Money Jungle offers a wealth of information and advice for anyone looking to invest or save money.

But often the place to start is to look at ways to reduce household bills including gas, electricity, water, phone and broadband. The majority of householders in the UK have failed to take advantage of competition in the utility markets and as a result are paying hundreds of pounds a  year more than they need to for their gas, electricity, telephone, Internet access, broadband as well as for mobile phones and digital TV.

In recent years UK consumers have seen big increases in their gas and electricity bills reflecting world energy prices. Although world oil prices are now down and wholesale gas prices have also fallen the UK energy companies have yet to pass significant savings on to customers through lower retail tariffs and in the longer term increases in energy prices seem inevitable. Although gas and electricity prices fell early in 2009 many consumers could save even more money by switching to a different supplier. You can check tariffs available in your area at Energy Helpline.

Often it isn't even necessary to change suppliers to save money, existing suppliers may have an alternative lower cost tariff, or will offer discounts for payment by direct debit, or even just to keep you as their customer if you threaten to switch to another supplier.

Consumers can save money if they opt for a dual fuel tariff using the same company to supply both gas and electricity. And online tariffs are often lower than the energy company standard tariffs.

If your main concern is avoiding unexpected increases in your energy bills look for one of the fixed rate tariffs offered by many of the energy suppliers.

And do look at the Green tariffs that are available, these may not cost more than standard tariffs but you can be sure that the electricity you use is matched by the company purchasing electricity from renewable sources. See npower juice.

For anyone with Internet access a good place  to start is one of the price comparison websites such as Energy Helpline.

Reducing energy consumption will save money as well as reducing household carbon emissions. For more go to the Money Jungle Climate Change page. Simple measures like better insulation, installing energy saving light bulbs, taking showers instead of baths, turning the central heating thermostat down by 1 degree can make a big difference.

Anyone with a gas fired central heating boiler over 10 years old may find it is only about 65% efficient.

Save up to £946 with a new boiler installation

• FREE annual servicing until 2013 (worth £290)
• FREE 5-year warranty on all Vaillant boilers as standard (worth £356)
• Lower gas bills with savings of up to £235 year on year
• The latest energy efficiency A -rated boilers
• Additional savings for the over 60's (worth £300)

• Help reduce your energy bill by up to 10-15% with a boiler service
• Boiler manufacturers recommend an annual service to keep your boiler working safely and efficiently and reduce the risk of breakdown
• Fully comprehensive service and safety check, focusing on 30 key points on your boiler

You can't switch to an alternative water company but you can reduce consumption by installing a water saving device in the WC cistern or buying a water butt to collect water from your roof or shed. Of course this will only make a difference if you have a water meter, if you haven't it may be cost effective to get one installed particularly in a one or two person household. Check with your water company who will be able to estimate your consumption to check if you would save money, most properties will qualify for free installation.

Find energy, phone and broadband providers in the Business Directory

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