Regardless of your stage of life, it’s always important to try to learn about how you can make your money go further.
Finding time to manage your money can make a big difference to your year financially, and can give you peace of mind that you have enough money in the bank for everything you want to do for the weeks, months and years ahead.
Taking care of your finances can help you to work out how you need to budget your monthly income and outgoings, can tell you how much you can afford to save each month for the future, and can also help you work out how you can make your money go further.
Below, we have suggested some ways to help you manage your money to help you to make your money go further this year.
Budgeting
Do you often find yourself saying “I’ve no idea where my money goes”? And then you find yourself struggling to find the money you need at the end of the month to pay your bills? If so, this could be a sign that you need to budget more effectively, as you are not thinking about how you are spending your money.
The best solution to work out where your money is going is by creating a budget to help you to control your spending. A budget will help you to work out where you are overspending and where you need to cut back, which in affect will make your money go further in the future as you will have a clear understanding of where your money is going, and where you can make savings.
With modern technology, it has become much easier to create a budget, as software and applications can do the hard work for you. There are a range of smartphone apps too, meaning that you can stay on top of your finances no matter where you are.
Budgeting will also give you the chance to see if you have any extra cash in your current account, which could work harder for you in the way of a savings plan. For example, if you put regular instalments into an ISA, your money will be invested and you may be able to get higher returns in the future.
Here at Shepherds Friendly, our Stocks and Shares ISA aims to try to achieve higher returns for you. We invest your money in a variety of assets, the majority of which consist of stocks and shares, but also property, bonds and cash. While returns are not guaranteed in stocks and shares investments and the value can go down as well as up, our investment strategy is medium to low risk, meaning that your money is more protected from falls in the stock market. You can find out more about saving for yourself here.
However, it is important to remember, with any investment plan your capital is at risk and you may end up with less than you put in.
Review your bills
If you review how much you are spending on your household bills, you may find that you can get a better deal from another provider. Comparison websites can help you to discover the best deal out there based on your own needs. You should regularly review your tariff and compare providers and don’t be afraid to switch to boost your monthly budget. The same applies to phone and broadband tariffs too; there are always plenty of good deals to be found so the key is to do your research, and you might be surprised with how much you could save simply by switching providers.
Related: How to reduce your monthly household bills this winter
Make the most of vouchers, loyalty cards or special offers
A way to save money and in affect make your money go further is taking advantage of discounts, vouchers and loyalty reward schemes. You should do a quick online search before you buy anything on the internet and you’ll be surprised at what you could save – the same rule applies if you’re planning to splurge on the high street. If you shop at particular shop regularly, find out if they have loyalty reward cards to see your reward points build up and receive extra discounts.
Choose a savings plan with your best interests at heart
If you have a savings plan, is your provider giving you everything you expect? It is important that you do your research to ensure that you have a plan that is providing you with the service that you require and has your best interests at heart.
Here at Shepherds Friendly Society, we’re a mutual society; we have a strict set of values that we believe help us to provide our members with the best products and services we can offer.
We offer a range of tax-exempt savings plans, income protection and life insurance, and we are happy to say that we’ve paid a bonus of 3% on our ISA for the last 9 years. With many banks now dropping their interest rates, we think this is something to shout about.
