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When something you rely on breaks, such as your central heating or car, having money put aside to pay for it to be repaired or replaced, makes life a little less stressful. Similarly, if you fall ill, or you lose your job, having enough money put aside to pay your essential bills will give you breathing space to recover or find a new job. That is why building an “emergency fund”, savings which are there to help you deal with the unexpected things life sometimes throws at you, is something everyone should do.

In an age where offers of credit seem to be everywhere, and the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is increasing the reliance on credit cards and overdrafts for many people, it might come as a surprise that around half of the adults in the UK have never checked their credit score.

It may be because they are not planning on applying for a mortgage, getting a credit card or purchasing anything on finance, any time soon. Or it may be because they do not know how, or why, it is important to keep track of their credit score.

A few weeks into the month, do you find yourself wondering where your wages have gone? If the answer is yes, you probably need a budget.

Creating a budget might seem a bit scary if you’ve never done one before, but it’s not.  A budget essentially helps you see how much money you have coming in each month and where that money goes. Creating and sticking to a budget means you are much more likely to:

Be in control of your money

Are you in the situation where you’re spending more than you earn? Are you finding yourself increasingly dependent on credit cards or an overdraft to get by each month? If so, it’s time to work out where you can cut back to get your finances under control.

If you haven’t done so already you should think about creating a budget and you can find out more about the budgeting basics here .

Follow these ten top tips to help you to reduce monthly costs and feel happier about your money:

Is debt good or bad?

Most people will have some form of debt to manage their finances effectively and the key to a good relationship with debt is understanding which things are worth getting into debt for (good debt), whilst avoiding debt that has the potential to cause financial misery for you in the future (bad debt).

Second part of Reducing the cost of debt post.
 

Tip 5: Re-mortgaging to pay off debt

Secured debt, such as a mortgage, tends to offer the cheapest form of borrowing. You could consider borrowing more on your mortgage to pay off expensive unsecured debt such as credit cards, unsecured loans, and overdrafts.

Whilst most people will have some sort of debt to manage their finances, the aim with debt should always be to repay it as quickly as possible whilst paying the least amount of interest along the way.

Here are eight tips to help reduce the cost of your debt.

How your identity can be stolen?

Traditionally, criminals needed physical information to steal someone’s identity. They got this by:

• Stealing a purse/wallet/bag.
• Rummaging through a bin for documents.
• “Skimming” a bank or credit card at a cash machine or card terminal.
• Stealing post.

However, because we now live in a digitally connected world, physical access to documents and information is no longer essential for a criminal to steal someone’s identity. Technology means they can get what they need via:

Protecting Your Identity

Identity Theft and Identity Fraud are the fastest growing crimes in Europe and the US with around 1 in 10 of us falling victim to these crimes each year. Criminals are using increasingly sophisticated and convincing methods to separate us from our hard-earned cash, and the money they are stealing is also helping fund terrorism and the illegal drugs trade.

So, what can you do to avoid becoming a victim of Identity Theft and Identity Fraud?

1. Get to grips with how much you owe

The first thing to do is to understand the full extent of your debts. For each debt you have, try writing down how much you owe, the minimum payment you need to pay each month, the interest rate you’re paying on the debt and when you need to pay it by. It may seem scary at first but putting your debts down on paper will be the first step in taking control and working out a plan of what to do.

2. Prioritise your debts