COMMENT
Four Ways To Save Money

By Jane Mack (TMFJane)
December 16, 2004

New Year resolutions are probably the last thing on your mind at the moment. Let's get Christmas out of the way first, I hear you cry.

But there's no reason why you can't ponder on a few potential ideas while you're standing in the queue at Woolies to do your bit for charity by buying five copies of the Band Aid 20 single.

To my mind the best one is to resolve to tackle your finances with a view to increasing the amount you have available. Here are a few ways to do it:

Sweat the small stuff

You can save money by making even very minor changes to your lifestyle. For example, if you're paying the full whack for your satellite or cable package, are you getting your money's worth? You might find there's a cheaper package available that simply cuts out the channels you don't watch anyway. And what about books, CDs and DVDs? You don't have to own them to enjoy them - try your local library where you can probably find what you want for free. There are more of these sorts of ideas here.

Change your credit cards

If you carry a balance and you've got a credit card with one of the main High Street banks, you could be paying around 17% in interest. And yet, the last I heard, there are more than 60 credit cards on the market that charge no interest at all on transferred balances (usually for at least six months) and some even offer interest-free benefits on new purchases as well. By switching to an interest-free card and paying off as much as you can every month, you can really chip away at your expensive debts. When your six months is up, switch your balance to a new card and repeat until the debt is paid off. Then start saving!

Change your bank account

It is said that people are more likely to change their spouse than their bank account. While both actions may be troublesome I know which one is likely to be easier! It can be a bit of a pain to switch but some current accounts now pay interest close to the base rate of 4.75% a year. Try and time your outgoings so that your monthly salary stays in your account for as long as possible before the next pay cheque arrives. Check your charges too - some banks will offer you a free overdraft facility up to a certain amount and their overall charges may be lower than those of your current bank.

Change your mortgage

There are potentially much bigger savings to be made from getting a better mortgage deal. Mortgage providers know how lazy we are so they'll typically offer a low rate of interest to entice you to take out your mortgage with them in the first place and then replace it with an uncompetitive rate later on. If your mortgage has been running for a few years, then you could be a ripe candidate for a change of lender. Over the term of the mortgage your savings could run into the thousands.

And for the record (pun intended!), no, I don't think Band Aid 20 is as good as the original version either. But don't let that stop you buying several copies to dish out to the family on Christmas morning.

Find out more about Credit Cards; Banking; Mortgages