Ten of the best ... ways to make money from your desk

1. Get paid to surf the net

You surf the net all the time so why not make money every time you click on "search"? Yahoo powers searches which pay a small amount every time you run one – it is willing to do so because it wants to break down Google's domination. There is a search at Moneymagpiesearch.com. If you recommend your friends you will also make commission on their searches. The payments are small but we know people who have made around £30 in two months by searching regularly. You can choose whether you receive your money through PayPal or by bank transfer.

2. Take part in online surveys

Again, this is pocket money while you're on the internet, but it can be fun too. It is simply a case of answering questions about a particular product or company, or about your shopping habits. Be careful which surveys you use – some are fraudulent. Among the best of the genuine ones is panelbase.net, which will pay between 50p and £3 a survey, Valued Opinions, which pays between £1 and £5 a survey, and Ciao-surveys.co.uk, which pays up to £5.

3. Get paid for social networking

You can make money by keeping in touch with friends, and making more friends, on social networking site Yuwie. Set up a profile, write a blog, upload photos and videos and do what you usually do with any networking site. The difference with Yuwie is that it pays you to do all these things using advertising revenue. The amount you get paid depends on the number of times you and your friends view your pages. If you have lots of friends the views mount up and you can make some worthwhile cash.

4. Recycle your mobile

Have you got a useless old mobile in your desk drawer? Most of us have at least one hanging around the office or house, so make money from yours. Send it to Mopay and make between £2.50 and £200 depending on its make and condition. Even rubbishy old battered models can be worth a few quid if they can be sold on for spare parts.

5. Sell adverts on your blog

If you are a regular blogger and have built up a bit of a following, you could make money selling advertising around your posts. You can make cash quickly by putting Google Adsense on it. If you get enough traffic you make money every time people click on the ads. Blogs are also great for selling any products you have, promoting your services (it could be anything from sales training to web development or maternity care) and selling eBooks you have created yourself.

6. Sell your photos

If you have a nice collection of digital photos you could sell them over and over again through online agencies. Send them in to one or more agencies and any they like they will upload to the site. When people buy them you get a commission; you could end up getting paid for years to come. Picturenation say many of their photographers make hundreds of pounds a month, and some are simply good amateurs. Also try Fotolia and iStockphoto.

7. Rent out your stuff

Everyone knows about selling stuff on eBay, but how about renting it and making money over and over again? Sites like RentNotBuy.co.uk and RentRino will let you advertise anything from a baby bath to a ball gown. It is a new phenomenon, so it could be a while before anyone rents your power tools or your DVD player, but if you have a spare minute upload your details and later on you could make some regular cash.

8. Complain to gain

We don't complain enough in this country, which is one of the reasons why service can be so bad. However, those who complain constructively have worked out they can even make money through it. A well-crafted, reasonable letter including a request for financial compensation can make you money. Write to a company's CEO explaining the problem and set out the amount you feel you should receive in compensation. If it is refused write again, and even write a third time if necessary. Usually by the second or third letter they cave in and give you about half of what you were asking for.

9. Answer text questions

If you're a bit of a trivia king or queen you could make money by answering people's text questions. It is flexible work and you just have to be a bit knowledgeable and quick at searching the net (make extra by following point 1 above). On average, question answerers make about £10 an hour. The questions vary enormously: you could get anything from "Where's the nearest pizza place?" to "Who won the 1962 world cup?" and "Will I ever find love?". Visit ansanow or Textperts to see if you are quick enough to be part of their teams of knowledge hunters.

10. Get cashback

If you use your lunch hour to buy essentials, make sure you get paid to do it. Shop around first to find the best deals, then look on cashback sites to see if you could get money back by buying through them. Start with sites that give you instant cash just by signing up, such as Rpoints, which gives you £5, Cashback Shopper, which gives you £5, and ecashback, which gives you £2.50 immediately.

How to make money on the internet

The net can be a great way to top up your income. Barry Collins reveals how to make money safely and legally

With milk and petrol seemingly costing more per litre than champagne, few people can afford to turn away easy money. The good news is that there are plenty of undemanding ways to supplement your salary online.

From filling out short surveys to being a virtual PA or writing brief articles for online encyclopedias, you could soon be bringing in hundreds of pounds per month. However, before you book that Seychelles trip or a Mercedes-Benz SLK test drive remember to put some of your new-found riches aside for when the taxman cometh.

1. CASH FOR QUESTIONS

Sign up with a reputable market research company and you will be rewarded for completing short web-based surveys. Most take five minutes, so you could pack a few into your lunch break.

Some of these companies “pay” you with free entry to a legitimate prize draw. Others such as www.surveys.com – which is run by GfK, the analyst – entice you with vouchers redeemable against a range of items.

Best of all are firms that cough up hard cash. YouGov (www.yougov.com/uk/panel), the pollster, pays 50p-£1 for every survey. Once you accumulate £50 of credit, YouGov sends you a cheque.

Ciao!, the shopping advice portal, pays £1-£5 for each questionnaire (tinyurl.com/ 5dbl6s) and payments are made by bank transfer after £5 has been earned. If you are a Ciao! member, you can write reviews of products or services you have bought. You will receive payments (of up to 2p) every time a fellow member rates one of your reviews as useful. It won’t generate a salary to match AA Gill’s, but every little helps.

The web is festooned with sites that promise the moon on a stick if you complete surveys or browse a website. Many are legitimate but some are not. The Market Research Society – the trade body for UK market research companies – enables you to check whether a firm conforms to its code of practice at www.rbg.org.uk. If you don’t want to restrict yourself to UK firms, the pan-European equivalent is Esomar (directory.esomar.org). To check a US-based market researcher visit www.casro.org.

2. RECLAIM MONEY

One of the easiest ways to earn from the internet is to reclaim money that’s yours. Close to £1 billion is in dormant bank, building society or National Savings accounts that people have forgotten about or omitted from a will, according to the new MyLostAccount service ( www.mylostaccount.org.uk).

This site aims to reunite these accounts with their owners. Fill out the online form and the 100-plus banks and building societies in the scheme will search their records for accounts in your or a relative’s name.

And what about those premium bonds that were bought for your eighth birthday that you recently found in a drawer? Head to www.nsandi.com to find out whether Ernie has made you a secret millionaire.

Determined to reclaim excessive bank or credit-card charges? The crusading MoneySavingExpert.com has a regularly updated guide at tinyurl.com/2d8zs5. The site provides a sample letter to send to your bank and (in a delightful piece of schadenfreude) an interest calculator.

One of the biggest financial ruses is banks overcharging for mortgage protection insurance. Due to a recent Competition Commission ruling, consumers can claw back chunks of cash, plus interest – up to £24,000 says a recent Times Online feature ( tinyurl.com/5fembh).

If you are fed up with delays on your daily rail commute but can’t be bothered with the tedious compensation forms, TrainDelays ( www.traindelays.co.uk) will do it for you. Register details of your journey and season ticket and it will automatically apply for compensation whenever a delay occurs on your line. This enables you potentially to claim back rail vouchers worth hundreds of pounds a year.

3. MOONLIGHTING

Fancy a little extra income in the evenings or while the children are at school? The smartly designed Elance ( www.elance.com) enables you to pitch your skills for various freelance gigs. These range from producing architectural drawings to being a virtual PA. Workers and employers are both rated on the site. Some Elancers have earned hundreds of thousands of pounds.

For something less formal, Amazon’s Mechanical Turk ( www.mturk.com) will pay all-comers to take on tasks that computers can’t handle. These include writing descriptions of videos or pointing out potholes in sat nav photos. Rates of pay can hover from modest to derisory, so pick projects carefully. Your expertise may be better rewarded by About.com ( beaguide.about.com), which pays people hundreds of pounds a month to become “guides” on their specialist subjects. The site is seeking experts on topics as diverse as Moroccan food and houseplants, but contributors must post regular articles.

Part-time expert geeks or moonlighting mechanics who want to let prospective customers check availability or reserve appointments online should flit over to www.mybookingcalendar.com. The setup is a little baffling, but there’s a tutorial video and a 30-day free trial.

4. MAKE YOUR PASSION PAY

If you run an amateur website (or blog) on, say, local town history or beauty treatments why not turn this passion into cash? If you have always hankered to write about a specific subject, you can set up a swish-looking blog in minutes at Typepad ( www.typepad.com) from £2.50 a month. WordPress ( wordpress.com), its rival, is slightly more complex but free.

You can earn from your readers by placing adverts on the site or signing up for “affiliate” deals where you receive a commission from, say, Amazon if people buy anything via your recommendations. Your blog provider should provide instructions on setup – see Typepad’s step-by-step video at tinyurl.com/63g6h4.

If you blog about products readers may want to buy, Pricerunner, the price comparison engine, can show the cost of these items on your site. If a visitor clicks through to a Pricerunner advertiser, it will pay you 10p-33p a pop ( tinyurl.com/yfgdkv). An alternative here is Kelkoo’s TradeDoubler ( tinyurl.com/5ldztu).

If you write about a sport you can have a flutter on, send your readers to Betfair and it will pony up at least 25% of the value of any bets placed ( tinyurl.com/5oaabo).

Unsure what ads to display? Join Google’s AdSense ( tinyurl.com/5ghlcd) and it will search your webpages and show relevant test-based ads alongside, say, your paean to vintage toasters. If the readers click, you get paid.

If you can swallow your pride, Blogsvertise ( www.blogsvertise.com) will slip you up to £12 for each favourable 100-word mention of one of its clients. Tempted?

5. SET UP SHOP

Many hobbies such as jewellery-making or photography can become a lucrative sideline. The obvious destination for sales is eBay but serious sellers should separate themselves from the throng by creating an eBay shop using the free tools at tinyurl.com/5snaxz.

Setting up your own online store is easier than you think and often looks more professional than selling via existing web stores such as eBay. The Mr Site Takeaway Website ( www.mrsite.com) provides everything you need – a .com web address, simple design software and a secure payments service – in one box. It costs £35 for 12 months, then £2.90 a month. The Pro version has a bigger upfront cost (£100) but adds features such as boosting your site’s visibility on search engines.

Many website hosting services such as 1&1 (www.1and1.co.uk) provide free tools for quickly designing a classy web store – and then you can even link it to eBay.

Another 10 ways to make money

If you're looking at ways to supplement your income, here are some options other than working behind a bar or stacking shelves at a supermarket.

1 Police ID parades
Taking part in identity parades is easy money - you just have to stand there - but work is irregular and may depend on your appearance. Many police forces now use video line-ups but you can still get a one-off fee of £10 for being filmed.

Average pay: £10 for the first hour, £5 for every hour after that.
More info: ask at your local police station.

2 TV/film extra
Production companies need people of all shapes and sizes and if you're over 18 but look younger you'll be especially popular, as you can save them the cost of a chaperone for a child actor. Don't expect to meet the stars, though.

Average pay: £80 a day, with bonuses for things like providing your own costume or doing a 'walk-on'. Overtime is paid at around £11 an hour.
More info: there's a list of extras agencies at UK Screen

3 Campus brand manager
All sorts of companies hire students to promote them on campus, from film distributors to sportswear firms. You'll get plenty of opportunities to demonstrate your business acumen, but the work can be time-consuming.

Average pay: £300 a term, though some firms only pay on a commission basis.
More info: look for notices on student job boards.

4 Trading on eBay
'The World's Online Marketplace' has one million registered users in the UK alone so there's bound to be someone who'll pay for anything you have to sell. Start with stuff you don't want (old CDs, clothes, toys) to get a feel for it.

Average pay: the sky's the limit - but unless you're selling something rare or valuable, don't expect to make a fortune.
More info: go to eBay and click on 'eBay explained'.

5 Pose as a life model
You don't have to be beautiful or in particularly great shape but you do have to patient, able to sit still and perhaps not wince at what an artist makes of you. But good models are in demand.

Average pay: from £6 or so an hour clothed, to £7 or so an hour unclothed outside London; a little more in the capital.
More info: contact art colleges and adult education colleges near you.

6 In-store demonstrator
There's lots of work for confident, personable people in supermarkets and department stores. You might be required to show off your ironing skills, hold a food tasting or demonstrate a new kitchen gadget, for example. Hours are often in the evenings or during weekends so can fit around your studies.

Average pay: varies, but can be up to £10 an hour.
More info: search for 'field marketing agencies' on the Internet.

7 Event stewarding
Concerts and sports fixtures employ a small army to help with organisation. The necessary training will be provided on the day but don't view the job as a free ticket. Stewards at football matches, for example, are expected to face the crowd, not watch the game.

Average pay: rates start at £5 an hour; with training you can earn up to £15 an hour.
More info: try Recruit Event Services.

8 Blogging

There best way to make money through blogging is by placing advertising banners alongside your blog. An array of third party tools are available for setting up these ads, Google’s AdSense remains one of the more popular solutions. Just establish yourself a decent blog, configure the ads and see what happens.

Average pay: This will range widely depending on how many people visit your blog and click on the sponsored links.
More info: see Wordpress for starting a blog and Google Adsense for setting up your sponsored links

9 Mystery shopping
Some men would pay good money not to go shopping, but 'mystery shoppers', on the other hand, get paid instead. It's not just about going to shops but perhaps to restaurants, bars or to stay in a hotel and report on how the customer's being treated. You'll get all the money for your meals, drinks or bills repaid and you may get to keep the shopping, too - unless, of course, it's diamonds.

Average pay: from £6 a visit, but could be as much as £100 a day.
More info: try the Mystery Shopping Agency on 020 8325 8974 or Retail Eyes

10 Internet researcher
You may have grown up taking the Internet for granted but there are plenty of people who aren't familiar with it or are too busy to spend time on it. So if you're skilled at extracting information from a web search, you can hire yourself out as a researcher for people like lawyers and writers.

Average pay: £10 an hour
More info: look for notices on student job boards or contact likely clients in your area.

50 ways to save money....

British credit card holders now owe an average of £2,200 on their plastic and with retailers reporting a slump in sales not seen for two decades, it is clear that shoppers are reining in their spending. In short, it's payback time.

To clear a debt of £2,200 on a card that attracts an interest rate of around 15% will take more than two years assuming a monthly repayment of £100.

There are, however, plenty of simple ways to make significant savings on your regular spending that could clear the debt many times over in less than a year.

Here are This is Money's top 50 money-saving tips.

1. Change your attitude to your mortgage
The most expensive item you are ever likely to buy is your home. If you're not in the privileged position to pay cash, make sure the loan you use to finance it is the best available. For example, if you are paying your lender's full standard variable rate (SVR) you are probably paying hundreds of pounds a year more than you need to.

There are thousands of deals to choose from and while it is vital to check the small print for hidden catches, this is a relatively easy way to save a lot of money. Remember: loyalty to your bank benefits your bank, not you. Even better, if you can afford to make overpayments on your mortgage, you'll clear your debt several years early and make massive savings. For example, if you borrow £100,000 at 6% over 25 years, you'll pay it back at £643 a month. The total charge for credit will be £93,000. But if you can overpay by £100 a month you'll clear the loan in less than 19 years, giving you 6 years of mortgage-free living and saving a staggering £25,000 in interest.
Saving: £1,000s
Links: This is Money mortgage finder; mortgage calculators; mortgage guides

2. Clear your credit card debt
One of the golden rules of financial planning is to clear your most expensive debts first, in other words your credit cards. OK, credit cards offer a convenient way to pay for goods and services but if you can't clear the balance every month, consider a low-cost loan as an alternative. Do the sums: a credit card debt (APR 15%) of £2,200 over three years will cost £545 in interest. A loan at 6% will cost £209. A saving of £336.
Saving: £100s
Link: This is Money credit card finder

3. Cut the cost of your fuel bills
As the global demand for power threatens to outstrip supply, prices are rising. But that doesn't mean you need to be ripped off. The domestic market for fuel is a competitive one and you can change supplier with a few clicks of the mouse. Your new supplier will take care of the formalities - you just pay less every month.
Saving: £100
Link: Slash your fuel bills with This is Money

4. Consider installing a water meter
We take our tap water for granted. And why not? The companies behind the supply exist to make a profit, we pay them to supply water and have every right to expect it to flow from our taps. But if it doesn't rain, supply runs dry and the price goes up. So you may want to consider the possibility of installing a meter. If you have a big home with few occupants you may be surprised to learn you could halve your annual bill.
Saving: £100s
Link: water calculator

5. Cut your home phone bills
BT may seem to behave like a monopoly but it most definitely is not one. If you must use your phone there are scores of cheaper alternatives from cable companies that package your telephone, television and even broadband internet access to low-cost dial-up services that give you access to cheaper calls using your existing BT line.
Saving: £100
Link: Cut your phone bills with This is Money

6. Consider a pay-as-you go mobile
Ask yourself this: is your mobile phone absolutely necessary? If the answer is yes, then ask yourself whether you really need all those minutes and texts that come as part of your package. If you hand over £50 a month to your mobile phone company, that's £600 a year – or around £1,000 of your gross salary. But you can buy a pay-as-you-go phone for as little as £30 and only pay for the odd call as and when you need to.
Saving: £100s
Links: mobile phone deal finder

7. Make a shopping list
Food shopping forms a significant part of our monthly outgoings and the supermarket is where the bulk of the money is spent. Tesco takes £1 in every £8 spent by UK shoppers. But be warned, stores spend a small fortune studying ways of making us part with more of our money than we would otherwise intend to. Have you ever wondered why your favourite song is playing in the background as you navigate the aisles? Have you even noticed the background music? Possibly not, but you will have noticed at the checkout that the bill is often more than expected. To circumvent this, simply make a shopping list. Dig out the cookery books, plan a few meals and only buy what you need.
Saving: £10 a week = £520 a year
Link: Mysupermarket for price comparisons

8. When was the last time you went to the market?
One way to beat the supermarkets - that is, to eat healthily for less - is to use your local market stall. Lower overheads should mean lower prices. At the time of writing, cherries were on sale in Asda for £2.99 for 400g, the equivalent at the local market was going for just over £1.
Saving: £100+

9. Consider own-brand goods
You can buy a tin of Asda own-brand baked beans for 14p and a loaf bread at Asda, Tesco or Sainsbury's for 19p. Enough said.
Saving: £100
Link: Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's

10. Don't buy designer labels
Celebrities are given expensive clothes to wear. You're not. At the end of the day, and let's face it you may only wear the outfit once, can you justify paying hundreds of pounds over the odds because a top designer has had his or her name sewn on the label? And can you honestly say you can tell the difference at a distance between a £600 designer bag and a £9.99 one from the market? Think about it.
Saving: £100s
Link: Prada - note the total lack of prices
ASOS.com offers discounted brands

11. Sell your clutter on eBay
Take this quick test: You're at home. Open a cupboard. Look inside. If it's full of clothes you haven't worn, or 'good ideas a the time' you haven't used, for, let's say, three years - you don't need them. So why not sell them to someone else who does? Ebay, the online auction house, has opened individual sellers to a world of buyers. And you can flog anything for the cost of a small commission. Tip: you may want to buy a few items first to build up your rating as a respectable eBayer before you start selling.
Income: Will depend on what's in your cupboard
Links: www.ebay.co.uk; 'I'm making money from eBay'

12. Use your talent to earn extra cash
Let's face it, if you're not a pop star by the time you reach your 20s you're never going to be. But you may be able to use your talent as a guitarist to teach other wannabes the rudiments of the 12-bar blues.
Income: It's not unreasonable to charge £20 an hour

13. Do DIY
We're a nation of obsessive DIYers and for around £100 you can take a course at your local adult education college to improve the skills needed to tackle most household repairs. If the college runs plumbing courses you could soon be on track to wiping out costly call-out charges and extra insurance policies once and for all.
Saving: £100+

14. Shop around for the cheapest household insurance
Unless you drive – car insurance is mandatory - you don't need insurance. But it's strongly advisable. Can you afford to foot the bill if your house burns down? Probably not. Similarly, can you afford to pay over the odds for the same policy available elsewhere because you can't be bothered to shop around? Possibly, but it's not advisable. The internet has made finding cheaper insurance easy and you can compare hundreds of policies in minutes.
Saving: £100s
Link: This is Money's insurance finder

15. Don't automatically renew annual travel insurance
If your annual holiday insurance policy is about to expire and you don't have a holiday booked, DON'T renew the policy. You're handing your money over to cover an eventuality that won't happen. You wouldn't have car insurance if you didn't own a car. Simply restart the cover again the next time you book a trip.
Saving: £50
Link: This is Money's travel insurance finder

16. Choose cheaper breakdown insurance
The breakdown sector is dominated by big names such as the AA and RAC. But being towed home if your car breaks down is just another form of insurance like any other and there are scores of cheaper alternatives.
Saving: Up to £100 a year
Link: This is Money's breakdown insurance finder

17. Are you paying too much for your life insurance?
We're living longer. As a result the cost of insuring the unthinkable is getting cheaper all the time. If you were sold a policy when you took out or mortgage you may have been under too much stress to shop around. You could be missing a trick.
Saving: £100
Link: This is Money's life insurance finder

18. Book early
Low-cost airlines have created a market in holidays for people prepared to fly to any destination provided it's cheap. You can benefit from this too. Just remember, only a few seats on each flight are sold at bargain-basement prices and once they're sold, the prices rise. So book early.
Saving: £100
Link: Skyscanner - the air fares comparison site

19. Book your own 'package' holiday online
The popularity of High Street travel agents is waning as more and more people warm to the benefits of researching and putting together their own holidays on the internet. If your holiday consists of flights, accommodation, transfers and possibly car hire, then take this test. Order a brochure from a leading holiday company and work out the price of your holiday including all the complicated supplements. Now go online and, starting with the flights, try to put the same package together.
Saving: £100+
Links: This is flights, HotelClub.co.uk, Shuttle Direct, Holiday Autos

20. Learn to say 'no'
It's easy to capitulate to the demands of a screaming child in a packed Woolworths on a Saturday afternoon. But don't do it. Similarly, how often does a 'swift half' after work turn into a £40 drinking session? Saying 'no' a few times a year will do wonders for your bank account.
Saving: £100

23. Don't pay full price for theatre or theme park tickets
If you are prepared to tolerate the unwieldy website and hit-and-miss customer service, lastminute.com regularly boasts some amazing deals for London's theatres and the nation's theme parks. At the time of writing you can see top West End show The Producers plus a two-course meal for less than £20 a head, a saving of £60 per person, and tickets for Chessington World of Adventures cost from £12, a saving of nearly £50 for a day out for a family of four.
Saving: £100s
Link: www.lastminute.com

24. Beat the ticket touts
Ticket touts earn their living by getting hold of tickets that are 'otherwise unavailable'. Well, here's the news: they are available to everyone when they first go on sale. You just need to know when they go on sale. Simply sign up to for the free ticket alert newsletters from the main agents to ensure that you're first in the queue.
Saving: £100s
Links: Ticketline; Ticketmaster

25. Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses
Trying to keep up appearances is little more than a costly illness. Remember, you cannot judge someone by what they have because you don't know how they got it. Chances are they're in more debt than you are.
Saving: £1,000s
Link: This is Money's guide to getting out of debt

26. Trade down your car
So, you bought an American sports utility vehicle (SUV) that nets 15 miles to the gallon on a whim. Obviously we're all very impressed – especially by the personalised number plate. But can you honestly justify the ongoing expense? If not, get rid of it. Then visit a car supermarket, where you can choose from thousands of cars at knock-down prices. If you're a true money saver, consider an ex-rental model which you can pick up for a fraction of the cost of a new one.
Saving: £1,000s
Links: Daily Mail find a car service; Cargiant

27. Ask yourself: do I really need this?
Imagine the scenario. It's lunchtime and you've got an hour to kill. You find yourself in a department store and there's a sale on. You pick up a beautifully packaged selection of barbecue tools and associated garden paraphernalia. And it's half price. Now, stop! Ask yourself: Do I really need this? Exactly. Now, put it down and walk away.
Saving: £100
Link: This is Money's money savers' guides

28. Walk/cycle to the station/work
It maybe a bit of hippie notion to many people but it's free.
Saving: £100
Link: Cycle Campaign Network

29. Get off the station before your usual stop and walk
We may be creatures of habit but isn't it worth tinkering with the routine if it's costing more than £50 a month in unnecessary fares?
Saving: £100
Link: Living Streets

30. Cut down your drinking
A few beers after work a few nights a week is a financially debilitating state of affairs. Set limits and stick to them.
Saving: £100s
Link: Calculator: Pleasures v treasures

31. Pack up smoking
Never mind the health implications, the guilt and the smell, your 20-a-day habit is costing you nearly £2,000 a year. Pack it in.
Saving: Nearly £2,000
Link: Givingupsmoking.co.uk

32. Cancel your gym membership
If you pay your £40 a month by direct debit and you use the gym three times a week, great. If not, cancel your membership immediately. You'll soon save enough to buy your own bike and, if you're so inclined, a rowing machine. Consider running home from work three times a week. It's free.
Saving: £100s
Link: Compare prices for rowing machines on Kelkoo

33. Use your library
The local library is a mecca for the money saver. You'll never need to buy another cookbook, guidebook or lifestyle manual again and if you can bear to wait a few weeks in the queue for the latest blockbuster, you never need to buy books again. CDs and videos are great value too.
Saving: £100
Link: www.whichbook.net - find a book and check if it's available at your local library

34. The three-for-two trick
Now, there's a lot to be said for buy-one-get-one-free deals, especially if they pass the 'Do I really need this?' test. Then there's three-for-twos; a particularly cynical way of stores to entice shoppers to buy an extra item they would not otherwise buy. The 'offer' is always priced into the deal so do your sums and shop around.
Saving: It's a principle at stake here
Link: Discuss deals and scams with other readers

35. Buy clothes and presents in the sales
So you need a new suit and the one you like comes in at a cool £300. Wait! The chances are that you can pick it up in the sale – and there's always a sale just around the corner – for £150. The same applies for birthday and Christmas presents. Buy in bulk in the sales and you not only save money, but you enjoy stress-free pre-Christmases and no last-minute birthday worries.
Saving: £100s

37. The Christmas lottery
Instead of trying to buy a present for every relative in your family, consider getting together beforehand and picking one name from the hat. You then buy one thoughtful gift for that one person rather than attempting to please everyone at considerable cost. Everyone gets a present, everyone saves money.
Saving: £100

38. The National Lottery – it won't be you!
The odds of winning the Lotto jackpot are stacked 14m to 1 against each ticket. Some highly organised syndicates buy 14,000 tickets a week, which reduces the odds to 1,000 to 1 - but that's no guarantee of a win. For the rest of us, the difference to the odds between buying, say, 10 tickets and one is so insignificant that you should limit yourself to the one and save the extra money in a Cash mini Isa.
Saving: £100
Link: Are you sitting on a winning ticket?

39. Use your Isa allowances
If you're not already aware, you can save up to £3,000 a year in a tax-free savings account called an Isa (for the more financially savvy there's also a stocks and shares Isa). It means you don't pay any tax on the interest accrued so, if you have spare cash in your current account, this is the difference between earning next to no interest and up to £150 a year.
Saving: £100+
Link: Best Isa rates

40. Claim your benefits and tax credits
There was once a certain stigma in Britain attached to claiming benefits. Well, not any more. The Government has put benefits at the heart of the family budget and it's your money so make sure you're claiming it. That includes Child Benefit, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and other employee-related tax benefits.
Saving: £100s
Link: Confused? Ask a This is Money Expert

41. How saving £50 a month now can save you £120 next year
Do you pay your insurance premiums by monthly instalments? If you do, then consider this: you are probably being charged a premium of between 15% and 20% for the privilege. In other words, if your home and car insurance bill for the year is £600, you're paying up to £120 a year in interest by paying monthly. If you are in a position this year to save up for next year's premiums in advance, you can save money by paying the whole lot in one go.
Saving: £100+
Link: This is Money's best savings rates

42. Do you need all those TV channels?
Britain is switching to digital-only television and time is running out for you to choose your new digital TV provider. The choice is already bewildering and with telephone-based services now being launched it's going to get more complicated. Packages range from full the monty, including every sports and movie channel costing around £50 a month, down to Freeview, which is free. Choose wisely.
Saving: £100+

43. Bin the ready meals
If TV chefs such as Ainsley Harriott can knock up a meal from a bag of random groceries including an aubergine and a packet of sultanas – so can you. Ready meals may be convenient, but preparing your own food saves money. A visit to your library will reveal scores of books dedicated to cooking proper meals in minutes.
Saving: £100+

44. Take up a money-saving hobby
Hobbies not only open your mind to new experiences but they also take up your time – important if you would otherwise spend it in the pub drinking away your hard-earned money. If a painting takes 20 hours to complete, and you normally get through a pint an hour. That's a saving of a least 40 quid a picture. Think about it. Get painting. Go fishing.
Saving: £100+

45. Avoid the payment protection racket
Banks and other lenders are selling expensive insurance policies to cover loan repayments to people who don't need it. Don't be a victim of the hard-sell.
Saving: £100

46. Avoid extended warranties
Electrical goods are more reliable than ever. If your new radio won't last three years perhaps it's not worth buying in the first place. Think about it: how many times has your fridge broken down in the last five years? And do you really need the hassle of claiming for repairs to a £15 toaster?
Saving: £100
Link: Read our guide to extended warranties

47. Shop online
The internet is gradually taking over. Online grocery shopping is getting better all the time and there are plenty of comparison websites to help find the best prices for bigger items. Give it a try, unless of course you like fighting your way through supermarket crowds.
Saving: Your sanity
Links: Online grocery service rated; PriceRunner - price comparison site

48. The Citizen's Advice Bureau is your friend
If your debts are out of control please seek help immediately from your local CAB – their advisers can help you work out a sensible strategy to get you back on your feet.
Saving: It could save your life
Link: Find your local CAB

49. Have I missed any money-saving ideas?
You can now add your comments to the Money Saving Overflow
Link: Find out more at 50 more ways to save money

50. Save this article or send it to a friend
Use the links at the bottom of the page to send these money-saving tips to a friend or save it for yourself for later.