Our Financial Advice Tips for 2015
It’s a New Year and a new beginning, which is a great time to look at the best ways to get the most out of your money. Now that Christmas is out of the way and the New Year parties have past, we are once again looking at what we should have at the top of our money agenda for 2015.
Here are a few of my top tips to get the most from your money.
Review your spending budget. Do you know what your spending budget looks like for 2015? How much cash will you need to do all the things you have planned this year. And will you have enough cash in ready reserves to meet all your anticipated expenditure.
How to budget with a family. Budgeting for a family can be a real challenge and many people live from month to month. An easy solution is to run two current accounts. One account for all your direct debits each month and the right amount is paid into the account each month. The other account is used for day to day spending. Having two accounts will help ensure that none of those important direct debits get missed.
Put your life on Auto-pilot. It’s often easy to put off taking financial decisions as generally there is something simpler or more instantly rewarding to do with our spare time. However, many aspects of personal finance can be put on “auto-pilot”, saving monthly into an ISA being an obvious example. That way, your only decisions are whether to increase your direct debit each April and, every now and again, to check your fund choice and rebalance the portfolio.
Build up a cash reserve. If you have not already built up a cash reserve make this a priority in 2015 so that you have money available for an unplanned expenses or emergencies. This should be around 3 to 6 months usual spending.
Review your investments. If you have not looked at your investments since, well in a long time, now is the time to review your investments. What returns are you getting and what risks are you taking. Investments rarely give long term consistent returns, so regular reviews are important. Check how your individual investments are performing and consider whether you should hold or switch any of them to new investments.
The benefits of financial advice in 2015. I am sure you are capable of making those important financial decisions and have done so in the past, however speaking to a financial adviser can help you make the right decisions for your financial future. Advice can also give you the confidence that you are making your money work in the most suitable and best way for you.
Borrowing/debt. Only borrow for what you need not for what you want. Most of us have to borrow money during our lives unless you are one of those very fortunate people. However borrowing always comes at a cost as we have to pay interest on the amount of the loan. So the more you borrow, the more interest you pay the less of your money you have for you and your family.
Be very careful about “unlocking” your pension. Over the last few years there has been an enormous rise in the number of people being approached to “unlock” their pensions. Unfortunately many of these schemes are scams and you may lose some all of your pension money if you do this. It is not possible to take money out of your pension before the age of 55, so be very careful if you are contacted by anyone to do this.
Get yourself ready if you are planning on buying a house this year. If you are looking to buy your first home in 2015, check your credit file online first. This will give you an indication of whether mortgage lenders will consider you for a mortgage. Then speak to a mortgage broker who can advise you of how much you can borrow and how much it is going to cost you a month.
Contact Martin Dodd on 01902 742221 or email him at [email protected] if you would like talk about money issues.
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