By Martin Lewis Money-saving expert

Martin Lewis has advice on how to make more of your cash

Want a 30% pay rise?

Instead of pummelling down your boss's door, turn your gaze inward.

Almost everyone is guilty of wasting cash, and unnecessarily feeding companies' profits.

This is no sermon about "over-spending" - that is another issue.

It is a call to arms - to stop paying more than you need.

Doing a job

We spend our lives being exploited by companies for profit.

There is nothing wrong with this: after all, their job is to make as much money as possible.

With a little effort, you can minimise your outlay and ensure you maximise your money's output

The problem is that we do not do our job as consumers correctly, allowing firms to leech on top of our apathy and ill-informed decision-making.

They devise marketing schemes, special offers and branding to hypnotise consumers into thinking they are getting value, yet the reality is far from it.

Make money legally

There is a chink of light though.

Providers' prime targets are apathetic consumers.

By being active and informed, it is possible to turn their methods against them, countering their predicted expectations.

Do this and it is possible, legally, to exploit companies back.

With a little effort, you can minimise your outlay and ensure you maximise your money's output.

Could you get a better deal on your credit card?

Decide to take it a step further and manipulate the system, and you can make money legally.

There is profit to be made from credit cards, healthcare cashback schemes, and gas and electricity providers to name but a few - once you decide to take them on.

This takes an uncompromising philosophy.

I make no apology for arguing we live in an adversarial consumer society.

Banks decide to lend money by calculating whether you are a profitable customer, not whether it will do you any good.

So when you apply for a loan, remember it is your responsibility to say: "Is this the best deal for me? Does it maximise my personal profitability?"

Want �3,000?

Loyalty has no place to play here.

SOME PRODUCTS WORTH SHOPPPING AROUND FOR Contact lenses International phone calls Credit cards Travel insurance Mortgages Life assurance Utility bills

Whether it is mobile phones, current accounts or car insurance, the best offers are almost invariably available for new customers, not existing ones.

So ask yourself: "Do I want to be the customer who is taken for granted and given the same old dross, or the person whom they need to battle and bribe to win my business?"

Get it right and the numbers are startling.

Take a sample range of products: contact lenses, international phone calls, credit cards, travel insurance, mortgages, life assurance, DVD players, utility bills and roadside insurance.

An average dual income family could easily be �3,000 a year better off, by switching from the average provider to the best value provider.

Remember, this is not "do without, stop spending", though admittedly for those with financial problems, that is necessary too. It is about "spend better".

Legwork

The practical approach to this does require some work: read the money pages of newspapers, use a website which does the work for you or even just tread to a number of shops or providers.

However, even more effective is thinking through the logic.

Work out how companies actually make their money from you, then you will have a chance to stop it.

My favourite example to finish. I fondly remember a time the internet bank Egg both offered 0% interest on its credit card, and paid the highest savings account interest.

I therefore borrowed its money at no charge, and made it pay me interest on this money it was lending me for free.

Now that is consumer revenge.

The choice is yours. If you want more cash, it is probably available.

Are you willing to work to claim it back?

Martin Lewis appeared in the programme Hey Big Spender!, broadcast on BBC One at 2100 GMT on Wednesday 28 January, 2004.

Martin works as a money-saving expert, and is a broadcaster and journalist specialising in how to cut bills without cutting back. He runs the website www.moneysavingexpert.com - a link can be found on the right hand side of this page.

The material is for general information only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. Always obtain independent, professional advice for your own particular situation.