Seven clever ways to save cash

Want to save money without cutting the essentials? Here's seven money saving gems to get your teeth into...

These days, it's hard to find an article about money which doesn't have the words 'credit crunch' in it. With it, it's brought a new vein of thinking - together with some seriously stingy money saving tips.

Personally, I think the secret to good credit crunch prudence is to cut down without cutting out. So if you'd rather not resort to Scrooge tactics, here are seven ways you can do just this:

1.) Streamline bill payments

When it comes to saving money on household bills, there are two golden rules: Go paperless, and pay by direct debit.

If you're not lucky enough to have fixed your tariff a year ago, online tariffs are the cheapest available, and you can get a double discount by paying by direct debit.

A lot of controversy has surrounded monthly direct debit - where suppliers estimate your usage over the year, then take a fixed amount from you each month. Providers have been accused of overcharging, or worse - not charging enough, then suddenly demanding payment in full.

Personally, I've never had a problem with it, and have always had payments adjusted when needed. In any case, if you are worried you're paying too much, you can call your provider and get a refund at any time, making the savings well worthwhile.

The exception to this rule is car and home insurance, which charge a 20% premium for monthly payments. Here, paying upfront is always best.

2.) Let your current account pay you!

Current accounts are often neglected when it comes to looking for the best deals. However, if you are willing to switch your bank account, you'll be offered all manner of incentives to sign up.

For example, both First Direct and Alliance and Leicester will give you £100 if you switch your bank account to them.

First Direct is renowned for its customer satisfaction, and has been praised by both readers and lovemoney.com for its service. The downside with this bank is you'll need to deposit £1,500 a month to qualify (equivalent to a salary of approx. £23,500 a year, excluding any student loan deductions). However, the bank is so confident you'll like them that if you decide you leave unsatisfied after six months, they'll give you another £100!

If none of these deals appeal, the most recent bank to offer an incentive is Halifax, which will give you £5 a month if you deposit at least £1,000 a month into its Reward Current Account.

Although you won't earn any extra interest, you're not obliged to keep a minimum balance in the account. So, as Laura Starkey explains, you could potentially Earn £60 from an empty current account.

3.) Switch your broadband

If you've stuck with the same broadband provider for several years, one of the easiest ways you can save money, is to switch.

I recently highlighted some of the best broadband deals currently available. However, two more have since come to the table.

Until 1st March, Be Broadband has a great deal on its Value package. The plan normally costs £13.50, but if you sign up through lovemoney.com partner Broadband Choices, not only will you get a free wireless router and unlimited downloads, but you'll also get the first six months free of charge.

This works out at an average of £6.75 per month over the 12 month contract span. Enter broadbandchoices at the checkout to qualify.

An even cheaper deal comes in the form of Plusnet's Value package, which costs just £5.99 per month and also includes a free wireless router and setup.

However, you are restricted to a download limit of 10GB (which, in fairness is adequate for everyone bar the most avid streamers and downloaders), and must commit to an 18 month contract.

If these deals aren't enough to tempt you, read this amusing article by Alison Hunt to see how haggling can shave pounds off your broadband bill, without the hassle of switching.

4.) Talk for less

You may not think it, but the cost of making calls while overseas can quickly mount up. The most likely place you'll see this is your mobile phone bill, and for ideas on how to cut these, take a look at this article.

On the flip side, if you want to make calls to international landlines and mobiles, one way to make them for free is to use a site called Rebtel.

To use the service, you'll need to enter the number you want to call on Rebtel's website. You will then be given a local number to dial, which will connect you.

Once you're connected, the person on the other end should hang up, then call you back on the number displayed on their handset, while you stay on the line.

Then, you can talk to your heart's content knowing you won't have to pay a penny, while the other person pays for the cost of a local call (if they also have inclusive minutes, it will also be free for them).

Confused? For a more detailed explanation of how Rebtel works, watch this video.

5.) Don't double-up on insurance

In today's insurance dominated world, you can now protect everything from your laptop to your identity. This may be handy for some, but do you really need it?

A good home insurance policy will cover most of your personal possessions, whether home or abroad, and there's no need to fork out for extras like mobile phone and gadget insurance.

So, while it's important to have adequate insurance, don't pay to cover unnecessary items, or you could be wasting pounds on cover you don't need.

6.) Shop for cashback

What can be better than getting paid to shop? Well, if you do so through a cashback website such as Quidco, TopCashBack and recent entrant Kelkoo, you could get a percentage of your spend back in cash.

The process can be complicated, and you must play by the rules to secure payment. However, the rewards can be handsome, and among the deals I spotted on Quidco, you can get £120 cashback on a £20 a month Vodafone SIM only tariff, and £68 cashback on Asda home insurance. Not bad for a few extra clicks of a button.

7.) Don't shop, swap!

Finally, if you don't fancy splashing any of your hard-earned cash, you could always swap instead. Fads such as Freecycle have taken off in recent times, as regular bargain hunter Serena Cowdy demonstrates in this article. She also explains how Freecycle helped her to furnish her entire home for £1,000 in this lovemoney.com classic.

I would encourage you to add your own wise words to the bottom of the article, but I'm afraid we don't have that facility yet! Comments will be back soon - we promise!

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