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Happy New Year! We’re here to support you with your New Year’s resolution.  Whether you’re going to be saving money by quitting smoking or by eating healthier, we can help you make a budget to achieve yourgoals.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS YOU CAN ACTUALLY KEEP?

The best way to stick to a New Year’s resolution is to choose one that has an end result, so, whether your target is to quit smoking, eat healthier or start saving money – we’re here with some top tips to support you!

With any changes to your lifestyle, making a plan is going to help you succeed. So, if your resolution this year is to be debt-free, you’re going to need a budget. Look at your bank account and see what you’ve got coming in and going out, this is really going to help you to see where you can cut back. Use comparison sites to make sure you’re getting the most competitive rates on your internet, insurance and utility bills. If you pay a lot to your credit cards or loans and you feel that they’re never going down – don’t let them control your life, if you can’t afford them, we’re here to help.

ARE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS EFFECTIVE?

Did you know that if you set a New Year’s resolution now – you’re ten times more likely to be successful, compared to those who make life changes at other times in the year?

So, if you’re planning on starting the New Year with a new approach, get friends and family involved, or join a club to work with likeminded people to achieve your goals. Supporting each other in a group will help you to stay on track and encourage others to do so too.

Find us on Facebook and join our community who are working towards becoming debt free!

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR CHILDREN

Learning a new life skill is a great New Year’s resolution for children to have. Learning money management isn’t something that’s taught in schools, so use your experience to help your children save money and budget. Get the kids to do chores for pocket money and teach them how to save so they can buy the new toy or game they want.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR STUDENTS

As money is always tight for students, our New Year’s resolution is to make money from stuff that you don’t use anymore! With fast fashion hitting the high streets, it’s easy to get caught up in buying something, wearing it once and never wearing it again. So, capitalise on being a fashion icon and use sites to sell the clothes you don’t wear to make money!

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS FOR YOU

Start the New Year in the best way possible by getting on top of your finances, here’s our top tips:

  • Check your car insurance, home insurance, pet insurance and any other policies you hold to see when these are due to end. Put a reminder in your calendar a few weeks before they expire so you remember to check comparison sites before they run out to make sure you’re getting the best price and cover for what you need.
  • Make sure that you’ve cancelled any mobile phone apps that you don’t need or don’t use, these can be expensive especially when you add up the bill each month.
  • Review your benefit entitlement and check you are getting everything you’re entitled to. This is a great way to boost your income.
  • Start budgeting this year, figure out what you’ve got coming in, what your essential outgoing costs are (food, transport, rent/mortgage etc) and what costs aren’t essential. This might be things like TV subscriptions, a rarely used gym membership or getting a morning coffee on the way to work.
  • Pay off debts before you start saving. Clearing your debts before you start putting money aside will mean that you won’t be paying as much interest and charges to the debts. Make sure you clear any priority debts (mortgage arrears, rent arrears, utility arrears or council tax arrears) before overpaying on credit cards or loans.
  • Set a savings goal and have a date you want to achieve it by. Use your budget to see how much you can save each month, set the money aside into a savings account and try to not dip into it.
  • Take part in Dry January, it’s great for your health, you’ll have more energy and sleep better but where you’ll really notice the difference is your bank balance. 86% of people reported that they’ve saved money, so give it a go!
  • Make savings by participating in Veganuary. Cutting out meat and fish could help you to save money on your weekly shop and spend less time preparing your meals!

It’s never too late to start a good habit. It can be daunting making a big lifestyle change, but we’re here to help. It’s hard to know where to start, so visit our Financial Wellbeing hub for tips on managing your finances better.