I want to... take control of my finances

Most things are better when they are planned - especially when it comes to money.

Sometimes without planning we can’t manage unexpected bills or spending and payments to a mortgage or loan suffer.

So here are a few things that you can try.

Take a little time to look at how you spend your money. It might be hard to get started, but organising things can be quite a nice feeling when it’s all sorted.
A good way to look at it is by reviewing what you need to spend your money on and what you want to spend your money on.

The first thing is to list out what you have to pay – the essentials. Things like:

• Mortgages or rent
• Loans
• Car and travel
• Gas, electricity and phone
• Insurance
  

Other essentials that you can average out every month are:

• Food and clothing
• Social and entertainment
• Credit card bill

We have a handy budgeting tool that you might find useful.

From time to time there are also expenses which you may not have planned for such as home and car repairs as well as family events.

Ideally you need to build up a little extra each month to build up to meet these and the best thing to do here is to save so you have money put aside. See here for savings options.