New Year, New Financial Start

They say money can’t buy happiness, but it can certainly help – and the key is building healthy financial habits. Whether you want to stay on top of your bills, pay off your debts sooner, save for a dream holiday or look forward to a successful retirement, taking time to fully understand your financial plans really will pay off.

5 Areas To Consider When Setting New Year Financial Goals

New year = New Financial Goals

There’s nothing like a fresh start in the new year, which makes it the perfect time to sit down and set some financial resolutions for the next 365 days. Having clear financial goals to work towards will give you a sense of purpose and motivation to spend less and to save and invest more throughout the year ahead. But remember, with no plan in place, a goal is merely a dream. So, if you want to ensure you achieve your financial resolutions, then it helps to break the bigger goals down into more manageable bite-sized objectives which you can gradually work through at your own pace to create better financial habits.

Check The Interest Rate On Your Savings

Savings rates have dropped to historically low levels since the financial crisis hit in 2008, which makes it all the more important to shop around for the best rates. Different types of savings accounts have different rules on how much you can put in and when. Could you deposit money into another account where you receive a better rate of interest? It’s important to check how your savings are growing and at a rate above inflation, and then decide if you need to make changes. When selecting a savings account, you need to think carefully about whether you will need access to your money, how long you are looking to save for, and how you want to operate it.

Planning For Your Retirement

Even if retirement seems a long way off, think about what you want your money to do for you when you stop working. Do you know how much money you may need in retirement? How long will your money need to last for? How much should you be saving today? Planning for your retirement is a great way to prepare yourself for the future, and to make sure that you’ll be financially secure and live the lifestyle you want – even when you’re no longer earning. The earlier you start the process for planning for your retirement, the more manageable it will be, and the less of an impact it’ll have on your daily finances. Are you taking full advantage of the tax-efficiency of your Personal Pension or Workplace Pension? Pension advisors Leeds say what are you looking forward to doing the most in retirement? How much retirement savings will you actually need? How much can you afford to spend yearly once you have retired?

Review Your Borrowing

you have high-interest debt, you should make a plan to pay it down. If you don’t have any extra money in your budget to make a big dent, think about these options. Investigate 0% introductory balance transfer offer credit cards. Could you transfer your high-interest balances to a card with a temporary 0% interest introductory period to save on interest? The key is making a plan to pay off the balances before the introductory period ends and you begin paying a standard interest rate. Are you utilising less than 25% of your available credit across all of your cards and loans at any one time? Anything higher could affect your overall credit rating score.

Review Your Estate Plan

There is no genuinely valid reason not to have a Will. How can you write your family’s future? Have you written a Will, or does your existing Will need updating? Writing a Will is not a task that many people look forward to. It can very easily slip down the to do list – for a number of reasons. If you were to die without a Will in place, your estate would be shared out according to certain rules – known as ‘intestacy rules’ – and this could create a tremendous burden on your family and loved ones. A Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare (LPA) will also allow you to give someone you trust the legal power to make decisions on your behalf in case you later become unable to make your own decisions. How can you leave money to charity? How much money can you give away each year in gifts without tax implications? Can you make regular gifts out of your surplus income? Should you put your assets into a trust during your lifetime?