How to Reach for the Stars and Still Live on a Budget

With the average UK household debt up to £5,9861 and the ongoing squeeze on finances, Asda Money looks at how savvy shopping can help consumers live a good lifestyle on a shoestring. Consumers are understandably looking to keep costs to a minimum, but there are ways to do so without compromising on their quality of life. Shopping around and comparing prices is an easy way to immediately save money without having to do anything. Draw up a budget One of the best ways for you to ensure that you are not overspending is to write up a budget and stick to it. This should comprise a list of all income and expenditure – allowing you to see how much you are really spending on everything from household bills to entertainment expenses. Keep insurance premiums down When you can see where you are spending too much, you can start to take action on reducing costs. Insurance cover can be a huge expense for families, whether they're protecting their home, car or pets, it's a cost that has to be considered. Asda Money is the only UK insurance provider with five, 5 Defaqto star-rated products. You can find an Asda Money Defaqto rating on car insurance, home insurance, pet insurance, travel insurance and breakdown cover. Reduce energy costs There has recently been a warning that energy bills could rise by £140 before the cold winter hits. With this in mind, it's absolutely essential that homeowners are on the correct tariff for their usage and getting the best deal. It takes just a few minutes to compare energy prices, but it could save hundreds of pounds a year. As well as comparing prices, you need to be aware of your energy consumption and take action to keep their usage to a minimum. This will ease costs over the winter and allow people to spend more on themselves. Take advantage of 0% deals UK households pay an average of £2,2721 in interest payments on personal debt each year. However, this figure could easily be reduced by utilising the interest free balance transfers currently available on the market. There are longer deals available than ever before, so it's important that consumers are being sensible with their debt. AMDR25092013PRESSAT Sources: 1. http://www.creditaction.org.uk/helpful-resources/debt-statistics.html 2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/household-bills/10232917/Extra-140-on-energy-bills-is-just-the-start.html Asda Money is a trading name of Asda Financial Services Limited. Asda Financial Services Limited uses a selection of companies to provide its products and services. Please refer to www.ASDA.com/money for details of our product partners and the relevant terms and conditions for each of our products and services. Asda Car Insurance is arranged and administered by Brightside Insurance Services Ltd who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm reference No. 302216). www.fca.org.uk. Registered office: MMT Centre, Severn Bridge, Aust Bristol BS35 4BL. Registered in England and Wales number 04137311. Asda Financial Services Limited and Asda Stores Ltd who are Introducer Appointed Representatives of Brightside Insurance Services Ltd. About Asda Founded in the 1960s, Asda today is one of Britain’s leading retailers. It has over 180,000 dedicated Asda colleagues serving customers from 542 stores, including 32 Supercentres, 309 Superstores, 27 Asda Living stores, 174 Supermarkets, 25 depots and seven recycling centres across the UK. It has its main home office in Leeds, Yorkshire and its George clothing division based in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. Asda serves over 18 million shoppers a week in store and its growing home shopping business at www.asda.com serves 98 per cent of UK homes. Its Asda Price Guarantee, launched in 2011, gives customers the reassurance that a basket of groceries will always be 10 per cent better value than competitors. Powered by MySupermarket.co.uk, the APG is the only independent, transparent online grocery price-checker in the world. Asda joined Walmart, the world’s number one retailer, in 1999.