What would you do if someone offered you an extra £50 each month for the next 12 months?

You would snap their hand off, right? After all, nobody would turn down free money.

The amazing thing is, each and every one of us throw away this free money every single day by not comparing financial products.

There are several reasons why this is quite shocking, including the fact that people generally like having extra money in their pockets especially considering the country is just recovering from a recession and wallets have taken a big hit.

The savings that can be made by just taking a few minutes to look at what other deals are on the market can really add up.

For example, one customer who took 15 minutes out of their day to compare gas and electricity prices on compareandsave.com in December 2009 saved £644.34 a year, equivalent to £53.70 a month.

So, how much could you save by comparing financial products?

The average saving on our gas and electricity tool is currently £243.89 (this is the amount customers visiting our service saved on average between 8th February and 8th April) but someone managed to save themselves £3,721 a year in this same 60 day period.

You could also save a substantial amount by taking the time to compare insurance when your renewal comes through for your car, contents and/or buildings and pet(s).

Plus, you could save yourself some money if you compare credit cards.

The important thing to consider is the worst that stands to happen is that you lose a bit of time. On the other hand you stand to keep more of your hard-earned cash if you find a cheaper deal rather than throw it away.