Two experts in personal finance from the OU offer top tips on how you can manage your money effectively. Why shouldn’t you make financial decisions on a Friday, and why should you figure our your ‘essential non-essentials’?
1) Check your credit rating and your credit file
This can be done at no cost and you may find there is erroneous information on your file, which is hitting your credit rating and affecting your access to loans and/or the interest rate you’re charged when borrowing.
2) Switch utility providers
Get into the switching habit for financial services – particularly current accounts – internet, and utilities. Switching isn’t as much of a hassle as you might think and can really help your household finances.
3) Save, save, save
Make saving an essential ‘expenditure’ each month – just set up a direct debit that pays an amount into your savings account each after Pay Day. Do this rather than save what’s left in your bank account at the end of the month, because the odds are that you will have already spent what you intended to save!
4) Structure your spending
Structure your household spending into three categories – essentials, non-essentials and ‘essential non-essentials’. The latter are the things you don’t need to stay housed, healthy and well-fed, but are the things you need to be able to afford to make life enjoyable – such as your hobbies, holidays, and nights out. If you need to economise, target the true non-essentials first and try to ring-fence the ‘essential non-essentials’.
5) Avoid Fridays and Mondays
Avoid making major financial decisions on Fridays and Mondays. On Fridays, you might be in too much of a good mood to make well-judged decisions. On Mondays, your mood might be negative.
Senior Lecturer in Personal Finance, Jonquil Lowe
6) Pay off the credit cards
Give top priority to paying off credit card debts in the run up to Christmas. Credit cards are flexible and can be fairly cheap over the short-term, but are an expensive way to borrow if you let the debts drag on.
7) Small changes add up to big savings
Free up money to pay off debts by switching to cheaper options – eat more healthy meals in rather than costly (and fattening) meals out, carry home-brewed coffee in your own flask rather than buying expensive lattes every day, take packed lunches to work.
8) Get fit for free
Is your New Year’s Resolution to be healthy? Think twice about the expensive gym membership that locks you in for a year and ends up being barely used. Instead, take up (free) cycling, jogging, and walking, and check out your (much cheaper) public swimming pool.
9) Have a money meeting
Never know where your money goes? Plan a monthly meeting with yourself when you will go through your income and spending. Planning will help you to budget for the important things in life!
10) Keep track of insurance renewals
Mark on your 2018 Calendar the renewal dates for car and home insurance, and when any fixed-rate fuel deals reach an end. A fortnight before each date, make sure to shop around and switch provider if you have a better deal.
11) Save for a holiday, don’t buy on credit
Tempted by all those summer holiday offers that pop up from January onwards? Instead of buying now on credit, start saving regularly and buy a last-minute bargain.
Tips 1 to 5 were provided by Martin Upton, Director of the True Potential Centre for the Public Understanding of Finance, and tips 6 to 11 were provided by Jonquil Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Personal Finance.
Learn more:
- You and Your Money – free personal finance course on OpenLearn
- OpenLearn resources on Money Management
Photo by Annelieke B 
