How to keep your finances in full bloom

Just as it is important to check your finances in the Spring, it’s important to look after them in the Autumn so that you stay in control of your finances.

This involves carrying out a financial health check, maintaining good financial health and dealing with issues arising.

Your financial health check

The aim of a financial health check is to take a holistic review of your personal finances and financial situation. This should help you better understand how you are managing your money and whether you are on track to achieve any financial goals that you have set – and if not, where changes need to be made.

You should look at your spending and saving habits, debt levels, retirement provision, including state pension and private pension funds and other investments and financial goals.

 This would include what you have by way of –

• An emergency fund. You ought to have a cushion of cash savings amounting to 3 to 6 months worth of essential outgoings
• A look at spending habits. While saving money is not an answer to serious financial problems like redundancy, it can help and gives you something to focus on
• Possibly switch utility and broadband suppliers and car and home insurers
• Checking your pensions and ISAs. If you’re paying into a workplace pension and have many years before retirement, then falls in the market will probably just be a blip on your pension’s timeline. Consider increasing your pension contributions – you essentially get free cash from the government. Consider a stocks and shares ISA – if markets are in a dip, some investors take the perspective of “buy low and sell high”.
• Think about remortgaging
• Write or update a will. If you do have a will, the extra time you may now have on your hands presents a good opportunity to check it’s all up to date
• Educate yourself on personal finances. It will help you gain confidence with money, and better help you with saving for retirement and your short-term financial goals.

The above are ways you can keep your finances in full bloom this Autumn. It can take some discipline, but it gets easier once you get into a routine.

Trouble with your finances?

However, if you find yourself in a difficult situation, it’s important not to bury your head in the sand. But neither should you panic as help is out there. If you find yourself in this situation, here are some tips which might be helpful -

• Write down your financial commitments in priority order
• Rather than rely on credit cards or loans, you could use your savings
• Think about your spending – is there anything you can cut back on?
• Speak to your lender to create a payment plan
• Talk to a debt adviser – the Money Advice Service has a list of free debt advisers you could speak to.

This article does not constitute financial advice, and you should always consider discussing your financial options with an independent financial adviser.

Although every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided in this article is accurate and correct, the information provided does not constitute any form of financial advice. We recommend that you take financial advice before making any financial decisions.