Yahoo Finance 
Boost your bank balance by £4,000
A New Year means resolutions for many of us. How about you resolve to give yourself a pay rise in 2014? Start by having a read of these tips, which we reckon could net the average person at least £4,000, perhaps more...
Shift your credit card debt
With the average credit card interest rate at 17.5%, according to The Money Charity, if you have a big chunk of that debt on your credit card it can be seriously painful.
Research from Aviva found the average credit card debt is now £2,006. If you transferred that amount of debt onto a top balance transfer credit card from Barclaycard, the 29-month Platinum Visa, which offers 0% on transfers for nearly two and a half years, you'd only need to pay £69.17 a month to wipe out the debt for good. You would have to pay a balance transfer fee of 2.79% of the debt you're shifting, which would cost you £55.97. However, it would save you £501 of interest compared to paying it off at 17.5% interest.
Total: £501
Remortgage
Sitting on your lender’s standard variable rate (SVR) has been a smart move for many borrowers in recent years, with the SVR smaller than many of the top mortgage rates. However many fixed rate mortgage rates are now cheaper
In fact, mortgage broker John Charcol reckons many people on SVRs could save by switching to a fixed deal. In fact, a borrower with a £200,000 mortgage on a 4% SVR could save £625 a year by switching to a 3% deal.
Total: £1,126
[See if you can save on your mortgage]
Switch your energy tariff
Energy costs have been high up the news agenda in recent months, with the majority of providers announcing price hikes.
The best way to combat this is to regularly shop around for a new deal, to ensure you are paying as little as possible.
Users of our energy switching tool save an average of between £160 and £200 as a result of switching.
Total: £1,326
Shop around for your cover
Which? says shopping around for car insurance can save you up to 18%, which with the average cost of comprehensive cover now at £568.32 is worth up to £102.
Meanwhile, the Association of British Insurers says that the average home insurance policy costs £310, but the average shoparound policy can cut that to £240 – a saving of £70.
And Sainsbury's Bank estimates that shopping around for a joint life insurance and critical illness policy can save £200 a year.
Total: £1,698
Get a water meter
Having an accurate reading of how much water you're using via a water meter could save you around £100 a year.
Total: £1,798
Better broadband
Broadband comparison site broadbandchoices.co.uk estimates over a third (39%) of people have not switched broadband provider in four years, potentially missing out on an average saving of £70.
Total: £1,868
[Compare broadband prices with broadbandchoices.co.uk]
Be a smarter driver
Whatever you drive, money-saving tips such as shopping around for fuel using Petrolprices.com, minimising the weight your vehicle's carrying, driving smoothly and performing basic maintenance such as checking tyre pressure and oil levels should shave at least £146 off what you otherwise would have spent.
Total: £2,014
Get your savings working harder
The average instant access savings account currently pays a measly 0.67% interest, according to financial data provider Moneyfacts. Yet there are several current accounts that offer well-above inflation gross interest rates. If you have between £3,000 and £20,000 squirrelled away, Santander's 123 account will pay you 3%. If you have up to £2,500, Nationwide's FlexDirect account will pay you 5%.
So if you have £20,000 in the Santander account, you'll earn £480 in interest if you're a basic rate (20%) taxpayer. Lend that to other people via a peer-to-peer provider, though, and you could earn up to 5%, or £800 if you're a basic rate taxpayer. Just bear in mind these are more risky than normal savings accounts, as they're not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, although many do have contingency funds.
Total: £2,814
[Compare savings account rates]
Use your Cash ISA allowance
You have £5,760 to save tax free in a Cash ISA before the end of the tax year. Rates aren't great, but if you lock your money up for two years with National Counties Building Society at a rate of 2.10% you'll earn £122 in interest over the next 12 months.
Total: £2,936
Get rewarded for your spending
The credit cards we like the most are the ones that reward us with cash for clearing our balance in full each month.
Just how much you can expect to make depends on the card you go for, and where you use it. But let’s take the example of the American Express Platinum Cashback Everyday card, which offers 5% cashback on your spending in the first three months (capped at £100) then tiered rates of up to 1.25% depending on how much you spend thereafter. So spend £1,000 a month over the course of a year and you'll earn £225.
It’s not just how you pay that can earn you cashback though. When shopping online, make sure you go via a cashback website such as Quidco or Top Cashback to earn a percentage of your spend back. It really does make a difference and could mean £200 extra a year.
Total: £3,361
[Compare cashback credit cards]
Recycle old bits and bobs for cash
All of us have things cluttering up our homes that we no longer want nor need, whether it’s clothes we don’t wear anymore, DVDs we are never likely to watch again or old mobile phones gathering dust in the drawers.
There are plenty of ways to cash in on them too, from dedicated recycling sites to eBay to the good old fashioned car boot sale. Bank on another £200 coming in via this route.
Total: £3,561
Get paid to switch bank accounts
There aren’t too many bank accounts that can rival First Direct’s 1st Account. It doesn’t look that great on the surface, paying no interest, though it does come with a cracking £250 interest-free overdraft. But it’s the customer service that sets this one apart, with the bank winning every customer service award going.
Best of all, just for opening the account you’ll pocket £100 as a welcome bonus. First Direct is so confident you’ll love it that it will pay another £100 if you decide to leave between six months and a year after you open the account.
You could leave after six months and switch to Halifax's Reward account, which pays a welcome bonus of £100 and then £5 a month, providing you credit the account with at least £750 a month, pay out two direct debits and stay in credit.
All of that little lot would net you £330.
Total: £3,3891
Surveys and focus groups
This is a dead easy way to make money, with very little effort involved.
Just sign up to a research company, like YouGov, for example, and you can soon run up a healthy amount. OK, so it might take a while to build up £50, but it's easy money!
Other sites to have a look at include Panelbase and Toluna. You can make more money by signing up to companies who run focus groups, such as Saros, Focus4People and Research Opinions. Get invited to one or two of these a year and you're looking at upwards of £109.
Total: £4,000
There you have it: £4,000 extra in 2014. And that’s without talking about investing in the stock market, putting money away in a pension, checking you're receiving all the benefits you're entitled to, claiming back PPI or other charges (without involving a fee-charging company), renting out a room in your home, or doing some other form of paid work.
