Financial Fitness for 2012

Well, that’s Christmas and New Year done with for another year. The spending frenzy is over and now all we have to show for the holidays is a few more socks than we had a couple of weeks ago. The jingling of bells is a sound from the past and the only sound to be heard on quiet January nights is the faint, feeble fluttering of the Credit Card Fairy. January is traditionally the time we make our New Year Resolutions and then promptly break them. While it’s easy to sign up for that shiny new gym membership or that money saving tariff on your phone it’s often not so easy to get out of those unwanted contracts and their surprisingly high subscription fees. January should be a time for reviewing your financial fitness. Here are few tips to lose some pounds.

Four easy steps

* Sometimes the old one’s really are the best, so if you’re still at it, stop smoking. Even those of us who have tried and failed in the past to quit should always try again. There are all manner of products out there to help you quit and many are available on prescription. With figures suggesting an average smoker spends around £2000 a year on cigarettes this has to be one New Year’s resolution you can’t really afford to break.
* Get all those bank and credit card statements together for a little New Year bash of their own. Check what’s going out and when. It’s surprising how old and useless phone insurances, gym memberships and other miscellaneous items can stick doggedly with us. Direct Debit may be one of the most convenient ways for us to pay, but it’s also convenient to overlook. Check and double check to make sure the pennies are not flowing freely out of your account on un-used items. Where you have an unused subscription be sure there are no penalties for cancelling early and consider ‘negotiating’ if there are.
* The financial year is coming to an end which means it’s ISA time. Start shopping around now to find the best rates available and to be sure that your savings are working as hard as they possibly can. Interest rates continue at an all time low so getting each last drop of interest out of each penny is essential. Whatever you do, if you have any spare cash before April get it into the best ISA you can find.
* It sometimes seems that the price of petrol and the price of food are competing with each other to see which can rise fastest. Shop around is the only solution; online shopping sites offer comparisons on supermarket prices and some online shopping delivery services are very competitive when it comes to the weekly or monthly shop. A thorough price comparison on all household bills and insurances will also not go amiss at this time of year – particularly energy suppliers should be checked, double checked and checked again.

Thinking ahead

With all the boring financial checks out the way it’s time to think about a treat or two. Book your summer holidays now – the sooner you can get your booking made, the bigger the discount. With all the major tour operators keen to secure their business for the summer, this time of year can be the best to find the hottest deals and the best holiday savings. Whatever your New Year resolutions, make financial fitness a priority now.

Written by The Spy, 17 January, 2012 - 09:00