MONEY COMMENT
Slash Your Household Bills

By Cliff D'Arcy
February 7, 2003

I have a somewhat erratic approach to my personal finances. Most of the time, I'm laid back and relaxed, allowing my budget to drift along without any interference. However, now and again, I fall into some kind of fanatical financial frenzy. It's then that I rush around like a dervish, inspecting my finances very closely and trying to track down better deals.

I go over all my financial products: cheque and savings accounts; mortgage, credit cards and personal loan; life, home, motor and travel insurance; investments and pensions; stockbrokers - you name it, I scrutinise it.

It's during these intense money-saving flurries that I tend to make my largest gains. Sometimes it takes only one telephone call to get a better mortgage rate from my current lender, or a short trip around the Web to find big savings by transferring balances to a 0% credit card.

A common trigger for this burst of activity is a statement, renewal notice or bill arriving. This prompts me into action to shop around to see if I can beat my current deals. I inherited a dislike of over-paying from my mother - an astute Northern woman - so my mottos are Disloyalty Pays Dividends and Shop Around And Save!

However, for about seven years, out of my sheer laziness, I allowed the two local incumbents (British Gas for gas and Seeboard for electricity) to supply my home. Then, about three years ago, I decided to put both suppliers to the test.

I gathered together my last year's bills then visited online comparison sites buy.co.uk and uSwitch.com. I discovered four things:

1. Curiously, "Duel Fuel" deals (getting gas and electricity from a single supplier) are often more expensive than signing up with two different providers.
2. I could save over £90 (20%) in my first year by switching.
3. The best deals vary, depending on where you live in the country and your local suppliers.
4. For me, paying by fixed monthly direct debit and opting for online billing and servicing produced the biggest savings.

My first switch was to Powergen, which as well as being a lot cheaper, had the best service rating (93% satisfaction) and paid £30 cashback if I switched both fuels to them. I didn't have to do anything apart from swap (all done online), sign a form or two and send off a couple of meter readings.

(I assume all the technical and engineering wizardry was handled behind the scenes between Powergen and my former suppliers, as it all worked without a hitch.)

After less than a year, I repeated the above exercise (without having to track down my bills this time). I discovered I could save another 10% by switching to Amerada for gas and London Electricity, which I promptly did.

Now, most quarters, when my utility bills appear, I check buy.co.uk and uSwitch.com for savings on my gas and electricity bills. I haven't identified any further savings, so I've reached "financial nirvana" - knowing that I've got the best possible deal!

You can make even greater savings at these sites by switching your water (usually to a meter), home and mobile phones and cable TV. As a simple Fool, I don't have fancy TV or a mobile, but I do plan to switch from BT to a cheaper phone and Internet provider when my one-year Broadband contract expires.

Learn to keep hold of more of your money with advice from fellow Fools at the Living Below Your Means and Dealing With Debt discussion boards.