Managing Your Money

Top tips for managing a change in income

If you have been made redundant or your income has been reduced as a result of being on furlough or reduced hours, you may be experiencing additional pressure on your personal finances. We spoke with Coran Stubbington who worked for 20 years in retail banking, helping her customers understand how to save money and give them peace of mind, for her five top tips to managing a change in income:

Complete an audit. First and foremost, do an income and expenditure audit – this will give you a realistic view of where you are right now. In this age of contactless spending, it’s really important that you use your last month’s bank statement to help you complete this.
Review your regular payments – take a look at your Direct Debits, regular debits from cards and Standing Orders – do you know what each of them are? You would be amazed the amount of times I came across payments that no one knew what they were for.
Do you need to switch provider? It amazes me that people are still not reviewing costs such as bank accounts fees, utility bills, insurances. Take account fee bank accounts for example - are you using the benefits? Do you know what the benefits are? If you aren’t getting any value from the benefits, why do you pay to have them?
If you find that it is time to switch provider, use a comparison site to compare all the options. Also look out for any deals to switch providers. Some banks offer incentives such as £100 to switch or a fee free overdrafts etc. You can switch even if it’s not near your renewal date. A lot of providers will pay any exit fees.
Savings on the weekly food shop can soon add up! Review what you spend each week - could you change from branded to supermarket own products? Check up on your loyalty card accounts – do you have any money off vouchers to use (check expiry dates!) or are they offering you any other money off incentives? The majority of supermarkets have loyalty apps now with coupons to ‘activate’ on items you usually buy. To coin a phrase, every little helps.
If you have to borrow money – remember there is no shame in it. I wish people could see each other’s bank accounts. We would all realise that there are few people who are actually debt free with lots of savings. Look for the best deals available to you, speak to your bank, use pre credit check websites like the Money Saving Expert. And finally, ASK FOR HELP. I promise you banks and people who work in the financial industry have seen a whole lot worse than your situation. If you can’t make a payment, tell the bank/credit card/finance company. They are human too and will help you.

Coran now works with distressed business owners helping them to restructure and recover their business. If you are a company director and would like a confidential chat with Coran about your situation, contact her on 07776707725 or coran.stubbington@hjsrecovery.co.uk