One of the main ways of reducing your monthly outgoings is to look at the options for transferring your bills to a cheaper provider.
With the proliferation of price comparison websites it is now much easier to seek out the best deals for all types of household bills. A simple process of filling in a form on the selected service provider’s website can have a significant impact on your wealth. Savings of £50 to £100 per month are within the reach of most people.
The following types of bill may be reduced by shopping around…
- Gas
- Electricity
- Telephone
- Home Insurance
- Car Insurance
- Mortgage
- Travel Insurance
- Broadband Internet
- Life Insurance
- Credit Cards
- Car breakdown cover
- Loans
- Current account charges
You can’t shop around to reduce these types of bill; they are a monopoly in the area you live…
- Water
- Council Tax
However, if you find your water bills large compared to the amount you use then it may be worth having a meter installed. Recent research into the water industry found that those households on standard annual tariffs are subsidizing those that pay for the amount they use. Usually the water companies fit the meter free of charge and then make an initial assessment of your usage, based on the number of people living in the property.
One word of warning. Just because the service provider offers you a lower monthly payment doesn’t mean they are the cheapest. Check the actual billing rates of the service you are paying for. Some companies lower your monthly payments to make it look like they’re cheaper, but you are only storing up trouble for later when the amount you owe will have gradually increased over time. Eventually you will end up having to pay the shortfall. Also note that with a quick visit to any of the energy supplier’s websites you’ll soon realize that finding out the actual charges (e.g. per kWh) is not that easy.
Use the price comparison sites to give you an idea of who’s cheapest.