How I cut £1,500 off my bills in my lunch hour

I've always maintained that I live by what I tell people on my site. From money saving to financial planning what I write about works. My aim is to show everyone how to do the same for FREE.

But I always give practical steps as to how you can achieve this. I can't stand sites that preach rather than provide solutions. So this post is proof of
my solution based ideal.

Below I explain how I saved £1,439.70 in one lunch hour, not to boast but to show you a) how I did it plus how easy it is and b) explain how you can do the same. So what are you waiting for? Grab a sandwich, turn on your pc as there's money to be saved.

1 - £250 saving on gas and electricity

After reviewing my gas and electricity supplier I ended up fixing my bill with Scottish Power, saving over £200 and securing £50 cashback for my troubles. But should gas and electricity prices rise before next winter (which they inevitably will) i'll save even more money. You can do the same by following my guide “6 ways to cut your energy bills” which take you through how to compare the best deals out there for you.

2 - £527 saving on car and breakdown insurance

When my car insurance renewal quote came in at £792 my jaw hit the floor. At the same time I received an annual breakdown cover renewal notice for £150. A grand total of £942. But with about 20 minutes work and a couple of tricks I managed to get car insurance and breakdown cover for a total of £415. A total saving of £527. I give you a step by step guide how I did it here

3 - £62.70 saving on prescriptions

My regular twitter followers will have seen me going on about the cost of prescriptions. If you have to pay for them, i.e. you are not exempt, they cost £7.65 each in England. If like me you have a sudden illness which requires a
series of regular prescriptions you may benefit from purchasing a NHS prescription prepayment certificate which covers all prescription charges for a set period. I purchased a 3 month prepayment certificate in 5 mins online for £29.10, saving myself £62.70. You can also best back date the certificate start date and reclaim any recent prescription charges you've already paid. See my article 'How to cut your prescription costs – Money tip #185' for more details.

4. £600 saving on child care costs

If your employer is signed up to the national scheme you could swap some of your gross salary for tax-free vouchers (childcare vouchers), up to certain limits, to pay for nursery care and pre and post-school club fees for children aged up to 15 (until 1st September following their 15th birthday), or 16 if they are disabled (until 1st September following their 16th birthday). Paying for childcare via childcare vouchers means that the cost is reduced due to the savings made on income tax and national insurance. This could be as much as £1,866 a year if you join now. I used this to save £600 on childcare for my toddler. Read my post 'How to cut childcare costs by £1,866 a year – Money tip #195'.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg of what you can achieve and save in small periods of time. If you've now got the bug why not read my other Lunchtime Money Makeovers or sign up to my FREE email course. The latter consists of 6 weekly emails which will hand hold you through

• Budgeting & Benefits
• Cutting your bills
• Becoming debt free
• Mortgage & Savings
• Insurance policies
• Investing & Retirement planning

 

Sign up here.