Last Updated on: 21st November 2023, 09:20 pm
Slashing credit card interest payments by switching to a 0% balance transfer card could save £880, on average;
A clear-out of unnecessary direct debt and standing orders could save £360 a year.
GoCompare and weflip have joined forces to find three of the simplest financial New Year’s resolutions, which could save the average person a significant amount of money in 2019 and help them keep on saving year after year.
While the New Year offers us all the chance to start afresh and change bad habits, it can be difficult to stay motivated and many of us are guilty of slipping back into old ways – particularly when it comes to our finances.
As a result, most resolutions end in failure. But not this year!
Most UK households** are stuck on expensive standard variable tariffs (SVTs), and as a result they are paying, on average, £300 per year more than they need to. So, there’s money to be saved, but still most people don’t switch – partly because it’s perceived to be complicated.
weflip is an innovative switching service that automatically keeps households on cheap energy deals. Its ‘sign up once, save forever’ service moves people onto better deals, putting an end to overly-expensive energy bills for good. By automating the switching process, weflip takes the onerous responsibility away from customers, ensuring that poor-value SVTs are avoided and that households are always on great-value energy deals.
Customers simply register their details and provide information including their current supplier, tariff and energy usage – which can all be found on an existing bill. After the initial switch, weflip will take over and continue to scour the market, flipping people to better deals automatically, for life (when a minimum annual saving of £50, inclusive of exit fees, can be made). No further manual comparisons are needed, as weflip does all the work.
For more information on auto-switching and weflip, visit: https://www.weflip.com/.
You can save money on high interest rate charges by transferring your credit card balance to a new card with an interest-free period. You will often (but not always) pay a fee to complete the transfer but the reduced interest payments will far outweigh this cost. For example, the average credit card debt in the UK is £2,663. Transferring this debt to a 0% balance transfer card with an interest free period of 27 months and repaying £100 a month, so the debt is paid off within the interest free period, would save £880 in total.
According to research*** commissioned by GoCompare, on average, people could save £360 a year by going through their current account and credit card statements to identify and cancel subscriptions, direct debits, memberships, standing orders they no longer need or use. However, before cancelling payment for any goods and services you’ve identified as surplus to your requirements, check whether any terms and conditions (such as exit penalties and notice periods) apply and if you have paid several months in advance, whether you are entitled to a refund.
Matthew Sanders, personal finance expert from GoCompare, commented: “New Year is a good time to make changes in our lives. Resolutions are a good start, but good intentions on their own aren’t enough – you need a plan of action to stick to.
“Most resolutions will soon go awry if they were unrealistic, too onerous or require too many sacrifices. But there are easy and practical steps you can take that can improve your finances for the long term – without much effort. So why not add a few easy-wins to your list?”
