With this in mind we've put together a list of how you can save some extra pennies. We also enlisted the help of money-saving expert Kath Kelly, author of How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day for her tips on what you can do to make your money stretch further.

1. Work out what you don't need to be spending money on

The morning coffee from your favourite artisanal barista, the lunchtime dash to Pret, and the magazine you've picked up on your way home. All of these items are lovely to have but are, essentially, a luxury. You can make your coffee in the office, you can bring your lunch in from home, and magazines are a wonderful luxury.

While we're not suggesting that you never indulge yourself, to start saving money it's a great idea to work out exactly what you could be doing differently and working out what you don't need to spend. And do that you need to make a budget. There are several tools you can use to do this and work out what you're overspending on.

Here are the best we've tried and tested:

Budget planner on Money Saving Expert
The Demotivator - works out what you don't need to be spending your money on
Budget planner on the Money Advice Service

Having a realisitic idea of where your money is going every month will help you identify the small costs that could be cut out of your budget. And, as we all know, the first step to great saving is looking after the pennies.

2. How to get your treats for free

"I really missed sitting and having a coffee – you don’t want to feel deprived", says Kath, "make sure you still treat yourself, if you’re thinking of getting a coffee, get a Waitrose card, you don't have to buy anything with it and you can get a free coffee."

Also, if you don't use the internet so much, why not consider just using it at your local library? You'll save on your monthly internet bill and it's free in local council libraries. And when you're at the library you can also read all the glossy magazines you want.

3. Food

According to Kath Kelly, it's now the right time for foraging That's right, free food. "You can go picking blackberries and also cob nuts are very good for this time of year. I’ve got a big bag of cob nuts, which I use for various things such as a crumble topping. They're also very nutritious and you can keep in them for a long time - all you need to do is dry them in the oven. And you don't necessarily need to live in the countryside. Around the edges of Bristol there are lots of green and wild plants. You make things like nettle soup which are freely available are all over the place.

"You can also go mushrooming, although the only mushroom I would pick is a puffball mushroom - it looks like a football. If you want to get some more information on it, then you should look in the library, and also there's a website called Fergus The Forager who is very good. Also, you can ask your neighbours if they’ve got too much or if they grow their own food, why not ask if you can help them out in their garden?"

As for normal shopping, Kath recommends that you go at the end of the day when the bargains come out.

10 tips for cutting costs and saving money