10 ways to spring clean your household finances

Five great everyday money-saving tips

1. Make overseas calls for free
   Voice Over Internet Protocol is not a very catchy name, but if you call people overseas, you could make your calls for free. You need to have a computer and internet access, and so does the person you're calling. You both need to download some free software, from Skype or MSN Messenger or Yahoo for instance, connect a headset and microphone to the computer and start to speak.
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   It really is that easy and you only pay normal internet charges. One warning though, companies will often try to suck you in with the free computer-to-computer service and then try to flog you what look like cheap calls from your computer to normal phones overseas, too. Don't bother with this - it's actually cheaper to call another phone from your phone using a normal, cheap overseas phone-call provider.

2. Don't over-insure your building
   One mistake many people make is to over-insure their home. The crucial thing is not to cover the market value of your home, but instead the rebuild value - the amount it'd cost to build it from scratch - which is usually less. The Association of British Insurers (www.abi.org.uk) has an online calculator to help you with this. Simply call your insurer quoting the new value and it should massively cut your costs.

3. Get a grant to be an energy saver
   There are scores of Government and Local Authority grants available to ensure you increase the energy efficiency of your home. This can include having a new condenser boiler paid for, and can be worth thousands of pounds. To find out what's available, the Energy Savings Trust has a great search facility on its website www.energysavingtrust.org.uk

4. Recycle unused mobiles for cash
   There are more than 90 million old and unused mobile phones in the UK, and those that are thrown away are a threat to the environment. Nowadays there are companies that will ask for your mobile make and model and then tell you its cash value. If you agree to sell it, you'll receive a jiffy bag for you to send it to them. You could receive as much as £100. For a full list of companies that do this, visit my website.

5. Cut existing credit-card debt
   If you have debts on your credit card and you're paying the standard interest rate for them, then you need a balance transfer. This means you get a new credit card that pays off your debts on your old credit card for you. You will then owe the new credit card the money, hopefully at a cheaper, special-offer rate. You'll pay much less in interest, and a greater proportion of your payment.