Money management ~ Tips That Will Save You Hundreds Each Year

While a credit card can often be something that saves the day, they can be a very costly item and end in tears, especially if you have one for those with poor credit ratings and a very high rate of interest. I do have one, but when I do use it, which is not often, I make sure I pay the whole amount off when the statement arrives. Never Pay just the Minimum Payment…Your credit card company usually makes sure you know that there is a minimum payment. Even if you owe thousands of pounds, your minimum payment can seem extremely low, however, what the credit card companies don’t tell you is that if you have a large balance and only pay the minimum payment for the next few years you will cost yourself possibly thousands of pounds in interest costs alone.


If you can ~Transfer Your Balance to a Lower Interest Credit Card

Many people with a poor credit rating , possibly due to unemployment , debts etc , do not have a credit card at all and cannot get one, but some do manage to get one, albeit with a very high interest rate , but it is the only type of card they can get, and they cannot switch to a better offer . However, IF you can, it is possible to find some attractive interest rates. Some card offers allow you to transfer your higher rate card to the better offer and give you a very good interest rate, even lower than normal for a certain time when you sign up. If you are paying loads of money in interest each year it can be much better to switch and get a good offer for a time.

Do the same with your utility contracts, again the problem is that many who most need to switch and get a good offer cannot do so because they are have black marks on their credit record and so cannot pass a credit check to switch, also many people on a very low income, e.g. benefits are on pre-pay meters for gas and electricity and cannot switch while they are still paying a debt off. Another known problem with pre-pay meters is that it is known that gas and electricity paid this way is much more expensive but that this method pf payment is often forced on those least able to pay it. If you can switch your utility contracts the keep an eye out on e.g. price comparison sites for better offers.



And …Use a Debit Card Instead of a Credit Card

There are certainly times when IF you have one, a credit card can be a necessity, such as after Christmas, but especially if you have a high interest one, why use something that is so expensive when we don’t need to. Rather, pay with our debit card and not pay any interest. Debit cards are usually accepted everywhere credit is as well. Use your debit card to avoid high interest fees in the long run and you can literally save hundreds in interest fees each year.

Also, why not make a belated New Year Resolution and look ahead at your budgeting ….Counting any money still due to you in January and in December before Christmas arrives, there are twelve months until Christmas, even if you only managed to put away £10 per month , this would be £120 for Christmas , to at least buy some food and presents ….

Valerie Hartland

Has that new year optimism faded already?

The lights have all come down and the decorations are packed away as New Year follows Christmas full of optimism, hope, big plans and good intentions. However, things soon get back to normal and life seems remarkably just like before!!!

Maybe it is a case of having too much of a good thing since Christmas starts in September as soon as they have packed away the back to school and starting university stuff, and Christmas things are on the shelves with Halloween and in the UK, the fireworks!!

No matter how limited our resources, we invest a lot in Christmas and the holiday season, remembering that many other holidays take place at this time of the year too , and for many once it is over there is a sense of relief and some even take the decorations down as early as December 26th or 27th , then we have another party for New Year and the feelings of cheer , optimism and good will to each other can be just as high, for some higher, than at Christmas .

However, it does not last, after New Year’s Day, for many people it is back to work, or the jobcentre and work programmes, for many it has been a nice long break and the back to normal routine is a come down, especially with bad weather, and as in the UK right now train strikes and fare increases that happen every January as people are returning to work and find out the increased cost of their daily journey.

Christmas leaves many with debts and big bills to clear and we have winter fuel bills to worry about as the worst of the winter weather often sets in.

The bright hopes, optimism and plans for the new year are for many boxed up and put away with the decorations and those new year resolutions are treated as a bit of a joke to be made again at the same time next December.

However, if you focus on taking the new year seriously, then you really can have positive changes that last. Backing up the plans with action, your ability to see visible progress will keep the positivity going.

If you have new year low spirits, then decide that this year is not going to be just the same as last and you can keep that optimism and positivity going.

Looking to the future

This year I am going to make the most of any good opportunities I have!!! I recently moved to sheltered rented housing and no longer must do anything and everything I can physically manage to bump up my disability income and pay a mortgage. I can achieve dreams of becoming a writer, known for writing articles on age, employment and disability issues …and other things when I have time, and I am going to work at getting my degree. I am blessed and I can look at this coming year with hope, happiness and confidence. I still have health issues but as I am not claiming welfare I have no fear of being made to look for a job that I cannot physically manage and I can concentrate on improving my health after the financial and emotional strains of the past years.

I know I have people who love me and want to encourage me with the things I am doing, my writing and my degree and who support me with my health issues. I am capable and intelligent and loved and supported and I have a lot going for me in my life.

I have known what it is to feel afraid and when I still do, I know it is OK to own those feelings, but I am going this year to do all I can to make progress with my plans as a writer and my studies and to resolve as best I can, my health issues. I will not lose sight as I have often done in my past of my possibilities and I will remember to count my blessings, my future looks brighter than it has for many years and I look ahead with hope.


Questions for self-reflection ~

1. What ways I have been blessed lately?

2. What can I do to increase my self-confidence?

3. How does my perspective affect my emotions?