The double glazing in many homes is now becoming quite elderly, and with some early units with only a 6mm gap between the panes it may well be that many householders should be considering whether replacing their old units for more energy efficient ones may well be an investment.

It’s not just the fitting energy efficient windows saves more energy and therefore leads to smaller bills it also is about enjoying having warmer rooms and no more draughts. Even less of the heat that you put into the room will be dissipated through the glass and more stays in the room.

Older double glazing units will also begin to fail and become steamy, and at this stage the value to the home in energy saving is much reduced – not to say the overall aesthetics seriously compromised as the vision through the glass decreases.

It really will be worthwhile to get some double glazing quotes from different companies to find out the cost of replacement units. The wider the gap in the units (modern ones will be 12mm or 16mm) the more the unit will cost and the provision of different types of glass for example, self cleaning) will also affect the price. It will be possible to look at replacement as an investment over a period of time – and even look at replacement in the rooms you put them most heat in, or where the units are most clouded. Done over a period of time the cost will be manageable – and the savings will also have an overall impact in the long term.

It is now pretty generally realised that you can make substantial savings on your weekly shopping bill by switching the largest part of your shopping at the cheap supermarkets. You will find that many key items will cost around a third or half of the prices of the bigger supermarkets. Most people find that though the choice of goods is often limited, and may only be own branded goods, the overall quality is excellent and as good if not better than some bigger and more expensive supermarkets. Usually people find that they can do their basic food shopping at the cheap supermarket – the vegetables will most likely be class 1 and around half the price you used to pay – and then top up for specific items they don’t stock at their usual supermarket. They will also find that alcohol (such as wine) is a reasonable price and good quality, and there are many bargains to be found in household goods and personal goods- though they are unlikely to be stocked more than a week or two.

Another tip to save money on grocery shopping is to look at the clearance shelves at your supermarket – many goods are fine near or just past their sell by date and some real bargains can be found which does not involve compromising on quality.

If you want to do all your shopping at one supermarket then it is worth trying your supermarkets own brand food which is cheaper than branded foods, and also try the even cheaper Value range of goods. Many people will find that these cheaper goods are just as palatable as their usual brands – but if they don’t think so, they can always switch back!

If you regularly commute by train it may be that you have difficulty reducing your travel costs, though there are a number of ways that we can reduce this expensive part of our living costs such as:

• Car sharing – it’s worth searching either online or by an advert in the local paper to see if there is someone doing the same journey as you and who could share costs.-If you are working in a city or on a business park site where there are lots of employees its worth looking around. Perhaps you could shorten your rail journey and have someone pick you up at a point nearer your workplace, or halve your fuel costs by sharing your car.
• Get a more fuel-efficient car- you can seriously reduce your travel costs by looking to change your car for one that doesn’t guzzle quite so much fuel – and if it is also more eco-friendly save on road tax too! It may just be the time for considering whether commuting in the 4X4 is really what you want to dribble your money away on.
• Walk more- not just for being healthy (it will do you good too) but it can save a great deal of money when you tot up all the times you got the car out to travel to the local shops for a paper or such when it would have taken only a few minutes to walk there and back .Folks spend money on going to the gym when they could spend their energy with a brisk walk to the shops and save money too.

In order to really save on your energy usage it is important to get into good habits. We all have lots of appliances that use electricity and they will eat up your money – especially the ones that heat up. Here are some tips that really work –

Switching off your appliances at the wall switch before you go to bed – all appliances use more electricity than you think when on standby.

Remember to switch off your iron, your oven and any electric cooking appliances separately plugged in, a few minutes before you finish. They will retain heat for some time, and usually this is wasted if you only switch off when you have finished.

Use your kettle wisely- it is the ultimate energy eater- as soon as boils switch off by hand – if you wait for the thermostat it will use electricity longer – and fill your kitchen with steam. Also, note that instant coffee is better made with water that is not quite boiling. Only put the amount of water in the kettle you need to use now – though some canny people will store excess boiling water in the kettle in a small flask to make a drink later.

Try to fill your oven when you use it – you can devise meals that can all fit into the oven (roast your vegetables instead of boiling them for example). Or if you are baking or making a pie make several and freeze some for later.

Another heating appliance that just sucks up your money is the tumble dryer. Line drying is free and even the smallest yard will fit a collapsible drier in it. If the weather won’t dry your clothes then you may have a radiator you can use – but don’t use this unless you have good ventilation- a fan or window- to the outside as the last thing you want is to get mould and fungus from too much humidity.

The easy credit society is running out of steam for many people – it was easy enough to get credit at the start and so easy to buy lots of stuff on credit cards, but there is an inevitable payback time.

Nowadays there are many people living a nightmare of having run up large amounts on several credit cards find that their monthly repayments are so high they have no money spare after paying their living expenses to actually pay them off, and so are stuck with paying the minimum amount off-and still scrimping to do it. Paying off the card becomes a more and more distant policy.

Far be it from me to suggest a consolidation loan – yes, these do work for some but you can end up paying even more over a long period of time. It may be better to try to pay off the cards in a systematic way – the discipline you will have to use to do this will be an important learning experience for the future. Here are some suggestions for clearing your card debt:

If you have a card that is not up to the limit you can see if you can do a balance transfer at 0% onto this card from another card up to its limit. If you can then clear another card by this method you should be able to use another balance transfer to move even more money onto it. Look for really good deals – some companies offer up to 12 months interest free- but even 6 months gives you a little breathing space. Move the balance from the card charging you the highest interest.

If you are up to the limit on all cards then find the card with the highest interest and try to pay this off as quickly as you can. Keep all the other cards at minimum payment and start really pruning your other costs to make the best payments you can.