest of things can be invested into creating yourself financial freedom for the future with a NETWORK MARKETING HOME BUSINESS and start growing yourself a huge residual income alongside all the savings you’ll make. It’s a win win situation!

SAVE MONEY AND MAKE MONEY - A WINNING COMBINATION. CLICK HERE TO HELP YOU WITH MONEY SAVING TIPS 3+4. Save money on your household bills.

Antada Directory