Give yourself a £4,000 pay rise Mortgage payments are the largest expenditure for many households, so this is an area where some of the biggest savings can be found. Home owners should ensure they are getting the best deal possible - even a small difference in rate can greatly affect monthly mortgage repayments. There are some very competitive rates available to those looking to remortgage or who have a large deposit. According to Moneysupermarket.com, borrowers who switch a £250,000 mortgage from the average standard variable rate (SVR) of 4.33 per cent, to the current market-leading two-year tracker rate from ING Direct at 2.49 per cent, would save £1,566 a year - even with the mortgage fees included. Savings - save £416 A record low Bank of England base rate for nearly four years means most savings accounts pay paltry interest. The best deals go to new customers, so if your savings have languished in the same account for more than a year, your interest rate is likely to be less than 0.5 per cent. Your 2013 resolution should be to review your savings regularly and be willing to shift to a better account. Even though rates remain low, the difference between new deals and older accounts can be significant. The average savings rate is 0.38 per cent, so switching to Marks & Spencer's Everyday Savings account, which pays 2.35 per cent, could generate an extra £416 in interest based on a savings pot of £20,000. However, bear in mind that this account includes a 1 per cent bonus for the first 12 months, so be sure to make a note in your diary to switch again later. Personal loans - save £312 Average rates for personal loans between £7,500 and £15,000 hit their lowest level for more than a decade in November, so for consumers looking to borrow more than £7,500 it pays to shop around. Swapping a £7,500 five-year loan at an average rate of 10.53 per cent to a loan with Tesco Bank, which charges 5.2 per cent, would generate an annual saving of £312 this year alone, although watch out for redemption penalties on your existing loan. Current accounts - save £90 Switching your current account provider to one that pays a good rate of interest could earn you some additional cash. The 1st Account from First Direct currently offers £100 if you switch. This would earn you £90 over the year compared with an account that pays an average rate of 0.65 per cent. However, if you use an overdraft every month, you could save £46 by switching from an account with an average overdraft rate of 19.65 per cent to First Direct's 1st Account. Its overdraft charges a rate of 15.9 per cent, with the first £250 interest-free. Credit card - save £387 Credit cards carry punishing rates of interest, so aim to clear your balance each month. If that's not possible, switching the debt to an interest-free balance transfer card could save you a fortune - especially if you have paid for Christmas on plastic. By switching £3,000 of debt on a card with the average interest rate of 17.32 per cent to the market-leading Barclaycard Platinum, there would be no interest to pay for 24 months. This card does charge a fee of 2.1 per cent or £63 to shift your debt, but you can still save as much as £387 over the year. Insurance - save £520 Following a few simple tips could help save pounds on essential insurance cover. Never just accept your renewal premium - shop around for quotes from rival insurers first. Figures from the Association of British Insurers show you can save 35 per cent by comparing as few as five insurance providers, and, with over 140 motor insurance providers and more than 200 policies available, competition is fierce. According to Moneysupermarket, consumers who switch can save an average of £394 on car insurance and £126 on home insurance - a combined saving of £520. Another easy way to reduce costs is to opt to pay your premium in full. Do not be tempted to pay for insurance monthly simply because it appears to be cheaper or more manageable - you will get charged as much as 25 per cent more for the luxury. Energy - save £182 Shopping around and switching suppliers is one of the easiest ways to cut bills - yet the average consumer switches only once every 10 years. This year, the typical household that has never switched could expect to pay £1,302, yet the cheapest online tariff, British Gas's Online Variable November 2013, comes in at £1,120 for the same usage, wiping £182 from the annual bill. Energy companies usually change their prices twice a year, and what can be the best deal one year can prove less competitive the next. The cheapest deals are for those who opt for dual fuel (gas and electricity from the same supplier), manage their account online and pay by direct debit. Find the best deal for your circumstances and use a comparison site such as TheEnergyHelpline.com, Moneysupermarket.com or Confused.com. Home entertainment - save £91 Bundling your TV, phone and broadband together rather than taking out stand-alone products could save you £91 a year, and you would benefit from the ease of dealing with one provider rather than three. For example, Sky provides an Entertainment TV Pack which includes broadband, line rental and TV, with unlimited evening and weekend calls, for £32.25 a month. Mobile phone - save £200 Eight out of ten of us on monthly contracts are on the wrong tariff, with just 30 per cent using our full minutes and texts - and as a result we're wasting £200 a year. The ridiculous number of tariffs, deals and one-off offers can make it difficult to find the cheapest plan, but you can get help from internet services that compare providers" prices. BillMonitor.com will compare more than 12 million UK mobile phone deals, and show you the best contract for your mobile phone usage. The site will run through every call, text and byte of data on your bill, working out the cost on each tariff. By taking into account details such as free minutes, off-peak calling and charge limits, it can identify the 12 tariffs that could save you the most money. Water - save £100 It may seem that there is little you can do when it comes to your water bills, as industry rules do not let you shop around for alternative suppliers. However, by having a water meter installed you could save as much as £100 a year. Small families in big homes are likely to be better off having a meter put in - something that applies to many pensioner households. As a rule of thumb, if you have more bedrooms than occupants, a meter is likely to be cheaper. There is no charge for having a meter fitted and you can switch back to the unmetered charge at any time within 12 months. If a meter cannot be fitted, water companies can offer an alternative unmeasured tariff, which may be lower than your current bill. However, be aware that some people could be left seriously out of pocket by using a water meter, so do your sums first and visit ccwater.org.uk to use the Consumer Council for Water's online calculator. What's your story? Email us at money@telegraph.co.uk