Late Afternoon: Banking and Insurance

2:30 p.m. Lower your auto and homeowner's insurance rates.
Number one way to reduce your rates? "Raise your deductible," says Ric Edelman, a registered financial consultant and the author of The Truth About Money ($20, www.amazon.com). "Many people go with the minimum, but that's a waste." Insure yourself for catastrophes, not for small mishaps. Insurers will also reduce your premium if you meet certain standards. Call your provider and ask about:

Car insurance: Raise your deductible from $200 to $500 and you can shave 15 to 30 percent off your collision and comprehensive coverage, according to the Insurance Information Institute, a nonprofit organization. Increase your deductible to $1,000 and you can save 40 percent.

While you have your provider on the phone, "ask for all the discounts they offer," suggests Ellie Kay, author of A Woman's Guide to Family Finances ($13, www.amazon.com). If you carpool or take public transportation to work, you might be eligible for a low-mileage discount. If you have a car-alarm system, are over age 50, or are a longtime customer, you can probably reduce your tab even further.

Homeowner's insurance: You can save 25 percent by raising your deductible from $500 to $1,000. Combine your auto and homeowner's policy under the same company and you can save 5 to 10 percent.

If these tactics won't work for you or you want to look for a better deal, investigate new policies at www.insweb.com, a free comparison marketplace for auto, homeowner's, and life insurance. The site has detailed custom quotes from dozens of insurance providers nationwide.

Average Annual Savings: An average of $155 for homeowner's insurance, and $360 for collision and comprehensive car insurance.

3:00 p.m. Get a better credit-card rate.
If you tend to carry a balance and your credit-card company is charging you more than the average interest rate of 12 to 13 percent, call to negotiate a better deal. More than half of all customers who complain are able to lower their rate, according to a study by the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, a citizen-funded organization. If your issuer won't budge, go to www.bankrate.com, a consumer-finance marketplace, to look for a lower rate. If you can save even 1 percent on the average $9,000 balance, you'll be saving $90 a year. One tester found a bargain card that pays 2 percent cash back on up to $1,000 of purchases, with no annual fee and an interest rate of just 9.9 percent. Before you sign up, cancel your little-used cards. The fewer cards you have, the less of a risk you will be to lenders and the better the rate you'll get.

Average Annual Savings: $360 (assuming you reduce your rate from 12 percent to 8 percent on a $9,000 balance and make a 10 percent payment each month).

3:25 p.m. Find a smarter checking account.
Dig out a recent checking-account statement and add up the fees you pay for ATM withdrawals, monthly maintenance, and penalties for letting your account dip below the minimum balance. Go back to Bankrate.com and look for a better deal, using the site's search tool. Simply input the type of account you're interested in (for instance, free checking), then follow the prompts. Within seconds you'll get a list of products offered at various banks, along with rates, fees, and minimum-balance requirements. "Many banks are being super-competitive about free checking," says Galia Gichon of Down-to-Earth Finance, a consulting and financial-planning firm. So it pays to hunt around. Bankrate.com analysts estimate that most customers can put $100 to $200 back in their pockets by choosing an appropriate checking account. Tester report: By switching from a no-interest checking account that charged $8 if her balance went below $1,000 to an account with a 0.76 percent interest rate, no monthly fee, and no minimum-balance requirement, one RS tester will save as much as $96 this year.

Average Annual Savings: $100 to $200.

4:00 p.m. Maximize your company benefits.
It may be hard to believe, but your employer spends an average of 28 percent of your compensation on benefits. For someone earning $50,000 a year, that's $14,000 worth of perks. Make sure you're taking advantage of all you're entitled to. Call your company's benefit office or go to your company's website and work your way down this list:

Boost your contribution to your 401(k) to the maximum of 10 percent of your salary (up to a total of $13,000) allowed this year. At the very least, make sure you're stashing enough cash in your account to get the company match.

Check your income-tax withholding with the payroll department. The average tax refund last year was $2,033, largely due to excessive withholding. Sure, it's nice to get a midyear check from the IRS, but that means "you're essentially making the government an interest-free loan," says Grace Weinstein, author of The Procrastinator's Guide to Taxes Made Easy ($14, www.amazon.com). If you invest the money instead, you'll be $71 richer this time next year.

Look into education reimbursements. Some large companies will pay up to 100 percent of the cost of job-related courses, professional-association dues, and conferences, and as much as 75 percent of non-work-related educational programs.

Average Annual Savings: $71 to $7,000.

4:30 p.m. Hire a financial planner.
Set yourself up for life by finding a financial adviser, preferably one who charges you a fee — that is, either hourly or per project — and doesn't earn commissions by pushing certain products. A planner can help you figure out if you're saving enough for retirement, if your investments are sound, and how much you should be socking away for education expenses, and she can generally give your finances a tune-up. To find a fee-only planner in your area, go to the website of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (www.napfa.org) or call 888-333-6659. (NAPFA has rigorous requirements. Members must take 60 hours of continuing education every two years.)

Average Annual Savings: For professional advice on all your future financial needs: immeasurable.

Our Methodology: Real Simple's nine testers tried out all the tips in this timeline and weighed in with their experiences and findings.