Sometimes finding help when you need it isn’t easy. Firstly you will have to find out who the relevant authority on the subject is and it’s likely that you will have to contact two or three people before you find the one who can help. Sometimes you’ll find the right person, go to ring them up and then find out that their offices are closed.

In other words, it’s a difficult task that will probably be made more stressful by the urgency of the matter in hand.

We at compareandsave.com really don’t like things being difficult for our readers so we decided to gather all of the information together and put it into one place for you.

This is why we have crested the compareandsave.com ‘Who’s who?’ section. Here you will find an a-z listing of the key companies, authorities and watchdogs in the world of personal finance, including what they do, contact details and phone line opening hours .

TIP: Why not print this off and give it to someone you know who hasn’t quite got the hang of using the internet yet (we all know someone like this, don’t we?). Then they can pop it in their address books at home and also have the information to hand when they need it.

Visit the new 'Who’s who?' section here.

The news is currently full of stories about the ever-worsening credit crunch. Because of this we have come up with our at-a-glance guide to what is going on in the world of personal finance, how it will effect you and how you can reduce its effects.

Contents

1. Credit cards & loans
2. Savings
3. Mortgages
4. Tips to further reduce the effect of the credit crunch

[More]

Earlier this week, Chancellor Alistair Darling announced the 2008 Budget.

Below we bring you what we think will be the five best and worst changes for you, the consumer:

Five of the best...

1. Energy companies should spend £150m on social tariffs
2. Increase in winter fuel payment to £250 for the over-60s and to £400 for the over-80s
3. “Savings Gateway” will be launched by the government in 2010
4. New Cash ISA tax-free savings allowance confirmed to be £3600 from April 5 2008 (the increase could have been a lot higher and so a change which ordinarily would have taken position 1 gets demoted to position 4)
5. £26m to go towards making homes greener

 
Five of the worst...

1. Increase in green tax charged on flights
2. 2p increase in fuel duty (but postponed until October 2008 – so instead of being in position 1, this change is in position 2 because it isn’t as bad with the six month delay)
3. 55p on a bottle of spirits
4. 14p on a bottle of wine
5. 4p added on a pint of beer

We’d love to hear your views on how the changes announced in the 2008 Budget will affect you, so please click on ‘Add comment’ to have your say.
 

Please note that your comment will need to be moderated by our team and so will not appear immediately.

In the last two weeks, both Npower and EDF Energy have increased their gas and electricity prices. Because of this, we thought you might like to know about a way of reducing your heating bills by better insulating your home. What’s even better is that, if you satisfy certain criteria, it won’t cost you a penny.

According to the Energy Savings Trust, a third of a home’s heat is lost through the walls. Cavity wall insulation can prevent this loss and save you around £90 a year on your heating bills. Loft insulation should add an extra £110 on average to this amount saved.

British Gas and Npower are offering free home insulation, worth about £600, to anyone over 70 and those on certain benefits.

What’s even better is that it doesn’t matter how much you earn and that you don’t need to be a current customer of either company. British Gas is running the initiative as part of the government’s carbon emissions reduction target (Cert) scheme. Both will offer cavity wall and loft insulation absolutely free of charge to every homeowner in the UK who is over 70 or on certain benefits.

Under the Cert scheme, energy companies are required to spend £1.5bn over the next three years on the installation of energy efficiency measures in the homes of the elderly and those on low incomes.

To qualify for the scheme you must be over 70 or in receipt of at least one of the following benefits:

• Council tax benefit

• Housing benefit

• Income support

• Income-based Jobseeker’s allowance

• Attendance allowance

• Disability living allowance

• War disablement pension which includes either mobility supplement or constant attendance allowance

• Disablement pension which includes constant attendance allowance

• State pension credit

• Child tax credit where the relevant annual household income is £14,600 or less

• Working tax credit where the relevant annual household income is £14,600 or less

The scheme is not just for homeowners. If you live in privately rented housing, and receive any of the above benefits, you can also apply as long as you have the landlord’s approval.

For further energy saving ideas please read our article: ‘Top tips to save you money on your energy bills’.

For additional information and to apply:

Ring British Gas on 0845 605 2535 and quote ‘JOU’

OR

Ring Npower on 0800 02 22 20
 

      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

We recently published a news article about how energy companies have been accused of exploiting people through the use of pre-payment meters.

Energywatch argued that cheaper tariffs are only available to those who can pay either online or by direct debit and that making these tariffs the cheapest was unfair on those people who couldn’t access them (people without bank accounts or who are repaying debts to the energy companies).

Additionally, it is quite common knowledge that people who have meters in their homes are often those living on lower budgets as they are to be found regularly in rented accommodation and holiday homes.

When reporting about energywatch’s accusations, we at compareandsave.com found a gap in the information that the accusations were based on, namely that there are other ways of budgeting your energy bills without using prepayment meters and a bank account.

Based on this, we have produced a guide called 'Saving money on your energy bills' to talk you through the things you can do to cut down your monthly energy payments.

The average household could save £150 a year if only they knew of the better deals their current suppliers were hiding from them, according to Moneysupermarket.com.

The company is calling for firms to notify their existing customers when they launch better deals.

Paul Schofield, head of utilities at Moneysupermarket.com, said: “Energy providers rarely, if ever, tell existing consumers about cheaper deals, as the more expensive tariffs allow them to offset the great deals they offer.”

“Allowing customers to languish on old tariffs is a money-spinner, but it doesn’t help build trust or loyalty,” he added.

Energywatch, the industry watchdog, supports the call to get suppliers to make more of an effort to promote cheaper deals.

Graham Kerr, energywatch spokesman, said: “Surely it’s good business sense to try to retain the customers a company already has. If providers introduce new and innovative deals, offering them to existing customers gives them an incentive to stay rather than switch to a separate company.”

However, the Energy Retail Association (ERA), who represents suppliers, said that the UK market was already “fiercely competitive”.

Duncan Sedgwick, chief executive of the ERA, said: “Energy suppliers spend millions of pounds each year advertising new products to customers in order to compete effectively with other players in the market.”

He added that comparison services had an important role in making sure that the better tariffs were “always in the public eye”.

We at compareandsave.com advise you to use our utilities section regularly throughout the year to check for these better deals. Additionally, we recommend that you read our guide to 'Saving money on your energy bills’ so that you have all the information you need to find yourself the most suitable tariff.