Cut your personal expenses to a minimum
- Pay off any outstanding debts where possible, particularly bank overdrafts and credit card debt.
- Do not use any payday loan service - the interest charged is astronomical.
- Shop around for the best deals and use sites such as moneysavingexpert.com to help you. This includes, for example, changing banks to get better terms and incentives also including credit cards.
- You should always get a few different quotes for any insurance products.
- Shop around and bargain where memberships, such as gym are concerned.
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Travel: pool cars, consider walking or cycling.
- Food - buy in bulk where possible/feasible and be sure to use your freezer capacity!
- If you've invested in a buy-to-let property, make sure you shop around for the best mortgage rate, particularly when the fixed period finishes.
- Consider cutting back your extravagance on things like Christmas and Birthday presents; some celebrations require generosity, others require tokens, where people are basically just pleased to be remembered, first and foremost.
Save
- Save any money you can hold for a year or more into a New Individual Savings Account (NISA). Your present allowance is up to £15,000. Cash NISAs guarantee a return based on a fixed interest rate. Be cautious of Investment NISAs, they can go up as well as down. If you can save money for five year periods, consider investing in Fixed Interest Savings Certificates.
- Change banks or building societies to get better rates on current accounts. The Government has forced the banking industry to make this much easier than it used to be.
Share your property costs with more people (if you live alone, consider sharing with others...)
- Two people equally sharing council tax payments greatly reduces each person's bill compared to a single person.
- Shop around, e.g. using Uswitch.com, to get the best gas and electricity deals. Be prepared to switch if it makes sense financially.
- Consider switching to a water meter if your use is low. Meters are free to instal.
- If you pay subscriptions for things like satellite TV, if other people in the house use them, get them to chip in.
- Research bundles combining mobile/landline/broadband: there's plenty of deals to be had; you have more bargaining power the longer you have been with one company.
- You could consider living at home with your parents if this is feasible if it saves you more money.
Maximise your existing assets
- Consider changing your job if you can make better money, try and secure a pay rise in an existing job, see if you can economise by working from home if feasible.
- Share car for hire; rent out your spare room if applicable to lodger, even share your pet for a small payment (e.g. borrowmydoggy.com)!
- You can sometimes get help towards installing solar panelling on a roof, if feasible; you could actually get a payment back towards any excess electricity you feed into the grid!
- If you are renting out a property to others, make sure you are getting the most - while delivering a good service - from your tenants and paying reasonably for agents' services etc.
- If you have more than one job or have self-employed income, make sure you are not paying any more taxes than you legally need to. Take advice from an accountant or financial adviser.
