Are you a bargain-hunting addict?

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A quarter of Brits will spend up to a year of their lives actively hunting for bargains. Sound familiar?

According to research from Phones 4u, one in seven people regularly loses sleep due to worries they could have got a better deal on something.

Ever since the onset of the recession, people have become increasingly interested in bargain hunting, with 65% of Brits spending more time searching for deals now than before the economic downturn.

Along with becoming thriftier, it seems we, as a nation, have become less modest, with 86% of those questioned admitting to bragging to friends and family when they’ve found a good deal.

You may know where to get the best deal on your supermarket shopping or how to get your hands on money off vouchers and coupons, but are you clued up on the most competitive credit cards, current accounts and loans?

Plastic fantastic

The savviest of shoppers may try to steer clear of credit cards due to the high interest rates that are often attached, however, choose the right one and you could find it extremely useful.

If you’re looking for a credit card to make purchases with, you may want to consider the Tesco Clubcard Credit Card, which comes with an interest-free period of 15 months.

Also, every time you make a purchase on your Tesco MasterCard before 5 January 2012, you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win £1,500.

Beware, however, that if you don’t pay off your purchases within the 15-month introductory period, you’ll find yourself paying back your debt with an interest rate of 16.9%.

This is also the case if you don’t make at least the minimum repayment each month.

Transfer your debt

If you already have existing credit card debt but you want to cancel the interest you’re paying on it, you could consider transferring your debt to another card.

The current market leaders in terms of balance transfer cards come from Barclaycard and Halifax, with both offering 0% for 22 months.

Barclaycard charges a transfer fee of 3.2% to move debt onto its Platinum Balance Transfer card, but this can be reduced to 2.9% with a refund offer it is currently running.

If you miss a minimum repayment, the 0% offer may be withdrawn and you could face having to pay interest at a rate of 17.5%.

With the Halifax 22-Month Balance Transfer Credit Card, you have to pay a transfer fee of 3.5% and you’ll have to pay interest at 17.9% if you fail to meet your minimum repayments.

Get £300 for doing very little

Those looking for a good deal on a current account might want to consider switching to Santander.

You can earn up to £300 just for switching your main current account to the bank.

As you’d imagine, there are a number of terms and conditions surrounding this deal.

To earn £100, you must:

• Switch your main current account to Santander by 8 January 2012
• Pay in at least £1,000 per month
• Have at least two active direct debits or standing orders

To earn £200, you must:

• Do all of the above
• Have a Santander mortgage that is not in arrears

To earn £300, you must:

• Do/have all of the above
• Have, or can deposit, at least £10,000 in savings with Santander

Borrow at a competitive rate

If you’re looking for a loan with a low interest rate, you may want to have a look at Nationwide’s personal loans.

You can get a competitive rate of 6.2% on loans of between £7,500 and £14,999 for up to five years.

Alternatively, you may want to consider Alliance and Leicester’s personal loans, which come with an interest rate of 6.3% for loans of between £7,500 and £14,950.

When taking out any financial product, it’s always best to shop around first, to make sure you’re getting the best deal for you at the lowest price.

Doing so can mean you save a considerable amount of cash, which could come in very handy in the run up to Christmas.

**This material is for information purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. We strongly encourage our readers not to rely solely on this content, but to seek independent advice when making financial decisions.**

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