With the credit-crunch leaving most of our wallets feeling lighter than we’d like and Christmas fast approaching, saving money is on everyone’s minds. Whether it’s to afford the presents or keep up with the mortgage repayments, we all have a reason to try and look after the pennies and with that in mind, here are a few tips.

Energy Bills – The price of an average family’s home energy bills have almost doubled in the past year and many are struggling to afford to keep up with their payments. You can save money on your energy bills by simply looking around for the cheapest provider. With energy companies struggling for business in the current market they are constantly offering new deals and you may well find you can save a lot just by price comparing the most popular providers. You can also cut down on your bills by doing the simple things that we’re always encouraged to do such as completely turning off electronics instead of leaving them on standby, and putting on a jumper instead of turning up the heating.

Mortgages – Another worrying side-effect of the credit-crunch is the number of people who are defaulting on their mortgage repayments. Like with energy companies, you can search around for the best mortgage provider to suit you and your income. From fixed rate to variable, the possibilities are numbered and could be the solution you’ve been looking for. Alternatively you can try and structure your budget more effectively to filter out unnecessary expenditure and focus on keeping the repayments up.  Try using Alliance & Leicester’s mortgage calculator to work out your budget in order to make things easier.

Consolidation – We’re always seeing the adverts of companies who offer consolidation services, enabling you to cut down on the number of loan payments each month into single monthly payments spread over a longer period of time. These loans can really help you to have that extra bit of cash when you need it, with companies like Alliance & Leicester, Ocean Finance and Barclays all offering competitive deals.

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