Resolutions

Now take a deep breath, 'I resolve to...'  

1.	...finally ditch my crap bank account and earn up to £150. If you didn't switch in 2014 and don't regularly sing your bank's praises you're missing out. Many banks now PAY YOU TO SWITCH with a blatant bribe of free cash. Switching now only takes seven days and it's easy - they move direct debits and standing orders for you and auto-forward any cash paid into your old account. Here are my top picks, full info in Best Bank Accounts. - Free £100 and top customer service. 92% rate First Direct's* service great, plus it has a £250 0% overdraft & a 6% linked regular savings account. - Free £150 & 2% interest. Clydesdale's* £150 switching deal also gives 2% in-credit interest on up to £3,000 (you need to phone to get it) but cust feedback isn't superb. - Free £100 and £5 every month. Halifax* pays £100 for switching, then £5 every month you're in credit - do avoid its overdraft though. - 3% on savings & 3% cashback. Santander 123* pays 3% AER on balances of £3-£20k, and its £2/mth fee is usually easily covered by the up-to-3% cashback it pays on bills. If you've less, see Top Interest Paying Accounts. Shire Piskie tweeted us saying he found switching easy: "Got £125 from First Direct. Used it towards debt. Really easy & pleasantly surprised."
2.	...stop putting off making a will and power of attorney. If you die will-less the 'intestacy' rules decide where your assets go and can mean your long-term partner gets nothing (see who gets what). Hollie emailed us: “Two years on I'm dealing with the fallout from Mum not having a will. Pls get one." So consider making a will - see our Free or Cheap Wills guide. Plus 1 in 3 aged over 65 die with dementia. If you lose your faculties, then it can be a financial nightmare, as it's a hugely difficult and expensive process for someone to take control of your finances. As forumite Norma Desmond found out: "It's a very long, drawn-out and quite intrusive process. It's also expensive. I just wish we'd managed to get power of attorney instead, when Dad was more capable." Get a power of attorney now, it's far easier. Don't worry, it doesn't mean you lose control; it will only kick into place if you lose your faculties.
3.	...earn cashback every time I spend and get £100s/yr back. Cashback credit cards pay you each time you spend on them. Set up a direct debit to repay them IN FULL each month (and never withdraw cash) and there's no interest - it's effectively a debit card that pays you. After that do all normal spending on them and you're quids in. The Amex Everyday* card (eligibility calc) pays a big 5% back (max £100) on ALL spending in the first 3 months, then up to 1.25% after (it's 19.9% rep APR if you fail to fully repay). See Top Cashback Credit Cards (APR Examples). MrBoomBastic tweeted: "I pay for everything on my card, so usually get about £250 a year (paid in November), which I put towards some Xmas food.". Plus combine this with using a top cashback site to earn even more.
4.	...urgently check all direct debits, standing orders & recurring payments. Millions are letting cash unnecessarily drip from their bank accounts paying for things they neither want nor need. It can be obvious things, as with this from David: "So annoyed with my wife, she signed up to a free month of Netflix and direct debits have now been coming out for four months but we've only watched two movies - so that's £12 per time." Or it can be worse, Here's what forumite Tuftyhead accidentally did: “We'd been paying insurance for our daughter's old phone - she upgraded four years before but the direct debit wasn't cancelled. The insurer didn't flag it up and kept taking the money by DD every three months, amounting to nearly £400." Check out our step-by-step Do a Direct Debit Audit guide which shows how to check, plus what and how to cancel (including the nasty 'recurring payments' which aren't listed anywhere).
5.	...spend 5mins to ensure the best exchange rate EVERY time I go abroad. Forget ever going to a bureau de change again. Instead get a specialist travel credit card and you get near-perfect rates in every country, every time you go, at no cost - smashing all other methods. Most credit & debit cards add a 3% load, so spend £100 of euros and it costs £103. Yet specialist cards are load-free worldwide, so you get the same near-perfect rate as the banks. Our top pick specialist card is Halifax Clarity*, which as well as offering fantastic rates on spending also has the lowest ATM charges. Yet the differences are minor so use our overseas card eligibility calc to see which card you're most likely to be accepted for. Just ensure you repay IN FULL every month to minimise interest (Halifax is 12.9% rep APR). More info/best buys in Cheap Travel Cards (APR Examples). Nick Roper tweeted: “We saved around £100 using a Halifax Clarity card on our month-long trip around Europe. It's staggering how the 3% stacks up.”
6.	...stop myself wasting cash buying on impulse. Take a look around your house at how much stuff you have that you've hardly used and wasn't worth it. If you could cut that out in advance, you'd be much better off. I've two money mantras, which have become known as 'Martin's Money Mantras' (isn't alliteration great?) and which are designed to help. - If you're skint: Before you buy anything ask yourself: "Do I need it? Can I afford it? Have I checked whether it's cheaper elsewhere?" - If you're not skint: Before you buy anything, ask yourself: "Will I use it? Is it worth it? Have I checked whether it's cheaper elsewhere?" IF THE ANSWER TO ANY QUESTION IS NO - DON'T BUY IT Many wonder why there's a mantra for those who aren't skint. The key there is "Is it worth it?". After all you may use a £200 pair of shoes, but if they’re worn twice, that’s £100 a wear. Full explanation in Money Mantras or get a Free Wallet Size Mantra Print Out, to see 'em every time you spend.
7.	...snatch back my cash my old energy firm kept when it shouldn't have. If you’ve switched energy in the last five years your old provider may still owe you credit - this can be £100s. Many operated a ‘don’t ask, don’t get’ policy, yet you're still entitled to it. So just call your old provider up and ask for the money back - all the numbers and what to do if they refuse are in Reclaim old energy credit. As forumite Azwilson says: “A 10-minute call on Sat morning after watching Martin’s Friday night show and Scottish Power paid back £270... Kerching!”
8.	...check my mortgage rate immediately, it could save me £1,000s. We're in a weird time. Mortgage rates are still at all-time lows, yet many believe UK interest rates will rise this year. So everyone with a mortgage should check right now if they're on the right deal before the market starts to shift. This is especially true if you're one of the 4 in 10 mortgage holders paying your lenders' SVR (standard variable rate). These now average 4.9%, but can be up to 6%. Current remortgage deals can be 3% cheaper - if you got one that'd save £2,700/yr on a £150k mortgage. Here's the key info... 1) Our new mortgage best buys tool includes all deals available to brokers plus direct deals they can't service and has a unique 'total cost calculation'. 2) The free 60-page MSE remortgage booklet takes you through what to do step-by-step, either get an Instant PDF or Order a free copy. Also available: First-Time Buyers and Buy To Let guides. 3) See our guide to Top Mortgage Brokers for how to get help. Gem says: “I went from 3.99% SVR to 1.89% - cut payments by a third.”
9.	...become a haggler every time I renew a contract. Whether car insurance, broadband, home phone or roadside recovery, if you auto-renew you’re likely paying too much. Companies often just raise prices each year hoping you’ll be apathetic and do nothing. You've two choices: 1) Switch. The best deals are usually reserved for new customers as firms push their marketing budgets into promos. For those see our broadband, car insurance, home phone, digital TV and cheap breakdown cover guides. 2) Stick but haggle. If you're happy with the service, haggle. The powerhouse trick is to threaten to leave so you get put through to disconnections, known internally as ‘customer retentions’, as their job's to keep you. In our poll last month, 86% of Admiral, 86% of Sky and 84% of AA customers who tried to haggle succeeded. For help see our How to Haggle guide. Forumite Ma3140 says: "Called Sky and said I was looking at leaving and taking my TV, broadband and phone to BT or TalkTalk. I was offered a saving of £23.55 per month for a year - a total saving of £283."
10.	...start shopping and saving for Christmas NOW (seriously). Wrapping paper, Xmas cards, decorations and even presents are probably the last things you want to think of right now. Yet real MoneySavers are already on the case, buying dirt-cheap in the Jan sales and putting things in a back cupboard for the key time to save a mint. Plus while Christmas comes once a year, it costs on average £840 per family - too big an expenditure for one month. So put cash aside throughout the year (eg, if you spend £840 it's £70/mth) to avoid the debt or disappointment that not planning in advance often causes. Forumite Madvixen says: "I start my next year's Xmas shopping in the Boxing Day sales and pick up as many presents as I can throughout the year."