News

It is that time of the year when Spring has sprung, the sun is shining, the colder days are warming, and the nights are getting longer.  Now is a great time to spring clean not just your home but your finances too, and plan for the financial year ahead.

Here a couple of ideas…

Budget

Make a note of your income and expenditure to make sure you have enough, the key to budgeting is not spending more than you earn so look at what you’re spending.  If required, where can you reduce your spending?  Doing this for a couple of months really helps to identify areas which you could cut back or improve on.

Review your Direct Debits and Standing Orders

This is an opportunity to check to ensure any direct debits, regular payments and standing orders are for things that you are using.  Have you got a gym membership that you aren’t using?  Could you be saving money with other things like this?

This is also a good opportunity to look at your overdraft, are you paying over and above what you actually need, what is your overdraft rate?  Could your account be moved to something more favourable?

Old Accounts

Have you got any dormant accounts with money sat in them, could this be placed somewhere with better rates, and would it be better to have your money in one place to save time on administration?

Clear away your debts

Now may be the ideal time to get rid of any debt, depending on your personal circumstances there may be help and advice you can get.  Could you increase your income to help pay the debt, a part time job perhaps?

Expensive Bills

We are all feeling the increased costs of household utilities and fuel, but can you find better deals elsewhere?  Reviewing your current providers and switching could leave you with some extra cash in your account.

Increase your savings

Hopefully with budgeting well under way, your savings might get the right attention, if you’ve received a pay increase, have you increased your savings to reflect this?  Is your money getting the most competitive interest rate?

We have a team of highly experienced Independent Financial Advisers who can help with your financial spring cleaning.  Don’t hesitate to contact one of our team today, or pop in to one of our offices at Dalston, Dumfries, Penrith or Workington.