It’s the part of the year that everybody fears. Christmas is out of the way, and you now have to face the consequences of that frivolous spending over the festive period, especially when the majority of people were paid over that time.
Now it’s time to tighten the belt, and figure out how to make it through the rest of winter! But why not then use this as a little brush-up of your money? Here are just three of the ways you can see yourself through this month, and even save yourself some extra cash as the year progresses. So what are they?
Take the time to cancel some direct debits
More and more people are now financially savvy when it comes to some things. MyMoneyComparison is working to help save consumers money on insurance policies and home-buying, and the web is inundated with various streams of advice to save money. Despite this, if you look at your bank account a little closer, then you may come across some direct debits you have forgotten completely about, or simply cannot be bothered to put the time aside to cancel your unnecessary direct debits.
You are the only person who has any power to make changes here, as that little £6.50 debit each month equates to £234 over a three year period. That is a smaller debit cost than the gym membership you’ve not used in 9 months, so have a look and see what you really need to pay for.
Take advantage of switching providers
You’re not the only person who is considering sorting their finances out now the New Year celebrations have passed. Therefore, if you’re thinking it, so are the companies trying to tie you to contracts. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though, as you can take advantage of this knowledge to get yourself some great savings. It is advised that you consider the offers of different providers regularly, as providers will change prices just as regularly. Sadly there doesn’t seem to be much room for valued loyalty when it comes to insurance providers, and many offers seem to revolve around new customers.
There are some that simply just do no want the hassle of changing, or have had a bad customer experience in the past when trying. Please do not let this deter you though, as it just isn’t worth spending unnecessary extra money out of fear the customer service team aren’t going to make things easy. Of course they aren’t! It’s in their best interest to keep your custom. You are more valuable to them than they are to you.
Be your own accountant
Don’t try and guess what has costed you the most, or the most frequently, in 2017. Just check! Going over your bank statements and highlighting what your most regular costs were last year will help provide you with an indication on where you can cut back. If you spent £5 a day on two coffees for example, this amounted to over £1600 in the space of the year, give or take! So perhaps buy a flask in this case?
That is just a single example of how small costs can mount up over the space of 12 months. Each person will have their own little financial vices, and January is a great time to decide which of these vices are worth the cost, and which vices you can free yourself and your bank account from! Maybe there are certain areas in your life where you can cut down on spending, whether it’s the weekly food shop or luxuries like TV/movie subscriptions, expensive gym memberships or online gaming sites.
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