Beat the credit crunch and save money

When people have to tighten their belts, every penny counts – and this spring could herald the start of an extra 410,900 pennies for many Brits.

Spring cleaning your finances is certainly quicker, easier and more profitable than spring cleaning the house, as many Brits could discover.

Tim Moss, head of debt at price comparison site moneysupermarket.com, said: "A family with a typical financial portfolio has the potential to save well over £4,000 in a year by moving away from uncompetitive products. There are many great deals out there, and not just for those with good credit ratings. While mortgages, credit cards and loan applications are helped by your credit score, getting the best home and car insurance, gas and electricity, current account and broadband prices and rates are very easy."

Mortgage

Having a two-year £150,000 fixed-rate mortgage with First Direct at 4.95 per cent instead of with Northern Rock at 6.79 per cent will save you £2,010 a year in repayments, plus First Direct's fee is £497 cheaper.

Loan

A typical three-year £10,000 loan with Tesco at 6.8 per cent will save you £157 per year compared to an Egg loan at 9.9 per cent.

Credit card

If you're the usual type of credit card user, you will probably do a £2,000 balance transfer and then spend about £500 per month. But doing this on most credit cards, where the balance transfer and purchase offers are of different lengths, will potentially hit you with interest charges of over £300 over a year – as occurs with Egg. Halifax One, which offers 12 months on both balance transfers and purchases, will levy no interest.

Current Account

Reviewing your current account deal can prove an easy win, with Alliance and Leicester offering 8.5 per cent, as opposed to HSBC, NatWest and Barclays at 0.1 per cent. With a typical monthly balance of £2,500, you will earn an extra £210 with A& L.

Utilities

With the big six energy giants having shown their hands on price hikes, npower has proved to be the big winner. Its SOL10 tariff is significantly cheaper than every other provider. The 63 per cent of Brits still on a Standard tariff would be well advised to make the move. For example, a medium user of gas and electricity in Newcastle would save £363 by moving from Scottish Power Standard to npower SOL10.

Motor and home insurance

The Association of British Insurers says the average person can save 35 per cent by comparing just five different policies for a single type of insurance. Therefore imagine how much you can save by comparing over 50 providers in a moment. For example, a good 35-year-old driver from Bromley with a 2005 Ford Focus would find a premium of £430 with Marks & Spencer, but £268 with LV=, a saving of £162.

For buildings and contents insurance for a three-bed semi in Milton Keynes, moving from Legal & General at £219 to 1st Quote at £87 will save £132.

Broadband

TalkTalk's Talk 2 International has an 8Mb connection for £5.89 per month, with free evening and weekend phone calls. BT's similar Option 3 product is £21.99 per month, so taking the TalkTalk option will save £193.

Mobile

Mix and Match 500 from 3 gets you 500 minutes or texts to use in any combination for £18 per month – £84 less than Vodafone at £25 per month for 25 fewer minutes.

Tim Moss added: "Traditionally, saving money has meant tightening the purse strings and cutting back on the things you enjoy. But this lucrative financial makeover can be made without changing your lifestyle – all it takes is some easy research to find the best deals. At over £4,100, this should be enough to persuade even the most reluctant saver to start their spring cleaning."