Sell your unwanted items on auction websites. Everyone has a stash of clothes they never wear and products they have never used, and you could make a killing selling yours. Just make sure you don't get side-tracked buying yet more unwanted items.

It's not just holidays that are cheaper if you book them in advance. You can get great cut-price deals on theatre tickets and theme parks if you hunt around on travel booking websites. If you are looking for a travel deal, TravelConnect.co.uk has a weekly Top 10 Travel Deals section.

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Stop smoking. Besides feeling and looking better, if you usually smoke 20 a day you'll also save a whopping £2,000 a year.

Cancel your gym membership if you're not using it regularly - even if you've been promising you will. Instead, walk or cycle to work, or buy your own exercise machine. In three months you'll have saved enough to afford one anyway.

Use your library instead of buying books. Besides novels, you'll save a fortune on guide books, cook books, manuals and even CDs and DVDs. If you do find a book you love enough to read again, then you can always buy it.

Buy all your clothes and presents during the sales. That way, Christmas and forgotten birthdays will be stress-free and a lot cheaper. But make sure you only buy items during sales that you've been meaning to get anyway. Avoid items you didn't realise you needed until now!

If, and only if, you read a magazine every month without fail, subscribing will save you a lot of cash off the cover price. Look around for the best deal. They are usually offered inside the magazine rather than from another source.

Don't buy 'incentive' clothes you're sure you'll fit into as soon as you lose that last five pounds. You won't. You'll end up with a pile of expensive clothes that are completely useless.

Park where you don't have to pay for parking. Even better if it's further away - more free exercise.

Wash your own car. It doesn't seem like much to shell out as much as £20 to get your car washed and waxed every couple of weeks, but having a sparkling car doesn't have to cost you over £500 a year. And doing it yourself? You guessed it, more free exercise.

Claim back your bank charges. If you've been slapped with a £30 fine for going a couple of quid over your overdraft, your bank could owe you money. While there is a legal wrangle still taking place between the banks and the courts over who is in the right, it can't hurt to try and claim them back. Thousands of others already have.

All you have to do to start the process is to write to your bank. It may seem like an effort, but if you add up all the times your bank has overcharged you, the amount they owe you could be well worth it!

For more money saving and personal finance tips, advice, news and videos, visit www.financedaily.co.uk

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