Beat the credit crunch by shopping around for financial products

Moneyextra.com’s latest quarterly review of financial services highlights the savings available just by making the right financial decisions.

The total annual savings available by replacing near-worst with near-best products across a range of financial services is £4,594.86. That’s almost £370 more than the savings available in the previous quarter.

Robin Amlôt of Moneyextra.com comments, “Despite the credit crunch, it’s not only possible to make and save more money by choosing the right products, you can make and save even more now than you could three months ago!”

Shopping around for the right mortgage continues to pay the biggest dividends, with annualised potential savings of £3,000, putting another £144 a year back in your wallet despite a shrinking mortgage market.

Elsewhere, the potential savings for personal loans have jumped (76%) but that move reflects sharply higher costs at the bottom end of the loan market-place as some lenders reprice their risk post-credit crunch and move loan interest rates higher.

The savings available on personal loans (£9,000 over 60 months) have risen to an annualised £476.88, up from £269.88 three months ago. While rates on the very best loans are fractionally higher, rates on offer at the lower end of the market have risen by several percentage points.

In other financial products, Moneyextra’s figures also show that the right term assurance is getting cheaper with potential savings rising from £134.04 to £139.44 a year.

Robin Amlôt adds, “For those looking for a really interesting savings account, the difference between near-worst and near-best returns on £5,000 in an instant access savings account is now £300 a year. In fact, choosing the right savings account means you’d be getting thirteen times more interest!”