Stop wasting cash NOW. Here's our crash course to start the '20s with 20 tips to make or save £1,000s
 

Happy New Year. Let's cut to the chase... many are skint after Christmas or will have made resolutions to sort their finances. So we want to (fiscally) set you up for the next decade, and our tips across many of your biggest outgoings, plus ways to make or reclaim cash, will get you going as quickly as possible.

Regulars may know all this, but we make no apology for repeating it in case you need a gentle nudge (or an elbow to the gut). This is just the start, as each week in Jan we'll go through lots of these topics in more depth in this email (do suggest friends sign up to it).

1. INCOME TAX. Millions of tax bills are wrong - check yours in a few secs. That's because huge swathes of tax codes that tell employers how much tax to take from you are incorrect. It's your responsibility to check, and to help we've a handy Tax Code Calculator.
    
2. ENERGY. Switch and save £340+/yr in the same time it takes to make a cup of tea.  As it's winter, ensure you're on the best deal. That's crucial as 50%+ are on pricey Big 6 standard tariffs, paying an avg £1,178/yr on typical use.
    
   If, like many, you prefer a big name, there are fixed-rate deals that smash standard rates by an avg £300/yr. Two of those deals - a British Gas 1yr fix and an EDF 1yr fix - are for new AND existing customers, while E.on's 1yr fix is for newbies only. But they're only available via comparison sites such as our Cheap Energy Club. Links take you to our club for full info, plus you can compare against other biggies, as your winner depends on usage and where your live.
   
   If you just want the cheapest, you can slash an avg £340/yr vs those Big 6 standard rates with some smaller firms. If you're prepared to go for a minnow, do a full market comparison. Comparing and applying to switch is easy. In previous tests we've done, it's taken the same time as making a cup of tea at just under four mins.
    
3. CAR INSURANCE. Take 10 mins to see if you can save £100s, even if not at renewal. The key is to NEVER auto-renew as insurers rely on people's laziness to jack up prices - instead, always compare. You normally get the best prices 3-4 weeks before renewal, so diarise to get quotes then or go ASAP if you're within four weeks already.
   
   Yet if you already pay through the nose and you're midway through a policy, it may still pay to switch even after a £50ish admin fee provided you've not claimed. When you're ready...
   
   (i) Use comparison sites to check dozens of insurers in mins - they don't cover the same firms, so check a few. Our current order is MoneySupermarket*, Confused.com*, Compare The Market* and Gocompare*.
   (ii) Biggies Direct Line* and Aviva* aren't on comparisons, so try 'em.
   (iii) Check hot deals comparisons miss, eg, a £60 M&S voucher. See our car insurance cost-cutting system for more.
    
4. WATER. Are you pouring money down the drain? A simple calculator checks if you can save with a water meter. You can't switch supplier to save, but some may be better off with a meter - see how to check if you can slash your water bill.
    
5. BROADBAND & LINE. It takes just five mins to slash bills, and there's the NEW cheapest fast fibre since May at '£15/mth'. Many pay up to £45/mth for the slowest broadband speeds, but hot, short-lived promos can help you dramatically slice costs, such as these new-customer deals. However, both Post Office deals end next Thu and Vodafone ends on Sun, so they won't be around long.
   
   Links take you via our Broadband Unbundled tool to check your eligibility as they're postcode-dependent. It's packed with lots more deals if you can't get these.
   
   - Standard broadband speed, avg 11Mb: Post Office '£11.74/mth'
   - New. Fast fibre, avg 38Mb: Post Office '£15.49/mth'
   - Ends Sun. Even faster fibre, avg 63Mb: Vodafone '£17.45/mth'
   
   For lots more help, see how switching works, what speed you need and more broadband cost-cutters.
    
6. BENEFITS. Some with family income up to £73,000/yr are entitled. Try our five-min checker to see if you're missing out. With £20bn still unclaimed in means-tested benefits, use our Benefits Calc. 
    
7. MOBILES. Pay £10+/mth for mobile use? STOP. If you're out of contract and happy with your handset, you can probably slash costs with a new Sim - the chip in your phone that dictates your allowances. And there are a host of deals at many data levels for no more than £10/mth below. They're for new customers of that firm only, and while the cheapest are from ID and Smarty, which use the Three network, we've included alternatives if Three isn't for you.
   
   - 3GB, 500 mins & unltd texts: £7/mth from iD Mobile*
   - 5GB, unltd mins & texts: £8/mth from Vodafone* (UK use only)
   - Ends Tue. 6GB, unltd mins & texts: £7.50/mth from Smarty*
   - 8GB, unltd mins & texts: £10/mth from Vodafone* (UK use only)
   - 30GB, unltd mins & texts: £10/mth from Smarty*
   
   All ID and Smarty Sims are 1mth contracts, so you can cancel at any time. With Vodafone, they're 12mth contracts. See our Best Sim only deals guide for more options and help.
    
8. PETROL & DIESEL. Drive down costs in secs. It's dead simple via a  nifty tool that finds the cheapest filling station near you. We found petrol in Durham ranging from 122.9p to 142.9p. Also see Seven fuel-efficiency tips.
    
9. SUPERMARKET SHOPPING. Don't be a brand snob and go wild in the aisles to save £1,000+/yr. Supermarkets are geniuses at making us spend cash on stuff we don't need, and they don't always make discounts easy to find.
   
   To fight back, we've 33 Supermarket Tips incl how to play the Downshift Challenge by going a brand level lower (sometimes with little taste difference) and how to max discounts.
    
10. BOOST YOUR INCOME. There are scores of legit ways to earn extra cash. See our Boost Your Income guide for 60+ tips, including renting out your parking space, flogging your wedding dress and getting paid to spot job ads.
     
11. COUNCIL TAX. Don't assume you're in the right band. A 10-min check & challenge could save you £1,000s. We often hear from users who've successfully lowered their band, thus paying £100s/yr less going forward and getting backdated payouts worth £1,000s. As 100,000s of homes are likely to be banded incorrectly, see our council tax rebanding system, which also includes the risks. Denise emailed: "Thanks Martin. I successfully challenged my council tax banding and am just waiting for a £1,600 rebate to hit my account."
     
12. EBAY SELLING TRICKS. How to get max cash for your cast-offs. Whether you've unwanted pressies or plan to/have had a New Year clear-out, see our 48 selling tricks for eBay and more. Joanne emailed:  "Thanks MSE. I've made £100s on eBay, selling everything from board games to Beano comics and old crockery. Really easy."
     
13. MORTGAGES. Rates are close to all-time lows - quick research could help save you £1,000s. Both 2yr and 5yr fixes are seriously cheap,  yet 1.4m languish on their lender's expensive standard variable rate.
    
    Someone on the avg 4.24% SVR borrowing £150,000 over 25yrs would save around £5,300 over 2yrs (after all fees) by switching to the best 2yr fix of 1.29%. Read our Remortgage Guide for help and use our  Mortgage Best Buys tool to benchmark the best rates.
     
14. TV BILLS. Don't switch off and let them charge top dollar. Haggle your way to a better deal. With TV, there aren't many standout deals right now, so haggling is often your best way to net a bargain. The good news is TV firms are among the easiest to haggle with.
    
    In our Sep poll, 85% of Sky custs who voted said they haggled successfully, followed by Virgin (82%), BT (80%) and TalkTalk (80%). See TV haggling help and don't pay for channels you never watch.
     
15. GYMS. How to shed pounds for free. If you never actually go, you shed the wrong kind of pounds, so STOP. If you'll really go, we've a full training session in how to get a cheap gym membership, including free passes and no-frills centres from £10/mth.
     
16. DIRECT DEBITS. Do an audit and cancel unused subscriptions. Many pay for things they never use, which may include some of the stuff above or magazine subscriptions, other memberships etc. For inspiration, see our Direct Debit Audit Guide.
     
17. BANK FEES. Check if you're due £1,000s for mis-sold 'packaged bank accounts'. These are where you pay a monthly fee, largely for insurance perks. While such accounts can win for some, they have also been wrongly flogged to others. We've had lots of successes from people using our FREE reclaim guide and tool, incl Lynne: "A huge thank you MSE. I used your tool and within a week I got £4,400."
     
18. CHILDCARE COSTS. Are you missing out on £1,000s?  Many parents do just that when help is available for after-school clubs, activities, childminders, school holiday camps and more. Some schemes cover older kids (11+), so get help via our Childcare Costs guide.
     
19. BUDGETING. Work out if you spend more than you earn (not quick, but vital). Our free Budget Planner spreadsheet helps you analyse your finances to work out your genuine incomings and outgoings over a year (or other timeframe), which can be an eye-opener for some. It needs some effort to do it properly, but if you're still off work or have the time anyway it can be one of your best investments (of time) if it helps you stave off financial strife.
    
    Many tell us it's been the kick up the bum they've needed to start cutting bills or even cutting back. Plus our Demotivator tool shines a bright light on how much small daily spends, such as coffees or cigarettes, really add up to over a year.
     
20. SERIOUS DEBT. Make an appointment with a debt adviser ASAP if you're struggling. If your non-mortgage and non-student loan debts are bigger than a year's after-tax income, you can't meet your minimum repayments or you're having sleepless nights over debt, a non-profit debt advice agency is the place to turn.
    
    They get rammed in Jan, so book an appointment ASAP. There's free, one-on-one help from Citizens Advice, National Debtline, and StepChange, which also runs an online full debt advice service that operates 24/7. Full info in Debt Crisis Help.
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Over to Martin: "On Tue 7 Jan, to restart the series (which continues the following Mon), we've a 1hr live bill-busting special, where I'll run through how to slash £1,000s off the cost of all household bills. Plus as always it's an 'ask me anything' - so if you have a question on anything (well, almost), you can get in touch live. Do watch, or set your VCR."