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Home sellers and buyers are racing to complete their deals before the cost of stamp duty increases on April 1. The deadline makes property deals even more fraught than usual. There is no time to lose. Sellers have to be businesslike, befriend their buyers, surveyors, agents and conveyancers.

Sellers only have to worry about stamp duty if they are to buy another property. And they have to make sure that the prospect of a potential stamp duty saving does not end up costing them more. There are always buyers looking to cut what they pay for a property.

Sellers have to remember that there are many more buyers in the market this year than recently.

There are ways to rescue your sale if your buyer drops out, but you have to work out how much you lose when you sell to one of the companies that buy homes instantly. They usually offer a lower price than normal buyers, but they allow someone to buy the home of their dreams, which may be a super bargain.

Along the route to completion buyers and sellers have to make sure they get the best price and service as a hefty estate agent fee can dwarf the saving that they may make on stamp duty if they complete in time.

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Most households can save money on their energy bills. The price cap brought in by the Government and the energy regulator, Ofgem, to reduce bills after Ukraine was invaded is no longer the best deal for most homes.

Before the energy crisis millions of us opted for fixed price energy deals to get cheaper energy bills but now more than 80% of households settle for the price cap with its £300+ standing charges before we use a single unit of gas or electricity.

The savings may be more modest nowadays but most households can save at least £50 a year on their energy bills with discounts and bigger savings can be made with tracker tariffs.

Lower standing charges are being offered and opportunities to save money by using your electical equipment at offpeak times.

It is time to check what deals your supplier is offering and to find out from price comparison sites and Money Saving Expert what other deals are being made in the industry.

It is also time to make sure that you are not wasting energy in your home.

Bills will go up by around 3% under the price cap from April. Opting for a discount or a tracker deal should mean that your bills will be lower.

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First time home buyers are in a race to get their first home before stamp duty increases in April. These could cost thousands extra.

It is not surprising that many buyers will not be able to make it onto the property ladder without help from their families. Almost £10 billion was given by parents, grandparents and even brothers and sisters to help buyers to get their deposits together last year.

The average first time buyer is now more than 30 and has to find £30,200 for a deposit. Many parents cannot afford to make such generous gifts, but they may be able to help with a family offset mortgage, or provide free lodgings while their children are saving. They may also be able to act as guarantor without putting money forward.

Shared ownership may be another option. Buying at auction can give access to bargains, but it needs lots of research.

There is not much time, and estate agents are already reporting that more people looking for a new home.

Good luck.

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Millions of pounds in unclaimed prizes is up for grabs, and savers have lost contact with billions more.

Now is the time to find out whether any of it has your name or number on it.

For starters nearly 2.5 million Premium Bond prizes worth more than £90 million remain unclaimed. The vast majority are £25 prizes with more than 1.75m not claimed. More exciting are the six £100,000 prizes and nine £50,000 prizes.

Some of the prizes date back more than 60 years.

You have less time to claim National Lottery prizes when you buy a ticket and forget to check it. If you still have the ticket you have up to 180 days and if you have misplaced it only 30 days. But there are surprisingly big prizes that have not been claimed.

More importantly there is billions of pounds in dormant savings accounts, pension funds, insurance policies and other investments.

It is time to make sure that you have not lost contact with all your pension pots. We work for an average of 11 different organisations during our careers and every time we change address we risk losing touch with money invested for our retirement.

Every home has items that are no longer being used or worn that can be sold. eBay, Vinted, Music Magpie, We Buy Any Books and many more can help us to cash in. It is time to make our own luck.

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There is never time to relax when it comes to making sure you do not pay more than you should. The New Year is no exception and there are financial traps for the unwary that can cost hundreds of pounds.

HMRC expects to make £1.2bn next year from late payment interest from taxpayers. Lots of us will be fined £100 for not filling out annual tax forms before January 31 and much more if they do not get round to it the following months - even if no tax was owed.

More importantly some two million couples are missing out on the marriage allowance that is worth £252 a year that can be backdated to 2020.

Water bills are set to rise in April but there is time to save money by opting for a water meter and to check what free water-saving kit your water company is offering.

Council tax will also increase in April, but many households are paying too much.

Zero interest credit cards can also save lots of money so long as payments are made on time and in full.

It is time to act.

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Shopping is no longer fun. It is hard work to make sure you do not pay too much or get misled into buying things you do not need or want.

Loyalty prices add to the complications and are unfair to shoppers without smart phones or a loyalty card.

Comparing prices should be easy but stores choose to provide inaccurate unit information that is difficult to compare.

We need to take a list, plan our meals, check all prices are what they seem.

Money can be saved and it is very satisfying to find the best value in a packet on the bottom shelf of your supermarket.

Keep space in your freezer for items on their last day that have yellow stickers cutting the prices. Think about cashback and bulk buying.

Put yourself back in control of your shopping.

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We are being beseiged with Black Friday offers everywhere we look. Most of them do not deliver what they promise. But if there is something you need or really, really want make sure you do your research to make sure you are not scammed, charged too much, or sold something that is not worth what you are paying.

While you are doing the research you can also prep by selling some of the items in your wardrobe, spare room, kitchen or garage that you no longer need or like. It is easier than ever before to sell old clothes, toys, kitchen equipment and earn much more to fund new purchases.

Fraud increases during the Black Friday big sell. Pay with your credit card to protect yourself and remember if the price seems to be good to be true the item either does not exist or is not as described.

And remember if you do not buy anything during the extended Black Friday sales you have savedc 100%.

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