7 Top Tips for Spring Cleaning your Personal Finances
Well, it’s now officially spring and combined with a partial end to lockdown, it’s an ideal opportunity to clear out and de-clutter our finances.
My top tips are:
1. When we come out of lockdown life will be different so think if your money needs to be different. For instance, some car insurers are now offering policies where you pay by the mile rather than for a full year. If you think you might still be working from home and not using the car so much this might be the right type of policy for you.
2. De-clutter your direct debits! Have a look at what goes out each month and see if you can do without. Most gym memberships have been paused for most of the last year for instance so do you really need to start it again? Do you use it? Challenge each out going and see if you can get rid of it.
3. If you pay your utilities like energy by direct debit you are likely to be overpaying slightly and figures estimate that there’s a total of £1.1 billion overpaid to energy companies – that’s about £65 per household. You can get that back if you ask them – if not they’ll hold onto it!
4. Most of us have changed our lives during lockdown so for example if you expect that you will now be working from home more do you have any ‘work’ clothes that you could now sell and get a bit of spare cash. Or possibly do the clothes no longer fit? If not sell them, and anything else you no longer need or want.
5. When the shops re-open and life starts up again there will be lots of suppliers who have ‘start up’ deals and discounts just to get the tills ringing again. This is an ideal time to get savvy with deals and discounts – and coupons!
6. We’ve all just had our council tax bills and many people don’t realise how many different reliefs and discounts are available there. Top discounts are: single persons allowance (normally get 25% off), living with a person under 18: carers allowance: and unoccupied property. Look on your local government website for specific details.
7. Finally, non essential shops will hopefully be opening in a few weeks and the temptation might be to go and spend, spend, spend but be careful – just because you can spend it doesn’t mean you have to! Think about whether you really need the purchase first.
Lockdown has given us an opportunity to change our spending and savings habits so don’t throw all the good work away on a splurge!
Wishing you health, wealth and happiness,
Gill
