Struggling to make ends meet? Suffering under the weight of the credit crunch? Never fear, the Halifax has come up with some nifty tips for helping you pull through.

So read on, and have a quick gander of the Halifax tips. But then again, ask yourself, do we really need patronizing like this?

According to the Halifax, would-be first-time buyers could save £1,799 just by implementing some simple saving tips.

For one thing, you can save £160 a month just by quitting smoking. If you are a smoker, bet you hadn’t thought of that one. You should thank the Halifax for pointing out this simple fact – it is so obvious when you think about it.

Then you can save a £42 a month by quitting your gym membership. Do you think the NHS or the life assurance companies would agree with that advice?

Then you can save £37 a month by cutting out your morning latte, £35.96 by having one less takeaway a week, £22.56 by drinking two less pints a week, and £8.68 by swapping one litre of bottled water for tap water.

You see, it is so easy. It’s a wonder you hadn’t thought of all those tips already.

But here is a thought, maybe you had thought of all those tips. Maybe you have already implemented some of them yourself, and maybe you have continued with your morning latte and those two pints a week because, well, because you work hard and you deserve it.

And just imagine what would happen if everyone followed that advice, and we all cancelled gym membership, went to the pub less often, and cut back on our lattes. Think of all the gyms that would close, coffee shops going under, and pubs boarded up. And bear this in mind, while you may be able to enjoy savings by cutting back on your morning latte, if you work in a coffee shop and lose your job, you will of course end up worse off.