It is essential to draw up a list of income and outgoings. Taking your outgoings away from your net income will give you the figure you have left to meet other needs; it may not be a lot but it gives you a starting point from which to work, and can highlight areas in which you can economise. For example, on a working day, you may wish to buy lunch from the nearest supermarket but this could cost around £5 per day. You could reduce this significantly, actually saving over £1,000 a year, by making the effort to prepare sandwiches at home.

Paying regular utility bills by direct debit saves money because most companies will give you a discount for paying by this method.  Equally, paying bills on time will prevent extra charges being made.  Certain bills, unfortunately, just cannot be avoided because we all need to live to a decent standard

A great way of ensuring that you waste as little as possible is to keep your shopping trips to the minimum; this reduces the temptation to waste money on non-essential items but also cuts down on fuel and transport costs.

You work hard for your money so make it work hard for you.

According to the National Lottery records which were published last week, you are more likely to hit the jackpot with an old-fashioned which people can spell. John and Margaret top the lists of men and female names respectively, whilst James, Peter, David, Michael, Susan, Patricia, Mary, and Linda also stand a good choice of winning.

Ilford, Essex is in pole position for Lotto wins, where there has been a top prize winning ticket among every 6,722 people. Newcastle-Upon-Tyne closely follows Ilford, where there is a winning ticket for every 6,884 people.

The statistics also reveal you are more likely to get lucky on the lottery if you work in construction, administration or management. Taxi and lorry drivers are in with a better-than-average shot at the winnings, whilst chefs, factory workers and shop assistants are also better equipped to strike it lucky. Bankers, politicians and estate agents however aren’t so lucky, statistically speaking, and are far less likely to win.

Other stats include nearly half (49%) of all lottery millionaires have won with a lucky dip, and nearly 40% of jackpot scoopers claim to have received a ‘sign’ that they were going to win. 53% of Lottery Millionaires considered themselves to be ‘lucky’ people, while 92% described themselves as ‘fairly or very optimistic’ in life.

Popular buys for the newly rich include a Mercedes Car, a holiday to the Caribbean, Canada or Australia, a hot-tub, a walk-in wardrobe and a snooker table.

The final stat revealed the most jackpot winners toast their new found wealth with… a cup of tea!
Don’t despair however, if you are not a Peter, from Ilford who drives a cab and has an optimistic approach to life.

To date, the biggest solo lottery winner is Iris Jeffrey, from Belfast, who won a cool £20,100,472 in July 2004.

Thinking of buying a whole town? It is not cheap and may well lead to bankruptcy. Just ask Kim Basinger. The Batman star planned to turn the town into a tourist attraction, building movie studios and hosting a film festival and paid and initial £20 million for her troubles, but met financial difficulties 4 years later in 1993, and sold her stake. Her loss was untimely as she shortly after pulled out of movie Boxing Helena, which led to the studio suing and winning a cool £5.5 million. Bankruptcy was filed for soon after.

Shane Ritchie may have been the landlord of the Queen Vic on Eastenders a few years back, but if you ever bump into him in your local, he is unlikely to be the one buying the drinks! Ritchie faced arrears on the £8,000- a month mortgage of his £2 million mansion which he eventually sold to avoid bankruptcy. His fresh income was then splashed across a 40th birthday party before putting his final pennies into a film, box office flop Shoreditch. Friends then stepped in to help Ritchie after he failed to pay the mortgage for a year and he had his car repossessed.

Self proclaimed ‘baddest man on the planet’ and former heavyweight champion of the world Mike Tyson earned more than £165 million in his career, which saw him become a household name. Tyson’s career skewed off course however, as he openly admitted to being addicted to a rather unhealthy concoction of, “…chaos, money, jail, drugs, alcohol / liquor, girls & strip clubs”, and his knock-out blow came in 2003, when Tyson declared bankruptcy. ‘Iron Mike’ has long since sold his mansions and fleet of fast cars and now lives in a rented home.

“I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.” Famous words from the late George Best, the Manchester United football legend. Indeed, George’s life was one long party. After his drinking problems spilled onto the pitch causing Best’s career at the top to end prematurely, he turned to gambling to ‘fill the void’. Neither his money nor his liver could keep up with his hectic lifestyle however, and Best was declared bankrupt in November 1982, and sadly passed away in November 2006.

10. Fish

Could these fish possibly be the most expensive around?

9. Toilet

Talk about flushing money down the toilet!  All that’s needed now is toilet roll made of money to complete the look.

8. Camera

This camera certainly looks expensive but does this latest gadget have the quality credentials to match?

7. Elephant

This is fantastic; the creator has even managed to give the elephant an eye and tusks!

6. Shirt

Is this going to be the next big fashion trend amongst men in the office?

5. Snail

Who knew that you could make a snail out of bank notes?

4. Hang Glider

This is very inventive and with the level of detail in this particular origami it is likely that a lot of time and effort went into this one.

3. Flower

A flower made of money, which woman wouldn’t be happy to receive a bouquet made up of such flowers this Valentines Day?

2. Queen Elizabeth’s Hat

The Queen adds a new hat to her already really rather extensive collection.

1. Spider

Most people are scared of creepy crawlies but it’s doubtful that people would shy away from this spider.

Which one’s your favourite? Let us know with a comment below!

If you’re in a long lasting relationship then couples should share debt problems and should not lie to each other about their problems. This is what I do, and I find that a problem halved is a problem solved. I often share my financial problems with my mother who is also willing to lend a helping hand whenever I need it.

My sister has suffered from debt in the past, and did not share it with her husband for a long time. He was unaware that she had huge debts on her credit card. Eventually it all came out, and they divorced suddenly. She is now financially solvent and has no more debt problems.

There are many things that you can do to get you started.

• How about looking at the interest rates on credit cards. Is it possible to switch these over to something that is 0% and stop you wasting money on just paying off the interest which can take years to clear off the balance?

• Earning more money is also a good way to chuck some extra money at the debts to get them paid off quicker. How about extra shifts, a second job or even selling unwanted items on the internet. It can be hard work but remember your aim – to be debt free. It can help setting yourself a goal and give yourself something to work towards.

• Something that is definitely worthwhile doing is drawing up a list of all your incomes and out goings. This way you can pin point areas which may need a bit of work and help to save any money which you can throw at the debt. A budget for food etc can stop any wastage. Also it is a good idea to work out which debts need the most attention, these are usually the ones with the high interest.

First of all avoid the worst way to use your credit card – long term borrowing. If you need a loan it will almost always be cheaper to get it from a bank, especially if you are a home owner. Another method you could consider is your overdraft facility. A friend of mine has a particularly good deal with his bank that works out for him cheaper than a credit card for those small purchases. He finds the charges smaller for his spending needs.

But, assuming you won’t borrow any money for longer than a month or so, there are a lot of benefits to having a credit card. Indeed some goods and services, such as hire cars, are very hard to get without one.

This is because of the extra insurance and guarantees that your card provider gives you. Using your credit card for an expensive purchase can be worth it – I know someone who got £100 back after he broke a new camera. Even though he admitted he was at fault he was still partially covered. It is worth finding out what you are entitled to from your card.

Many credit cards also offer cashback or bonus schemes. So long as you use them for spending you would be doing anyway this can be a great saving – sometimes as much as 3% or 4%!

Basically credit cards can be great products if used right. Credit cards should never be used for credit! Use credit cards the smart way.

The first thing you need to do is set a realistic household budget. List all things you have to spend money on i.e. Gas – Electric, mortgage, then list all the things you want to spend money on. The goal is to separate between ‘Need’ and ‘Want’ for example you ‘need’ to eat or you ‘want’ that new CD. I would also thoroughly recommend using an online money management program to track your spending and help you get a bigger picture of your finances. Read my post on Kublax if you’d like more information.

The idea is to look at you outgoings and see where you can make cut backs, set yourself a shopping budget for food. Some examples of how to save money on groceries and household bills are as follows:

1. Ask your supermarket what time they mark down there products, and purchase these when they are cheaper. Most things can be frozen to restore the sell by date.

2. Grow your own vegetables and fruit allot cheaper than buying.

3. Use price comparisons sites to check you are not paying to much for your gas – electric or mortgage.

4. Check with your energy supplier to see if you have an economy setting, do you washing etc in the evening as it is cheaper.

5. Take a shower instead of a bath, its cheaper.

6. Do you really need the heating on? Can you just put on another layer of clothing?

7. Hang clothes to dry on a rainy day indoors over the bath or use a clothes airer, it’s cheaper than the tumble dryer or radiators.

8. Use natural products for cleaning its cheaper and better for your health!! eg. Vinegar for cleaning windows.

Overall just think about ways to do things on the cheap. Research is rewarding and you will be saving money and getting out of debt. I’m always reading brilliant blogs on frugality such as Almost Frugal.

As my wise mother told me as a kid – If you look after the pennies, the pounds will loook after themselves.

This doesn’t necessarily mean giving your child the rights to their university fund before they are ready, or even letting them take money when they want – as this would no doubt start a bad habit that is very likely to lead them into debt. Instead a good idea would be to set up a child account with a bank such as Nationwide or HSBC that gives the child a card to use with their account (a debit card, of course) with a monthly limit on how much they spend. This way they can see their savings grow over time – if they choose to save that is. Pocket money can even be added to this account monthly by standing order straight from your account.

As for schools, It is my personal opinion that ‘citizenship’ and the such should be kept out of schools as it interferes with the teaching of traditional subjects. However an introduction to Economics for children to young to study it may help the country out of the financial grave it is digging in future generations.

If you’ve got an opinion about ways to teach kids to save, let MoneyStand know. From my experience, frugality, managing money and money saving is something valuable to learn as a child, and I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Choose a reputable company

Many debt management services are being offered over the web but don’t just select on gut instinct, try to do a simple background check on the service provider. You want to be with the people who will genuinely help. The company should employ experts and the debt management service should be more one on one counseling than anything else. You should be dealing with a real expert rather than somebody who just poses to be one. In order for you to be guided accordingly, you have to be with the best people.

Questions to ask

The company should have a good track record and you should ask each company lots of questions before a decision is made:

1. How many people are actually helped by the company?
2. Are its clients satisfied with the service they got?
3. Are the services effective?
4. What does this service cost?
5. Will I be able to get debt free?

These are questions that you need to find the answers to before you commit to a specific debt management service.

A personalized service is key to getting the best out of the debt advice that will be received. You have to make sure that the debt management service provider looks deeper into your personal needs and requirements and not just leave you out in the cold with a big fat fee for them doing nothing.

Choosing a debt management service provider that will effectively take you towards debt-free living requires that both you and they share the same goals of you being debt free for life. These are the things that you should consider when selecting a debt management service provider. Remember, your chance to be free of debts is in their hands. Both of you should be helping each other.