Would you like to make over £1,000 tax-free? Well, when you save money it’s as good as making money except that you don’t have to pay tax on it. A good way to save money without making any sacrifices is to switch bills once a year to cheaper versions. You still use insurance, gas, broadband, electricity, but you just pay less for them.
It’s very easy to forget about annual contracts and subscriptions, letting them roll on and on without checking when they’re due to finish. But spending a little time to analyse your current subscriptions, contracts, and insurance policies could save you £1000 or more every year.
MoneyMagpie has a Big Switching Day on 23rd September, which we’re encouraging everyone to get involved with. We will be concentrating on switching utility bills, so if you’ve been meaning to do that for months but haven’t quite got round to it, then join us and switch to a cheaper provider with your peers.
Apart from that though, here’s how you can galvanise yourself to .save serious money month by month:
Jasmine Birtles is the founder of MoneyMagpie.com. Get their free investing newsletter here.
Jasmine Birtles answers questions from GB News members in the exclusive pensions and retirement Q&A | JASMINE BIRTLES | GETTY Make a List of Your Subscriptions
The first thing to do is find out what you pay for every month. You might be surprised to see some old gym subscriptions or streaming services you forgot to cancel after a free trial.
You can do this manually by going through the last 12 months’ bank and credit card statements. Or, you can use an app like Emma, which analyses your accounts for you. The app is quicker, but the manual expenses analyses will help you recognise your spending patterns and easily find renewal dates for annual payouts, too.
Look for things on your statements such as:
- Home insurance
- Car insurance
- Car lease payments
- Loan repayments
- Broadband and TV contracts
- Mobile phone contracts
- Annual travel insurance
- Streaming services
- Subscription boxes
- Pet insurance
- Magazine subscriptions
- Digital subscriptions.
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Britons are being urged to clampdown on subscriptions
| GETTY IMAGESTake note of which day of the month (or year) the payment goes out of your account. It’s also worth looking at your electricity and gas account to find out when your fixed-term tariff ends.
How much you could save depends on how much the original bill is: the bigger the annual cost, the bigger the potential for savings. For example, according to MoneySupermarket, over half of their customers save an average of £489 by switching car insurance, while Quotezone says people save up to £241 on home insurance.
A single phone call could save you £250 on your broadband, and USwitch says people save on average £84 a year by switching mobile phone contracts. If you made all four switches, that’s a potential total saving of £1064.
Set Reminders
In your phone calendar or online diary, put in reminders for when contracts are due to end. Set a reminder to go off 14 days and five days before the renewal date. This gives you plenty of time to shop around to make sure you’re getting the best price for the service.
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Find a Comparison Site
There are a lot of great comparison websites around. These websites pull information from a wide range of suppliers to give you quotes for an insurance policy, broadband or mobile phone contract.
Websites like GoCompare, MoneySupermarket, Confused.com, and Uswitch are handy comparison tools. You can put in detailed information, and change things on your quote such as the amount of excess you are willing to pay for an insurance policy. But don’t hit ‘switch’ just yet…
Go Direct
Some companies aren’t on comparison websites. This might not seem like good business sense, as it misses out on a lot of potential customers. However, comparison websites are free for the customer to use because they receive a commission when someone buys a policy through them. Plus, there will be digital adverts for many, too.
Companies that don’t use price comparison sites save on the advertising and commission. This means they can offer lower prices to customers as their marketing cost is much lower, too.
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The move to close stores reflects a wider trend in the retail sector | GETTY When you use a comparison website, look out for the companies that are not listed that you would expect to see. Make a note, and check out their website direct instead. You could find an even better deal than on a comparison website.
Remember Price Matching, Too
When you have a quote for a price that suits your budget and gives the service or level of cover that you need, go back to your current supplier.
Speak to the renewals line and give them the full details of the price you’ve found that beats their renewal price. In many cases, a company will at least price match or even beat a quote, so you can stay with them. This is because it’s a lot cheaper for them to offer you a discount than it is to market for a new customer to replace you.
Shop Around for Deals
Finally, there are some products that have a set price, such as Netflix or Disney Plus streaming services. However, you might be able to get a great deal if you switch… your email address.
Look for new customer deals that offer a locked-in guaranteed price fix or a huge discount on an annual plan. Set up a new account with a different email address – you may also need alternative payment information, too. This gives you "new customer" access. If you’re uncomfortable doing this, but you live with a partner, they could set up an account in their name instead.
It does mean you lose your watch lists and playlists, which can be annoying for some people. But if you’re not too bothered, it could save you a lot of money on all of your streaming subscriptions each year.
Once again, always look for discounts and deals through cashback websites too, as it could give you a significant chunk of change back from your payment.