In the twelve working days running up (almost) to Christmas, for our 2024 take on the Twelve Days of Christmas, we’ll share twelve straightforward and simple ways to build better financial wellbeing.
What is financial wellbeing?
Financial wellbeing is defined as having a good relationship with your money. It’s about feeling secure and in control of your finances, able to make the most of the money you have while also being able to cope if something unexpected happens.
People find it uncomfortable to talk about money. But, research from the Money & Pensions Service shows that people who start conversations about it:
- make better and less risky financial decisions
- have stronger personal relationships
- help their children form good lifetime money habits
- feel less stressed or anxious and more in control
- build financial confidence and financial resilience
Keep track of your money
Put together a budget
Budgeting means you know what and when you can spend – and may even help you make money go further. Use a budget planner to guide you through the process. The free online budget planning tool on the MoneyHelper website is easy and user-friendly – you can even save your progress and return to it at another time.
Get to grips with your bills
By tracking bill due dates, you can decide whether it’s easier for you to consolidate them to one or two points in the month, or spread them out further – whatever works with your budget plan. If you’re finding it tricky to prioritise bills, MoneyHelper have a handy online Bill Prioritiser to help identify which debts or bills are most important.
Set up low-balance alerts
Your bank or building society can guide you through setting up a low-balance alert once your funds have reached a certain point, helping you keep an eye on spend automatically.
Check your credit report
It’s a good idea to do this annually, but don’t worry, doing so won’t affect your credit rating – it’s known as a ‘soft enquiry’ and is not visible to lenders. Money Saving Expert covers how to check your report for free.
Be aware of benefits
Make sure you know about benefits you may be entitled to. The Printing Charity has a benefits calculator available for anyone to use.
Prepare for the future
Talk to a child about money
Children start to learn about money from early childhood, and parents and carers are the most important influence on how they manage money in adult life. While every child is different, there are some age-appropriate ways to do this while still keeping it simple, and fun. MoneyHelper’s guide divides advice into age groups; while on the Mental Health & Money Advice website, Mental Health UK have an excellent conversation guide to refer to.
Start an emergency fund
Life sometimes doesn’t go according to plan, and anyone can find themselves facing financial hardship. It’s recommended that people have three- to six months’ salary for such emergencies, and while this may seem daunting, there’s great advice on how to start and maintain emergency funds on money.co.uk.
Check your pension status
It’s worth checking state, employer and personal pensions to understand how your pension pot is performing, and whether it’s on track to save sufficient money to cover your goals for retirement. There’s a tool where everyone can check their state pension forecast on the gov.uk website.
Take simple steps to save
Review your bills
Even though household bills continue to rise, it’s always worth contacting your service providers to talk about reviewing your tariff, or consider signing up for a similar service elsewhere if that’s not possible. MoneyHelper offers a range of tips on ways to go about this.
Check for unused subscription services
To find out what subscriptions you might be paying for that you simply don’t use, start with your bank statements, and your direct debits for a list in one place. You can also check your e-mails for words like ‘subscription’ or ‘welcome’ which may flag things you’ve signed up to. Remember, if you sign up for free trials, set an alarm or make a diary note of their expiry dates, so you can cancel – or make an active decision to continue with the service – in good time.
Don’t stay silent: seek support, information and guidance from experts
Free, independent information and advice for financial challenges
Employees in businesses partnering with the Printing Charity helpline can call for practical information and advice about financial issues, as well as any other issues, Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm; and also have access to free debt help from Payplan, which can be accessed via the helpline.
Debt charity StepChange also provides support for people struggling with debt, which can start with a straightforward online questionnaire. Once you get going, you can save your progress at any time if you need to track down more information.
Start a conversation
It’s really important to seek support if facing financial hardship. As Printing Charity beneficiary Hazel said, “Anyone’s life can change on a spin: there are so many people in this position.”
Practical and emotional support for financial challenges is available from the Printing Charity helpline, including PayPlan specifically to address problems with debt.
Other expert resources include:
- MoneyHelper for joined-up money and pensions guidance, plus a range of DIY easy-to-use tools and calculators to support with everything financial from everyday money, savings and pensions to specific circumstances including family & care, work, and money troubles;
- Citizen’s Advice;
- National Debtline;
- StepChange;
- Mental Health & Money Advice website from Mental Health UK.
The Printing Charity also provides financial assistance for people of reduced financial means, facing hardship. The ways we can help starts with a conversation. Contact our friendly team on support@theprintingcharity.org.uk or 01293 542 820 to discuss our available support.