Check you’re in the right council tax band
In 1991 the government launched a new council tax system that required all houses to be put into a band according to the amount of council tax they should pay. Because of the large scale of the job, many houses were put into the wrong band, and even 22 years on many remain in the incorrect one, often paying more council tax than they should. Check you’re in the right band by consulting this guide and do it as soon as possible; you could get a refund dating back to 1993 as well as saving money on your monthly council tax payments.
Remortgage your house
If your mortgage payments are financially dragging you under, you might want to consider remortgaging your home to avoid getting into debt. It’s a fairly big decision to make as you’re lengthening the time it will take to repay your mortgage, but it’s worth getting some advice to see if it’s worth it. Contacting a mortgage broker like Capital Fortune is a good idea, as they’ll be able to give you expert advice and make sure you’re aware of the different options available.
Get rid of your landline
If you pay a monthly mobile phone bill then it’s worth considering getting rid of your landline. Many households pay home phone bills that include charges for calls as part of the inclusive cost. If you’re barely using your landline and have a mobile phone contract with a lot of free call time, it might be time to ditch the landline and just use your mobile instead.
Ditch your digital TV subscription
It used to be the case that if you wanted access to more channels than the standard 1- 5, then you had to sign up to a paid service like Sky or Virgin. The Freeview box put an end to that to some extent, but if you wanted access to many more extra channels you were pretty much cornered into paying for them on a monthly basis. With the introduction of the recording TV box, the appeal of brands like Sky and Virgin grew even more. The good news is the launch of YouView means we can now have access to hundreds of channels, plus all the features Sky+ offers, for a one off payment of £250
