How to Instantly Improve your Finances

When you think about your finances do you find yourself getting increasingly stressed? Perhaps so stressed that you quickly click off of your online banking, hide your latest bills and decide to leave the whole problem for another day? Looking after your personal finances can be very overwhelming so here are 10 simple ways you can instantly improve your finances.

Before we start, please don’t think that your financial situation is hopeless! The best part of learning money management is that you can always turn a difficult situation around.

Check your Bank Account

Don’t be a financial Ostrich and stick your head in the sand! It is important that you understand your financial situation. That means you must regularly check your Bank Account, no matter how much you don’t want to!

By checking it regularly, you can see how much your spending, how much you’re earning and if you have any unexpected expenses that you don’t remember making. Staying on top of your account means that you can never be caught unstuck by accidentally entering your overdraft or becoming a victim of any banking scams.

Assessing your account now will give you a great starting point for this next chapter of your financial journey.

Save/Invest Consistently

No matter how small! If you can only afford to save £10 per week that still adds up to £520 per year! Or maybe you can set aside £100 every month. This would give you a very healthy £1200 in your savings at the end of the year. Think of how much that could add up to over 5 years!

Even a small contribution to your savings or investment account will vastly improve your finances, especially when it comes to your money mindset. By consistently saving you are telling yourself that saving for the future is a priority for you. This will help you make more sensible spending decisions in the future and is sure to set you up for financial success.

Set a Budget

Nothing can improve your finances like a budget. Being able to know exactly where your money is going, and more importantly, where it should be going is invaluable.

If you are new to budgeting then simply start by going into your bank account and noting down all of your incomings against all of your outgoings. From there you can further break down your outgoings into “needs” and “wants”.

Your “needs” can include categories such as mortgage/rent, food, fuel, car etc. And your “wants” will include everything else that weren’t technically “necessary”. For me this would be things such as makeup, dining out and presents for others.

Set the categories based on your personal spending habits. Once you can see where your money is going you can then decide if you want to set a limit for certain categories. Essentially “setting your budget” for the month ahead.

Being conscious of where your money is going will help you make more informed spending decisions, and should help you cut down on those pesky impulse purchases that we are all guilty of.

Don’t shop when you’re hungry

This is where many of us slip up!

Doing your weekly food shop when you’re hungry can encourage you to buy much more than you intended. You are also more likely to buy high calorie foods like sweets and chocolate which are certainly more expensive than lower calorie options like vegetables.

Surprisingly, research has found that going shopping when hungry can even lead you to buy more non-food items. So, before your next shopping trip, make sure you have eaten or planned lunch in before you can be tempted into making unnecessary purchases.

Avoiding hungry shopping is a simple fix that will instantly improve your finances.

If your food bill is a particular financial worry for you, why not learn many more methods to Save Money on Groceries, and even earn money back on your regular food shop.

Haggle your Bills

There is not much we can do about the rising monthly costs we pay for everyday necessities. But in many cases the fixed rates we pay for services such as broadband, phones and insurance get increased without us batting an eye.

Therefore, haggling these bills down can be an easy way of reducing your monthly expenses. The best time to do this is when your contract is coming to an end, otherwise you could be lumped with a cancellation fee if you try to leave.

Before phoning or getting on the company’s online chat, make sure you shop around and look at what you could be paying for the same service from other providers. You can then use this knowledge to bargain with your own provider.

I know haggling can feel very awkward for some of us, but don’t worry, it is in the provider’s best interest to keep you happy and keep your business.

If you don’t ask, you don’t get!

Get Cashback on Everyday Purchases

An easy way to instantly improve your finances is to save money on your everyday purchases. My favourite way of doing this is with Cashback! Luckily, there are now loads of apps and websites that will offer you cashback on your everyday spends. My current favourite is the Cheddar app.

Cheddar offers automatic cashback at a growing number of online and instore retailers.

Simply connect your bank account and that’s it! When you shop instore or online with one of their selected retailers you will automatically earn cashback which will appear in your account in just a few days!

I absolutely love this app because now it is set up, I don’t have to even think about it. All I have to do is shop and I’ve earned cashback!

The best part about it is they offer cashback on supermarkets! So you can get guaranteed cashback every week! They currently offer cashback at Sainsburys and Co-op (along with many other retailers such as JustEat, Caffe Nero, Greggs, McDonalds and even TrainLine) but this is always changing and growing so make sure to check it regularly.

You can download and join Cheddar for free today! (referral).

Cut down 5% of your Spending

If suddenly all you bills went up by 5%, you would not be happy, but you could survive. Just as if you got a 5% pay cut, you would definitely not be happy, but you could still maintain your current lifestyle with little to no change.

So why not cut the 5% yourself?

Look at your budget to see how much you spend in total per month. Then calculate what 5% of that would be. Use this as your new savings target and try to cut down and save that 5% instead of spending it.

I have found this to be a very effective way of saving, and it is a great place to start if you have just started on your saving journey.

Cancel Subscriptions

Did you know that almost half of us waste money on unused subscriptions every month? In fact, research has found that on average, households waste £170 every year!

That is a lot of money to waste on something you are not using. So, check your bank account and assess how many subscriptions you have, and which ones are just not worth the money for you anymore. Simply cancel them and that will be another great way to quickly save money and instantly improve your finances.

Set a 5 Year Financial Goal

Where do you want to be in 5 years?

I don’t know about you, but I always hated this question. I used to think: “I don’t know where I want to be next week! How am I supposed to know where I want to be in 5 years?!”

But if working for myself has taught me anything, it is the importance of long term goals.

Setting goals you want to reach 5 years from now really helps you keep perspective and focus on what is important in day to day life.

Setting long term financial goals will not only help you stay focused on saving in the short term but will also give you a way of tracking your progress and holding yourself accountable when striving towards your dream life.

Whether you are aiming for complete financial freedom, a debt-free life, or just being able to take an annual holiday, make sure whatever long-term financial goals you set truly inspire you. It is these goals that will keep you motivated when you would rather splash the cash than save it.

Start an Emergency Fund

If you haven’t started an Emergency fund yet then you may be living dangerously!

When you are hit by unexpected expenses, it can cause major financial stress and could push you into debt. If your car broke down, or your washing machine flooded the house, how much financial stress would you be under?

Making an Emergency fund means regularly contributing to a savings pot for months or even years until you feel like you can cover whatever emergency could come your way.

Many people decide to save a few month’s worth of household bills, just in case you are left in a situation where you can’t work or earn for a while.

Having a separate pot of money just for emergencies is a great way of avoiding any unnecessary stress and is sure to instantly improve your finances.

I hope you enjoyed finding out How to Instantly Improve your Finances.

Remember, every little step you make in money management can really make a big difference. So, make sure to celebrate every penny you save!

What steps will you take first to instantly improve your finances? Let us know the financial win you are most proud of in the comments!

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• 7 Tips you Need to Stop Impulse Spending
• 5 Apps you Need to Save Money

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