There are going to be few families in the so called civilised world who are not going to be affected by the current economic turmoil.
For a vast number of people their standard of living will drop as income falls and the demands on their available cash increase.
So what can we do about it? There are two approaches that you can take.
Firstly you could always bury your head in the sand and hope the whole thing will go away.
It won't.
The other option is to make a positive effort to take control of your income and expenditure in a way that may have never done before.
In this article I am going to highlight 7 steps that you can take now to improve your financial position.
1.
Draw up a plan.
It does not matter whether you call it a budget or cash flow plan but put down on paper all your regular expenses.
Don't just include regular bills but those other costs such as food, transportation costs and fuel.
Until you know exactly were your money goes each month you cannot know in which areas you can make savings.
2.
Mortgage.
Despite what you may read in some papers there are still opportunities to make savings on your mortgage payments.
If you're fixed rate is due to end this year then you should start looking around to secure the best deal.
It is worth consulting a financial advisor on the subject.
3.
Credit and Store Cards.
Do you know exactly what rate of interest you re paying on any outstanding balances? You could be surprised how much that can be.
Some credit cards are charging 27% and more per annum interest.
Although there is some 0% transfer deals around dependent on how long you think it might take you to pay off any credit card debts a fixed low rate (around 5.
9%) for the life of the debt could be a better option.
Start looking around for the best deal for you.
4.
Look for savings.
There are hundreds of ways that we can all find ways to save money.
In fact it has never been easier to get information on how to get the best deals.
Online comparison sites for such items as insurance, groceries, fuel and heating suppliers can help you make big savings.
In the supermarket buying own brands rather than the premier brands can cut the food bills quite a lot.
5.
Go out less.
It could be time to cut back on eating out and having takeaways.
For instance most supermarkets have a good selection of frozen ethnic meals and foods like pizzas.
If you buy some of these and put them in your freezer you can always use these instead of calling out for a takeaway.
It is just as quick cooking these in your microwave as it would be to have an order delivered and you will save around 50% of the cost of a takeaway.
6.
Cancel subscriptions and memberships.
Do you subscribe to magazines that you hardly ever read? Do you belong to clubs that you rarely visit? And there is that expensive Gym or Golf club membership; how many times did you go last year? 7.
Have a clear out.
We all have far more worldly goods than we can ever need or use.
Make this the time to have a clear out.
You can either sell them at a flea market o car boot sale.
However if you don't like the idea of getting up at the crack of dawn at a weekend then you could always try selling you unwanted items on eBay.
You could be surprised on how much money some items will fetch.
Many people have started off selling off a few unwanted items and gone on to turn selling on eBay it into a profitable part or full time business.
For a vast number of people their standard of living will drop as income falls and the demands on their available cash increase.
So what can we do about it? There are two approaches that you can take.
Firstly you could always bury your head in the sand and hope the whole thing will go away.
It won't.
The other option is to make a positive effort to take control of your income and expenditure in a way that may have never done before.
In this article I am going to highlight 7 steps that you can take now to improve your financial position.
1.
Draw up a plan.
It does not matter whether you call it a budget or cash flow plan but put down on paper all your regular expenses.
Don't just include regular bills but those other costs such as food, transportation costs and fuel.
Until you know exactly were your money goes each month you cannot know in which areas you can make savings.
2.
Mortgage.
Despite what you may read in some papers there are still opportunities to make savings on your mortgage payments.
If you're fixed rate is due to end this year then you should start looking around to secure the best deal.
It is worth consulting a financial advisor on the subject.
3.
Credit and Store Cards.
Do you know exactly what rate of interest you re paying on any outstanding balances? You could be surprised how much that can be.
Some credit cards are charging 27% and more per annum interest.
Although there is some 0% transfer deals around dependent on how long you think it might take you to pay off any credit card debts a fixed low rate (around 5.
9%) for the life of the debt could be a better option.
Start looking around for the best deal for you.
4.
Look for savings.
There are hundreds of ways that we can all find ways to save money.
In fact it has never been easier to get information on how to get the best deals.
Online comparison sites for such items as insurance, groceries, fuel and heating suppliers can help you make big savings.
In the supermarket buying own brands rather than the premier brands can cut the food bills quite a lot.
5.
Go out less.
It could be time to cut back on eating out and having takeaways.
For instance most supermarkets have a good selection of frozen ethnic meals and foods like pizzas.
If you buy some of these and put them in your freezer you can always use these instead of calling out for a takeaway.
It is just as quick cooking these in your microwave as it would be to have an order delivered and you will save around 50% of the cost of a takeaway.
6.
Cancel subscriptions and memberships.
Do you subscribe to magazines that you hardly ever read? Do you belong to clubs that you rarely visit? And there is that expensive Gym or Golf club membership; how many times did you go last year? 7.
Have a clear out.
We all have far more worldly goods than we can ever need or use.
Make this the time to have a clear out.
You can either sell them at a flea market o car boot sale.
However if you don't like the idea of getting up at the crack of dawn at a weekend then you could always try selling you unwanted items on eBay.
You could be surprised on how much money some items will fetch.
Many people have started off selling off a few unwanted items and gone on to turn selling on eBay it into a profitable part or full time business.