Martin's Money Makeover Masterclass
21 pain-free ways to slash your spending and save (or gain) £1,000s in 2021
Tax, apps, savings, prescriptions, debt, utilities, TV and more
 

I'm feeling inspired... by Lee-Anne, a struggling Stoke mum, who last week on my ITV show told how she turned her finances around, kindly crediting my tips, explaining how she saved enough to clear £30,000 in debt (video).

So, as it's the last week in Jan, the week many bills hit inboxes and doormats, and before the traditional start-of-year MoneySaving fervour ends, I want to zip you through a pain-free MoneySaving makeover (ie, cutting bills, not cutting back).

Here's my checklist of big and easy savings to ensure your finances are lean and fit for 2021 - do all you've not done yet...

1. Pay energy by monthly direct debit? Your energy provider may owe you £100s. Often energy firms sit on too much of your cash. If so, get it back. My updated Reclaim £100s from energy firms blog shows how. After a quick mention on my show, I was swamped with successes, such as Neal who tweeted: " @MartinSLewis I got a £900 rebate from British Gas after overpaying for 11 months; paid to me within four days."
    
2. Halve broadband costs to £15/mth. Typical savings £150/yr. Many pay £30-£45/mth for the slowest speeds, but you can slice costs by grabbing incentives providers add to short-lived promos. Find which are available in your area via our Broadband Unbundled tool. The top picks right now include:
   
   - 10Mb broadband & line: Plusnet '£14.83/mth'
   - 35Mb broadband & line: Shell Energy '£17.25/mth'
   - 63Mb broadband & line (ENDS FRI): Shell Energy '£19.44/mth'
   
   I've averaged the prices over the contract, including incentives - click the link for a full explanation. PS: Similar's possible with mobiles - use our Cheap Mobile Finder to check.
    
3. By law, it's YOUR job to check your tax code's right, not HMRC's. Millions are wrong - are you owed £1,000s? This is a job employees should do each year. Our Tax Code Calculator will help you through, and can result in big successes, like Liz who emailed: " Martin often says 'check your tax code'. Last week I did and I realised I'd been paying tax twice on taxable benefits for THREE YEARS. Called HMRC and got a rebate of £573."  Also, our Income Tax Calc shows what your take-home pay should be.
    
4. Can't afford to clear your credit card debt? Then you can't afford not to check if you can shift it to 0%.  Savings range from £100s to £1,000s. A balance transfer is where you get a new card that clears debts on existing cards for you, so you owe it instead, but at 0%. That means more of your repayment clears the actual debt, rather than just paying the interest.
   
   Getting accepted is the tricky bit, so use our tool to check which cards you'll likely be accepted for (unlike applying, it won't impact your future creditworthiness). If you've a decent choice of cards, pick the one with the lowest fee in the time you're sure you can repay. Eg, if you can repay quick, get 18mths 0% no-fee. If you need longer, go for 29mths 0%, with a 3% fee. Full help in Top Balance Transfers.
    
5. Required to work from home, even for A DAY, since 6 Apr? Claim a YEAR's tax relief. Rebate worth £60 or £125 - takes less than 2mins. Join the 1.76m that have claimed since we started pushing this. See my Working-from-home tax back blog.
    
6. Got a mortgage? Take 2mins to see if you can take advantage of near all-time low rates. Typical savings £1,000s or £10,000s. Rates are rock-bottom. To do a quick check-up, take 2mins on our Mortgage Best-Buy Comparison to find your top rate. Then use the  Mortgage Calc to see the scale of savings.
   
   If it looks like this will pay, then the real work starts, as the challenge is getting accepted - read the Remortgage Guide for detailed help. It's worth a look, as someone on a 4% standard rate, borrowing £150,000 over 25yrs, could save £2,000 a year switching to the cheapest deal.
    
7. Beware a hidden trio that snaffle money from your account while you sleep... When did you last check what direct debits, standing orders and, worst of all, recurring payments (permission to regularly take money from your plastic) you have set up? This hidden trio often conveniently and cheaply pay necessary bills, but without a regular 'do I still need it?' check, it can be costly.
   
   It may be you're paying for subscriptions that you rarely use or, worse, for things you didn't even know. Carol tweeted: "@MartinSLewis  I thought I'd signed up to a one-off wine delivery, but they'd set up a monthly payment that wasn't obvious on my bank statement. I complained and got £500 back." Check - our Direct Debit Audit guide gives you step-by-step help.
    
8. Most savings interest rates are crap. Check what yours pay and max every penny - anything under 0.5% needs action.  
   Don't just let savings sit earning nothing. First consider using them to clear expensive debts, including your mortgage (our Should I pay off my mortgage with savings? guide takes you through it). And move other money to where it pays most....
   
   - Top normal savings: Easy-access 0.5% | Top easy-access ISA 0.55% | 1yr fix 0.65% | 2yr fix 0.82%.
   - Alternative options: 3% regular savers (on monthly savings) and 2% current account savings (but only on smaller amounts).
   - Premium Bonds: See Are Premium Bonds at 1% worth it? The answer, in a nutshell, is they're currently a decent option if you've £5,000+, or pay tax on savings.
   - Specialist big payers: Help to Save 50% boost (for those on low incomes), Lifetime ISAs 25% boost (for first-time buyers).
    
9. Do you spend more than you earn, or earn more than you spend? Don't guess - know... The MSE Budget Planner spreadsheet, while a little old now, is based on my still rock-solid budgeting theory (if I say so myself), about accurately mapping your genuine incomings and outgoings over a year, then helping assess whether it balances. It can be one of your best time investments, as it paints an honest picture of your finances.
   
   Once you know where you are, the real challenge is sticking to it, so use the piggybanking technique to help enforce self-discipline.
    
10. Energy price hikes of £90/yr due in Apr - spend 5mins on our whole-of-market energy comparison now. Savings range £100-£400/yr. We'll hear officially next week what's happening to the energy standard tariff direct debit price cap, but it's almost certain to rise by about £90/yr on 1 Apr (though this ISN'T factored into any comparison savings you see, so add it in your head).
    
    Switch to a fix now though and you won't be hit by it. Most popular option: Use the MSE Pick Me A Tariff tools, either just for now or opt to allow us to autoswitch you each year. Do it yourself: Or use our full market comparison. PS: More info on a new British Gas tariff below.
     
11. Ever thought of axing the apps? Amazon, eBay, Asos etc. If you worry you're not in control of your spending, then a little friction goes a long way. Delete the apps off your phone to make impulse shopping take a little longer - delay can pay, as it gives you a bit of breathing space. And try our Demotivator tool to show how small spending cuts can make big savings.
     
12. Car insurance prices are on the rise - can you slash £100s off, even if not at renewal?  The cheapest time to do a price comparison is 20 to 26 days before renewal (later and you're seen as a higher risk, pushing prices up). Yet with prices rising, it's worth everyone checking; if you're midway through a policy, as long as you've not claimed, you can usually get a refund for the rest of the year minus a £50ish admin fee, which may add up.
    
    To check, combine as many comparison sites as you can - they don't cover the same firms, so use a few. Our current order is MoneySup*, Confused*, Compare TM* and Gocompare* (see how we rank 'em). Then  add in Direct Line* as it's not on comparisons, and check our hot deals comparisons miss.
    
    For far more help, and ways to slash costs, including if you're struggling due to Covid-19, see our FULL car insurance cost-cutting system and young drivers' car insurance cost-cutting.
    
    PS: Check our cheap home insurance cost-cutting system too.
     

13. Imagine if you got an annual supermarket shopping bill - it'd cost £1,000s. We don't think of our grocery shop as a utility bill, but it'd help if we did. It'd reveal why small weekly savings matter. Cut costs by £5 a week, and that's £260 a year. There are many hidden gems (and I don't mean lettuce) in our 30 Supermarket & Grocery Tips.

14. Are you like Robbie and Zayn? In the wrong band that is... check if you can lower your council tax by £1,000s. Way back in 2007, before the first grey hairs came, I first came up with my council tax check & challenge system, but there are still likely 100,000s of homes in Eng & Scot in the wrong band.
    
    Successes come in all the time, such as Denise: "Thanks Martin. I successfully challenged my council tax banding and am just waiting for a £1,600 rebate to hit my account."
    
    Plus there are a host of council tax discounts available for those who live alone (or only with under-18s), students, those with severe mental impairments, disabilities and more. See Can I get a council tax discount?

15. Don't just renew your TV and broadband package... HAGGLE. Many with digital TV are happy with what they get, just not the price (though auditing what channels you really use is always a good plan).
    
    This is where haggling comes in - if you're at the end or out of contract, call up and you can often massively cut costs. In our poll, more than 70% of those who tried with Virgin, Sky, BT and TalkTalk got discounts, like Karen who emailed: "Thanks for your advice to haggle over Sky TV. Was paying £117/mth, now £54/mth, so a saving of £756/yr and they upgraded all rooms to Sky Q."
    
    Yet it's all about charm, chutzpah, research and knowing what to ask for - see our top tips in TV haggling tips.

16. Halve breakdown cover costs - full service from £58/yr. If you aren't loyal to the big firms, big savings are possible. Two firms offer cover for any car under 15yrs old that you/your spouse (or civil/common law partner) drive, including home breakdown and onward travel. Newcomer Eversure* (we've limited feedback - do let us know) at £57.50/yr has just undercut our past long-term winner AutoAid* at £59.99/yr. Similar AA cover is £150+/couple. Full help in Cheap Breakdown Cover.
    
    If you want to stick with AA/RAC, always HAGGLE at renewal. In our latest poll, more than 80% of those who tried succeeded, such as Audrey who emailed: "My RAC breakdown renewal was £281. I told them I couldn't afford it and, after a couple of tweaks, my renewal price came down to £81. Thank you for giving me the confidence." See Breakdown Cover Haggling.

17. Netflix can now cost more than a TV licence - can you cut the cost? More than 15m homes in the UK now have Netflix, and with its recent hike, its premium package costs more in a year than the TV licence. So check out our 18 Netflix Hacks to see if you can cut costs, and our Do I need to pay the TV licence? guide too.
     
18. Can you cut your loan's cost to 2.8%? Some with loans can get a new one to clear it and cut costs, as Sean emailed: "Two years ago, we took out an 11.9% loan. After reading your guidance, we got a new 5.9% loan to pay it off, saving £2,164 in interest. Thanks." Yet early repayment fees mean it's not just a case of getting a cheaper APR. Instead:
    
    a) Ask your lender for a settlement figure, ie, how much it'll cost to clear the loan, including all fees.
    b) Use our Loans Eligibility Calc to see what the cheapest loan you can get to pay that amount off is, and work out what that'll cost.
    c) Compare that to sticking with the current loan (by multiplying months left by the monthly cost). If the new loan's cheaper, switch. More help in Cut existing loan costs.
     
19. It only takes a minute, girl, (boy and everyone else) to see if switching to a water meter will save you cash. Typical saving £50-£300/yr. It may not be lyrical, but MoneySaving is always poetry in my book. You can't switch supplier, but many in Eng & Wales can get a water meter free. There's a calculator to help - see water meter savings calc.
     
20. Do you get prescriptions regularly? More than 1m could have saved by getting a prepay certificate. If you're in Eng and get on avg at least one prescription a month, you can likely cut the cost with prepay prescription certificates. Our freedom of info request shows more than 1m would have in the 2019/20 financial year.
     

21. And finally... if you're struggling with serious debt, make an appointment with a non-profit debt counsellor ASAP.  If you're in debt and it feels like a crisis, don't DIY, get help.
    
    This is most pertinent if your non-mortgage and non-student loan debts are bigger than a year's after-tax income OR you can't meet your minimum repayments OR you're having sleepless nights over debt.
    
    Go to a non-profit debt advice agency. They're always rammed at this time of year, so book an appointment ASAP. There's free, one-on-one help from Citizens Advice, National Debtline, CAP and StepChange, which also runs an online debt advice service . Full info in Debt Crisis Help.

These are just the tip of the iceberg - for far more, see the full MSE Money Makeover guide.

In this week's show, I'll take you through the secrets to slashing home and car insurance costs - the weird counter-logical ways the industry works, which once you get it slashes £100s off your bill. Plus of course my latest News-You-Can-Use, the week's don't-miss financial briefing.

And of course, as it's live you can tweet suggested questions to @MartinSLewis, but please use the show's hashtag #MartinLewis. Do tune in or set the Betamax.