Turn unwanted or broken electrical items into hard cash by recycling

With buy-to-let finance harder to obtain these days, investors looking to take advantage of reduced house prices may be tempted by property “recovery” funds

Declutterers who give their unwanted goods to certain charity shops can boost the value of these donations, at no cost to themselves, with Gift Aid tax relief

With mortgage lenders now commonly requiring large deposits, first-time buyers looking to take advantage of lower property prices need all the help they can get to build up their savings

Many thousands of homes in the capital could save £100 or more a year by installing a water meter

Borrowers looking for a new mortgage may be better off going for a variable-rate or tracker-style loan rather than a fixed-rate deal, despite the record 0.5 per cent low in Bank of England interest costs

Half of all charity shops operate tax-efficient “donated stock” schemes - at no cost to donors - while allowing higher-rate taxpayers to reduce their own tax bills by 25p for every £1 an item sells for

Summer may seem a strange time to worry about heating and power bills, but experts warn that many thousands of households currently should waste no time in shopping around for a cheaper plan

Buying home insurance through a cashback website can give extra savings - you can even get paid up to £100 simply for taking out a policy

Many households could help themselves to substantial savings

Owners and buyers of overseas properties should look to specialist currency transfer services, rather than banks, for competitive exchange rates and savings on a range of other charges

Household water bills in the capital will generally rise by a few pounds from 1 April 2010, with Thames Water's 2010/11 charges up an average of 1.3 per cent to £303

Home insurance premiums have risen 10 per cent in a year, so it’s more important than ever to shop around when renewing policies

A domestic boiler breaks down every 20 seconds in the UK, often leaving their owners stressed and facing a big unexpected bill

Credit cards that offer cashback pay shoppers when they spend on their plastic

Foreign banks, which have already shaken up the UK savings market, are offering mortgage rates as low as 2.5 per cent to British homeowners

Despite the base rate dropping to a historic low of 0.5 per cent, credit card rates remain stubbornly high at 18 per cent on average, so it pays to find ways of cutting their cost

Households and landlords looking to save money on white goods and home appliances may be able to find bargains on retailers’ clearance websites

The recent big freeze added an estimated £100-plus to the average home’s winter fuel bill. You may be able to save hundreds of pounds in future by switching to a cheaper energy supplier

Lenders are cutting mortgage rates and increasing product choice as the spring home-buying season gets under way