Change currency – I'll be the first to admit that exchange rates are terrible at the moment. However if you have foreign currency left over from a trip it could be better to change it back into sterling than keeping it in a drawer. If you have been on a once in a lifetime trip to Australia and know you won't be returning there's not much point in having cash you can't use.
Prioritise debts – If you are paying off loans or credit cards then work out which one you are paying the most interest on and concentrate on that one. The quicker you lower the amount you owe the less money you will end up paying out in the long run. With interest rates on savings accounts so low at the moment if you have money in low interest paying savings accounts it may be worth diverting the funds to pay off debts.
Pay insurance annually – When you take out car or house insurance then usually you are given the option to pay the premium in one go or in monthly instalments. Very few insurers now offer the monthly amount as the equivalent of the annual amount but in 12 instalments. What they are doing are lending you the money in return for a year long insurance premium. The interest rate they offer as well can differ from customer to customer depending on your credit score. By paying upfront as well means you know you are covered by your policy. If your monthly direct debit fails for whatever reason you could find your policy is no longer valid and you are no longer covered. In the case of car insurance driving without insurance is a criminal offence.
Switch from branded to own-label goods – Branded groceries can often be double or three times the price of supermarket own brand items. If you think they don't taste the same do a blind taste test. Many are items actually made in the same factories and there's often very little difference in the product except for the packaging and the price.
Heniz Top Down Squeezy Tomato Ketchup 460g is currently retailing at around £1.75 in the major supermarkets whereas the bigger Tesco version with 555g in it is just 59p. If ketchup is too much for you to switch then what about spaghetti? Tesco's own brand spaghetti is 98p for 1kg whilst Napolina Spaghetti is £2.28 for the same amount. Once covered in sauce could you really tell which one was which? If you switched just these two items alone you would save £2.46. Across your entire shop it could add up to quite a substantial saving.
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