Start the New Year by reviewing your finances

Monday, 16 January 2012

It is fair to say that 2011 has not been the best of years financially for a lot of people – with interest rates being at historic lows for the whole year and with the stock market volatility seen as a result of the Euro zone crisis. Many older people rely on their savings and investments to help fund their retirement – but you can also help boost your financial position in other ways – here are just a few helpful tips:

• Check your tax code and make sure you are not paying any more tax than you have to.

• If your income is low and you are not paying any tax at all then make sure that all bank and building society accounts on which you receive interest are paying this gross to you – if in doubt check with your financial institution.

• If you are lucky enough to have significant sums of money on deposit earning interest, make sure you have invested the maximum you can in a cash ISA this financial year.

• Review your financial outgoings, draw up a budget and look to live within your means – it is amazing where cash goes when you least expect it.

• Don’t be frightened to shop around – particularly with buildings, contents and motor insurance – use the many comparison websites that are out there and see if you can get a better deal.

• Review your current utility contracts – can you do better by transferring to other providers.

These are just a few suggestions – if you have any others then why not write to us? We’ll share the best ones with our readers.