Interest rates have increased steadily throughout 2006, and once again already in the first weeks of 2007, and if analysts are to be believed they are set to increase again before the end of the first quarter.

Where does that leave us all, inflation is at an all time high, the highest it has been for many years, utility bills have all increased, interest rates increased, we are most certainly getting more and more out of pocket, if interest rates continue the next thing will be a drop in house prices, which again will see us feel the pinch. For the homeowners coming to the end of a mortgage deal, get in there quick and secure yourself another deal before the increase or you will end up finding yourself either on a variable rate that could see an increase in your monthly payments of anything up to £200 pcm or be left with no choice but to accept a new rate that is actually higher than the one you are on now.

January always manages to scare us not only are we just clearing up after the Christmas break, but we are also trying to juggle the bills incurred, and stretch our money that little bit longer, as a majority of us are paid prior to Christmas, which of course is nice at the time, but come January when you have spent it and the next pay day isn’t until the end of the month, seems like a horrendously long time between pay days.

Did you know that January also has the highest recorded number of defaults than any one month of the year, you are more likely to miss a mortgage payment or utility bill payment in this month for the above reasons than at any other time, this of course adds to your worry, and causes even more stress. We all want the extra money before Christmas to get those last few bits that always turn into those last few lots that cost the earth and you end up spending more than you wanted too, hence the problems in January needless to say in retrospect we would all probably benefit a damn site more if our bosses, actually left payment until after Christmas, I know we would all moan at the time, calling them all Bah hum bugs etc, but honestly we probably would be better off in the long run, we would force ourselves to budget for those last bits earlier, and have enough money to cover our usual monthly bills the next month. So in the long run they would be doing us a favour.

Tips for a better year and ways to avoid some of those high bills.

ü      Firstly check out Uswitch.com and see if you can save money switching utility provider, Gas/Electricity & Telephone, it takes two minutes and can save you loads, what’s more they make all the arrangements, once you have filled in the form the rest is down to them.

ü      Find out when your mortgage deal ends, if its within the next 3 months, then start talking to an advisor try www.mortgages-made-simple.net or call 08454283455, they offer free quotes sourced from the entire market, and get the new deal secured before the next increase.

ü      Then transfer your credit card balances to a 0% interest card, chop up the old one so that you are not tempted to use it again, and pay off as much as you can to reduce the debt, as quickly as possible.

When all this is done, try not to worry, you have done everything in your power to make your hard earned cash stretch that little bit further and all you can to save yourself some money.