Credit Crunch Blues

You see the postman walking casually to your house, you see him laden with brown envelopes, he smiles at you and you give a coy smile back. That’s it you think to yourself, today is the day that I am going to sort my bills out. You open each envelope one by one. The council tax bill, the phone bill, the gas and Electric bill and last but not least that gym membership that you took out in January that you have not even used yet because you’re “breaking yourself in gently”. With spring looming, maybe we should have a financial spring clean and sort out everything step by step.

Firstly be honest with yourself. How much do you actually owe? Who do you owe it to? Use a simple tool called an income and expenditure list highlighting all the money that’s coming in and all the money that’s going out. Next determine if there is anything that can “give”. For example the gym membership you never use or the store card that has no balance on it. In other words get rid of dead wood. Your next step is to clear off any accounts that you can. For example do you have a store card with a small balance of £20 on that you could just pay off and get rid of? Once you have completed these two steps the rest is fun.

Using various websites you can compare prices for mobile phones, Gas and Electric, landline phone, internet connection, sky or cable, grocery shopping, the list is endless. What consumers do not realise is that all companies want your business and they will generally price match to gain your custom. Recently I contacted a well known telecommunications company to downgrade my account to simply save some money, they informed me that should I keep the same package but just pay my bill by direct debit I was going to save £7 per month, that’s a staggering £84 per year, that’s your television licence almost paid for.
Companies do payment plans, the can stop interest and they can even show you an alternative way to use your service to your advantage. The company wants you to remain a customer of theirs. Instead of paying huge utility bills every 3 months perhaps budget cards or direct debit would suit you better.

When it comes to grocery shopping, there are ample opportunities to save cash. Either online or direct from the high street. If you’re an online shopper you can always gather voucher codes from search engines or from the company’s direct website. If you’re a store shopper buy own brands or swap meat and veg for local produce from the farmers market or local town market. Beware of 2 4 1’s, these are a trick to make you purchase more of a particular product. Do you really need 3 tubs of butter? Making a shopping list is a great way of saving money when shopping as you will only buy what you need.