Travel costs are getting more and more expensive, whether you use public transport, or run a car. Here are our tips to save you money.

If you use the bus or train, make sure you are using the cheapest ticket. Most bus & train companies have weekly or monthly tickets. Some will require a photo-card, others are just purchased on the bus, or at the station.

This means a bit of organisation is needed, but it will also stop you spending extra daily money, because you need change for the bus or train. In addition it will give you a travel option for the weekend & evening, which could save on a regular taxi fare.

If you have children at high school, this can also help with the daily search for money for school fares.

Consider walking or cycling to work. Save money and get fit at the same time.

For any one off trips, try and book in advance to get the cheapest tickets.

Work out how much you spend on petrol & parking. Could you save money by using public transport? Make a diary of how much you spend; you may be surprised at the amount.

Look at the running costs of a car, calculate how much you need to cover car tax, insurance and spares, servicing and MOT. Shop around for car insurance, and check out the best deals for servicing, spares & MOTs. (see  www.moneysavingexpert.com)

If you do the School Run, can you start a car share with other parents, or look at a walking bus scheme for the children. Buy the cheapest petrol in your area and try to keep your car well maintained so that your engine’s running smoothly. Try and avoid fines & parking tickets – try to leave time to drive carefully & plan where you will park.

(see www.iam.org.uk)

Please share your tips for cheap travel options, or have you recently decided you can live without a car?  How much money have you managed to save? Let us know, here on our message board.

It’s nearly time to wave goodbye to winter, so it’s a really good time to de-clutter, so start with your finances.

Go through all your financial paperwork –bank statements, credit card statements, utility bills

Separate out (in sections if you wish) your bank statements/ credit or store card statements,  personal loan agreements/hire purchase documents, utility bills, insurance policies, car documents and personal items like wage slips, medical records and birth certificates.

Some documents need to be kept from year to year, for example P60 and tax documents.

It’s a good idea to keep at least one previous year’s bank statements. And keep hold of annual bills like council tax & water.

Shred anything that you do not need to keep (make sure you dispose of anything with personal details securely). Keep everything together in a filing cabinet or documents file.

Deal with all your post & emails, either daily or once a week

This means you will not miss anything important, you can update your budget with any changes to utilities or mortgage/rent, and you will be aware of any problems like overdue bills or missed payments immediately.

You can recycle any junk mail and avoid getting scammed, For example, if you receive a letter/email saying you have won the lottery and they want £20.00 to “release the cheque”, it’s extremely likely to be a scam!! However, if you are having money problems or have no one to discuss things with, it can sit around just tempting you to reply.

Be in control. You won’t actually have more money by having a filing system, but you will know exactly what is going in and out of your bank account. This means you can start looking at ways to save money & get a good deal where possible.

If you haven’t started a S.M.A.R.T budget – see previous blogs - think about doing it now.