The start of a new year brings lots of plans to make resolutions, but making changes to your finances could have a lasting impact on the year and make you richer for the next 12 months. Here are six quick ways you can make some extra money – all of which will take less time to sort than you think.

1. Switch bank accounts

So many people have stayed with the same bank for years – but you win no points (or money) for loyalty. There’s a war among banks for your custom, and that means you can be paid handsomely to move your current account to another bank. Currently the top payer is First Direct – who will give you £175 to move. Check out the small print of each offer: you’ll usually need to be a new customer, move across some direct debits, pay in a certain amount each month and then wait for the bonus to land. But once you’ve received the money there’s nothing to stop you moving to another bank to claim their new customer bonus.

2. Move your savings to a better rate

Savings rates have shot up but too many people have still got their money in old savings accounts paying little or no interest. You can now get more than 5% return on an easy-access savings account – so if you’re getting less than this you should switch your money. If you have £15,000 in savings that’s earning 2% interest at the moment, moving to the current top account paying 5.22% would generate almost £500 a year in extra interest. And lots of people will be earning far less than 2% interest and may have far more in savings – boosting the potential gains.

3. Get cashback – for all your spending

If you’re not getting paid for your spending you’re missing a trick. You can use cashback websites, like TopCashback or Quidco, where you earn a small amount for each item that you buy online or bigger amounts when you buy insurance, mobile phones or other contracts. You just need to register for an account and then remember to access the website through the cashback site. Alternatively, you can get a debit or credit card that gives you cashback for your spending. Some of these accounts come with a monthly charge, so you’ll need to assess whether you’ll make enough to cover the fees.

4. Maximise your pension matching

This one will cost you a bit of money but will make you richer overall. Employers will offer matched contributions for your pension, up to certain limits. It means that you pay more into your pension but they match it – and effectively is like a pay rise, as your employer is paying you more money (albeit into your pension). Check your company rules and see if you’re maximising your matching. Once you’ve added tax relief on top it means you could get a chunky contribution to your pension for a much smaller cost to yourself. For example, if you pay in an extra £50 a month but your employer matches this, after pension tax relief that will amount to a £112.50 contribution to your pension that cost you only £50.

5. Cancel those subscriptions

We’ve all been guilty of signing up to a free trial and then forgetting to cancel it before we get charged. Or gradually adding more and more streaming services to our monthly costs without thinking about it. January is a good time to look back at all the subscriptions you paid for in 2023 and assess whether they are really worth it – and then cancel the ones that aren’t. A more radical option is to cancel every subscription you have to see which ones you miss – before adding them back in. You might be surprised by the ones that you don’t miss at all.

6. Use your calendar to save you money

Your calendar (whether it’s paper or digital) can really help you to save money. Go through and enter every renewal date for things like car insurance, home insurance, mobile phones, broadband, TV packages or breakdown cover and set a reminder for a few weeks ahead of the date. This means you’ll be reminded ahead of time that the contract is coming to an end and it will avoid you falling onto an auto-renewal, which almost always costs far more than shopping around for a new deal. You can also use the calendar through the year to set reminders for when free trials are ending, initial offer periods are expiring or savings rates are due to drop. It is also handy for managing payments that aren’t automatic – for example, set a reminder to pay your credit card bill every month so you never get hit with late fees again.

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