Cutting fixed costs once, permanently

Cutting daily spending needs constant willpower. Cutting a fixed cost takes an afternoon and pays out every month for years.

Where the money is

Work through the list in order of size, not ease:

1. Housing. The biggest line for almost everyone. Remortgaging at renewal, moving off a lender's standard rate, or renegotiating rent dwarfs every other saving. 2. Insurance. Car, home, life, pet, travel. Auto-renewal is where the loyalty penalty lives - existing customers routinely pay far more than new ones for identical cover. 3. Energy, broadband, mobile. Out-of-contract prices are almost always higher than available deals. Diary the end date of every contract. 4. Subscriptions. Not the drama of cancelling everything - just cancel the ones you genuinely forgot you had. 5. Bank and card fees. Packaged accounts, overdraft charges, foreign transaction fees.

The switching routine

Put one recurring reminder in your calendar for renewal season. For each item: get a comparison quote, then call your provider and ask them to match it. Many will. Fifteen minutes per product, once a year, commonly returns several hundred a year.

Compare like for like

A cheaper insurance quote with a much higher excess, or a broadband deal that jumps after three months, is not a saving. Check the excess, the term, the price after the introductory period and the exit fee.

Do it once, bank it forever

The trap is letting the saving evaporate into general spending. When a bill drops by 30 a month, increase your automated savings transfer by 30 the same day. That is how a recurring saving becomes wealth rather than a nicer month.