Angela's keen to tighten up her finances as presently she's renting a two-bedroom flat in the picturesque town of Aberfeldy but is longing to set foot on the property ladder by saving up for a deposit.
While Angela's current account and mobile phone deal couldn't be beaten presently, we managed to slash over a thousand pounds off her annual personal finances and bills. The biggest savings we made for Angela include potential savings of £323 a year on her gas and electricity bills; reducing her annual broadband costs by a staggering £333 and saving her £291 a year in interest on her credit card debt.
How did we do it? We simply compared and searched for the best deals using our various SmartSearch tools - as easy as that.
Angela said: "I am over the moon - this extra money will go a long way for me. For ages now I thought I simply wouldn't have any extra savings to put aside for a deposit to buy somewhere but in time, by keeping on track with the latest deals, it's not impossible. I'd also love to take a trip to Africa and do some temporary work as a missionary and in the short term, this extra money will be a huge help in paying for that."
Broadband - potential savings - £333 a year
Angela relies heavily on her landline for keeping in touch with friends and family and currently has the BT Option 2 phone deal which includes free evening and weekend calls, BT broadband which offers 2Mb in speed and 5GB of downloads. Separately, she has a basic television package with Sky.
In total she was paying £44.25 per month. We found that if she bundled all these products together with Sky she would receive anytime UK evening and weekend calls, broadband with speeds up to 2Mb and 2GB downloads plus TV. Her new deal - Sky's Variety Pack - which totals £16.50 per month - will result in an annual saving of £333.
Utilities - potential savings - £323 a year
Angela receives her gas and electricity from Scottish Hydro. She has calculated that she uses 503 units of Gas and 2023 units of electricity each year and is currently paying £25 a month for gas and £20 for electricity.
Based on the consumption figures that Angela has provided, she stands to save a staggering £322.98 a year by switching to npower's Dual Fuel tariff.
Credit cards - potential savings - £291 a year
Angela owes £3,300 on a Halifax One card. The interest-free period has ended and she is now being charged an annual rate of interest of 14.9%. She currently pays £250 per month to bring this balance down.
By transferring the debt onto the Virgin credit card, which has a 16-month interest free period on balance transfers, Angela could saver herself £290.83 in interest.
Home Insurance - potential savings - £25 a year
Angela lives in a 2 bed first floor flat and has £20,000 of contents cover. She has made just one claim over the past five years for a water leak and currently has a policy with Norwich Union which she pays £110 per year. However, we found that Angela could cut her annual premium to £85.46 by switching her cover to Directchoice, netting her a saving of £24.54.
Car Insurance - potential savings - £37 a year
Angela owns a Honda Jazz S and drives about 10,000 miles a year. She keeps her car on a street outside her house and is presently insured with comprehensive cover with Marks & Spencer insurance, for which she paid £240. It includes breakdown cover and she has 10 years' no claims discount, which is protected.
By reinsuring with Swinton, Angela could cut £37.01 off her annual premium.
Savings - potential savings - £21 a year
Angela has an ISA with Royal Bank of Scotland which is currently paying a rate of 0.60%. She has a current balance of around £600 and adds £50 per month to this. If she transferred this to a Marks & Spencer Advantage Cash ISA she would receive a rate of 3.10%, plus instant access to her funds without penalty and will make an extra £21.87 per year in interest.
Disclaimer: Please note that any rates or deals mentioned in this article were available at the time of writing.
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