Everyday homeowners in the UK seemed to be faced with yet another dose of bad news. If it isn’t a rise in the inflation rate then it is a rise in fuel prices, if it isn’t the price of energy bills going up then it’s the soaring cost of household insurance. Money is getting tighter and most people are struggling to make ends meet.

Vicious circle

People are now trying to go without buying new products which in turn is bad news for the shops on the high street and therefore jobs. It is a vicious circle but there is a way to find the cash to buy new products, it’s just that not many people realise what they have at home and don’t use.

Make a hobby pay

Setting up an eBay account or something similar is quite easy to do and many local newspapers allow an element of free advertising. All you have to do is recognise objects you own and never use, and before you know it you have a new hobby and a new income stream.

Free up space and earn some cash

When was the last time you read a book, a proper book? Millions of us now use eBooks and although nothing in a home looks better than a well stocked bookshelf, how many books do you possess up in the loft, on the bottom of coffee tables, and basically just spread about the home? If they are in decent condition they have a sell on price and also help you un-clutter your home. The beauty of this is that you never need to pay to read a book again if you own an e-reader. Project Gutenberg is a website that allows visitors to download books for free, and they have a library of literally thousands to choose from.

Put your camera out of the picture

The same applies to CDs, when was the last time you actually played a CD to listen to your music? You more than likely pay a monthly contract fee to use your mobile phone and most of the time you use it to listen to your albums. So sell the CDs and don’t buy another. The savings are starting to mount up and the mention of a mobile phone should provide you with something else in the home that is redundant. That’s right, the digital camera, how many people realise most mobile phones have a very good digital camera. They are easier to handle and store and once again included in the price you are already paying on your contract. Sell the digital camera.

Who needs a landline?

Guess what’s coming next. The landline phone of course. You will be paying a monthly rental charge no matter how little you use your phone and if you have good reception and are as reliant on your mobile phone as many are today, then ditch the landline and save even more money.

The savings you can make on selling unwanted items and just not replacing goods you no longer use can easily pay for something like your monthly home insurance premium or even the fuel to get you to work and back. It is just a matter of approaching a problem in a different way.