Dean lives in a one-bedroomed flat near London Bridge, with his 27 year-old girlfriend Alger. He has a tracker mortgage with Abbey and is currently paying just 1.50% so that can't be beaten at the moment. Dean is also on track when it comes to his utility bills. As he and Alger's consumption is very low - they currently pay just £480 a year to EDF Energy.
Dean doesn't pay anything for his broadband as he is on a special deal with Orange, so his only costs are the line rental. And while we shopped around we found that, again, for the time being there were no savings to be made in this area. His mobile phone deal with '3' is on a contract which he is tied into for several more months and so until it comes up for renewal, there are no savings to be made just yet. He should definitely review his mobile deal again though when he's out of contract.
However, while we couldn't save Dean money on his mortgage, energy costs, broadband or mobile we did manage to make him significant savings in other areas.
Like many people, Dean has been juggling debt on credit cards for several years. With three cards, one of which is charging 15.9% in interest and two about to come to end of their interest free periods, he stands to save a potential £574 a year in interest by moving all his balances onto a Virgin credit card.
And we managed to make Dean further savings by finding an alternative, better value savings and current account - using our comparison tools. In total, by simply shopping around for a better in the three key areas of credit cards, current accounts and savings, we were able to make potential savings of £823 a year for Dean.
He said: "I'm always trying to save money - especially right now during these turbulent times. I do compare prices on mobile phones but like a lot of men my age, less so with my own main finances. I know there are people much worse off than me but as a young guy with no dependants I'm thinking ahead and trying to be more responsible with my expenditure.
"This makeover has really taught me that you can never afford to be too loyal - whether it's to your phone provider or bank. It really does pay to shop around. That £823 saving is like getting a work bonus you didn't expect. Myself and my girlfriend want to renovate the flat and that's exactly how we are going to spend it."
Credit cards - potential savings - £574 a year
Dean currently owes around £7,000 on three credit cards - two of them will be coming to the end of their interest free period in the next few months and he is already paying a steep 15.9% interest rate on. We shopped around on our comparison site and found that if all these balances were moved to Virgin's Credit card, with 16 months interest free, Dean would make a saving of £573.90 over the year - subject to a credit score check of course.
Savings - potential savings - £157 a year
Working in finance, Dean has a good understanding of the benefits of tax-free savings from a cash ISA. But, like many ISA investors he has never changed to a different provider, sticking, he says, out of "loyalty and laziness" with his present account with Halifax. His current Halifax ISA is paying just 1%. However, if Dean was to transfer his savings to the Marks & Spencer Cash ISA at 3.10% he would make an additional £157.50 in interest.
Current Account - potential savings - £80 a year
Dean has been a long-term customer of Abbey. His current account is overdrawn by £1,000 with an EAR of 12.9%. We checked out the best deals for someone in Dean's position using our comparison tool and he could save £129 if he switched to Alliance & Leicester's Premier Direct current account as it offers an interest-free overdraft for the first year.
Disclaimer: Please note that any rates or deals mentioned in this article were available at the time of writing.
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