Every once in a while it’s good to do a financial tune up.
Our car insurance is due to renew next month so we have been looking at better rates and I also have a to-do note to call Sky and re-negotiate our TV package! I try to make diary notes each year so I know when to investigate these things as they can creep up on us.
It makes financial sense to keep on top of your money related admin – even though I agree it is boring and a pain when there are do many other fun things to be doing, but to make it easier, here are a few ways to make it run more smoothly in the future.
- Firstly make sure you are not paying too much on your credit cards. Switch to a lower rate or even better – a 0% balance transfer and aim to get the balance paid off before the 0% rate runs out.
- If you have savings, check the rate at which you are being paid interest. Switch to a different account with a better interest rate if necessary. This year I swopped my kids’s savings accounts into a Cash ISA for them as it provided a better rate for their money.
- Check your credit score. To find why this is important to improve your credit rating and get a free credit report yourself, visit ClearScore. If only to ensure that they have the most accurate information – occasionally you can discover things that shouldn’t be in your report like a strangers name added to your address where it shouldn’t be. I have found this in the past and had to remove the name both from my credit report and also with the local council for their electoral roll. Another useful article on this can be found from ThisIsMoney
- Have a document which lists all your household outgoings and the dates on which they are due, so you know month to month what money is going out plus you can easily see when the big things like insurance policies are due. This helps you stay on top of them.
- Know where your money is! If you have cash around the house – get it out and ensure that it is still legal tender. Today the new one pound coins were released from the Royal Mint – this is the most secure coin in the world! But today’s release means that the old round coins will go out of circulation in October so you need to spend them now! The same goes for the new £5 polymer banknotes – use up your old fivers asap!
- Set a budget. It is easy for money to flow out of the door without much to show for it so decide how much money each week you want to spend on things like food, petrol and entertainment and stick to it! I find that putting the earmarked cash into envelopes dedicated for that purpose is a good way to ensure that I have enough for the things I need and not overspend in one area.
Here are some more tips for ways to save money