Do you open your bills?
We don’t get many but we do open the ones we get. I never used to though. I used to live in a state of ignorance about our finances and always end up overdrawn. Since I took matters in hand and started being more mindful of what I spend and save I don’t get such surprises any more! We actually have savings these days rather than debt!
I do think being mindful of you money is the key.
My top tips to getting in a healthy position financially would be …
1. Spend less than you earn
2. Know at all time how much money you have, where it is and the cost of you bills
3. Dont overspend on special occasions it does not make them better or the months after any easier
4. Learn to reduce your bills , scour the internet for tips on using leftovers, reducing your poiwer bills
5. Use free resources, freecycle , your library, bike paths
6. Shop around
7. Buy pre-loved
8. Use voucher codes
9. Be strict about savings and allocate money for it as you would a bill
10. Take pride in your sensible approach to money rather than in accumulating ‘stuff’
Santander’s 123 current account looks really interesting for people like me who have a little bit in the bank and are regular bill payers. I think it could really help us as a family save even more money. Because it is a current account your money is not tied up but it still offers some great perks.
For example you get a monthly interest of 3% AER (variable) on balances between £3,000 and £20,000.
You also get (and this is pretty fabulous I think! ) cash back for paying your household bills. I used their calculatorto estimate what my savings would be and they came to nearly £100 a year. Not bad at all and it would require zero effort once set up.
In order to be eligible for the above you just have to ….
- Pay a monthly account fee of £2.
- Fund the account with £500 a month (excludes internal transfers). A minimum balance of £1,000 is needed to receive interest.
- Set up at least 2 Direct Debits. You’ll get monthly cashback on selected household bills you pay by Direct Debit
They can switch your account within 7 days too.
Sounds good to me…rewards for sensible savers!
