POUND NOTES
It’s never too early – or too late – to start a new money habit, although new research suggests many of us are behind where we’d want to be in life.
More than two-fifths (43%) of 35-54-year-olds haven’t yet ticked off money planning tasks such as paying into a private pension, according to a survey for money advice firm Octopus Money. One third (33%) of those aged 55-plus say the same.
Kelly Atkins, head coach at Octopus Money, shares her advice for every stage of life...
In your 20s
■ Kelly suggests trying to build an emergency fund – typically enough to cover around three months’ worth of outgoings.
■ Pay down non-mortgage debts.
■ Understand your workplace pension, “Your future self will thank you if you make the most of this while you’re young,” she adds.
In your 30s
■ Consider saving towards future goals. “If your goals are more than five years away investing could be a good option,” suggests Kelly. However, remember that the value of investments can go down as well as up.
■ Writing a will could also be a consideration, says Kelly, adding: “From the point when you have assets to pass on, you should start making it clear (legally) who you would like to benefit from these.”
In your 40s
■ Make sure your insurance is up to date and reflects any changes in your life. Also review pension holdings.
■ Kelly says: “Consider increasing your workplace pension contributions significantly.”
In your 50s
■ “Make sure you’re making the most of any tax-efficient options to keep growing your wealth,” says Kelly.
■ Free pension guidance is also available for over-50s from the Government-backed Pension Wise service, or you might want to consider paying for advice.
In your 60s & beyond
■ Financial advice can be key now. “You might be looking to the future and thinking about your estate planning, and how you pass on wealth in tax-efficient ways to those that you love,” says Kelly. “It’s worth making sure you’re making the best use of your ISAs and pensions.”
RISING household bills remain a concern for many.
While keeping bills down isn’t easy, there may be some simple ways technology can lend a helping hand to save some money around the home.
Gavin Murray, director of British Gas’s smart home solution, Hive, says: “Research we recently conducted shows that nearly a third of Brits are worried about their energy bills, so people will be looking to reduce their energy use and cut costs wherever they can.
“As well as making small changes to your habits at home, clever smart home technology can also help you become more energy-efficient – which is good for your pocket and the planet.”
Here are Gavin’s tips for how households can make savings, including utilising smart home tech...
Be bright with lights
Lighting makes up 11% of average UK household electricity consumption, according to the Energy Saving Trust.
Gavin says: “As well as simply turning off your lights when you leave the room, it’s worth ensuring all of your bulbs are LED.”
According to the Energy Saving Trust’s website, switching incandescent bulbs to LEDs may potentially save as much as £14 per bulb, per year, based on a 100 watt bulb.
“When you think about the number of bulbs in a household, that’s potentially a significant saving,” says Gavin.
Smart plugs can also be used for lighting appliances such as lamps.
“These allow you to monitor energy usage and turn the appliance on and off from a mobile app, as well as set schedules,” he says. “So, you can automatically set a lamp to come on during the hours when you know it will be dark, or turn a living room light off if you’ve forgotten after you’ve gone to bed.”
Try a smart thermostat Smart thermostats enable people to manage their heating and hot water from their phone. Gavin says the tech can give people more control of their energy use.
“For example, you can get alerts if your heating is still on when you leave the house and set energysaving schedules – all from your phone,” he says.
Smart radiator valves can also be linked to the smart thermostat, to control the temperature in each room of the property. “This allows you to only heat the rooms that you’re using,” Gavin adds.
Tweaking your routine “Making a simple change to when you use appliances and technology such as dishwashers and washing machines is a lesser-known way to save money,” says Gavin.
Some schemes may incentivise offpeak energy use, when demand is lower. Check with your provider.
Choose cooking methods wisely Around 3% of the average home’s energy use comes from cooking, according to the Energy Saving Trust, so it’s worth considering the appliances being used.
Of course, the most suitable appliance will depend on what you’re cooking and for how many people. If you’re preparing a meal for one or two people, the Energy
Saving Trust suggests an air fryer may be cheaper to run.
To keep costs down, it also suggests trying not to open the compartment more than necessary, to avoid letting out heat and wasting energy. Batch cooking in a full oven and then reheating portions when they are needed in the microwave is another suggestion by the experts.
“Ovens are generally bigger than other appliances, so they use more energy to heat up,” says Gavin.
“This means an electric oven can be the most expensive method for individual portions of food, but represent better value for batch cooking or cooking for a large group.”
British Gas’s Gavin Murray on smart thermostats
Get budgeting help
Nearly half (49%) of people don’t set a budget to manage their heating costs, according to research among 2,000 UK adults in January.
Gavin says: “However, there is lots of technology to make the task of budgeting much more straightforward, including smart meters. [These] are the new generation of energy meters, which display near real-time information about your energy usage with an equivalent pounds and pence figure.”
The technology can also offer updates on how their energy use compares with their budget.
In the winter, in particular, I love a bowl of soup as my ‘go to dish’ for lunch – but I try and be good and not always have bread with it!
However, the other week I was at my sister’s house and she served up soup with the most delicious soda bread from a well-known food store.
On returning home, I decided to make my own and here is the result.
I think I’ll be making it again!