MANY families who cut their spending back last year on the assumption of recovery this year may already be having a rethink, looking for fresh ways to prune the budget after warnings that another 250,000 jobs could go in the new year.

Unemployment could hit three million by mid-summer, says the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development – partly because of rising inflation and the rise in VAT.

Counting the pennies could be more important than last year.

Here’s a few spending checks that households can make at this time of the year:

● Mortgages:

Use low interest rates to overpay your mortgage, while interest-only borrowers who switch to capital repayment terms with their lender may be surprised by savings in the long-term.

Moneysupermarket.com estimates that someone paying an extra £50 a month on a capital repayment could save about £40,000 over the 300- month life of a mortgage.

● Get the cheapest loan:

Nationwide Building Society says many consumers with debts spread across credit and store cards, overdrafts and loans could make a big saving by consolidating the debts into its new personal loans costing a typical 7.6 per cent APR on £7,500 to £14,999 for up to five years, the rate being fixed for the full term of the loan. Nationwide is undercutting the 7.9 per cent offer on £7,500 to £15,000 advances, with Nectar points, unveiled by Sainsbury’s Finance after Christmas.

● Credit cards:

If you can get your current card debts accepted for a nought per cent balance transfer deal, there’s a case for cutting the card up as you pay off the debt to ensure you don’t make new purchases, possibly charged at 16 per cent upwards.

● Be a careful shopper:

Write down what you actually need before entering the supermarket, and you can easily save £20 per week and avoid food waste, says Andrew Hagger at Moneynet.co.uk. That’s worth £1,000 a year and you can turbo-charge the benefit by using this money to pay off debts elsewhere.

● Home and motor insurance:

Comparison site Gocompare.com reckons a potential 21 million drivers are missing out on cheaper cover. Also, only 19 per cent of consumers switched their home insurer in the last year.

Gocompare.com reckons its customers could save an average £211 by switching their car insurance after comparing policies from more than 120 insurers and brokers.

● Claim all available benefits:

If family income is less than £40,000 and both partners work 16 hours a week plus, you are eligible for childcare tax credits worth hundreds of pounds towards the cost of childcare, assuming the carer is registered with Ofsted. The Government helpline is 0845-601-4771 or visit moneysavingexpert.com/childcare.

● Current Account:

A&L, part of Santander Group, has reintroduced its popular £100 cashback for those switching to its Premier Current Account. Other perks of this account include a fee-free agreed overdraft for 12 months, free annual European travel insurance and 0.5 per cent credit interest, on condition at least £500 is paid into the account each month.

Call 0800-100800 for details.

● Maximise savings rates:

The big institutions still need your cash, with Abbey and A&L kick-starting the new year with a range of fixed-rate bonds paying up to 4.1 per cent gross/AER on minimum £1 deposits invested for one year upwards.

● Start saving for Christmas:

Yorkshire Building Society is launching a Christmas saver account, branch based and postal, paying a fixed rate of 3.50 per cent gross on a minimum £10 deposit. The account will take a maximum £1,200 – with instant access on December 1, putting savers in the black for Christmas spending. For savers prepared to set aside £250 per month, moneysupermarket tips the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society’s Family Regular Saver, paying five per cent.

POND NOTES

LOOKING for a cheaper mortgage? First Direct, online arm of HSBC, set a cracking pace on mortgage deals last year and its leading fee-free Base Rate lifetime offset tracker costs Bank Rate plus 2.49 per cent, currently 2.99 per cent, with maximum loan to value (LTV) 65 per cent. Meanwhile, HSBC, intent on building a portfolio of highquality mortgage customers, has launched a 2010 sale – including a 2.29 per cent discount mortgage for customers with 40 per cent deposits. Customers also get 50 per cent off selected tracker mortgage fees. ■ SOME lenders are lifting the Standard Variable Rate (SVR) on mortgages, possibly to jolt borrowers into getting a new mortgage deal, says Darren Cook at Moneyfacts.co.uk. He says SVRs vary massively, from 2.50 per cent at C&G, Cheshire BS, Derbyshire BS and Nationwide BS (on deals taken out on or before April 29 last year) up to 6.45 per cent (Chesham BS) and 5.99 per cent from various lenders, including Stroud & Swindon BS, Nottingham BS, ITL Mortgage, Newcastle BS and Accord Mortgages. Mr Cook says: “The momentum to increase SVRs appears to be gathering pace, and now that a few have taken the step, it is highly possible others will follow.”