Managing your family finances can feel overwhelming at times. But with support from experts, and a little bit of planning, you can feel confident that you’re taking the right step for your own money. Here is some practical advice for managing your family finances.
Seek The Advice Of An Expert
Getting professional tax advice from an accountant is a great way to streamline your family finances. This is particularly useful if you have different revenue streams, like self-employed or part time work. An accountant can also help you see if you’re entitled to any additional support, particularly if you run your own business. You might find that you qualify for certain loans or start-up funding which can help grow your company.
Double Check Your Account Statements
When you get your monthly energy, water bills and bank statements, regularly check them to make sure you aren’t overpaying. Energy hikes might mean your tariff is way higher than it needs to be. Seen an unexpected payment out of your bank account? Query with your bank to make sure it’s nothing fraudulent. Keep an eye on what’s coming out of your account each month so you are prepared and aware of your current finances.
Work Within A Realistic Budget
Set a realistic budget for your food, clothing, entertainment and savings. Keep it within your monthly income to make it realistic, and try to stick to it each month. If you’re struggling, start by keeping a record of what you spend each day, and review it at the end of the week to see where you can save money. Track your online expenses in the same way, and you’ll be surprised at how much money you can save.
Set Up Different Savings Pots
New investment apps like Plum help you allocate savings to different pots. You could divide your savings up into funds for holidays, savings for moving and sinking funds for certain upcoming birthdays or events. A sinking fund is any fund you put money into for a future expenditure, like upgrading a kitchen or going on holiday. Allocating a set amount of each money to each fund can help build up each individual pot over time.
Grow An Emergency Fund
An emergency fund is a back-up set of savings, ideally around three to six months of your annual salary. The idea of an emergency fund is for those unexpected situations: when your boiler breaks, if you need new windows, or you suddenly can’t work for a few months. An emergency fund changes what could be a huge life disruption through to a minor inconvenience.
Manage Your Family Finances With Ease
By investing in an expert and keeping an eye on your outgoing and incoming bills, you will quickly gain control of your monthly finances. Working within a realistic budget and setting up savings pots will ensure that you can have control of where your money goes each month. Setting up both sinking funds and emergency funds will help you manage the money you want to spend and which savings should go for emergencies.
