Martin Lewis fan explains how he saved £360 a year on water bills using a meter

A MARTIN Lewis fan has made a saving of £360 a year by using a meter to pay his water bills.

Switching to the water meter meant Derek, who wrote into Martin Lewis' MoneySavingExpert team, only had to pay for what he used rather than a fixed rate.

The switch meant he managed to more than halve his monthly bill, and save hundreds of pounds a year.

He told the money saving team: "We had a water meter installed a few months ago and our monthly direct debit went from £56 to £26."

Derek's saving was announced in this week's MoneySavingExpert newsletter which reveals the best savings tips of the past seven days, including how Brits have managed to slash their own bills or save pennies anyway they can.

Households across the country are facing steeper bills currently as energy prices rocket and the cost of living soars too.

So many are looking for any way they can run down the day to day costs in the home.

If you're not on a meter then your bills are estimated, so you pay a fixed amount depending on your home's size.

That means you could use more or less water than the estimate, but still be paying a set price every month that doesn't reflect what you've used.

Of course, if you're using more then you'll be quids-in, but if it's less you could be paying hundreds of pounds more than you need to for the amount of water you're actually using.

It's not the same as your energy bills though, which you can weigh up against other tariffs and pick a cheaper one to switch to if need be.

You'll only be allocated one provider for your area so you can't choose who you use yourself.

But deciding exactly how you're billed can help you bring costs down in a similar way.

How will I know how much I can save?

Martin Lewis' hottest tip was to count how many bedrooms are in your home before you make any decisions to get a water meter.