Five strategies for reducing your domestic bills in 2016

Reducing your household expenditure does not necessarily mean you will have to make do with less; indeed, there are a number of ways in which you can trim your budget without reducing your quality of life.

1. Get online

Utility companies will often pass on the savings they make when you sign up for paperless billing, which is definitely worth doing. You should see a reduction of around £5 a year and you can also bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to protect the environment.

2. Loyalty does not always bring rewards

In 2016, make a resolution to ring the changes when it comes to your phone and utility providers. Many of us stay with the same companies year after year, missing out on the best deals by doing so. It is much easier than you may imagine to swap from one provider to another and it is well worth checking out the alternatives. Don’t let apathy cost you money!

3. Overhaul your boiler

An inefficient boiler could be substantially pushing up your energy bills; therefore, getting your current boiler serviced or replaced by a registered professional such as www.1stadvanced.co.uk could save you a decent amount of cash in the long term. The Gas Safe Register lists qualified engineers who are registered to work on Haslemere boilers and gas appliances across the country.

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4. Switch to direct debit where possible

Arranging automatic payments makes life far simpler, both for you and your providers. This is reflected by the fact that it generally costs less to pay by direct debit. You could save a considerable amount of money every year if you set up direct debits for all your regular bills; for example, you could save around £100 on each of your utility bills per annum, which adds up to a significant saving. You can learn more about the direct debit scheme on the Bacs website.

5. Check your policies

Even if you decide to stick with your providers, it is a good idea to read through your policies to see whether there are any tweaks you could make that might reduce the overall costs; for example, you might find that increasing the amount you are prepared to pay for your car insurance excess could lower your premiums significantly.