New years’ resolutions are so yesterday. This year make your resolutions before Christmas.
Let’s rethink resolutions. Start next year in the best possible financial shape by following this easy pre-Christmas checklist.
1. A budget is your friend!
You might think that starting a budget is hard or daunting, but the money you’ll save by doing this is definitely worth it. Getting this in place before Christmas can help you avoid those nasty credit card bills in January.
We’ve created an easy-to- use Campbell Green Budget Form that will help you start and maintain your own budget.
Contact us for a copy.
2. Let’s look at your spending
While you’re going through this budget process, take time to really assess what you’re spending your money on. It’s so easy to accumulate automatic weekly or monthly expenses that you don’t really need. I’m talking subscriptions to music sites, magazines or video streaming, even gym memberships you’re not using.
To stop this set-and- forget mentality, write down every outgoing expense, tally them up, then ask yourself two questions.
How different would your life be if you didn’t have it? What else could you do with that money?
3. Sort out your credit cards
We coach all our clients to consolidate their credit cards and pay off the balance in full each month. You can also shop around and see if you’re entitled to a better interest rate than you’re currently getting. You’d be amazed at the difference even a slight reduction can make over the course of a year.
If you need help putting a repayment plan in place, or advice about consolidating your credit cards, talk to us. We can help.
4. Set up automated bill payments
It’s all too easy to forget due dates, and paying bills late usually incurs a fee. Some of these fees might be minimal, but some, such as vehicle registration, are actually quite considerable and they can quickly add up. Setting up automated payments will make managing on-time payments easy.
5. Review your insurances
Conducting regular reviews of all of your insurances is essential for a number of reasons. You can literally save thousands of dollars by assessing insurance plans across the board, including life, trauma and income protection right through to car, house and health. On the flip side, if your circumstances have changed since you first took out the policy, you could be leaving yourself open to risk without realising it.
All too often, we remain on the same insurance plans even though we’ve been through significant life or health changes. For example, you might be still paying for obstetrics cover in your health insurance, even though all your children are grown up. You may have have given up smoking 12 months ago but are still paying the higher premiums of a smoker. Or, you might have neglected to update your home insurance even though you’ve renovated or extended.
Major life events like changing jobs, getting married, buying a new house all affect what insurance cover is right for you.
We offer all our clients a free yearly review of their personal, life, disability and income protection insurance. Talk to us – it’s worth finding out if you could be getting a better, or more appropriate, deal.
6. Take a look at your mortgage.
When it comes to your mortgage, don’t just take your bank’s word for it. To find out if you’re getting the best mortgage deal, see an independent broker or talk to the team at Campbell Green. There’s no obligation to change, but finding out could save you years off your home loan.
7. Change how you think about Christmas
At the risk of sounding like The Grinch, I can’t understand why people spend so much money on one single day. Yes, it’s important to take time out to celebrate with family and friends, but if you are still feeling the financial hurt come February, that just doesn’t make sense. There are simple ways you can minimise Christmas expenses. Here are two ideas to consider:
Present giving: Be open about setting monetary limits for all presents, or better still get everyone involved in a Secret Santa gift exchange. This way, everyone will receive one great gift they can really enjoy and your monetary outlay will be much lower than if you have to purchase something small for each member of your family. As long as you organise this arrangement early, there’ll be no embarrassment, and you’ll probably find that everyone in your Christmas circle is a little relieved.
Check out this easy and fun website that automates the Secret Santa process. http://www.secretsantaorganizer.com/
Hosting: If you’re hosting Christmas Day at your place, ask everyone to bring a side or a salad etc. Entertaining is expensive, especially at Christmas. It will really make a difference to the overall cost if each person who comes contributes something to the table.
Note: This post is intended for general information purposes only.
