 steering their own financial destiny. With a manageable burden, on the other hand, it is possible to plan and allocate resources as you wish.
The first essential step toward debt reduction is to stop building balances. As you pay-down outstanding obligations, without adding more charges to your accounts; your budget will begin to feel relief. With each billing cycle, the weight of debt lifts, taking you one step closer to your financial goals. For faster results, even with a so-so credit history, it may be possible to borrow money at a more favorable rate, to eliminate balances. A consolidation or guarantor loan, for example, captures multiple obligations under a single repayment umbrella, refinancing the debt at a lower interest rate – or with better repayment terms.
A firm grasp of these important concepts gives you the tools needed to establish long-range goals and stay focused, realizing your financial ambitions. In addition to formal instruction, various online channels furnish references and resources for boosting financial insight. Each lesson builds on itself, until your financial understanding fills-in, growing into an asset, rather than a liability.
Financial discipline and accountability are vital aspects of successful financial management. By reducing debt and fortifying financial knowledge, it is possible to reinforce your financial health, setting the stage for long-term security.
There are a few financial issues that mums always have to deal with. Every year they come around again, and you can’t avoid them. What you can do is beat them and make sure you understand how to stop them destroying your finances. So, let’s look at some of the biggest financial threats that we battle as mums.
This is a big one, particularly around this time of the year as winter begins to set in. It’s common for energy prices to rise because we’re desperate to keep our homes warm and toasty. We worry about whether it’s warm enough for our children. But instead of turning up the thermostat, we should really be telling them to put on extra layers. It provides the same benefit at zero cost!
I hate the time of the month when you have to pull out the receipts and start ticking off what you’ve paid for. But it’s important that you do this. Otherwise, you might find you’ve got bills that aren’t yours and money is going out your account that you didn’t spend. Essentially, you could be the victim of fraud without even realising it!
Again, this is quite common around this time of year when everyone starts hitting the shops for Christmas. I know I’m not the only one that gets tempted to take out the credit card. If you do this, you must make sure that you pay the bill back on time. Otherwise, the item your kid had to have is going to kill your credit rating. The infographic below has some wonderful ways to fix your rating, even if you do overspend.
Infographic Credit: loans with no credit checks.
Being a parent, it’s difficult to see beyond the here and now. We focus so much on the daily routine. The school runs. The fact whether our kids are eating. The chores, our work life perhaps. Not feeling like we have the right balance, but yet hoping to have as much quality family time as possible, sound familiar? This is the norm for most parents of today. There is so much focus on what you should be doing right now, and less about the future. It was a different story for our parents and grandparents. They tended to make provisions for the future.
It’s not that modern parents don’t think about it, I think it may be more to do with the issue of it seeming like a big task. Future finances, our retirement plans. They seem like such big decisions to make for our lives that seems so far away. But as we all know, time moves exceptionally quick. Before we know it, that will be us. So I thought I would take some time to break down exactly what you should think about for the future. It’s not as difficult as perhaps you believe.
Finances are possibly one of the biggest things you need to tackle for your retirement and future. Once you or your partner leave employment, that is it for income. Of course, you can draw your state pension. The one everyone gets. But that may not leave you accustomed to the life you have gotten used to. Don’t threat. There’s plenty of things you may have already put the wheels in motion for, and certainly, things you can start doing right now.
Have you bought a property that you own? Whether you live in it or rent it out for income, that’s one big step for securing your financial future. If you haven’t bought a property yet now’s the time to start saving to do it. It’s a great investment and one that can secure you in the future. Equity release is one of the things you can consider. This is where you draw down some of the equity in your property, it can be done in a lump sum and then used to live off or pay for things like holidays. Some people love this kind of option whereas others see it as using up funds that could be passed down to children or grandchildren when you pass away. The choice is yours to make, but it is an option.
You may have one you pay into already, which is perfect. However, many employers now offer the workplace pension scheme, and it is one you should consider. The money is taken directly from your wages each month so you don’t need to think about it. Your employer also pays a set amount, which means you get more investment. It’s a great scheme that many of you can take advantage of. If you want to consider a personal pension, then there are many advisors who will be happy to advise on some of the best packages available.
Finally, when it comes to your finances, you could always look into your savings and investment options. This is where you could tie in your money to a high interest savings account for a set period. Or consider investing in the stocks and shares market, although that can be quite risky if you are inexperienced.
On a positive note, now is a great time to consider what you will do with the time you have. Retirement is a new chapter in your life and one that should be embraced wholeheartedly. You should make the most of the time. If you are unsure, here are a few suggestions.
Start now and sit down and make a bucket list. This could include all the places you want to see and experience. It’s a great idea to get some perspective on where you want to go in life. Retirement is the perfect time to take advantage of seeing these pleases, but don’t let that stop you if you have the chance to begin exploring now.
Now that you have some time, and no doubt have saved for retirement, you could consider travelling. There are many options like taking extended cruises, seeing different countries or travelling to the other side of the world.
Whether it was something you stopped years ago or something you have always wanted to try. Retirement offers you the chance to start a new hobby, and invest yourself into it. It could be anything you like. If you are stuck for ideas, there are plenty of websites to provide some inspiration. Taking part in a hobby or pastime allows you to get involved in your community and could ensure you make some firm friends in the process.
The one thing we cannot predict is our health. It’s one of those things that would love to prepare for in advance, but sadly that isn’t the case. While you may take care of yourself with a balanced diet and regular exercise, you never know what the future holds. This is why it is worth having a plan in place, just incase.
Would you consider a care home?
Many people are put off by the idea of heading into a care home when they are older but these days these places are state of the art and luxurious. A care home could provide you with everything you need around the clock, and provide you living that is more comfortable and rewarding. Care homes can cost, so this is why it is something to consider for the future, it’s worth knowing whether this is what you would want. If you want some more information, you can find it from HC-Care-Homes.co.uk.
Alternatively, you could consider staying at home and having a relative or family member care for you. There are many benefits to this including being able to stay in your home. You could consider having it adapted to help with mobility. There are many options, depending on what you need. Carers get allowances to help cover the financials. If you wnat to look into this further, then check out https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/overview.
Making out a will is often something we can forget to do. But it’s our opportunity to make a note of how we want things to proceed when we pass away. While it is never a pleasant subject to think about, what is nice is that you can ensure your family’s future. You may want to make sure that your children get the house, or that your grand daughter gets your wedding ring. It might even be to make a note f how you want things to happen when it comes to a funeral. It is your time to have your say, so don’t miss out on it.
So as we mentioned this isn’t exactly a nice subject to think about, but you may have strong beliefs that you want taking into account when the time comes. Perhaps you don’t want a fuss at all, or want people to wear bright colours instead of black. Perhaps you want someone in particular to say a few words, or you prefer to be cremated instead of buried. These are all things that