How to improve your financial well-being

This week is the Money and Pensions Service’s Talk Money week. The aim of the week is to break the stigma that surrounds conversations about money. The week is centred around improving financial well-being, which is all about feeling that you are secure and in control of your finances. It also involves building towards a healthy financial future.

To learn more about how to improve financial well-being, we spoke to our Financial Support Officers Jesse and Sarah. Last year, they supported people to access over £400,000 in unclaimed benefits, so it’s no surprise that they had a lot of great tips to share.

1. Jesse and Sarah both agreed that the most important thing is to know exactly what money you have coming in and when. It’s helpful to visualise this by writing it down so that you know your income inside and out.
2. Use envelopes or online banking apps to separate your money into different pots so that you are organised and ready to pay bills.
3. Check your bank account at least once a week, if not more, so that you can easily know when you are being charged fees and overspending, as well as how much you are saving.
4. Build towards a healthy financial future by saving money when you can, and Jesse and Sarah recommend starting small. This is because when you save small amounts of money at a time, you will start to see your savings grow. This creates more energy to keep going and save more.
5. To maximise your income, sell the things you no longer want or need, then put the sale money immediately in your savings pot.
6. Use Origin’s free calculator to see if there are any unclaimed benefits you can access or if you can increase the ones you are currently getting.
7. Do not ignore the debt. Look for not for profit impartial debt management agencies such as the Citizens Advice Bureau and National Debt Line which help negotiate for you. These agencies help you distinguish priority and non-priority debts, which is key to feeling secure in your finances.
8. Research the best 0% bank transfer offers and take advantage of merging all your debts by paying one monthly payment to the bank and paying them off without any added interest. Stepchange is a national charity that provides advice and supports this.

The key advice Jesse and Sarah want you to take away is that your money is yours so you shouldn’t give it away easily. You should avoid all unnecessary spending, charges, fines and fees, enjoy what you have and ask if you need ‘that new thing’.
To find out more about what Jesse and Sarah do to help improve residents’ financial well-being, watch this video: