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We all know supermarket prices are going up while household budgets are being squeezed and food inflation has now topped a whopping 17%.

This means even if you only stick the same stuff in your trolley each week and don’t buy anything different – you can expect to fork out another £811 a year according to retail research group Kantar who regularly number crunch food prices.

And even the cost of basic brands have shot up with pasta probably the most widely publicised case. A budget bag of dried pasta has now almost doubled in price over the last two years.

I’ve been asked about ways to cut the cost of food shopping a lot recently in chats on different radio stations so here’s some of the ideas I’ve suggested.

Swap fresh for frozen

I wrote a feature recently on why some supermarkets are now rationing fresh fruit and vegetables and if you can’t get fresh or just want to save some cash – try frozen.

Buying packs of frozen veg can save money compared with the price for fresh, plus there’s less chance of waste as you only get out what you need.

If you don’t have enough room in the freezer, stock up on tinned fruit and veg – which can last years.

And don’t forget your local market and supporting small traders when shopping for fresh food – most will knock down prices even more later in the day as they clear their stalls.

Buy food nearing its ‘best before’ date

Important to know the difference between ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ dates. ‘Use by’ is all about food safety and goes on items like your meat and fish – never eat any fresh food beyond its use by date.

But ‘best before’ is all about quality and tends to be on tins of soup and beans, packets, cereals and biscuits. You can bulk buy food nearing its best before date and save money from sites like Approved Food

Find your cheapest supermarket

Supermarkets are desperate to compete with each other, and while Aldi may have taken the crown for ‘cheapest supermarket’ last year, they’re all still trying to lure us in with deals and discounts on a weekly basis.

Can mean sticking with the same supermarket every week may not be the best deal. Save time and money checking out the Trolley app or website where you can plug in your shopping list and find the cheapest place to shop.

This site number crunches prices across 15 of the biggest stores like Tesco and Morrisons and can knock a third off your weekly shop.

Shop later in the day

Most supermarkets start discounting fresh food with a short shelf life from midday onwards. The exact time varies according to the supermarket store but you’ll often start to see those little yellow discount stickers appearing from around midday.

If you can hold out till around 7pm you may well bag discounts of around 70% on fresh food. You can’t be fussy, so it’s often a case of snapping up what’s in the bargain section and using it that night or freezing it.

Worth befriending the staff who may be able to give you a heads up on what time they start discounting food. And if it’s a store with a cafe, you may find reductions on the fresh food there too.

Price rises are never good news, especially when they’re on the ‘essentials’ like food and energy.

For some people faced with rising prices, a spot of cutting back on spending and tightening their purse strings may make enough in the household pot to cover the extra living costs.

But if you’re already struggling to keep your head above water and any price rise, however small, is going to tip you over the financial edge and into serious debt, you need to get help.

Get free help if you’re struggling

Citizens Advice, National Debtline and StepChange are all brilliant organisations that offer free advice. And don’t put off contacting them for fear of being judged, or given a hard time as that’s not what they’re about at all. They’re there to offer free help, support and advice.

And contact your lenders too, so your mortgage lender or landlord, energy supplier, local council if you’re struggling with council tax, credit card companies and so on; basically whoever you owe money to, and find out about making reduced payments and any financial help.

Check you’re claiming every penny

If you’re on a low income, it’s worth checking you’re getting all the benefits and payments you’re due.

There’s often no ‘one size fits all’ criteria, as with some benefits the level of payment and what you’re entitled to depends on your personal circumstances.

You can plug your details into this handy free benefits calculator for a quick five minute financial check up.

Quick cut blitz tips

Go through all your bills and if you’re out of contract on your TV package, mobile deal or gym membership, ditch it to save money, or try and haggle down the price.

When going for a ‘haggle’, always ask for ‘disconnections’ as they’re the ‘power people’ who can authorise the biggest discounts to keep you as a customer.

Switching was once my favourite moneysaving tip, but right now, certainly within the energy world, sticking with your supplier’s standard deal with the price cap is likely to be your best bet, but there’s still ways to switch and bag some cash.

Some banks offer free cash if you switch. Right now Nationwide dish out £100 to new customers switching to its FlexDirect account and it’s £130 with First Direct

Check your bank statement

Yes it’s never going to be fun bedtime reading but five minutes ‘work’ could save you some serious cash.

Check for old direct debits and standing orders you’re still paying out on. Stuff like old subscriptions for magazines you don’t read, gym memberships you don’t use, extended warranty insurance for gadgets you no longer have or even those pesky anti virus ‘auto renewal’ things. Yes I’m looking at your Norton! Once again you can haggle down the price.

Smart supermarket shopping

I’m a big Aldi fan and having ‘consumer tested’ lots of products in their range for my magazine column I really can’t tell the difference, beyond the packaging. But what I do know is our grocery bill is so much cheaper than my usual supermarket. So well worth giving the likes of Aldi or Lidl a go, as you can save serious cash.

When it comes to Christmas presents, it’s the season of goodwill, so what happens if you’ve been given a gift you won’t use or like?

A jumper that’s too big? Too small? Or not your colour? Or maybe you’ve been given duplicate presents, like two fabulous coffee makers, but only need one?

When it comes to getting a refund or exchange on unwanted Christmas gifts, you can be at the mercy of the retailer.

Returns rights on the high street

Bricks and mortar stores don’t legally have to offer refunds or exchanges on unwanted items, although many do have very generous returns policies.

These are typically around 30 days, although can be far longer over Christmas, often well into the New Year.

However whether you can get a refund, exchange or gift card depends on the store’s own returns rules. Some may insist on the original receipt, or a gift receipt, while others may just be happy to see the item’s unused with the store branding on the label, wrapping or box.

Watch out with refunds. Even if stores offer refunds on unwanted goods, in most cases, they’ll only process them back on the original payment card. So unless the buyer paid cash, or comes with you to return items, you may have to accept an exchange or gift card.

Gift receipts

These are a valuable tool, as they ‘transfer’ the buyer’s rights to the person they give the gift to. Plus it means any refund or exchange is given at the original price paid, not the current selling price, which may now be discounted by 70% in the sale.

If items are faulty, and you produce a gift receipt, you should get a refund or replacement, rather than the buyer having to return the item.

Returns rights online

When buying online, you get a whole heap more rights than buying on the high street, and can get a full refund on unused items, simply because you change your mind.

Great if you’re the one buying, but with presents bought online, it’s the original ‘buyer’ who gets these rights. And even if you pluck up the courage to ask them to return your present, chances are post Christmas, they may be beyond any time limits set out under the Consumer Contracts Regulations.

This gives the buyer 14 days after receiving items to tell the seller they’re returning the item, and another 14 days to send it back. So if friends and family are early shoppers and snapped up your pressy way back in October, any returns limit may have long since gone.

That said, once again, always worth eamailing the retailer, to ask if you can get a swap or exchange if the item’s clearly branded.

Black Friday is a massive American import that’s now flagged up both sides of the Atlantic as an annual shopping bonanza, with stores eager to lure us in with the promise of deals and discounts in the hope we’ll splash the cash.

Before you dash out in the hope of bargain hunting, here’s my five easy ways to stay smart on Black Friday!

Use a price tracker

Most important message first – Black Friday isn’t the last day on earth to ever bag a bargain! So don’t get carried away and give yourself a financial hangover by overspending and racking up a massive credit card bill.

You know the old saying ‘all that glitters’ and all that? Yes many Black Friday deals aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

In fact well over 90% of last year’s Black Friday deals were actually cheaper in the six months before the much hyped sales event last year according to consumer group Which?

So if you’re buying on Amazon always use its exclusive price tracker tool that number crunches prices all year round to check if today’s deal really is the best one.

Watch out for scams

Fraudsters are jumping aboard the Black Friday bandwagon, eager to rip us off and relieve us of our hard earned cash, so be on your guard for random emails with links to ‘special offers’. And if you’re expecting parcels to be delivered, don’t fall for any of the spoof texts claiming to be from the likes of DPD and Royal Mail needing payment before delivery.

Shopping online? Always make sure online sites have a padlock in the address bar and the website starts with ‘https’ to ensure they’re super secure for payment.

Comparison sites are your best friend

Saves trekking round the shops comparing prices, just pop in what you want and see who’s got the best deal with price comparison sites like Idealo and Pricespy

Remember to factor in any delivery charges, or check the minimum spend for free delivery, and check model numbers carefully on gadgets and tech. One wrong letter or number and you can be comparing prices on last year’s model instead of the newest one!

Check returns rights

You’ve more rights buying online than in bricks and mortar stores, as you get 14 days to change your mind, plus another 14 to send stuff back.

Unless stuff’s faulty, you may be liable for return postage if you change your mind, so always check returns rules on the website before buying.

On the high street, many stores have generous ‘goodwill’ returns policies, so you may still be able to get a refund or exchange if you change your mind on an impulse purchase, but check before you buy. So hang on to that receipt – just in case!

Best way to pay

Pay by credit card if what you’re buying costs over £100.

Means instant legal protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, so if the company you buy from goes bust, or goods arrive faulty and the company won’t play ball, you can tap up your credit card company for a refund as ‘Section 75’ makes both the ‘supplier’ and your card company jointly liable!

Debit card payment also offers protection under the Chargeback scheme but it’s not legally binding and PayPal has its own refund scheme too.

Just make sure you never ever pay by bank transfer whatever the seller’s excuse!

Breakdown insurance can save big bills if you run into car trouble, but there’s no ‘one size fits all’ policy, so here’s the nuts and bolts of what you need to know.

When it comes to the big players of the breakdown world, the AA and RAC are the most well known, and both use their own branded patrol vehicles. There’s lots of other providers on the road including Green Flag, Start Rescue, Gem and Emergency Assist, and they usually hook up with local breakdown providers and garages to help you out.

Basic breakdown cover costs from under £25 a year, so just £2 a month, but with ‘basic’, you get what it says on the tin. If you need help, you’ll get a free call out, usually around an hour’s help at the roadside and if your vehicle can’t be fixed, a tow to the nearest garage.

Cover for you or your car?

Vehicle cover is cheapest, and the one to go for if you only drive one motor.

If you drive other cars, then ‘personal’ cover can be a better, though pricier option. This means you’re covered both as a driver or passenger in any vehicle.

Most breakdown policies cover petrol, diesel, electric and hybrid vehicles, but do check before buying.

How much cover do you need?

On top of the ‘basic’ cover, you can choose other options, like ‘Home’ which can be invaluable on cold Winter mornings as means a mechanic at your door.

The most expensive package usually includes basic, home plus ‘Onward Travel’, or ‘Relay’, which usually covers the cost of taking you, and your passengers, to your final destination, along with the cost of a hire car while your wheels are being fixed. So if you breakdown on the way to the airport, you’ll get taken there even if your wheels aren’t up to the job.

You can pay more to extend UK cover across Europe in case of unexpected holiday breakdowns too.

Call out limits

Handy to have, but breakdown cover isn’t a licence to call a mechanic for every niggling problem or save money on servicing.

Most breakdown companies won’t come out for recurrent faults, and with some, having a regular service may be a condition of policy cover.

Watch for call out limits. Some providers, like Emergency Assist, have a four call out limit per year on basic cover, while Green Flag has unlimited call outs, even on its most basic ‘Rescue’ option.

The RAC’s cheapest ‘Standard’ policy offers five call outs a year, although it’s more expensive packages are unlimited.

The current energy crisis has sparked off because the wholesale or ‘bulk buy’ price energy firms pay for gas has shot up by 250% since the start of this year. 

This has put the squeeze on suppliers, especially smaller ones, who lured in customers with super cheap deals, and some including Avro, Green Energy, Utility Point and People’s Energy have now gone bust.

Here’s what you need to know if your supplier goes out of business.

How will I know?

You’ll probably hear it on the news but if your supplier goes bust, don’t panic, as you won’t lose power.

When a supplier stops trading, it’s down to Ofgem, the energy regulator, to find you a new one. Any credit balance you may be owed is protected, and if you owe money to your old supplier, that gets transferred over too.

What should I do?

All you need to do is take meter readings. Ideally take a snap on your phone, and Ofgem say at this stage, if you want to, you can cancel your direct debit with your ‘old’ supplier.

Then sit tight and wait. Once Ofgem’s found you a new supplier, they’ll be in touch directly; although it may take several weeks for your account to be moved across.

If you’re worried about scam companies getting in touch, claiming to be your new supplier, check the Ofgem website as it will flag up details of which company you’re being transferred to.

Will my bills go up?

Yes they will, as any cheap deal you were on, will disappear with your old, now ‘defunct’ supplier.

When you’re transferred to a new supplier, you’ll usually be put on what Ofgem call a ‘deemed’ tariff. This is a special ‘transfer’ rate but it’s bound to be more expensive than any previous deal you were on.

But you don’t have to stick with this as you can ask your new supplier for their cheapest deal and ask to be moved to this. And you’re also free to shop around at this stage and switch to another supplier.

Can I still switch suppliers?

If you’re in the middle of a ‘switch’ from your old supplier, when it goes bust, this should still go through as planned.

However it’s best to hold off starting a new ‘switch’ until you know who your new supplier is.

While ‘switching’ has long since been a fast track to find cheaper deals, some price comparison sites including both GoCompare and Comparethemarket.com have temporarily ‘paused’ their switching services, as deals are so limited.

When I stumbled upon the Rising Cafe in Lincoln last week, all I knew about this hidden gem was it was number one for ‘Cafes in Lincoln’ on TripAdvisor.

And after a morning enjoying the city’s sights, (along with the climb up ‘Steep Hill’), we thought we’d pop along. This place is beautiful, decked out in vintage style, and tucked away in a church, but beyond the door the story unfolded on meeting the amazing Lizzie who came over to find us a table, and tell us about the cafe and how it had changed her life.

Until that point, I thought we’d just found a great cafe, but what makes this place special is that every penny from the cafe goes to the Betel Charity, which helps and supports people affected by drug and alcohol addiction and homelessness. And all the volunteers working in the cafe, including Lizzie, and the chefs, have been helped by its support programmes.

Every bite helps

Well worth popping by if you’re in Lincoln. Not only will you get a warm welcome by some super friendly people, but the food is amazing, with everything from breakfast to burgers, afternoon tea, snacks, salads and kids’ meals on the menu.

We shared the Mexican Quesadillas, (which was a really generous portion), along with the Halloumi fries and with drinks the bill came to £14; which was amazing value. But the important part is that every bite goes towards helping an amazing charity.

Cash only

Couple of things to flag up if you’re going along, it’s cash only, and there’s a cashpoint just down the road if you need one, and it’s alcohol free.

If you’re in Lincoln do pop by for breakfast, coffee, cake, lunch or the lot. It’s a beautiful place, run by some of the most amazing and inspirational people.

I’ve just saved a whopping £265 on our AA membership, totally loving my new Mandarin Shower Butter and snapped up the perfect travel ‘must have’ that won’t break the bank.

Saved £265 on AA breakdown cover

Always worth shopping around when breakdown cover is up for renewal and I was gearing up for this with the AA.

Now last year we paid £239 for our family policy, which covered the three of us with everything from home start to recovery.

This time round the AA wanted £404; a whopping 40% more. So I jumped online and spotted it was slashing membership prices for ‘new members’ offering a third off. Popping our cover details into its website; it came up with £139 for exactly the same cover.

So I rang the AA to ask why it thought I’d even consider renewing at £404 when there was a vastly cheaper deal on its website? It said the deal was for ‘new customers’ so it couldn’t match this price, but could offer a ‘discount’ on my renewal offer.

Didn’t wait to hear the discount, as yes, you’ve guessed it, I told them to forget it, and we snapped up the £139 price with my husband joining as the ‘new member’. As the last policy was in my name, means we’ve just saved a whopping £265.

Top Tip – I can’t see anything to stop you signing up as a ‘new member’ and bagging the cheaper website deal every year, so well worth a go if you like the service but want to save some cash!

Best buy – Fruity shower butters

Loving my new Mandarin Shower Butter, and it’s just what it says on the tub, ‘a scoop of lovely stuff’. Spotted this creamy shower butter on my trip to York on the shelves of the fabulous Yorkshire Soap Company.

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Comes in a resealable tub, smells delicious and packed with Shea Butter and essential oils and all for £7.99. Lots more in the range including the raspberry one that I bought for my daughter.

And have to say the shop itself is beyond beautiful – see my snap above! Could happily have spent all day there. Brilliant customer service, with items individually wrapped, (as you’ll see from my shopping), all at no extra charge.

Bargain buy – spent £1 on this fabulous eye mask

I reckon you can’t go wrong with this ‘bargain buy’. Picked it up for just £1 at Primark. All you do is pop this gel filled eye mask in the fridge, (not the freezer!), for two hours and works a treat on your peepers after a stressful day.

And doubles up as the perfect travel ‘must have’. Easy to slip in your bag and once you’re in your hotel or Airbnb, just stick it in the fridge.

I’ve just got back from a city break to York. Been so excited about this trip, firstly because it’s our first time away this year and secondly, as I haven’t been back to York since a school trip yonks ago.

Great news is you can’t go short of things to do in York – whether you want to explore its most famous street; The Shambles, hire a motorboat, (which we did to see the city from the water), watch the world go by at a riverside cafe, delve into the City’s history at the Jorvik Viking Centre , see inside York Minster, (pictured above), kick back in one of its pubs, (York’s said to have more pubs than days in the year!), or treat yourself to coffee and a ‘Fat Rascal’ from the famous Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms.

Well you get the gist, there’s so much to do! So here’s my guide on how to see the sights on a budget.

Walk the City Walls

York’s Old City Walls are ancient, dating back to Roman times and walking the walls is a great way to get fantastic views, get your bearings if you’ve just arrived and escape the crowds. And it’s totally free!

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The whole circuit is just over two miles long, but as you pass through the City ‘bars’, (not the drinking variety, this is the old name for ‘gates’), you can climb down and find a local watering hole or cafe along the way.

I’d suggest going early as you can get access to the walls from 8.30am through to dusk. If you’re only going to do one part, reckon the best bit for snaps is between Bootham Bar and Monk Bar, as you’ll get great views of York Minster along this stretch and it’s got railings if you don’t have a head for heights!

See the Shambles

You can’t go to York without seeing the ‘Shambles’, a world famous cobbled street with overhanging timber framed buildings dating back to the 14th century. Said to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter, it’s now home to tiny shops and old style ‘taverns’, but originally a street of butchers’ shops and slaughterhouses.

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Top Tip: It’s hugely popular with tourists so go early for the best snaps. I was there at 7.30am to take these! And turned back the clock with the ‘sepia’ touch!

There’s so many great places to eat in York, but right next door is the Shambles Market with plenty of street food stalls and tables to eat ‘al fresco’. Great value for lunch or later, (usually open from late morning), including Greek and Moroccan stalls or if you want a great view, the Market Cat pub which overlooks the market does amazing pizza.

Do your sums with a York Pass

If you’re planning on visiting lots of museums and attractions you can save money with a York Pass which gets you free entry to around 20 places including York’s Castle Museum, (below), along with boat rides and bus tours.

A one day pass costs £48 and a two day version £65; (right now you can get £10 off with the code ‘SUMMER21’) Both include a free 24 hour ticket for the ‘Hop On Hop Off’ sightseeing bus, (worth £16), and a free pizza or pasta dish, (worth up to £8.95), at an Ask restaurant.

Value for money? I think you’d need to pack in the most expensive places to make this work. So if you visit the Jorvik Viking Centre, York Minster, York Dungeon and take a sightseeing city cruise in a day; that little lot would usually cost you £55.95, compared with the currently discounted £38 York Pass price, plus you get the sightseeing bus and free lunch thrown in.

However on the practical side, reckon there’s a limit to how many places you can get around in a day, unless you’re going to dash round everywhere and make a mad sprint across the city, which kind of spoils the day.

With other places like stunning Castle Howard, normally £19.95 entry, (free entry with a York Pass), it’s a fair drive out of York and having been there I’d say you’d want the best part of the day to enjoy it all, which might leave you tight for time if you want to squeeze out more value from your York Pass.

Best bet is to work out what you want to see, do the sums, and if you can combine the most expensive ones in a day and make a decent saving go for it.

Top Tip – You’ll probably still need to pre-book entry so don’t expect to bowl up and get in.

Save on a place to stay

When I’m off on my travels, Airbnb is usually my first port of call. Found some great places this way and met some lovely people to boot. This time round I found a couple of Airbnb places I liked were listed with a small agency rather than individual owners.

Googled the agency, gave them a call and boooked an apartment in this converted warehouse, (just 5 minutes walk from the city centre), for around 20% cheaper than its advertised Airbnb price.

With Airbnb, fees and charges can rack up to 18%, so booking direct meant we saved some cash and got a discount for booking multiple nights too.

Getting there

Parking in York is super expensive and charges apply every day at council run car parks. Lots of apartments I found didn’t include parking, though ours did.

As a rough guide, parking is around £14 for over five hours plus there’s often an hourly surcharge of around £2.70 so you’re racking up some serious cash if you need to park for a few days.

If you’re going for a day trip, go for the Park & Ride with six locations to choose from. Or if you’re staying for a few days, and your hotel or apartment doesn’t have parking, why not take the train?

York’s beautiful train station is about a 15 minute walk from the centre. Takes around two hours from London’s Kings Cross and you can snap up tickets from around £13 each way if you buy in advance.

I love a trip to the seaside but parking at the beach can put a hole in your spending bucket. So here’s my tricks to find a space and save enough cash for a whole load of ice creams.

Hidden beaches with free parking

Escape crowded beaches and go off the beaten track to find free parking.

I’ve found some amazing beaches along the Lincolnshire coast. Just check out the view here across the sands at Anderby Creek, which is tucked away at the end of a narrow track. Well worth the drive as it’s a fantastic stretch of beach, free parking, (and toilets!), and a gorgeous beach cafe too.

Further up the coast at Sutton on Sea, there’s another wide stretch of sandy beach, and while there’s a ‘Pay & Display’ car park, I found plenty of free on street parking in the surrounding roads.

Brighton often gets packed out on bank holidays, and parking can be super pricey, but just a few miles along the coast is the quieter resort of Worthing. It’s got a long stretch of shingle beach with beachside cafes dotted along the sea front, and if you head for the Ferring end of the seafront, you can park for free.

Catch the ‘Beach Bus’

I absolutely love Bournemouth. It’s one of my favourite places on the planet, but as you might expect, anywhere near the pier gets packed at weekends and school holidays, and you can easily pay around £20 a day for parking, not to mention the stress of driving around playing ‘hunt the space’.

So why not save some serious cash and enjoy more time on the beach jumping aboard the Bournemouth Beach Bus. Runs from Kings Park in Boscombe; costs £5 for all day parking and free buses to the beach every 15 minutes.

Buses run every weekend during summer and daily from 24th July through to September 1st. First bus 9am and last one at 7pm. And while you’re there be sure to check out the Urban Reef for beachside dining.

Park like a local

Find a friendly local offering their driveway for the day and you’ll get a guaranteed parking space with big savings.

JustPark is a one way to find these hidden spaces. I’ve booked with them before to save on airport parking but works for beach parking too.

Just download the app to get started. Other similar sites to try include Park On My Drive or Your Parking Space

Stop at the station

Parking up for the day at the local train station can work out cheaper than ‘Pay & Display’ car parks if there’s no free parking to be found.

Eastbourne’s main train station is around a ten minute walk from the beach and you can park all day for under £6; around half the price of some of its seafront car parks.

The Government has announced its much anticipated ‘Green List’ of twelve countries you can travel to after May 17th, without having to quarantine when you get back to England. But you’ll still need to take a Covid test before and after your trip.

But before we all get too excited; worth remembering that some places on that green list, including Australia and New Zealand aren’t open to UK tourists right now.

However a tiny glimmer of sunshine is starting to break through the grey Covid clouds, so here’s what you need to think about before booking a trip to a ‘green’ list destination.

Green can turn amber or red

The Government plans to review the list every three weeks, so if you book now for a ‘green’ destination that later turns amber or red, you can be out of pocket if you want to cancel, or decide to go, but have to fork out for an expensive ten day quarantine in a hotel if you’re returning from a red list country.

Book a package

How you book your trip determines the protection you get.

Booking a ‘package’ holiday automatically boosts your protection under the Package Travel Regulations.

This means if your ‘green’ holiday destination goes amber or red, tour operators may cancel your trip or let you rearrange, fee free, for a later date. But do check, as not all of them will do this.

No need to book an ‘off the peg’ package with a rep in resort for this. ‘Package Protection’ kicks in when you book two parts of your trip, at the same time, in one single payment, with the same company. So could be a flight plus one night’s accommodation or a day’s car hire.

If the holiday company cancel your trip; you’re entitled to a full refund within fourteen days.

Flexible bookings

With flight only deals; you don’t have the same protection so check if the airline has a ‘flexible’ booking policy.

Lots of airlines now offer this which enables you to rearrange flights at short notice, and just pay the difference in the ticket price, rather than any previously hefty charges.

And with places to stay check for flexible deals.

Check travel insurance

It’s an absolute essential for any holiday, (even in the UK as most policies offer valuable cancellation cover as standard), but it’s not blanket cover for everything.

Most insurers have tightened small print, especially with Covid related claims so check what’s covered before you pay up.

The ‘commute’ from bed to office without leaving home may go on way after lockdown restrictions ease, with big name companies including Nationwide and PwC offering employees the chance to ditch office life.

Nationwide’s 13,000 ‘office based’ staff can choose where they want to work, after 57% of its staff said they’d like to work from home full time. And PwC is rolling out flexible working to allow 22,000 staff to split work life between the office and home.

So if working from home is the way forward; how can you get the job done?

I’ve worked mainly from home for years, being freelance, and absolutely love it. It’s given me freedom, saved heaps of cash on commuting costs, and saved me hours with no time spent in traffic jams or on board sweaty trains.

But as I’m sure anyone who moved their office to their front room during the pandemic knows, ‘working from home’ is no holiday.

It’s work, and the way I choose to earn a crust to pay the mortgage, bills and in happier times, fund my travel passion.

The number of people working from home has nearly doubled over the last ten years to 1,540,000 according to the Office for National Statistics and 60% of us worked from home during the pandemic, with 26% of those expected to stay working from home even when restrictions are lifted. And if you’ve been made redundant you may be going freelance and working from home for the first time too.

So here’s what I’ve learnt and how to make it work.

Get up!

Always a good start, as working from home doesn’t mean rolling out of bed at midday, grabbing a coffee and sending a few emails before settling down with a good box set for the afternoon, well not on a regular basis anyway!

This won’t cut it when it comes to bringing in the cold hard cash, so you’ve got to get tough, motivated and set your own ‘office’ rules to make it work.

Have a ‘work’ bank account

If you’re freelance it’s tempting to stash any earnings in your ‘everyday’ current account but this is the fast track to getting in a financial pickle.

If you’re set up as a Limited Company; then you’ll need to have a separate business bank account, but if you’re a ‘Sole Trader’ still makes sense to have a separate bank account.

Reason being you’ll need to set aside some money to pay your tax bill, so I’d always suggest ‘saving’ 20% of your earnings for this. Makes sense in my book to keep this in a separate account so you’re not tempted to splash out.

Have an office dress code

Ok so no law to say you can’t spend all day in your PJ’s, but I never feel in ‘work mode’ unless I’m up and dressed. Thought that’s not to say I’ve never done the odd 6.30am radio chat in my PJ’s…..

If you’re used to office life, then spending the best part of the day in your dressing gown can seem like a novelty, and if you don’t have any Zoom meetings, you can get away with it. But does it really put you in the right frame of mind for work?

Working from bed is another ‘no no’ in my book. I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I’ve done this; and only when I’ve been ill, as us freelancers don’t get company sick pay. But be warned; laptops and duvets don’t make great bedmates!

Set a routine

May sound strange, as surely the whole point of working from home is to ditch the ‘routine’ of office life for a more flexible lifestyle?

But without any kind of regular routine; can be all too easy to procrastinate to the point when the thought of clearing out the junk cupboard or cleaning the kitchen floor can seem more appealing than the thought of opening your laptop and logging on.  I’m lucky enough to have a separate ‘office’ at home, (once our spare room), but now kitted out with my desk, cabinets and all things work related.

And means I can shut the door at the end of my working day without the risk of spilling spag bol over a pile of notes.

Stave off cabin fever

Yes your office colleagues may have driven you nuts and you couldn’t wait to see the back of them, but doesn’t mean you won’t find office life a bit too quiet at home.

Heading to a coffee shop, (once again, in pre-lockdown life), works for some as a change of scenery, with company and coffee on tap, but can be a drain on your finances if you regularly spend most of your working day there.

I’m lucky living near open countryside; so I usually head out for a lunchtime walk to clear my head, or in a past life, (before March last year), was often in London one day at week for meetings or telly stuff.

Switch off

If you’re on holiday, enjoy it, and I’d say think twice before you flick through emails on your phone while having a coffee at a beach taverna, or even the day before coming home. I’ve done it, and there’s always the danger that just one niggling email will transport you back into ‘work mode’ and burst your holiday bubble.

I can never understand people who take their laptop on holiday and check emails by the pool. So with no boss to ask; I can take a holiday when I like, but on the flipside, can be the niggling feeling of missing out on work once you hit your ‘out of office’ auto reply.

Giving your cash savings a growth boost by bagging a decent rate of interest is a dim and distant memory right now. With inflation now running at 0.7%; you’ll need to beat this in order to have any chance of making your savings grow.

The ‘average’ instant access savings account pays a super stingy 0.5% a year in interest, and even if you stick your money away in a ‘fixed rate’ account for two years; you’d be be hard pushed to top 1% in interest.

Cash savings booster

While it’s possible to get higher rates on cash savings, these can come with strings attached. So for example, you can earn 2% with Nationwide’s FlexDirect current account and 3% with Natwest’s Regular Saver, which sounds pretty good right now, but both have restrictions.

Nationwide’s 2% rate only holds for the first year and only on balances up to £1,500. You’ll also need to pay in £1,000 a month. And the Natwest deal is only for existing customers and the maximum you can pay in each month is £50.

So is it time to take a punt on prize draw savings? Some banks and building societies are offering savers free monthly draws with big cash prizes. Won’t cost you a penny to enter and you may still get a dash of interest too.

Prize Draw Savings

Here’s some of the names splashing the cash along with top monthly prize.

Halifax – £100,000

This offers the biggest prizes with a monthly prize bag worth £550,000 and three top prizes of £100,000. But you’ll need at least £5,000 in one of its savings accounts to be in with a chance to win. Most accounts qualify; apart from kids’ ones, but worth checking before opening a new one.

Got a mortgage with Halifax? You can enter its free monthly draw where each month one winner gets their mortgage paid off up to £300,000.

Post Office – £10,000

You’ll need to open a Post Office savings account and stick in at least £1,000 before 30th April to get your foot in the door for this one. And you’ll need to ‘opt in’ as entry isn’t automatic. Top prize is £10,000 with four prizes of £2,500 and 200 shopping gift cards of £100.

Natwest – £1,000

If you’re a current account customer, open its Digital Regular Saver account and pay in between £1 – £50 in April, May and June, you could be in with a chance to win one of ten £1,000 prizes in the July draw. Plus you’ll get 3% on the first £1,000 saved.

Nationwide – £100

Top prize is £100 with Nationwide with its Start To Save account To be in with a chance to win, you need to pay in between £50 and £100 a month for three months before qualifying for the draw. Pays 1% interest; which is, (sadly), not a bad rate right now.

Existing savers only……

I’ve left this till last as while there’s a monthly prize pot of nearly £100,000 up for grabs, the Windfall Bond savings account from the Family Building Society is no longer open to new savers.

If you’ve already got the account; which needs a minimum of £10,000 to qualify, they’ll keep dishing out the monthly prizes which includes a top one of £50,000 with smaller ones all the way down to £1,000. But only pays 0.1% in interest.

Premium Bonds – £1,000,000

You can stash up to £50,000 in Premium Bonds for a chance to win a million every month. You won’t earn any interest; but if you’re happy to sacrifice the smidge of interest you might get sticking your money in a savings account; then it’s worth a punt and winnings are tax free.

When someone dies there’s certain things that need to be done, and knowing where to start and what to do first can be overwhelming.

Telling family and friends may be your first thought, but very soon there’s decisions to make and arrangements to organise.

Here’s a practical guide to some of the things you need to do.

Where to start

You need to get the medical certificate showing the ’cause of death’ before you can officially register the death or arrange the funeral. Depending on where the person died, you may get this from the hospital, or local GP, if the person died at home.

Registering the death

Once you’ve got the medical certificate, you can make an appointment to register the death. This is usually at the local register office and should be done within five days, or eight in Scotland. Under normal circumstances you’d make an appointment to do this in person; but right now, this is being done with telephone appointments and the death certificate sent out to you.

It’s often worth paying for extra copies of the death certificate as banks and insurance companies will want to see this when closing accounts. Costs can range from around £8 – £12 per copy.

Arranging the funeral

Before you can start doing this, you’ll need what’s known as the ‘green form’, which is the official certificate for burial or cremation. It’s usually handed to you at the register office; although right now they’re being sent out.

Most people use a funeral director to arrange the funeral, as they can organise and co-ordinate everything for you. When choosing a funeral director, remember there’s lots of small independent family run companies as well as the bigger chains.

When it comes to cost, be honest about your budget as a good funeral director will suggest different options. And do check if the person who’s died had a funeral plan in place, as this may cover some, or all of the costs.

Worth checking that whoever you use is a member of the National Association of Funeral Directors, (NAFD), or the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors, (SAIF), as these organisations both have codes of practice and strict standards for members.

How much will a funeral cost?

Funerals can be expensive and costs can vary according to where you live, as well as the type of funeral you choose.

According to SunLife, (who produce an annual report into the cost of funerals), the ‘average’ cost of a cremation is now £3,885, and £5,033 for a burial.

However this is only the basic cost, and you can pay a lot more depending on the options you choose, for example the type of coffin and whether you want flowers and cars.

In the current climate more people are choosing a ‘Direct Cremation’; which costs an average of £1,554. This is a very basic option; as there’s no service, so you can’t go along, although you can collect the ashes afterwards.

If you’re claiming certain benefits you may be able to claim a Funeral Expenses payment.

Closing down accounts

Most of us have multiple accounts, services or subscriptions to our name and these will all need closing or cancelling.

Worth making a list of all the companies you need to contact as you think of them, including banks, pension and insurance companies, energy providers along with any clubs or organisations the person belonged to.

You can contact most Government departments in one go using the ‘Tell Us Once’ service which covers state pensions, benefits, cancelling a passport and driving licence. You’ll be given a special code to access this service when you register the death.

There’s also organisations like Life Ledger where you can tell multiple organisations in one go. Most organisations, especially banks and insurance companies, have their own bereavement departments to help you close down accounts and you can find details on their website.

Wills & probate

The job of closing down the person’s estate and sorting out their last wishes falls to the person, or people named as Executors in the will.

They may need to get what’s known as a Grant of Probate to start sorting out money matters, although this isn’t always necessary.

Without a will, the estate is split up according to ‘Intestacy Law’ which sets out who gets what.

Got five minutes to find out about today’s budget? Here’s my quick run down on what it means for the pound in your pocket.

Furlough scheme extended

Furlough is now being extended to the end of September. As an employee, you’ll still get 80% of your wages, up to £2,500 a month, for the time you don’t work.

But employers will have stump up and contribute 10% to the bill in July and 20% in August and September.

Support for the self-employed

There’s two more grants as part of the Self Employment Income Support Scheme.

The 4th one covers up to 80% of your ‘average’ trading profits over a three month period and worth up to £7,500. The 5th one will cover the period from May to July but look at how much you’ve lost. With this one, if your profits are down by more than 30%, you’ll still get the 80% grant, but if it’s less than 30%, you’ll get 30% of your profits.

This time round the scheme will cover another 600,000 people as it’s being extended to those who’ve submitted a tax return for 2019 – 2020.

However once again nothing in the way of any financial support for limited company directors.

Stamp duty extension

The current stamp duty ‘holiday’ is extended from the end of March to 30th June. Means no stamp duty to pay on the first £500,000 of your home’s price tag.

After that, the ‘nil rate’ band gets cut to £250,000 until the end of September, and then it’s back at its previous £125,000 level from October.

Boost for first time buyers

The Chancellor announced plans to, ‘turn generation rent into generation buy’.

First time buyers will be able to buy their first home with just a 5% deposit with a new Government Guarantee in place to protect lenders. Will be available on properties with a price tag of up to £600,00.

Tax freezes

There’s no change in the rates of tax, national insurance or VAT.

The ‘personal allowance’; that’s the amount you can earn before paying tax, goes up from £12,500 to £12,570 next year and then gets frozen till 2026.

And the ‘higher rate’ allowance goes up from £50,000 to £50,270 next year and once again, it’s then frozen to 2026.

Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax and the Pensions Lifetime Allowance are all frozen at their current rates till 2026.

Corporation tax hike

If you’re a limited company; then you’re going to see the rate of corporation tax go up from 19% to 25% from April 2023. While it was rumoured to be going up; this is far higher than the 23% that was expected.

However small limited companies with profits of £50,000 or less will stay paying the 19% rate.

And more……

Minimum wage goes up to £8.91 an hour from April and the £20 Universal Credit weekly ‘uplift’ will be extended for another six months.

And if all this has got you reaching for a G&T, well a tiny glimmer of good news in that alcohol duty is frozen, so your bottle of plonk shouldn’t cost you any more at the till. Oh and fuel duty’s frozen too, so you shouldn’t pay more at the pump tomorrow.

If you’re on a low income and reached state pension age, you may be able to claim some extra cash in the form of Pension Credit.

What is Pension Credit?

It’s a ‘top up’ payment that boosts your weekly income to a guaranteed minimum level. And it’s tax free too. Around two million households currently claim it, but it’s reckoned around one million may be missing out.

How much is it worth?

The ‘average’ amount claimed is £58 a week; over £3,000 a year according to Government figures.

However there’s no ‘one size fits all’ payment as Pension Credit is ‘means tested’. This means how much you get depends on your income, including any pensions and benefits and any savings over £10,000 will be counted too, although not your main home.

Pension Credit comes in two parts, and you can claim one, or both.

Guarantee Credit can ‘boost’ your income to a minimum of £173.75 a week for a single person, and £265.20 for a couple.

Savings Credit is basically a reward if you’ve saved for retirement; say in a pension. It’s worth £13.97 a week for a single person and £15.62 for a couple. You must have reached state pension age before 6th April 2016 in order to start claiming Savings Credit.

Check if you can claim

No need to worry about doing the number crunching yourself. Here’s the easy way to check if you can claim. All you do is plug your details into the Government’s Pension Credit calculator

Claiming Pension Credit also opens the doors to some other discounts and benefits including a free TV licence, (if you’re over 75), along with help with council tax.

Making a claim

You can find out more about how to claim here or call the Government Pension Credit claim line on 0800 99 1234.

Payments are usually made every four weeks straight to your bank account.

If your situation changes, this can affect the level of Pension Credit you claim, so call the Pension Credit helpline and let them know.

Free toys and games worth up to £20 each are up for grabs during half term with this special offer from Uber Eats & Hasbro.

Uber Eats has teamed up with toy giant Hasbro with a free toy store app. Means free toys and games delivered to your door within just 30 minutes and all you pay is an Uber Eats delivery fee, which can vary; but usually up to around £4.

No need to order food either with this offer. You can just go on and snap up the free game, without buying anything.

The doors to this virtual toy store open at midday on Wednesday 17th February and stay open through to Saturday 20th.

How it works

Just go on the Uber Eats app; head for the Hasbro toy store and choose from one of seven toys and games including Cluedo, Game of Life, Boggle, Pit, 2 different Play-Doh sets and Yahtzee.

I’ve shopped around to see how much you’d usually pay for one of these freebies and they’re typically up to around £20 on other toy outlets or Amazon.

Promotion code

When you go on the app; the games and toys will have a ‘£6’ charge beside them. This the ‘minimum spend’ at the Hasbro Toy Store, but if you pop in this Uber Eats promotion code THEHASBROTOYSTORE all you’ll pay is the Uber Eats delivery charge.

The PR people do tell me that in some cases there could be a ‘service charge’ too, so do watch for that.

Any catches?

Ok so it’s not available nationwide; only in London and Manchester and you’ll need to live within around three miles of a Hasbro toy store to be able to order.

Only one game or toy per household and the deal is available for the first 200 orders and do remember you can’t go on to snap up your freebie till midday Wednesday!