How to take control of cash

Most people know how much they earn, but not how much they spend. Unless you balance this financial see-saw you don't really understand your finances.

Therefore, it's important to do a budget to calculate whether you're in what the government calls "a deficit" - in other words, overspending. If you are, it either eats up savings, or worse, builds debts.

The problem is most budgets don't work. They tend to just look at a snapshot of one month's expenditure which misses out big annual spends like Chanucah and summer holidays - plus the categories are too broad; don't think "motoring" instead think MOTs, car insurance, petrol, breakdown cover and more. Break it into small categories.

To help, my free www.mse.me/BudgetPlanner does it for you. Once it's done, use it to work out where you'll save cash or cut back so you can balance the books.

Pay off debts with savings

If you have a £1,000 debt on a typical 18 per cent interest credit card, it'd cost you £180 a year. If you had the same in the best interest-paying account (Santander 123's 3 per cent), you'd earn 2.4 per cent a year after tax (or £24 a year). So pay off the credit card with the savings and you'd be £156 a year better off.

Many people object to this, thinking "I still need some savings for an emergency", yet that can be a false economy. For example, if you used your savings to clear a credit card debt, then hit a true emergency, you could simply use the plastic to cover that. That would leave you in the same situation but you'd have cut the interest meanwhile.

A similar theory works on mortgages - if your mortgage interest rate is higher than the after-tax rate you earn on savings, then it makes sense to clear the mortgage rather than save, too. Yet there are complexities here, so do read www.mse.me/MortgageVSavings first.

Don't put pedal to the metal

While petrol prices have fallen, it's still a hefty sum to fill up a tank. Use www.petrolprices.com to find the cheapest forecourts but, for a bigger impact, change how you drive.

Think of your car's accelerator as a money pump. The harder you press it, the more you spend. Changing up gear sooner, keeping the rev lower, and speeding up gradually, massively improves fuel economy.

Plus, remember when you brake you're burning fuel you paid to put in the car. I'm not saying don't use it, just that good road positioning means you can slow down gradually instead of suddenly, and that's safer and more efficient. Combined, these tips can lower petrol costs by over 20 per cent.

Don't overpay for energy bills

The vast majority of UK customers are still on their energy firm's standard tariff. With typical usage this means you're overpaying by £200-plus a year. It only takes a few minutes to plug in your details and find your cheapest alternative (there's no single preferred option as it depends on where you live and how much you use). My www.cheapenergyclub.co.uk will find your cheapest, then monitor it to alert you when that's no longer your cheapest.

cut the cost of debts for the long term

Don't pay more than you need to on credit-card debt. A balance transfer is where you get a new card that pays off the debts on old cards so you owe it instead, but at a cheaper interest rate. You can now shift debts for up to 34 months interest fee, though you will pay a one off fee of around 3 per cent, still, over that period you'd save £1,000-pus on a typical £3,000 debt. Just ensure you aim to clear the debt in full or balance transfer again before the 0 per cent ends, and never miss a minimum repayment or you can lose the 0 per cent deal.

Don't just apply willy-nilly though, as each application marks your credit file. You can use my balance transfer eligibility calculator which shows which of the top cards you're most likely to get. It's at www.mse.me/BTeligibility.

become a cashback connoisseur

If you're shopping, go through a website like www.quidco.co.uk or www.topcashback.co.uk and they give you cashback for many retailers.

This is done because they're paid affiliate commission for sending traffic to those sites and they share it with you. The cashback is never 100 per cent guaranteed, but it works pretty well.

Stop letting energy firms rip you off

If you've switched energy in the past five years, your old provider may still owe you credit. Many operated a "don't ask, don't get" policy. So call up and ask. And remember, if your energy company doesn't treat you correctly make a formal complaint. If that doesn't work you've a right to take it to www.ombudsman-services.org which is free.

Prepare for next Chanucah NOW

Buy your cheap wrapping paper, cards, Chanucah candles and even presents right now while they're still on sale. By comparison, Christmas costs an average £840 per family. Don't compete or pay for the festival out of one month's salary. Put aside £70 a month and you'll have the money ready.

This week's offer

Vision Direct 10 per cent off. Enter the code LENSES32 online at Vision Direct to get 10 per cent off until Jan 31. Delivery £2.99, new customers only (www.visiondirect.co.uk).