Wow!! What a beautiful bank holiday weekend we had! Spring is finally here!
As Spring arrives, you may have the urge to have a spring clean of your house and give it a good tidy. So why not take the opportunity to give your finances a quick tidy up too? A spring clean of your finances can be exactly what you need to help save money, put your mind at rest and to stop stressing about where your money is going each month. There are many things you can do to get your money in order and bring a sense of freshness to your finances. Here are some of our suggestions:
Clear the clutter and get organised!
Gather your insurance policies, tenancy agreement, mortgage paperwork, contracts and important documents and file them together in a safe place so you can find them quickly and easily when you need them. Go paperless where you can - some companies offer discounts and online-only offers which will help to lower your bills, plus it will reduce your paper pile and help the environment! If you are drowning in paperwork, these guidelines should help you decide what to keep, and what to dispose of:
Create digital copies of important documents (and back up to your external hard drive!) Be sure to shred any documents with personal details on before you dispose of them to keep your identity safe!
Set up bill payments
If you are paying for your monthly bills manually, you could save £100’s a year by switching to Direct Debit. Take a look at price comparison websites such as https://www.moneysupermarket.com or https://www.comparethemarket.com to see if you could be getting a better deal on your energy provider, broadband and TV provider, home insurance & car insurance.
Set your budget
Create an excel spreadsheet with a column for income (wages, benefits etc) and a column for necessary outgoings (rent, mortgage, gas, electricity, water, council tax and any other direct debits/regular payments). Next, set a realistic monthly budget for food, petrol and any other regular payments such as school dinners, clubs, childcare or travel. After you have made this calculation, see what you have left for luxuries (or even better, to top up your savings!). Cancel any subscriptions you don’t use such as gym membership or film streaming services. Are there recurring small payments that take a huge chunk out of your budget? It’s surprising how take-away coffees, lunches and fuel station snacks all add up!
Find your 'lost' money
Do you have any old building society accounts, premium bonds, Post Office savings or ISA’s? Go to https://www.mylostaccount.org.uk/search to track down your account for free.
Tackle your debts!
Do you have a credit card, loan or overdraft? Check to see if you are getting the best deal out there – switching to a different provider with 0% balance transfer and 0% interest could help you pay off your debt much quicker.
Don’t forget, spring is not the only time it might be worthwhile cleaning out your personal finances. These tips can be used to improve the finances of your business too. If you make a conscious effort to make these changes you could potentially save thousands of pounds in the process. But perhaps you are on top of your finances and it’s external factors that are affecting your cash flow. Are you owed money and aren’t getting anywhere with reminding and chasing your customers? Frustrating isn’t it? That’s where we can help. Get in touch today 😊
Do you have any great money saving ideas? Let us know on twitter @debt_ltd