It’s quite simple really; the less you spend, the more you’ll save. And more importantly, the more you’ll be able to put into paying off your debts. The quicker you pay them off, the cheaper it’ll be in the long run and the sooner you’ll be free and able to start building your wealth.

So how do you cut costs without giving up everything you enjoy? Read on and we’ll show you how.

1. Get the essentials for less

2. Save £468 a year

3. Treat yourself without blowing your budget!

Probably one of the least painful ways of saving money is to keep all your essentials, but at a much lower rate. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the amount you can save just by switching to a cheaper version of the same thing. Now, stop huffing and keep reading.

Get the essentials for less

Switch your mortgage

Mentioning the word ‘mortgage’ is usually enough to make even the most cheerful person let out a groan, but paying off this massive debt doesn’t have to be scary and can be a great way of cost cutting.

There’s no reason why you can’t pay off your mortgage much quicker than you first thought – to find out how check out our article on how to pay off your mortgage in double-quick time in four simple steps.

You can also potentially save thousands of pounds a year by switching to a cheaper mortgage deal. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, but you’re not sure about how to go about it then we’d recommend talking to  London & Country. Why?

• Because they’re completely independent so they can offer you totally impartial advice.
• They cover the whole market and even offer exclusive deals you can’t get anywhere else.
• They’ve won more awards than any other broker.
• The service they offer is absolutely 100% FREE.

Get some help and advice from London & Country here.

When it comes to savings accounts, you need to make sure you’re earning the best possible rate of interest – find out which accounts are right for you and which providers are currently offering the best rates here.

If you don’t seem to be able to find any pennies to put away then check out our article on how to save when you don’t have any money!

Cheaper bills

With massive price hikes in gas and electricity, cutting the cost of energy bills really should be a priority -  it pays to check you’re getting the cheapest deal, because it can mean savings of up to £468 a year.

Again, it’s so easy to do that there’s no excuse not to – head to our switching service now to get started. Or, if you’d rather be taken through the process step by step first, read our guide here.

Don’t just stop at your energy provider, shopping around for the best deal really is your biggest weapon, and you should do it for every bill you pay and see how much you can really save. Check out these independent comparison tools to see how much you could save by switching your phone, broadband and home insurance.

If you’ve done all that, you might as well go the whole hog and check out your mobile phone contract. Research from Bill Monitor shows that three-quarters of consumers waste about £200 a year by being on the wrong contract! Make sure you’re not one of them by using Bill Monitor’s service. It analyses your bills and matches you to the right contract according to your usage so you’ll never spend more than you need to again.

Supermarket shopping

Eating food is definitely more fun than shopping for it – but you need to make sure you always get the most for your money. We recommend using Mysupermarket for your weekly shop. You can select your usual supermarket and shop online as you would on their site, but Mysupermarket will compare the prices with other supermarkets as you go.

So if it turns out your Sainsbury’s shop is actually £10 cheaper at ASDA you can simply switch over and have their products in your ‘trolley’ instead – genius!  The other big advanatge to shopping online is that you don’t end up browsing, you just search for products you want which means much less impulse buying than in the supermarket.

Don’t be embarrassed to try the cheaper supermarkets like Lidl and Aldi either – they’re great for saving money on packaged goods like crisps and pasta and you could always buy your fresh goods at your local farmer’s market to save yourself up to 30%.

Check out our article on how to best avoid the sneaky supermarket tricks to find out loads more about how to beat supermarkets at their own game, as well as the secrets to not buying too much and using up leftovers so you don’t throw food away.

If you’re trying to reduce costs but struggle to think of imaginative but cheap meals for your family then Sainsbury’s have just the thing. We’re big fans of their meal planner – five recipes for four people which are easy to whip up and sound delicious. They’ll even give you a shopping list so you know exactly which ingredients to get. Best of all? The whole lot will set you back a mere £20 for the whole week!

Treat yourself without blowing your budget!

Beauty on a budget

For all the latest beauty bargains straight to your inbox, make sure you sign up to our FREE weekly bargain alert. Websites like StrawberryNet and Love Lula have some fantastic top brands of make-up at discounted prices and loads of great offers throughout the year. There’s also FeelUnique and CheapSmells, which offer some fantastic offers on designer make-up and perfumes. Or, why not try your hand at some cosmetic research online and get products for free instead?!

Look at our articles on how to save up to 80% on designer gear , the best money-saving fashion websites, and how to get hot deals with group-buying sites!

Holidays

Getting involved in house swaps can mean you get a cheap, or even free, holiday! Jasmine’s done this herself and thinks it’s a great alternative to expensive hotels. With sites like Holswap.com, Homeexchange.com and Digsville.com, you can find loads of houses and flats all over the world for you to stay in. You normally pay a standard fee of around $50 (about £30) a year to use the website, but think how much you’ll save on accommodation and, in some cases, even transport.

So that’s your accommodation sorted, but you’ve still got worry about getting there. Well, believe it or not there are credit cards out there that will reward your custom with things like free flights. These reward systems offer you money, reward points and sometimes even flights. For more information check out our full article on reward cards here.

If you’re going abroad, make sure you take the right credit card with you, a prepaid credit card like the CaxtonFX Mastercard could be the answer to avoiding fraudsters and helping you to stick to your budget. See out 50 top tips on cutting the cost of your holiday, and find out how to be smart with your holiday money.

Entertainment for less

Websites like Lastminute.com and eBay are great for getting hold of those cheaper tickets to attractions like Alton Towers, plus loads of theatre shows and music concerts. Shopping around for entertainment really is the way forward, why pay £50 for something when you can get exactly the same thing for £20?

If you’re struggling with ideas on how to entertain the kids, here are some cheap (and occasionally free!) holiday activities for children. Also, with the double bank holiday coming up there are loads of great ways to enjoy yourself without the extra expense.  See what you can do for less by reading our cheap entertainment article.

Useful links

• London & Country
• CheapSmells
• CaxtonFX Mastercard
• Lastminute.com
• eBay