One of the most common finance issues that families and households deal with is rising costs; especially now in the current climate. It can be quite a stress to deal with, no matter the size of your home or family. This is why you should always be actively looking for ways to drive down your bills in any way that you can, to save money. You can achieve this in a variety of ways, from changing your electricity provider to swapping out your insurance.
Cut down on your subscriptions
If you have multiple people in your household, it’s likely that you are all watching and streaming different TV shows and movies on multiple devices across the home. Have a look at your subscriptions and see what subscriptions you can cut down on or combine in order to save money. For example, Netflix lets you have profiles for your whole family, so don’t pay for more than one account. You can all share the same one and never have to see recommendations for each other’s shows.
Similarly, if people in your household have multiple newspaper and magazine subscriptions, cancel these and sign up to one service, such as Readly, where you can read thousands of magazines and newspapers on your iPad. Again, every family member can have a profile, so you’ll never be shown the latest golf title when you’re interested in celebrity gossip! This will save you a lot of money and help cut your bills.
Read my tips on how to save money on a tight budget.
Many mobile phone plans also come with free Apple TV access for 6 months, or free BT Sport for 6 months, which will save you money if you aren’t having to pay for these seperately. Make sure you have activated and claimed any perks you are entitled to with your mobile phone plan. EE offer some great perks that you can switch in and out, so login to your account and see what’s available for you to add as a free add-on to save money and cut your bills.
Cut down your insurance costs
Most households and families will have a car that they use. This will mean that they need to pay car insurance. Of course, nobody wants to pay for this expense, but it’s something that is a must. There are, however, ways to save money with it and cut your bills. It’s not calculated arbitrarily and is actually based on accident statistics. Insurance companies have actuaries who make correlations between accidents and different factors. As a result, some seemingly strange things can affect how much you end up paying. If insurers notice that a certain car model is more involved in accidents or theft, for instance, then you will have to pay more to have it insured even if there’s nothing wrong with the car per se. Therefore it pays to know what can affect rates and what will not. Let’s take a look at some of the things that could increase your premiums.
You can expect to pay more or less based on your postcode. People living in high crime areas will pay more on car insurance on average. People who live in densely populated urban areas will also pay more than people living in rural areas because of the higher probability of getting into accidents.
You should know, however, that you don’t have to overpay just because you live in a high premium postcode. You can still find very cheap car insurance by using a comparison service. Some of these services will let you compare quotes right on the spot and find very cheap insurance in seconds. You can always find a better deal if you are looking to drive down costs.
Few people know this, but insurance companies will charge you more if you park your car on the street vs. if you park it in a garage or a driveway; and, when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. A vehicle that is highly visible at night is more likely to get stolen or vandalised. It is also more likely to get hit by a passing vehicle.
Read my tips on how to deal with bad credit.
Note that you can also add your significant other as a named driver and get an additional discount since you’ll be limiting the time each person will be driving and spreading the risk between them. Do not make the mistake of putting the more experienced driver of the two as the main driver if they aren’t, as this could count as insurance fraud.
Change your energy supplier
Changing your energy supplier can save you money – at least a couple of hundred £s per year. Don’t underestimate the difference this can make and how much money you can save. More than 10 million UK residents could benefit from switching to a cheaper energy supplier. It may be a bit of a hassle to change, but it’s an effective way to save money. Some companies do have exit fee charges if you leave an energy plan early, so make sure you are factoring this in. If you are out of contract however, the world of savings is your oyster and you could really manage to cut your bills.
In the current climate, a fixed price energy plan will be the most cost effective option as prices are set to rise again later this year. If you choose a variable plan, you could be faced with price hikes that you haven’t factored into your budget. No matter what the plan and costs, you’ll be charged on the energy you use. You’ll use more in winter than you will in the summer, so in winter your account might be in debit and in summer, it’s likely to be in credit by a healthy amount; but it will all balance out in most cases. If not, you’ll be wanting to increase your monthly direct debit amount, to better reflect what you use.
Check out what you need to know about solar power for your home.
Use the common market comparison sites to find an energy deal that will save you money. They give you the opportunity to compare different plans and tarifs to see what is best for your household and your family to cut your bills.
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