Make Your Money Go Further

Effective financial management is important to most people that deal with household budgets, and never more so than recently, with the global credit crunch, soaring inflation, and rising living costs all having a negative impact on our finances. The good news is that there are a number of ways in which you may be able to improve your finances by cutting back on the amount that you have to pay out each month, and reviewing your finances could help you to identify ways in which this can be done.

Many people spend a fortune each month on paying high interest debts such as loans, store cards, and credit card, and this can really eat into your income. However, you could find that you can cut back drastically on the amount that you have to pay out on your debts each month by wrapping all of these expensive debts into one low rate loan with the use of a consolidation loan. Another benefit is that you will have just one repayment to deal with each month rather than having to make a variety of repayments to different creditors.

Another way in which you could cut back on how much you pay out each month is by looking at switching some of your services such as your utility or broadband providers. The prices charges by different providers can vary considerably and you could find that you will pay far less with one provider than you are paying with your existing provider. You can check out deals and prices with ease using one of the various price comparison sites in operation today.

We all know that the interest rates on some credit cards can be very high, and if you are making monthly repayments on one or more high interest credit cards you could find that much of your income is going on paying the interest alone. Consider transferring your existing credit card balances onto a 0% balance transfer credit card, as you can then enjoy a period of interest free credit, which can save you a fortune in interest and could help you to clear the credit card debt more quickly.

You may find that every month you are paying a hefty chunk of your income on things such as late repayment fees on credit cards and catalogues or on overdraft fees for exceeding your limit. Make sure that you monitor your accounts very carefully and that you avoid making late repayments or exceeding credit limits, as you could save yourself a fortune in fees and charges simply be exercising more caution over your spending.

Shopping is another expense that has spiralled out of control over the past year, and with inflation on food at sky high levels many families are paying a fortune for their shopping. You may be able to reduce your shopping bill considerably, however, by switching from one of the better know supermarket giant to one of the discount supermarkets that have sprung up over recent years.

Source by Alisdair Cosgrove