Before we can define what a cheap credit card is, we must first decide if there is any such thing as a cheap credit card.

Fundamentally, a credit card will be cheaper than another card if the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is lower. The APR is the amount of interest you will have to pay each year on the amount you borrow on the credit card.

Typically, APRs are around three times more than the Bank of England base interest rates and so even the lowest APR is still going to be quite expensive. Therefore, technically, there is no such thing as a cheap credit card if you base it on the amount you pay for the credit facility.

Sometimes, credit card providers will charge an annual fee for the privilege of having one of their cards. If your only option is to have a credit card that charges an annual fee, the cheap credit card in this case would have the lowest annual fee.

However, credit cards rarely come without a 0% interest offer of some sort these days and, if you factor this into the argument, it certainly lowers the amount you pay for the money you borrow.

If it lowers the amount of you pay for the credit facility then, technically, it makes the credit card cheaper and a cheap credit card would therefore have one of the longest 0% offers on the market.

If you are looking to make purchases on the card, the 0% purchases credit card with the longest 0% offer would be the cheapest.

But, if you are looking to transfer a balance to a cheap credit card, you will need to consider the balance transfer fee as well as the length of the 0% interest period on the balance transfer credit card.

The cheapest card in this case would have the lowest balance transfer fee and the longest 0% interest on balance transfers offer.

So, to sum up, here are the important features to look for when looking for a cheap credit card:

1. Length of 0% interest offer – the longer the better (or should that be cheaper)
2. If you are making a balance transfer from another card, you would then look at the percentage balance transfer fee – the lower the better
3. If the cards don’t come with 0% offers you would look at the APR – the lower the better
4. If the card comes with an annual fee, you would look at the price of this – the lower the better

Click here to compare top credit cards

Click here to use the compareandsave.com Credit Card deal finder

The new compareandsave.com salary calculator has now been launched.

Simply enter in your gross income (before tax is deducted), tick the relevant boxes and the calculator will do the rest.

The calculator will deduct tax, National Insurance and Student Loan repayments (if you ask it to).

If you have a student loan, you start to make repayments from April 6 the year after you graduate/leave university and only if you earn above £15,000.

Try out the ‘Salary calculator’ here

Today is the 25th annual ‘No Smoking Day’, which occurs on the second Wednesday of every March. It is a day which encourages smokers to join in on “The Great No Smoking Day Challenge”.

According to the No smoking Day charity, around 2.25 million people are planning to quit today.

Quitting smoking will not only bring huge benefits to your health, but will also be very healthy for your finances.

The average male smoker gets through 14 cigarettes a day at a cost of over £1300 a year. This amount of money would easily cover the average dual fuel bill for a year, and leave you will a substantial amount of change.

And, you won’t just save money through not buying cigarettes because non-smokers also benefit from cheaper life insurance policies.

A year after giving up smoking, you will be classed as a non-smoker by life insurance standards. This will typically cut your life insurance premiums by a third, but could reduce them by as much as 50%.

Darren Dicks, head of protection marketing for Norwich Union, said: “As well as not spending around £5 a week on every pack of 20 cigarettes they would have bought (which could add up to £1,825 a year for a 20-a-day smoker), people could save twice over by cutting the price of their protection products too.

“People who smoke have an increased risk of heart disease, breathing disorders and certain cancers, to name but a few illnesses, which is why non-smokers often pay significantly less for life insurance and critical illness policies.

“So bearing in mind both the health and the monetary benefits, No Smoking Day could be the perfect day to stop,” he concluded.
 

For help with giving up smoking visit the No Smoking Day website.

To compare life insurance policies click here.

To see how much you could save by quitting smoking why not try out our Smoking Calculator

Car insurance premiums are on the up with young driver’s third-party, fire and theft (TPFT) premiums going up by 3.57% over the past quarter according to the AA. This takes the average TPFT premium for a young driver up to £1,042.41 (figures from www.theaa.com).

In light of this news, we thought you might like to hear of a way of possibly reducing your premiums.

If there is someone who could occasionally use your car, e.g. if you choose to start car sharing with someone at work and they happen to have a good car insurance history, adding them to your insurance as a named driver might lower the cost of your premium.

Speak to your car insurer and ask them the rules and regulations of doing this and see how much you can save.
 

      1. Use energy saving light bulbs – there’s a bright idea

• They use up to 80% less electricity than a standard bulb = lower bills and lower CO2 emissions
• Produce as much light as a standard bulb
• Technological developments mean that the range of energy saving light bulbs on the market has dramatically increased in recent years. They now come in all shapes and sizes. You can even get halogen and dimmable ones.
• They last up to 10 times longer than standard bulbs
• They are a lot cheaper to buy than when they first came out with an average cost of £3
• One energy saving light bulb could save you up to £7 and 26kg of CO2 a year
• Look for the Energy Saving Recommended logo when you buy as it means they meet strict energy efficiency criteria specified by the Energy Saving Trust

      2. Natural light delight

• Natural light is free
• Don’t close curtains too early; make use of the natural light for as long as possible.
• If you are reading try to read in natural light
• Try lighting some candles in the evenings. Not only does it save on electricity costs, it also makes the atmosphere much more relaxing.

      3. Turn off the light, turn off the light

• When you leave the room, turn off the light
• We said it twice because it is such a simple way of saving electricity

      4. One bulb or two? Or four?

• Try to use a single bulb light fitting instead of a multi-bulb one.
• It will be cheaper and greener to run one bulb than four

      5. Standby for higher energy bills

• Don’t leave appliances on standby
• Turn them off at the unit or at the wall
• Appliances use a substantial amount of energy on standby
• If accessible, turn your microwave off at the wall when you are not using it as the clock uses electricity
• Don’t forget your computer and peripherals such as printers, monitors etc.
• Turn chargers off at the wall. Anything that uses a transformer (a larger plug that tends to get warm when in use) will use energy when not in use and plugged in.
• According to energywatch, the average household could save £37 a year by turning things off instead of leaving them on standby

      6. Sleepy savings

• Most new televisions now come equipped with a sleep timer.
• If you know you have a habit of falling asleep with the TV on, set the sleep timer and the TV will turn off to standby
• This is still not as good as turning it off at the unit but is better than it being on all night.

      7. Savings to make you spin

• Reduce your washing machine cycle temperature from 60°C to 40°C
• This can save a third of the electricity
• Modern detergents will work just as well at this lower temperature
• Make sure you wash a full load if you can. If you can’t, use a half load or economy cycle
• Don’t hang clothes to dry on radiators
• Hang clothes up on a clothes horse instead of using a tumble dryer
• If you need to use a tumble dryer, wring out or spin dry your clothes before starting them to dry

      8. Grade ‘A’ Tip

• Buy electrical appliances with a Grade A Energy Efficiency Logo
• This grade of appliance is the most efficient
• Shop around to find the best deals on energy efficient products

      9. Fridges and cookers don’t mix

• Don’t put your fridge next to your cooker (or radiator) as it will lead to an increase in energy consumption

      10. Wrap up warm

• Make sure your house is properly insulated so you can have your heating on less
• Those claiming benefits and the elderly can get an allowance to help with this.
• Make sure you keep yourself warm by wearing lots of layers
• If the house gets too hot, turn the heating down instead of opening a window
• Don’t forget to wrap up your hot water tank too. An insulating jacket only costs a few pounds but could save you about £20 a year.

      11. Is there anyone at home?

• Work out the times when you are going to be in and therefore need the heating on
• Be realistic enough to be warm but if you are cold, don’t forget to try putting on a jumper first.
• If you’re going away on that winter holiday, leave the thermostat on a low setting to give protection from freezing at minimal cost.

It’s pretty cold outside so now is the most important time to make your home’s energy work as efficiently as possible and save some money on your bills. With gas bills set to increase, now’s the perfect time to try and offset the cost by saving money elsewhere.

You will be amazed at how much money you can save by doing some simple things around the home. Plus, you won’t just save money but will also do your bit for the environment by reducing carbon emissions.

So, we at compareandsave.com thought that we would come up with some ‘Top green tips to save you money on your energy bills’ for you to try out for yourselves.

Why not let us and our other readers know how much you have managed to save by posting a thread on our forum.
 

Economy 7 is a tariff that is generally offered to those with storage heaters. It offers electricity at night for around half the price of units offered on tariffs without Economy 7.

Storage heaters are special radiators that you ‘charge’ up over night with heat. This heat is then gradually released throughout the day. This means that cheaper electricity at night is beneficial.

However, you don’t need to have storage heaters to benefit from an Economy 7 tariff. If you run a lot of appliances at night (such as dishwashers and washing machines) then this tariff may save you some money.

Those on Economy 7 tariffs generally pay slightly more for their day units. Therefore, you would need to work out if the saving to be made would be significant enough to cover the increased day unit rate. To do this you could speak to your current energy company and ask them what percentage of your usage is overnight and whether you would benefit from economy 7.

If you don’t use any units overnight and are currently on an economy 7 tariff, you would be better off switching to a standard tariff.

If you wanted to be on economy 7 and make use of the cheaper night rate, bear in mind when it starts and when it finishes. Some companies offer the cheaper rates from midnight to 7am.

Also, to make the most of the tariff, you could invest in some plug timers. This way you could set them to turn on the power to the washing machine or dishwasher at any time within the cheaper period so you could make use of even more cheap energy.

Click on the link to compare gas and electric tariffs