Switch your credit card

Anyone with credit or store card debts should consider switching the outstanding balance to a 0% balance transfer deal.

Jeremy Cryer, head of credit cards at Gocompare.com, says: "Much of the money owed on plastic cards is made up of the interest charged on the debt, so a good way to reduce the post-Christmas financial hangover is to switch credit and store card debts to a 0% balance transfer deal."

Barclaycard's latest Platinum Extended Balance Transfer Visa charges 0% for 24 months, with a 3.2% transfer fee. You must be at least 21 to qualify for the card, with a minimum annual income of £20,000. HSBC has countered with a 23-month offer, and a transfer fee of 3.3%, while Bank of Scotland offers 22 months at 3.5%.

There are several deals that offer 0% on balance transfers for 20 months, at lower transfer fees, including cards from Royal Bank of Scotland and Virgin Money.

It's a good idea to set up a direct debit to make sure you clear the debt within the interest free period. If not, you could end up paying a high rate of interest on any outstanding balance.

Pay off more than the minimum

If you can't switch to a 0% deal, you should make every effort to pay off more than the minimum balance on your credit card every month. If not, you could be weighed down with debt for years. A balance of £500 on a card with an interest rate of 18% would take 11 years to clear if you made only the minimum monthly payment of 2.5%, according to MoneySupermarket.

Battle with inflation

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell during November from 5% to 4.8%, but that's little comfort to savers. To beat inflation, a basic-rate taxpayer at 20% needs to find a savings account that pays 6%, while a higher rate taxpayer at 40% must earn at least 8%.

Sylvia Waycot of Moneyfacts.co.uk says: "Today's rate of inflation means hundreds of thousands of savers need an account paying a staggering 6% before they earn a real rate of return on their savings and yet the average no notice savings account only pays a miserly 0.93%."

The only exceptions are First Direct's Regular Saver, which pays a fixed rate of 8% for one year. You have to pay in between £25 and £300 each and every month. But you must also have a First Direct current account. HSBC's Regular Saver (Preferential Rate) also pays 8% for one year on a monthly deposit of between £25 and £250. To qualify, you must have or open a Premier, Advance, Passport or Graduate Advance account.

But keep a look out for accounts that are linked to inflation. National Savings & Investments often offers a good deal on its Inflation Linked Savings Certificates, though there are none on sale at the moment. The Post Office has also issued inflation linked accounts in the past.

Consider an offset mortgage

If you can't get a decent rate on your savings, an offset mortgage could be a sensible alternative because it allows you to set your savings off against your borrowings. It's a bit like overpaying your mortgage every month. You make a mortgage payment as usual, but your savings act as an overpayment, saving money in interest and cutting the term of the home loan.

For example, if you had a £100,000 mortgage at 4% over 25 years and you offset £10,000, you would save £15,089 in interest and repay the mortgage two years and three months early.

You can fix for two years at 2.95% with Coventry building society's offset deal. The fee is £999 and the minimum deposit is 35%. If you only have a 25% deposit, try Yorkshire building society's two-year fix at 2.99% with a £995 fee.

Borrowers who prefer a tracker loan should consider First Direct's two-year deal, which is pegged at 1.58 percentage points above the base rate to give a current pay rate of 2.08%. The minimum deposit is 35% and the fee is £1499.

Or, there's a two year tracker from Yorkshire building society at 1.99 points above base to give a pay rate of 2.49%. The minimum deposit is 25% with a fee of £995.

Overpay your mortgage

Offsets don't suit everyone, but most people could probably afford to pay a bit extra off their mortgage each month while interest rates are so low. And a small overpayment can make a big difference. Let's say you have borrowed £150,000 at 4% over 25 years. Overpaying £50 a month would pay the mortgage back two years and four months early, and save more than £9500 in interest. But check with your lender first in case there are penalties.

Fix your energy bill

Utility costs have gone up by about 21% this year and more than a quarter of households (28%) are struggling to afford their energy bills, according to research by uSwitch.com.

People in the south of Scotland who have stuck with their legacy supplier pay on average £1329 a year for their gas and electricity. If they switched to the cheapest online tariff – nPower's Sign Online 24 – they would pay £1032, a saving of £297. But they could fix with nPower's Go Fix 8 and pay £1080. They would still save £249, and also buy peace of mind.