Eight Money-Saving New Year’s Resolutions to Consider

Eight Money-Saving New Year’s Resolutions to Consider

Hopefully by now you’ve done most of your Christmas shopping – food and presents and you’re maybe off work, waiting for the big day. This may mean that you’re starting to think about 2017 and what it could bring. If you’re thinking about your New Year’s resolutions – hitting the gym more, sending more handwritten letters – then there’s a few here that you could add to your list.

The New Year is a good time to look at your finances for ways in which you could reduce your spending without feeling it. You could save enough over the year to pay for next Christmas, so see if any of these ideas apply to you.

• Get your boiler serviced in the spring

It’s just served you all through the hard winter and so now it deserves a treat. You might think it’s an unnecessary expense, but a service could improve its efficiency and also prevent any problems developing over the year and costing you dearly next winter.

• Switch your energy providers

It’s easy to get comfortable with your provider and just accept the occasional small price rise here and there because it’s better the devil you know. Well, by comparing and switching with the help of https://usave.co.uk/energy/, you could save anything up to £200 a year!

• Buy your heating oil in the spring

If you use oil to heat your home, you tank will be running low by spring but you could be tempted to leave it over the summer as you don’t use your heating much. By buying your oil in spring, you can take advantages of the cheap home heating oil NI tends to have after winter. When your oil tank is full, turn down your thermostat by a degree or two to save £50-70 a year!

• Compare phone, broadband and TV costs

In the same way as you compare your utilities, it’s always a good idea to see if you can reduce the costs of your TV, mobile, landline and broadband. Just a few pounds a month soon adds up. Your mobile contract in particular is a good source of savings; do you always use all your minutes? Is there a bundle for data or texts you could make good use of?

• Insulate your house

Insulating your home can save literally hundreds of pounds each year. You’ll need to do it properly, with loft insulation and maybe cavity insulation too, as well as looking at doors and windows. It’s possible that you may qualify for a grant for insulation, or for a free service from your local authority.

• Look at your boiler insurance policy

If your boiler is new, it might be worth paying for an annual service rather than paying for an insurance policy as well. If it’s quite old, then stick with your insurance, but see if you can reduce the premiums in any way.

• Think about a water meter

They’re not popular with everyone, especially people with children and teenagers in the house, but if there’s only a couple of you, a water meter could work out cheaper than a flat fee each month.

• Be vigilant with insurance

Don’t just auto-renew your insurance for your house, contents and car as premiums have a funny habit of creeping up. Shop around, at least every other year.

Collaborative Post. Contains a sponsored link.