There is a wealth of money-saving resources online for you to tap into.

With experts warning that prices could increase by as much as 20% this year, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and anxious about your finances.

However, the best way to feel in control is to start making positive changes to how you earn, spend and save.

If you are looking for some financial education and frugal inspiration, here is a collection of money-saving resources to help you get rid of debt, stop wasting money and build wealth for the future.

There are many money-saving resources, and I am aware these choices are subjective. However, these are the podcasters, YouTubers, bloggers and writers that I have found inspiring, and I hope you will too.

Podcasts

Mouthy Money Podcast 

Mouthy Money editor Edmund Greaves is joined by personal finance experts to discuss topics such as pensions, mortgages, investments and current events affecting your money.

The podcast asks questions such as what happens to your money when you divorce, are people losing confidence in pensions and what if you won the lottery.

Cash Chats Personal Finance Podcast 

Hosted by award-winning broadcaster Andy Webb and deputy editor Amelia Murray, this podcast aims to help you save, make and manage your money. Recent episodes include the best banks and savings accounts for 2025, along with Andy’s top money habits to make you better with your cash.

Secrets to Saving Money 

With his Secrets to Saving Money podcast, Jordon Cox, aka ‘The Coupon Kid’, shows you how to cut back on spending, find the best deals, and track down amazing discount codes and freebies.

YouTubers

Shoestring Jane

I’m going to be cheeky and mention my channel, Shoestring Jane, where I show you all the frugal tricks I use day-to-day and how I live well on a small income. Topics include frugal food, buying secondhand, shoestring DIY, holidays on a budget and more.

Frugal Queen in France

Jane, aka Frugal Queen in France, and her husband Mike had to change their money mindsets to pay off thousands of pounds worth of debt, before relocating to Brittany in France where they continue to live debt-free on a pension. Jane does loads of cooking on a budget and is great at giving frugal pep talks when you need a kick to save money.

Raising Wildflowers

Katie from Raising Wildflowers is an American mum who paid off her Florida home when she was single and living on a minimum wage, before moving to a country smallholding to live in an RUV on a tiny budget with her new husband and baby. She does loads of videos on managing your money whilst living intentionally and is about to embark on some international travel with hardly any cash.

Ali Lives Well On Less

Retired Scottish ex-teacher Ali lives on a small pension of around £9,000 a year without debt or deprivation. She is fantastic at sourcing foodie bargains and shows how she batch cooks and preserves her finds to keep her grocery bill super low.

More from Shoestring Jane

Books

The Complete Tightwad Gazette: Promoting Thrift as a Viable Alternative Lifestyle

This classic book by Amy Dacyczyn is quite old now(1998), but the frugal message is still strong and relevant today. It was based on her regular paper newsletter, sent to her thousands of penny-pinching subscribers throughout the 1990s. When I discovered it in the early 2000s, it completely changed my mindset and was instrumental in my journey to becoming debt-free. Amy shows you how to save money in pretty much every area of your life. 

This book is witty, nicely illustrated (Amy was a trained graphic designer) and jam-packed with money-saving tips.

Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence

This is another classic of the late ’90s that was updated in 2018 to make it relevant for today’s readers. Written by Vicki Robbins and the late Joe Dominguez, this book was and continues to be hugely influential.

It is a nine-point programme to help you recognise how much money is enough, free you from the idea that buying stuff will make you happy and value your time – ie the hours you need to work to buy something.

The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living

Mark Boyle’s first book, the Moneyless Man shows how little we need to be healthy and happy, the damage that our relentless consumption is doing to our planet and offers an alternative to the narrative we are constantly given that the pursuit of money is everything.

Boyle found ways to live completely free of money, initially for a year, then for a further two years, by bartering, harnessing the power of friendship and community and honing his skills of self-reliance and creativity. 

I would struggle to live as he did, but I found the lessons he learned relevant to anyone wanting a more frugal lifestyle.

Blogs

Mr Money Mustache

Mr Money Mustache is a legend of the US FIRE community (Financial Independence Retire Early), with good reason. He inspires his readers to achieve what might seem impossible to most people.

He retired aged 30, by avoiding debt, living on 25% of his take-home pay, investing the rest, and being super frugal. He presents this lifestyle as liberation rather than deprivation. To get an idea of the flavour of his blog, take a look at the post A Millionaire is Made Ten Bucks at a Time.

Debt Camel

If you are struggling with debt, Sara at Debt Camel is full of sensible and achievable advice to help you out of the mire. She was a debt advisor for CAB for ten years and understands how frightening debt can feel.

Debt Camel aims to talk about the issues around debt, credit ratings, etc, discuss debt and money decisions in a straightforward and accessible way and signpost readers towards good information, debt advice and practical help.

There are many great money-saving resources to help you get organised with your finances. If you are struggling with money, or just want to make better decisions, I hope these suggestions will help.

Photo credits: Pexels

The post Where to find the best money-saving resources in 2025 appeared first on Mouthy Money.

Young people aged 34 and under are twice as likely to fall victim to a scam than older counterparts, a study from Marcus by Goldman Sachs has found.

One in five (20%) of 18-34-year-olds have fallen victim to a scam of some kind compared to just one in 10 (10%) of over-35s, according to the report.

It found young people are more confident they won’t fall victim, with 55% believing they are savvy enough with technology to avoid it, but they are more likely to cave in to scammer pressure tactics.

Sarah Card, head of delivery and risk at Marcus by Goldman Sachs, comments: “One reason why younger people could be more susceptible to fraud is they are more active in posting their personal details online, making them a target for fraudsters.

“However, fraudsters do not discriminate and no matter your age or how technologically savvy you might consider yourself, it is important that you remain vigilant.”

How to protect yourself against scams

It is easy to think you won’t be susceptible to a scam until it is too late. The whole point of scammer tactics is they are designed to dupe you into believing what you are doing is safe and a good idea.

Scammers will routinely use manipulative tactics and a wide variety of methods – from money muling scams to romance scams – to get innocent victims to part with their hard-earned money.

They can begin in a variety of ways but will often arrive through an unsolicited online approach, through an email or social media message, or via your phone.

Scammers will also rope people in with advertising on websites offering unimaginably good investments or guaranteed returns for your money. This is generally a red flag straight away.

Plus dupes of legitimate companies are a rising issue too. This is where a real firm, such as a bank, insurance provider or other financial company has its website duplicated, or the scammer uses their branding and logos to trick you into thinking you’re dealing with them.

There are some key steps to take to protect yourself in these instances:

• If approached by a company you don’t know, check the financial regulator, the FCA’s, website and register of firms. If it isn’t registered, it isn’t legitimate. Use the contact details of the register to contact the company directly to make sure whoever you spoke to wasn’t just pretending to be that firm.
• Be suspicious of anything that seems ‘too good to be true’ – this is particularly the case if the scammer is using the promise of high or “guaranteed” returns for your money. There is no such thing as a guaranteed investment return – they are lying.
• Never let someone rush you into making a decision or handing over sensitive personal details. This is a common scam tactic designed to stop you from processing what is happening properly.
• Don’t give any person or company money until you’ve thoroughly checked their credentials and details. Banking apps routinely come with security checks to make sure the person you are giving money to is real, but this isn’t always foolproof so some factfinding of your own is essential.
• Never divulge banking details to someone who isn’t verifiably who they say they are or from a legitimate firm. If someone calls saying they’re from your bank, politely hang up the phone, find the real number of the bank and call and check it was really them.
• Don’t take online reviews at face value. Online review sites are open to manipulation from scammers who will fake reviews to give their own websites and scams a glowing reference, they can’t be trusted.
• If you’re scammed or come across a potential scam, report it! Action Fraud is the police agency for handling fraud as a starting point. Even if they can’t catch the scammers all the information shared with them makes a difference.

How to invest without being scammed

When it comes to investing without being scammed, there are a few golden rules to follow.

Perhaps most important is where you decide to begin your investment journey. It is really a good idea to invest through a well-know and established investment platform. Times Money Mentor has an excellent guide to the best investment platforms for beginners.

By choosing a well-reputed platform you will – at a stroke – eliminate the possibility that you might fall foul of scam investment products, or even just low-quality ones such as many crypto “investments” out there that are no such thing.

If you’re getting started with small amounts of money to invest with, you’re more likely to want to pick simple investments. Many investment platforms have good guides on what to get started with. If you’re starting to invest with larger sums, it may be worth considering financial advice before you start to get the best idea of what your needs and goals are.

Investing should always be a long-term game. It is key to avoid anything that promises short-term rewards, or offers a get quick rich scheme or mentality. Investing is something that is done over years not minutes.

Photo Credits: Pexels

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From inflation eroding real pay to horror energy bills and social media shopping fraud – here are our favourite must know money stories this week to help you get your head around your personal finances. 

Is my pay keeping up with inflation? 

High inflation means take home pay is being eroded in real terms, writes Katie Binns for MoneyWeek.  

With inflation at 8.7%, households are struggling to keep up with soaring bills. Using the calculator from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) you can input your salary to find out how much more you need to earn to maintain your current standard of living amidst inflationary pressures. 

The calculator reveals how much worse off you would be if your pay only increased by 6.7% – in line with the current average wage growth.  

Rebecca O’Connor, director of public affairs at PensionBee said: “We all earn, spend, save and invest differently and so inflation affects us all differently, too. Anyone on a low income may find inflation harder to bear because the proportion of their income spent on things like food and energy is relatively high.” 

She adds: “Those on higher incomes tend to spend proportionally less on the basics, so are cushioned from the worst effects of inflation by their higher disposable income.” 

Ovo customers hit with ‘horror’ bills 

Ovo Energy customers have been hit with bills of up to £116,000 for a month’s energy, reports Nathan Heath for BBC News. 

Customers claim Ovo has miscalculated their energy usage after transferring over to them from another energy supplier, or installing a smart meter. While some complaints have been upheld, customers are still waiting for their account debt to be recalculated.  

Complaints also include mentions of failure of Ovo’s web chat service, huge queues for phone lines, refusal to return calls or action any resolutions for years, and the serious impact on people’s mental and physical health.  

“We are very sorry for shortfalls in service,” said an Ovo spokesperson. “Our teams have looked into the cases shared with us by the BBC with urgency, and in many cases provided a resolution.” 

Social media sites now the ‘wild west’ for shopping fraud 

Over two-thirds of all online shopping scams affecting UK consumers start on Facebook and Instagram, with social media now a “wild west” for fraud, according to one of Britain’s biggest banks, reports Rupert Jones for The Guardian.  

Research from Lloyds Banking Group estimates that one person from the UK is victim to a purchase scam originating in one of the two Meta-owned platforms every seven minutes – costing consumers more than £500,000 a week.  

Lloyds is the second bank in a month to publicly name Meta, after TSB said there had been a huge jump in scams originating from Meta-owned sites and apps. Lloyds said tech companies needed to contribute to refunds when their platforms are used “to defraud innocent victims”. 

Victims were found to be lured by the promise of cut-price or hard-to-find items and typically asked to send money directly from their account to another account via bank transfer. According to Lloyds, clothes, trainers, gaming consoles and mobile phones were among the most common goods being falsely advertised. 

Meta said that fraud and scams were an industry-wide issue, and scammers used increasingly sophisticated methods to defraud people. Meta added that their platforms have systems to block scams such as Financial Conduct Authority authorisation requirements, consumer awareness campaigns on how to spot fraudulent behaviour, reporting systems, and a working relationship with the police to support their investigations. 

Photo Credits: Pexels

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