At this time of year our bank accounts get more use than they normally do so this it is best to get things in order before we run away with ourselves. When you are planning for Christmas you should have a budget in mind about how much you can really afford to spend and try your best to stick to this. Ideally you should have been putting money away for Christmas throughout the year but the reality is most of us don’t and hope that we can find the money at the time one way or another.
It is important that you live within your means at Christmas otherwise you will be paying off your debt into the new year. The last thing you want is a massive overdraft or credit card bill coming in so the first way to save money is not to go into your overdraft at all so you never have to pay interest. That is not to say that you shouldn’t have an overdraft at all as sometimes it can come in useful if a bill comes out on a different date than normal to make sure that you have enough money to cover it and won’t suffer any penalty fees.
If you have savings then make sure you put it in a savings account to get the very best deal. If you know you will be able to do without it for a while then putting it in a fixed term account will earn you more money on it and will ultimately stop you spending it.
Make sure you have the bank account that suits you best. More and more accounts that you need to pay for are popping up but don’t be fooled into taking any of them if you won’t use the additional features. Many offer free mobile phone insurance, travel insurance, break down cover as well as savings on holidays, insurance etc. in theory it sounds good but you may find the amount you are paying is too much for how often you use the services. Occasionally you will find that it does benefit you but not always so it is worth bearing that in mind when comparing bank accounts.
The interest rates are low at the moment so there are no great savings accounts around just now but don’t let that put you off putting your money in a savings account as you will often find that you will spend it if it is in your current account.
Keeping control of your finances to make sure you don’t rack up a lot of interest as well as trying to avoid bank charges can all be easily done but it does take control and restraint. Putting your money away for a rainy day may be boring and dull but it could get you out of a tight spot some time in the future.
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