Laura Howard 1. Drive easy: Minimising the weight you carry in your car, sticking to the speed limit and not getting lost, are some of the simple measures that could slash your petrol bill by £310 a year on a typical mileage of 12,000. Find more tips at www.theaa.com
Minimising the weight you carry in your car, sticking to the speed limit and not getting lost, are some of the simple measures that could slash your petrol bill by £310 a year on a typical mileage of 12,000. Find more tips at www.theaa.com
2. Review your mortgage: If you have not paid off your home loan but your savings are effectively earning nothing, consider an offset mortgage which uses credit balances to reduce the debt payable. "Effectively your savings are earning the mortgage cost of say, 4%, rather than less than 1% in a savings account," says Andrew Montlake, director at mortgage broker, Coreco.
3. Holiday in the UK: Last summer, one in five Brits who holidayed abroad in 2008 were planning on stay on British shores, according to research from tourism guide, Visit Britain. Will 2010 reflect a similar trend? Many people are joining the trend and sparing themselves from the sky-high cost of euros – not to mention time, hassle and carbon emissions.
4. Take the right card abroad: If you are heading overseas this summer, beware of 'foreign usage' charges on credit cards. These can amount to 2.99% of the bill every time you hand over your plastic or take out cash. The Post Office and SAGA credit cards do not levy charges within the EU.
5. Cash in your old mobile phone: If your old handset is languishing in the kitchen drawer, sell it online. Start by visiting price comparison website www.omio.com that will tell you which company will pay the most for your particular model. A benchmark is £9 for a Samsung E20.
6. Organise your finances tax-efficiently: Many couples' finances are not organised tax-efficiently in terms of maximising each of their personal allowances (£6,475 for tax year 2009-2010, or £9,490 for those aged 65 to 74), according to Jason Witcombe, director at Evolve Financial Planning.
"If your finances as a couple are organised a bit neater, it could put a surprising amount of extra cash in your pocket. Remember that every £2 of income over the £22,900 age-allowance threshold reduces the £9,490 personal allowance by £1. Therefore, where possible, couples should split their income to minimise this reduction."
7. Plot your retirement date: Dwindling pension pots are only a problem if you need to access them now, which effectively means turning paper losses into real ones. But if you have some years left, plotting a firm retirement date now can still help with your future pension income, says Witcombe. "For example, if you are 50 and planning to retire at 60 your investment strategy is going to be lower risk than if you want to work for longer."
8. Rent out a bedroom: When the kids have flown the nest why not put the extra space to work? According to www.easyroommate.com, the average monthly rent for a room is £375. Better still, under the Government's Rent-a-Room scheme, the first £4,250 earned in rental income each year, is tax-free. For lots of useful information for landlords and would-be landlords, go to www.sagalegalservices.co.uk.
9. Overpay on your credit card: If you have a balance sitting on a credit card charging a typical 16.9% interest, don't just pay the minimum (usually the greater of £5 or 2.5%). Making this token repayment, it would take a staggering 23 years and one month to clear a balance of £3,000, and cost £3,003.40 in interest. Instead, pay off as much as you can each month or transfer the whole balance onto a card with a 0% introductory period — bearing in mind a balance transfer fee of around 3% will apply.
10. Grow your own vegetables: Recent research from the 'Grow Your Own' campaign, sponsored by National Savings & Investments, found that 78% of participants recommended cultivating your own greens as a way saving cash.
11. Reduce the cost of investing: Most actively-managed funds charge more than 1.5% per annum plus initial fees, whereas some index-tracking funds can cost under 0.5% per annum with no upfront charges. "There is absolutely no guarantee that the more expensive fund will perform better so why not save yourself some money?" says Witcombe.
12. Don't leave the house without a voucher: Lunch with friends, gym membership and booking theatre tickets online, are all part and parcel of modern retirement. But before you commit to these and other activities, check to see if a discount is available on the growing number of voucher websites such as www.vouchercodes.co.uk.
13. Use your tax-free savings allowance: When returns on savings are so dismal, it's difficult to get motivated to maximise your cash. But if there is just one measure you take with your savings pots, make sure it's to use your tax-free ISA allowance every year. In this year's Budget, the ISA limit was raised to £10,200 - and £5,100 of this can be kept as cash. If you are over 50, you will able to take advantage of this from this year. The under 50s will have to wait until the new tax year starts in April 2010.
14. Go abroad for dental work: According to a survey by overseas dental specialist VitalEurope, British patients save an average 50% by having treatment in its Budapest clinic, opposed to at home in the UK – though with travelling costs, this will have to be considered as a holiday too. Dental implants were by far the most common treatment, followed by crowns and bridgework.
15. Clear up a financial problem: If you have a specific question about your finances but don't want to potentially pay for an adviser, there is Saga Magazine's money expert John Husband, who will endeavour to answer your personal finance questions, plus websites such as www.cashquestions.com - this, however, does not replace the service provided by independent, impartial, professional financial advisers.
Written by Laura Howard, this article was first published on April 20, 2009. Laura's opinions are her own and for general information only. Always seek independent financial advice.