21 incredibly practical, expert-backed hacks to help you save money and reduce your financial anxiety

With Look After My Bills, it’s really quick and easy to see how to save money by switching your energy providers. Plus, simple energy-saving actions such as avoiding using a tumble dryer, taking shorter showers and reducing the temperature at which you wash clothes can save money. The Energy Savings Trust has more information.

8. New love for old clothes

Rather than buying new clothes, reignite your love for old clothes that you’ve forgotten about. Dig deep to the back of your wardrobe and experiment with new styles. Get creative, try bright colours, clashing patterns, the lot. It’s one of the easiest money saving tips you can try.

9. Cashback credit card rewards

If you use a credit card regularly, and responsibly, it’s worth getting one that you can earn cashback rewards on, as this is essentially free money for using their credit cards, so why not?

10. Use this thrifty app to track your money and save, save, save

There are a lot of money-saving apps on the market, but this one is highly rated. Tandem helps you put aside little stashes of money, alerts you when money comes into your account and tells you if a bill is more expensive than it has been.

11. Get Monzo so you can keep an eye on your money

Not only will you get a bright pink bank card, you’ll also be able to see every time you spend money, set a monthly budget, pay people easily and access helpful little summaries of where your money’s going. Oh, and when you travel, you can get money out without fees.

12. Switch and save on car and home insurance

When your policy comes up for renewal, make sure you shop around to check whether you are being offered a good deal. You can cut the cost of insurance without having to compromise on cover. People who shop-around with GoCompare typically save up to £2561 on their car insurance and up to £1002 on their home insurance.

13. Vouchers, coupons, loyalty, and gift cards

Cut the cost of shopping by using any money-off vouchers or coupons you have and using unspent loyalty card points. Dig-out any gift cards you have and spend the ones you can before they expire.

14. Consider a 0% credit card

The average household credit card debt is £2,655. With the average credit card interest rate of 19.87%, that would rack up interest payments alone of 38.25 a month. By switching to a 0% credit card, you could save £459 a year on interest.

15. Pay for big-ticket items by credit card

If you need to make a big purchase, consider paying by credit card as it gives you added legal protection (under section 75 of The Consumer Credit Act) if the company goes bust or doesn’t deliver what it’s promised. Individual items costing between £100 and £30,000 qualify for protection. Of course, only use a credit card if you know you can comfortably pay for it at a later date.

16. Ask for help when you need it

A lot companies and banks will help you out if you’re struggling to make certain payments. You can find out more about your options and rights at Citizens Advice.

17. Resist email offers by unsubscribing

If you accidentally – or deliberately – signed up to get special offers from some brand you bought one thing from once and you’re tempted by shiny deals all the time, unsubscribe. Use this site to do it easily.

18. Share your subscriptions

Another easy money saving tip is to look at all your entertainment subscriptions – Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ etc. – and see if you can share them amongst friends and family. Most offer a number of users under each subscriber.

19. Check the ‘reduced’ aisle at the supermarket

Those markdown goods are still perfectly fine to eat – they’ll just be close to their sell-by date, so either eat them straightaway or stick them in the freezer for a later date.

20. Sell unwanted things

A wardrobe clear-out is a great way to make some extra money. Sell your never-worn clothes on eBay or Depop – or try a car boot sale with your unwanted bits and bobs. You’ll be surprised what you sell!

21. Don’t heat unused rooms

If you have a spare room that’s rarely used, make sure you turn the radiator down to its lowest setting so you don’t pay for unnecessary heating.