How To Save Money: 5 Easy Ways (2024)

For most UK households, the rising costs of essentials such as energy, fuel, and food must simply be absorbed. But this doesn’t mean we are powerless – there could be ways to take some money matters into our own hands. Here are five simple ideas.

1. Clear (or shift) expensive debts

It might feel counter-intuitive, but ‘spending’ money can save money – if it means paying down or clearing debt that’s accumulating interest, that is. And credit cards can be among the worst culprits.

According to trade organisation UK Finance, outstanding balances on credit card accounts grew 8.7% over the 12 months to July 2023. It said that 49.9% of outstanding balances incurred interest, compared to 51.5% recorded 12 months prior.

Data from The Money Charity data (July 2023) showed that the average UK household is sitting on credit card debt of £2,376, while the latest Bank of England data (August 2023) says that the effective rate on interest-bearing credit cards now stands at 20.77%.

This means that the average credit card user with a typical balance could rack up more than £40 in interest charges each month unless they cleared the balance.

While simply clearing the balance might not be an option for many, there are 0% balance transfer credit cards that will, for a fee, take on the debt from a different card provider and allow up to 29 months to pay it off without charging interest.

The transfer fee is typically 3%, so there’s a balancing act to be struck between whether it’s cheaper to pay the fee or continue paying interest on the existing card. And that will depend on how quickly you believe you can clear the balance.

The longest interest-free promotions are reserved for those with the best credit scores however, which means that not everyone will be eligible. Our credit card comparison tool will show you which cards you might be able to get.

2. Maximise your streaming subscriptions

If you’re already paying for one more video streaming service but find there are some films or series you can’t watch, you might be able to save money by using a VPN rather than paying extra to watch them.

With a VPN you can connect to different streaming platforms as though you’re in a different country to the one you’re actually in.

Since different countries have different libraries of content, you may be able to find a title that isn’t available in your country can be accessed in another country using a VPN.

To take it further, you may even be able to sign up for a streaming service from another country where the cost of subscription could be lower than in the UK. Just check however, that this is not a breach of the website’s terms of service which could result in your account being suspended. Here’s our pick of thebest VPN providers.

3. Review your mobile contract

Pay-monthly mobile subscriptions offer a given amount of texts, calls and data per month. If you have a pay monthly contract that offers more in these allowances than you’re actually using, you may be able to save money by downgrading.

Smartphones generally monitor your data usage, which means you can check how much of your data you’re using (or not using) each month.

While pay-monthly contracts generally lock you for between 12 and 36 months, meaning you’re unable to exit the contract without penalty, many network operators will still permit you to reduce your minutes, texts and data allowances to save money.

Terms vary from one mobile network operator to the next, but it’s worth speaking to yours to find out if there’s money to be saved.

Of course if you’re out of contract there may also be money to be saved by switching to a new deal. Our mobile phone comparison tool can help you find a new tariff.

4. Pay your insurance premiums upfront

If you’re able to pay your car insurance or home insurance premiums upfront rather than spreading the payments over the course of 12 months, you’re likely to be able to save money.

When you choose to pay insurance premiums monthly, the provider is effectively ‘lending’ the money so will add interest on top.

Paying for your cover upfront, if you can, usually means cheaper premiums because there’s no money to repay and no interest added.

If you don’t have the ready cash, it might be worth putting the cost on a 0% purchase credit card and paying back the balance over a year interest-free. The catch here though, is that if you failed to clear the balance before the end of the 0% period, you’d start paying interest at a typical rate of 20.77% (variable).

5. Bundle your broadband

Telecoms providers have to do a lot to compete with each other for your business, that’s why they’re willing to offer discounts to customers who take broadband, TV and landline from them in a bundle.

Bundling two or three of the services can be cheaper than paying for them individually. It can also be more convenient since there’s only one bill and one point of contact if you need help.

Bundling isn’t automatically cheaper, however, and only makes sense if you’ve a genuine need for the services included. If you don’t actually need a landline or a pay-TV subscription, it might still be cheaper not to bundle.