Money Monday – Review and Action Plan

“We must consult our means rather than our wishes.” George Washington

Happy Monday! This is the penultimate post in the Money Monday Series, which I have enjoyed writing alongside my husband. I hope you have enjoyed following along as well.

Each week we have built on various principles an have offered tips on how to manage our financial resources better. Let’s recap on last week. Did your the results of your saving and spending plan shock you? I can tell you that ours took us aback! With our daughter moving to a new Junior school, we needed to factor in some additional costs including new school uniforms, school meals, activities etc. With those additional costs, we realised that we needed to cut back in some areas.

This week we will recap on some of the questions raised in previous posts.

• What  have you learnt about your earning, spending, saving and investment behaviours? Are there any patterns you can identify?
• Are there areas you can cut back on? Please refer to this post on eliminating waste.
• Any ways your money can go further? Click on this link for more money saving ideas.
• Are you putting aside some short and long term savings? Is it adequate? You can find more information about savings here and here.
• If your income needs to increase, how much more do you need and what are the sources (will these be diversified or from a single source)?
• What is your ideal financial scenario in the next 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years?
• Are you saving for retirement either by yourself, through your business or is it via your employer? Is it enough? More information about pensions and saving for retirement can be found via this link.
• With all this in mind, if you were to focus on three things to work on to get you from your current financial situation  to where you need to be, what would they be?

Remember to review your budget regularly and make the necessary adjustments as required to meet your financial goals.

As always, speak to a qualified, regulated and independent financial advisor for a plan that suits your needs.

See you next week

xoxo

PS –  some thoughts on the lottery –  I know a lot of people play the lottery in the hope of winning it big. Although there are cases of people hitting the jackpot, the overwhelming majority of players are highly unlikely to come into any significant winnings. According to a recent newspaper article, there is a one in 116.5 million of all your numbers being drawn on the Euromillions jackpot. If you instead put your daily/weekly lottery ticket spend into a regular savings and/or investment plan, you are likely to have more than you put in due to the effect of compounding. A fiver (£5) a week over 30 years is equivalent to to £7,800 down the drain. Put this money in a savings account with a 3% APR over the same period and you have £11,600 as opposed to nothing!