Mr Lender, a short term finance company who provide quick loans from a direct lender, suggest ways to help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions.
31st December has passed and the tradition to create New Year’s resolutions beats everyone round the head with a stick. But with only 8% of people keeping to them according to research*, the challenge is to try and beat the statistics and make this year different.
Research from Nielsen recently showed that spending less and saving more money was the fourth biggest New Year’s resolution of 2015. If you have personally struggled with money in 2015 and want 2016 to be different, then our recommendation is to commit to creating specific financial monthly goals that are more achievable. According to experts it is easier to stick to short term rather than long term goals, so try and create manageable bite-size targets for January and see how you get on. This way things will be easier to achieve and will give you clearer actions that you are accountable for and more likely to stick to.
Easier said than done we hear you say. Without giving up before you’ve tried, we’ve compiled some suggestions on how you can introduce small financial changes to your everyday life to try and get on track this year.
1) Look at your bank accounts and work out in an average month how many times you go out for dinner or drinks and reduce this number by 20%. Dining out less will result in less money being spent, and you will have achieved your first goal of spending less money.
2) Make a commitment to transferring a small amount of your weekly pay to a savings account. Even if it is £10 a week it is a start and seeing this build in your savings account will have a positive effect on you.
3) Be honest with yourself, take a good long look at your spending habits and eliminate wasteful spending. We are all guilty of loving life’s little extras, coffees, lottery tickets, overspending in the supermarket. Small shavings from daily spending will make a big difference.
4) Make a list of free things that you can do in January in the city you live in. There are so many amazing things to do each week that go undiscovered you might find replacing this with eating and drinking really rewarding.
5) If you live with a partner we suggest scheduling a weekly meeting to talk about how on track you are with your targets and spending habits. If you are sticking to your goals, at the end of the month make a new plan for February. Once you start to see results you will be more motivated to stick to this process.
6) If things are really bad then make an appointment to see a financial adviser. This may seem daunting at the time but by setting out as you mean to go on in January you will feel much more positive about your financial goals for the rest of the year.
7) Re-think buying in the January sales if it is not absolutely necessary. No matter how much something is reduced, ask yourself if you really need it. Money is money and by spending it you are not saving.
8) If like a lot of people losing weight is top of your New Year’s resolutions, really think if you need that gym membership. Take up a free exercise regime like running to help kick off your fitness goals. If you are still doing this at the end of January, then consider joining a gym. Over 37% of people join a gym and give up at the end of January, so don’t be one of those people tied into a year’s contract that you regret taking out.
9) Contact all your monthly utility providers and either renegotiate your monthly bills or switch using a company such as uSwitch; this will definitely save you £’s.
10) If you are due a pay rise early in the year don’t rush in headfirst. Set yourself some goals in January that will impress your team so that when you discuss this with them in February you have solid evidence to help you make this an easy yes.