1. Ensure you have an emergency fund
This financial new year’s resolution top tip is slightly catch-22: those with sufficient incomes will probably already have a decent level of savings stashed away should there be any unexpected financial potholes in 2024.
Those who struggle to balance their personal payments may not feel they have funds to save for an emergency. With too much going out every month, how on earth do you save?
It’s not easy and will take planning and willpower. The key is putting away small regular amounts that are not so easily missed, rather than committing to large but unrealistic monthly amounts.
First ensure that you have a separate account for your savings and one that is easily accessible should you need to withdraw funds at short notice. Higher yield savings accounts may not allow you to do this or have penalties for early withdrawals.
Next, set up a small amount, roughly £10 per week for those on the tightest budgets, to automatically transfer into your savings account.
Then, the absolutely critical part – forget about it. Forget this fund even exists, until you look at it in December and see you now have £480 saved!
2. Reassess your utility providers
Inertia is the friend of all utility services, as they tend to rely on slowly increasing your annual premiums without you noticing.
Don’t let those premiums creep up stealthily – use a comparison site or do your own research, then ask your current provider to price match the cheapest alternative or switch.
This is one of the most satisfying money-saving resolutions, when you review just how much you’ve managed to save each month.
If you’re on a mortgage rate that’s coming to an end soon, be sure to speak to a mortgage broker to help you find a new, ideally better, deal.
3. Save for retirement
For some, the level of contributary pension can be a deal breaker when deciding on a new employer. For others, a pension is an unwanted monthly deduction that, unlike national insurance and income tax, is optional and therefore ignored.
Whatever your age, putting in place the right pension should take top priority in your personal finance resolutions for 2024. With so many options and providers, this is one area that really benefits from the knowledge a financial adviser brings.
If you take one thing away with you from this article, it’s to make the time to sit down and think about your finances. Saying ‘I’ll do it when I get the chance’ often translates to things never being achieved.
4. Create a budget – and stick to it.
Make 2024 the year that you stick to your budget by putting some helpful steps in place. If you share your financial decisions with someone else, like a partner or family member, then discuss and agree a budget together and write it down.
The same goes for if you’re making all the decisions yourself – write your budgets down and keep them somewhere that they can be easily referred to.
The key to creating a budget is to make it realistic. Work out your income versus expenditure, taking account of any known changes to your finances for 2024.
Keep things simple by setting up direct debits for all your regular, fixed costs and factoring these into your budget.
When it comes to variable costs such as gas and electric, food, petrol etc, look back on your previous payments and calculate the mean cost over the last 12 months, taking into account any price inflation. If you’re aiming to spend less, then set a lower budget and stick to it.
