The final bank holiday of the summer is just around the corner for most of the UK, presenting another opportunity to tackle those financial tasks that can significantly boost your bank balance.
You certainly won’t want to spend the entire day buried in paperwork, so here are three tasks that could leave you over £1,000 richer and still allow time for a rainy barbecue.
Here are a list of three key tips for instant savings, as suggested by Yahoo Finance.
Save £240 with a direct debit cull.
Direct debits are an excellent way to automate payments, ensuring you never miss a bill. However, they’re also an easy way to forget about a monthly expense, leading to wasted money on things you’d forgotten you were paying for.
If you bank online, these will all be listed on one page, making it typically straightforward to cancel. Just ensure you check whether you need to give the company notice and that you’ve completed any minimum periods first.
Even if you only find a £20 per month subscription you no longer need, this will save you £240 annually.
While you’re examining your direct debits, it’s an ideal opportunity to set one up too. If your cull has freed up some cash, you can divert it into a direct debit to cover your most pressing priority.
This might mean paying down costly short-term debts, building an emergency savings safety net, contributing to a pension, investing in a stocks and shares ISA, or a combination of a few of these things.
Save £470 on your bills by shopping around.
No one disputes that shopping around and switching can be a time-consuming process, particularly when companies make it challenging to cancel or when pricing isn’t as transparent as it should be. However, the potential savings can make the effort worthwhile.
Switching your broadband to a more affordable provider could save you up to £150 annually, according to figures from Hargreaves Lansdown (HL).
Moving to a SIM-only deal on your phone once you’ve paid off your mobile handset as part of your monthly payment could save you £320 annually, and reducing your media package to a streaming service could save £500 annually.
The total savings from all three could reach £970, and even if you’re not willing to give up the extra TV channels, you could still save £470.
Make £419 more by shifting savings.
It’s easy to assume our savings are working hard for us, especially when we review our statements and tally up the interest payments.
However, in recent weeks, savings rates have been on a downward trend – particularly among easy access accounts.
Read more: How to manage your finances like an Olympian.
Banks have been slashing rates for existing savers, and offering lower rates for new customers as well, so your savings may be far less rewarding than you think.
