Hunting out the best possible bargains on household products can shave hundreds off your monthly utility bills and keep unexpected costs at bay. Read on as we name the household products we lose most money on.

From heating appliances right through to broadband deals, Brits have become notorious for overpaying for common household products; including heating, electricity, broadband and car insurance costs. Read on for the mistakes we make and how to rectify them.

Heating: Household Products We Lose Money On

An inefficient boiler and heating system could cost householders over £240 worth of gas every year, claims Gary McCausland from the property programme How to Be a Property Developer. Out of date boilers waste energy, create high energy bills and during cold winter months making living extremely uncomfortable.

He added that home owners should not think of installing a new boiler as expensive or unimportant. He explains:

“People are increasingly aware of the cost of out of date boilers, both in terms of higher energy bills and the impact on the environment,”

“A new heating system is an investment which can create value twice the cost of the installation.”

To add frequent boiler breakdowns are costly but hike up the price of your monthly gas bill. Although if your heating is mostly switched on but your home still feels cold, you may want to investigate your current roof insulation, as up to 25 percent of heat loss can occur through lofts.

Electricity: Household Products We Lose Money On

To cut the cost of your electricity bill home owners are advised to invest in a grade A energy efficient washing machine. This is because they use less water and therefore less electricity. Avoiding the use of a tumble drier is also highly recommended. The use a considerably high amount of energy, instead go back to basics and use a clothes drier, airing cupboard or washing line- plus it’s better for your clothes.

In addition modern fridges are more energy efficient than older modules. So much so that fridge owners could save up to £60 a year with an upgrade. However if your fridge is pretty new, make sure you don’t have the door open for longer than needed.

Lastly Norwich and Peterborough Family Budgeting Guide urge home owners to “turn it off”, ensuring electrical goods are switched off and items such as TV’s, DVD players and computers are not left on standby. The study claims this can save you around £20 a year on your electricity bill.

Broadband: Household Products We Lose Money On

The booming broadband industry continues to strengthen as households are increasingly making broadband a must have. However an estimated 15 million Brits spend over £3 billion more than they need to on broadband packages.

According to price comparison and switching service uSwitch.com the average broadband service cost has have dropped 36 percent over the last 4 years as the product has improved, however Brits are failing to do their research and seek out the best deals available.

The average cost for broadband at a speed of 8MB currently stands at around £17 and the cheapest broadband providers include AOL and Orange, say uSwitch.

What’s more the average broadband user now spends 15 hours every single week online – that’s over a month each year. Make sure it’s time well spent by getting the best possible broadband deal for you. Read more: What to Look For When Choosing Broadband

Car Finance: Household Products We Lose Money On

Both insurance providers Swiftcover.com and uSwitch.com claim car owners are throwing away money by not researching the best insurance and finance deals on the market.

Collectively motorists pay £174 million more than they need to when it comes to paying for a new car, says uSwitch.com. According to their most recent survey those who wish to purchase a new car are bettering opting for a low rate personal loan rather than traditional car finance deals. They say by doing this consumers can save up to £1,094.

This march 224,644 are estimated to be purchased with car dealer finance deals with loan charges of around 9.88 percent which is 3 percent higher than the best unsecured loan deals available.

Case Study
Based on a finance deal offered by Carselect

Car finance deal on a VW Golf: A loan of £10,270 towards a VW Golf would cost £11,411 and require a deposit of £1,141 resulting in a payment of 9.4 percent APR. This would lead to a total cost of interest of £2,162 over three years.

Personal Loan on VW Golf:
Based on a loan from Moneyback Bank

In comparison a personal loan from Moneyback Bank includes a typical APR of 6.7 percent, decreasing the total cost of interest over three years by £1,094. The full amount would equal £1,068.

Mike Naylor, personal finance at uSwitch.com comments: “Just because a car dealer can offer you a good deal on a new car, it doesn’t always mean that they will offer the best deal to finance it.”

In addition the UK’s 34 million car drivers could save an enormous £1.9 billion a year on annual car insurance premiums by researching thoroughly the deals available while taken on board the following tips.

Opt for a car in a lower insurance group:
Every car is given an insurance rating of 1-20 by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), rating group 1 would be a very small and cheap car and rating group 20 would be a high powered or very expensive model.

Read your policy’s small print:
Make sure you are not paying for policy features you will not use. For example, many policies automatically charge extra for overseas cover or a courtesy car.

Add the family:
Insurance providers are increasingly giving consumers discounts for adding or introducing a spouse or other family member to the same policy provider.

Excess Fees and Premiums:
Remember that agreeing to pay a larger excess means you often pay a lower premium.

Online:
Consider purchasing your insurance online, some companies provide discounts for online books and are usually cheaper than using companies that have expensive call centres.

Car Alarms and Parking:
A car alarm, immobiliser or tracking device fitted is welcomed by insurance companies, so much so that some offer a discount if they are made aware that or car as one fitted. Additionally parking your car on the street opposed to a driveway overnight will mean higher premiums.

Related articles:

Do Women Only Insurers Really Save You Money?
Motor Insurance Switching Lags