Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Category:
Personal Finance Tips
According to moneysupermarket.com, a New Year’s resolution to switch to more competitive deals could save people in excess of £4,000 during the next 12 months.
Site editor at price comparison site moneysupermarket.com, Clare Francis, commented: "People should review their finances on a regular basis and the turn of year is a great trigger to do just that. We're all feeling the pinch at the moment and for those suffering an extra financial hangover from the festive period, recovery will be all the quicker in 2010 if significant savings are made.
"A New Year's resolution to look for more competitive deals and products could save a household over £4,000 by this time next year. The great thing about these savings is they can be made without changing your lifestyle at all."
moneysupermarket.com has offered some money-saving tips for the year ahead:
- Individuals whose mortgage payments have fallen in the past 12 months could investigate making overpayments to reduce the overall length of their mortgage and the total interest payable.
- Those who are only paying interest could consider making capital repayments, which could save thousands of pounds during the course of the mortgage.
- Individuals with a consistently higher level of savings could consider an offset tracker mortgage, which could make the best use of capital.
- Everybody should shop around for the best mortgage and keep an eye on rates during the year to be sure of attaining the best deal.
- Individuals with a good credit history could take advantage of zero percent credit cards as opposed to taking out expensive personal loans.
- Savings could be made on insurance by not over-estimating requirements; paying annually; and by adding an older driver to a car insurance policy.
- Individuals could save money on their utility bills by shopping around to ensure that their tariff is suitable for their usage levels and region; moving to a dual fuel supplier; switching to an online tariff; turning down the thermostat by 1 degree; and turning off appliances rather than leaving them on stand-by.
- Money could also be saved by paying for TV, landline and broadband as a bundle.
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Homeowners who would like to re-organise their finances in preparation for the year ahead could consider taking out a
secured loan to tie up any existing debts. One of many finance options available, a secured loan for debt consolidation could allow borrowers to replace several monthly repayments with just one. Furthermore, this single monthly repayment could even be lower than current outgoings – thus freeing up useful money each month. However, when taking out a debt consolidation loan, it must be remembered that consolidating your debt may increase the amount you pay back overall and extend the repayment periods of your debts.
