If you own a car that is heavily depreciating or a high fuel consumer, sell it and downgrade. If you own more than one car, consider managing with just one. The running costs of a car after taking into account purchase, depreciation, insurance, servicing, VAT, tax, breakdown cover and fuel, average £5,302 each year to run a small family car. And a car sale is tax-free.

Zero capital gains tax on personal belongings worth £6,000 or less when sold

Sell off items from round your home that are largely unused or dormant. Where possible try using a free works or local shop notice board - as this typically means free advertising and negligible delivery costs. If this is unsuccessful, try ibootsale, the on-line car boot sale that is currently offering 3 month pitches and listings for free, i.e. delivery costs only. Otherwise try selling on Ebay, the on-line auction behemoth, where you are liable for listings fees and commission charges. In all cases, just be aware that as soon as you start to buy items specifically with a view to selling them on, you become a self-employed trader rather than a personal belongings seller.

Potential annual tax-free earnings

£6000 tax-free for general personal possessions, plus unlimited tax-free on personal vehicle sales.