10 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR FINANCES TODAY
Take positive action today before debt problems get worse
The coronavirus pandemic is causing financial uncertainty and many people are finding it harder and harder to stay on top of their finances.
Households are struggling due to reduced earnings, with outgoings remaining the same or even increasing due to lockdown.
Debt charities are warning of a tsunami of personal debt and are urging people to start reviewing their finances and lifestyle habits now.
On average, people wait three years before they seek financial help but taking positive steps early will help you prepare for uncertain times ahead.
Here are 10 things you should think about that will help you get your finances in better shape.
Understand your money
No one likes seeing in black and white how much – or little – cash they actually have. But it’s crucial to do this to fully understand where you stand financially. Take an hour or so to go through how much you earn versus what you pay out every month. Then look at the debt itself. What interest rate you are paying and how long you’ve got to pay it?
Paying those with the highest interest rates, for example, may be more important than paying the largest debt. Signing up for one of the free credit score apps is also recommended. Overall, this will give you a solid picture on your current financial position and should make it easier to make a plan to go forward.
Maximise your income
Make every penny a prisoner! This does not mean you have to live a life of austerity, but you might question spending money on luxury items you simply don’t need at the moment.
Many banks and apps now offer the facility where they round up your card payments and stash away the difference.
Use this spare money to make additional payments to your other commitments with higher interest rates such as credit or store cards.
Avoid taking on any other unnecessary financial commitments at the moment.
Do a full benefit check
Millions of people are not receiving the benefits to which they are entitled. This is especially the case where someone has suffered a recent change in circumstances, such as becoming ill, changing job, seeing their income drop, moving home or having a baby.
Go online or contact your local council directly and ask them where you can access a full benefit check. You might also qualify for a Council Tax Reduction. The onus is on you to apply for benefits.
Make a claim as soon as possible. If you delay, you may miss out on money as potential backdating of benefits is often only for a short period of time.
Spring clean your bank account
Are there direct debts and standing orders paying for things that are not essential or you barely even used?
What can you can cancel, safely, without incurring charges and penalties?
No one is suggesting you cancel all TV/movie or music services, but do you really need more than one service? Even if you simply downgrade your package you could start saving a small fortune.
Don’t be a loyal customer, be a clever one
These days, it doesn’t always pay to
TV or utilities provider.
Firms know that most customers can’t be bothered with the hassle of changing over, so may not offer the best deal available.
But, if you make a point of shopping around, you may be surprised at how much you can save. Keep a track of when your contracts are due to expire, go online and use comparison sites to see if you can get a better deal elsewhere.
Contact your lenders
Don’t wait until you have defaulted or facing penalties
Don’t wait until you have defaulted or are facing penalties before taking action. Speak to your lenders early and discuss your situation.
Most lenders recognise the strain caused by the pandemic and are prepared to be more flexible. More often than not, they will agree a positive solution.
It may be worthwhile consolidating your debt into single monthly payment or transferring the balance to a credit card to help with quicker repayment and avoid additional charges.
Annualise your small spending
Think about where you are regularly spending smaller amounts on luxury food and drink items and convert this into a monthly or yearly amount.
For example, if you spend £10 on a takeaway two or three times a week, that’s at least £80 a month, almost £1000 a year... It all adds up.
Consider cutting back to once a week, halving your expenditure on things you could probably do without,
Consider a formal debt solution
This does not always mean bankruptcy – there are other alternatives that will help you repay your debt over an extended period of time.
A money adviser will also help you to apply for a moratorium if they think it is needed. This is really helpful if a creditor is threatening to take action against you.
West Lothian Council has added its criticism to the creation of a National Care Service to run adult social care in Scotland.
It has echoed concerns raised by the local authorities umbrella group COSLA that councils are not given a strong enough voice in the proposals drawn up for the Scottish Government by an independent review into the provision of adult social care by Derek Feeley.
And it has rejected suggestions that control of social care is taken from the hands of local authorities.
Leader of West Lothian Council, Lawrence Fitzpatrick, said: “A renewed focus on adult care services generally is to be welcomed, as is the principle around improving the funding this sector receives in comparison to the NHS. All councils should welcome enhancing the overall status of the sector and also welcome a review of adult social care in Scotland.
“The Feeley Report recommends areas for change which are positive, including better pay and conditions for staff.
“But there are critical areas that are unclear and propose to severely diminish the role of local authorities - that should be unacceptable to everyone who supports and believes in local democracy.
“Local authorities have suffered from local powers being removed over the past 10 to 15 years.
“This report – if implemented - would undermine local democracy, severely diminishing the role of councils.
“Local authorities have delivered quality, publicly owned, adult care services for years in partnership with health boards and integrated joint boards despite inadequate funding from the Scottish Government, or given the flexibility to raise income.
“The past year clearly evidenced that adult care services, despite their day-today importance to the lives of so many, have been treated as a poor relation compared to the NHS both in terms of prominence and funding.
“The leaders of Scotland’s councils were clear at their COSLA meeting this week that adult care services are best provided by councils who represent, and are answerable to, local communities.
“The positive aspects highlighted in this report can be delivered by local authorities with a proper funding settlement from the Scottish Government.
“There is no reason why councils cannot deliver this critical role without further centralisation of services.”
COSLA said the establishment of a National Care Service, with accountability falling to Scottish ministers, would be detrimental to the local delivery of social care and its integration with other key community services.
They also felt that given the level of funding set out in the Review, Local Government would be well placed to continue to deliver this vital service.
Speaking following a special meeting of council leaders, Councillor Stuart Currie, COSLA’s Health and Social Care spokesperson, said: “Council leaders noted the publication of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care and endorsed many of the principles set out in the report particularly in relation to empowering people, valuing the workforce and embedding a human rights approach to social care.
“However, there was real and unanimous opposition to the recommendations on governance and accountability which would see the removal of local democratic accountability and a degree of centralisation, which leaders rightly felt would be detrimental to the local delivery of social care and its integration with other key community services.
“They also felt that given the level of funding set out in the review, local government would be well placed to deliver the human-rights based approach outlined at pace, whilst ensuring local democratic accountability remains front and centre of social care.”
A further detailed report on the proposals is now set to be considered by council leaders.
Funding plans for the Third Sector need to be drawn up far sooner than they have been.
That’s one of the findings from last year’s awards process presented to West Lothian Council’s Voluntary Organisations Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel (PDSP).
The plan was agreed by council in October.
Voluntary groups had to apply by mid November.
A panel of six had to decide who was getting money and the groups didn’t find out until January.
The committee heard from Regeneration Team leader Dougie Grierson.
He said: “There was a struggle with timelines.”
Feedback from panel members said that they had faced putting in an individual 20 to 30 hours work in studying applications for funds from groups and then collective discussions and decisions had had to be made.
Applications were invited from the Third Sector with a deadline of November 11.
In total 35 applications were received with an aggregate value of £1.1m.
The budget available is £400,000.
Mr Grierson’s report to the panel said: “Time was a significant issue and something that should be addressed going forward to allow more time for each stage of the process.
“This includes a longer gap between launch and deadline; enough time to process applications and prepare for any panel.
“To allow earlier contact with council services, where relevant, to get additional input to help the panel and for the panel itself to allocate time to make recommendations.
“It was noted that panel members time commitment was significant, around 20 to 30 hours overall was noted.
“This was within a tight timeline from receipt of applications to making recommendations to the head of planning, economic development and regeneration.
“As well as lengthening the process it was felt that it would be better to carry this out at an earlier stage in the financial year with a view to completing the process and inform applicants by
October.”
The tight timetable also caused problems for some groups in terms of presentation and the quality of applications was varied.
Training on filing applications is now being offered by the council and as part of the regular work done by the Voluntary Sector Gateway Network based in Bathgate.
The panel which advised on awards was made up of three council officials two from the Third Sector and one from the NHS.
Alan McCloskey,chief executive officer of the VSG described the process as robust.
He said: “Each panel member put in something like 20 to 30hours in support of the process we met on two separate occasions before we met collectively to make these decisions.”
This was the first year the fund was opened to all voluntary organisations to apply to and represented a significant change in the way the awards process was organised.
The majority of Third Sector groups rely on year to year funding so the stretch into the New Year before finding out the application outcomes added to anxieties.
“Groups did indicate they struggled within the timelines to get together.
“Timeline was a bit of a struggle. We should start the process much earlier in the year,” Mr Grierson told the meeting.
Chair of the committee, Councillor Kirsteen Sullivan, agreed that it would be better if these decisions were made before the Christmas period for the benefit of the groups.
Councillor Sullivan passed on her gratitude to those involved in the process.
She added: “Can I take this opportunity to thank the Third Sector who were involved in the decisions.
“I appreciate it was a large time overhead at a time when you were dealing with your response to the pandemic.
“With that in mind, could I request a timetable be added to the work plan for the next PDSP.
“I would propose we start in the summer.
“We don’t want to be in this situation again and we need to start the process a bit earlier.”