As Christmas approaches we are all feeling the effects of the Crunch. Here are 25 tips to help save a few quid here and there. Remember, the saving really do start to add up once you start putting a little effort in.

1. Ditch your expensive card (APR 20%+) and switch to a 0% credit card with a low interest rate after the "free period" has expired using sites such as uSwitch.com. Transfer your balance and pay no interest - you'll be amazed at how much you can save. A word of warning, some balance transfer fees are getting very expensive and can negate the savings made through paying no interest!
   
2. Switch your household energy supplier or suppliers using a service such as Uswitch.com - extra savings to be made if you combine your electricity and gas supplier and pay by direct debit. Many customers can save as much as £150 a year by switching
   
3. Consolidate your debts into one loan - find the cheapest ones (APRs from 6%) using search sites such as Uswitch.com
   
4. If the tyres on your car are under-inflated, they're eating up fuel and your money. Also remove your roof-rack and try not to use the air-condition in the summer
   
5. A five-minute shower uses around a third less water than a bath, though remember a power shower can use more water than a bath in less than five minutes
   
6. Don’t leave appliances on standby - up to 10% of the total electricity used in your home is due to appliances left on standby
   
7. Turning the thermostat down by one degree C can cut more than 10% from the average central heating bill
   
8. Organise your own travel insurance after you've booked your package deal or holiday break. Comparison sites will search thousands of policies and come back with the best deal. Tip: Buy an annual travel insurance policy if you're planning more than one trip abroad a year
   
9. Sell your clutter on auction sites like eBay or eBid
   
10. Thinking of upgrading to broadband, or is your current ISP anything but high speed? Find the best deal for you using Uswitch.com Good unlimited packages are available from as little as £8.49 a month
    
11. Is your monthly mobile bill out of control? Compare tariffs using sites such as uSwitch.com
    Use price comparison sites like Kelkoo to compare products at different retailers. Hundreds of pounds can be saved - especially on more expensive electrical items
    
12. If the tyres on your car are under-inflated, they're eating up fuel and your money. Also remove your roof-rack and try not to use the air-condition in the summer
    
13. There's no need to buy new books - borrow them from your local library. Remember, they can order new titles for you!
    
14. Switch your mortgage - especially if you are on a relatively high interest deal (5%+ on a repayment mortgage). Switching bank or building society could slash your monthly repayment by hundreds of pounds. See for yourself using a comparison site
    
15. Avoid using fee-charging cash machines. Think ahead and use cashback in supermarkets or withdraw cash from bank cash machines which must tell you if a fee is charged. It's crazy to pay as much as £1.50 to withdraw £20 cash!
    
16. Switch your home phone supplier and save up to 90% on your calls using services such as Uswitch.com
    
17. Shop around before renewing your motor or household insurance. Pay up front if you can - otherwise chose a monthly plan with a low annual percentage rate - some APRs can be as high as 25%!
    
18. Take a shower - a bath can use up to five times more water. Tumble driers are big consumers of electricity - if you have a garden, dry your clothes for free!
    
19. There's no need to fill your kettle right up if you're just having a cuppa. Half fill it - it will boil quicker and use a lot less energy in the process.
    
20. Look out for free coupons, online vouchers, discount codes before buying products or booking trips on the internet. Try sites like Couponstar, Free in UK and VoucherCodes.com
21. Are you making enough use of your gym membership? Are you watching all the sports and movie channels on your Sky TV package? Think about your monthly commitments.
    
22. When did you last check to see how competitive your mobile phone contract or pay-as-you-go deal is? See what you can save here
    
23. Go to the cinema on Wednesdays if you've got an Orange mobile phone and take advantage of 2-for-1 tickets
    
24. Unexpected central heating and broken boiler bills can throw you right off course - shop around for insurance cover

We all have to start somewhere

Hi All,

Most of you are probably thinking that there are far too many sites telling you how to beat the credit crunch. You are probably right. Firstly, as far as I am concerned you cannot "beat" the Credit Crunch but it is certainly possible to survive it. I hope this site will evolve into a site that offers a personal insight into the effects of the Credit Crunch, and hopefully will also offer some content from other readers once I manage to get a small reader base going.