The Mirror has rounded up all the ways you can save money on your bills and earn extra money to give yourself the best financial start in 2025
The start of a New Year is a great time to take control of your finances.
We’re all still feeling the effects of the cost of living crisis – bills aren’t getting cheaper and businesses have warned of more price rises to come. Christmas is also a typically expensive time for families. A new study by Lowell released ahead of Christmas found 74% of families normal rely on credit products to fund their festive spending.
This takes around 3.9 months on average to pay off – but one in ten people predict it will take up to six months to pay off their Christmas debts. Thankfully, there are ways to cut your costs going into 2025. We round up all the ways you can slash your bills, from council tax to energy, as well as ways to boost your bank balance.
Cut your bills
Energy: Make sure you’re being energy-efficient as possible, so that can include simple things like switching appliances off standby. If you have a time-of-use tariff, that could also be using energy when you’re charged cheaper rates. There are now fixed deals that are cheaper than the Ofgem price cap, so compare online now and consider switching to save money. Finally, make sure you’re getting all the help that you’re entitled to – including Winter Fuel Payments and Warm Home Discount. If you’re a prepayment customer and you’re about to run out of power, make sure you can access emergency credit.
Mobile and broadband: If you’re out of contract, compare prices online to see if you can get a better deal elsewhere. Check how many minutes and texts you’re currently using, or your broadband speed, as many people pay for higher allowances that they don’t end up using. If you don’t want to leave your current provider, try haggling, and if you claim benefits, check if you can save money by signing up for a cheaper social tariff.
Water: It sounds obvious, but using less water will cut your bill – and you don’t need to make big changes. For example, reduce your shower time by just one minute and make sure you switch the taps off when you’re not using them. You may also benefit from getting a water meter. Martin Lewis suggests you could save cash if you have more or the same number of bedrooms in your house than people. Households can also bag a range of free water-saving devices through Save Water Save Money.
Council tax: Check if you’re eligible for some sort of council tax discount. For example, your bill is reduced by 25% if you live alone, or if you are classed as severely mentally impaired, or you claim benefits, you may be entitled to 100% off your bill. Hundreds of thousands of homes are in the wrong council tax – so if you’re in too high of a band, you may be able to challenge this and get thousands of pounds back, plus lower bills going forward. But do your research first, as if you’re in too low of a council tax band, your future bills will go up.
Insurance: If your car or home insurance is up for renewal, start comparing prices to see if you can find the same cover cheaper elsewhere. MoneySavingExpert.com says you should check car insurance quotes 23 days before your current deal expires, or 21 days for home insurance.
Food: Try taking part in the “Downshift” challenge which is where you swap more expensive branded goods for cheaper supermarket-own labels. If there is a particular brand that you simply can’t give up, compare prices online using Trolley.co.uk and avoid shopping at your local convenience store, as these are always more expensive than going to a big shop. Also keep an eye out for yellow sticker deals and check the world food and baby aisles for cheapest alternatives of your favourite items. Finally, considering signing up to a loyalty schemes so you can earn points and get money back on future shops.
Mortgage: If you’ve got a fixed rate mortgage that you signed up to before rates started to rise, then you’ll likely face a huge increase in your repayments when you come to remortgage. When your fixed rate ends, you’ll roll on to your lender’s standard variable rate (SVR) – these are normally more expensive – unless you fix into another deal. Most lenders let you lock into a new deal at least three months ahead, so be prepared and start checking before your current rate expires. Speak to a mortgage broker to work out the best options for you.
Subscriptions: Go through your bank statements and look for any regular payments – things like the gym and Netflix – and then cancel any ones you don’t really use. If you pay monthly, you should be able to cancel that service immediately and the payments will stop. If you’ve made an annual payment, you sometimes might be able to get a refund on the months you have remaining.
Boost your bank balance
Switch bank account: You can make money just by switching your current account to a new bank. At the moment, you can get up to £175 if you move to First Direct or Nationwide. But keep in mind there are often some hoops to jump through first – for example, you may need to set up direct debits, or deposit a certain amount of money every month. Some bank switch offers are also not available if you’re a previous customer.
Sell or rent your belongings: Having a spring clear out can not only be therapeutic, it can also be good for your bank balance. Go through everything you haven’t used in the last six months and if it’s gathering dust, stick it online to sell – you may be surprised by how much your belongings are worth. You can also make money by renting our your spare room or driveway – just be aware you may need to pay tax, depending on how much you earn.
Get cashback: Make sure you use cashback sites such as Topcashback and Quidco when you make any online purchase. You just need to search for, and click through to your chosen retailer, via the Topcashback or Quido website. This is important, as your cashback won’t track if you don’t click through to the retailer through these websites.
Complete tasks online: Whether it’s filling out surveys, or getting paid to watch adverts, or sharing deals online, there are plenty of ways to make extra cash in your spare time. Most of the time, you’ll need to build up points that you then convert into money via PayPal or vouchers. Some of the most reputable survey websites include Swagbucks and YouGov.
Become a mystery shopper: Mystery shopping can be a really fun way to earn some extra money in your free time. You could be paid to rate the customer service in a store, or even to eat out in restaurants. For dining out experiences, you’ll normally need to pay for your dinner first, then you’ll be reimbursed and paid a fee on top. One mystery shopping site we’ve tried and tested is iShopFor Ipsos.
