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5 Ways To Get Your Finances Into A Better Position

January 26th, 2022 Posted in Investment, Money Tips
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Everyone wants to make sure that their finances are in the strongest possible position at all times, but ensuring this is obviously much easier said than done. If you are keen for this to happen for you as soon as possible, however, there are some things that you might want to focus on in particular to make sure it is the case. In this post, we are going to look at a few of the major things to focus on if you want to get your finances into a better position. You’ll find the following are all really vital and important things to look into and work on.

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Overhaul Your Habits

A lot of the trouble that most of us experience financially stems from having poor habits, so if you want to improve your financial life you should take a look at what habits you are currently adopting and what you can do to overcome them or improve upon them. For instance, you might find that you tend to overspend because you are liable to sudden bouts of luxury-shopping, in which case that might be a habit that you want to try and reel in as best as you can. By overhauling your habits and replacing them with better ones, your finances could be in a much better place in no time.

Get What You Are Owed

If you are hoping to get your finances into a better position, and you are owed any money at all, then this too is something that you should look into to ensure that you are in the best position possible. If you are owed money from anyone or any institution, getting that is vital – but that is not to say it’s always straightforward, easy or simple. How to go about it will depend on the nature of the debt. You might need to utilize a service like https://pcpclaims.com/ to get compensation you feel you deserve, or it might be that you have a private debt to call in. In any case, make sure you are getting what you are owed as soon as possible.

Choose The Right Bank Accounts

Most people are struggling with a financial difficulty without even being aware of it: namely, they don’t have the right bank accounts to their name. If you have a bank account that you are not sure about the benefits of, you might want to consider switching it out for one that is more overtly beneficial for you. Some are definitely better than others in general, and you will find that there are many that are not suitable for your specific personal situation for some reason or another. It is therefore vital that you are looking into the details of your bank account as closely as possible, and switching to a better account wherever possible. This is going to help you to keep your finances in a much better position on the whole, so it is really worth focusing on as soon as possible.

5 Ways To Get Your Finances Into A Better Position - trading screens laptop and phone
Photo by Yan Krukov from Pexels

Keep Your Business In Order

If you run a business, you need to make sure that you are focused on keeping that in order, too. Even if it is a LLC and you feel it shouldn’t affect your personal finances too much, the truth is that it is always going to have some effect – even if just in terms of how much you can expect to earn from the company in question in terms of salary and so on. So as long as you have your business’ finances in good order, you can expect your personal finances to be in a better position and condition as well. This is a really vital and essential thing to focus on, so make sure you don’t overlook it by any means.

Invest

Finally, if you are not currently investing in anything much, you might want to consider whether it’s time to do so. Investing is one of those things that can really radically improve your finances. Of course, no investment is without risk, but if you can manage the risk appropriately and make sensible decisions, there is no reason why you can’t hope to come out on top. You might not make a lot of money very quickly, but you should be able to make more than you might have thought possible, and probably faster than many people believe. This is a great way to ensure that your finances are in a much better position in no time, so give it a go.

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Compulsory Maths Study Post 16 – Just Doesn’t Add Up

August 8th, 2011 Posted in Uncategorized
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Carol Vorderman, the government’s new weapon against poor arithmetic, has said children should be made to study maths until they leave school at 18.

The Government asked the TV presenter to review maths teaching standards in England, and her findings – published today – call for ‘major alterations’ to how the subject is taught.

Carol says 22 per cent of pupils aged 16-19 are ‘functionally innumerate’, with no basic grasp of maths and arithmetic, and that it is ‘unacceptable’ that just 15 per cent of pupils take maths after their GCSEs at 16.

She says that when the full-time education age raises to 18 by 2015, all pupils should have compulsory maths lesson until they leave school.

She writes: ‘Employers complain at the low level of new employees’ mathematical competence and now many hold numeracy courses,’ claiming that the ‘failed system’ that lets students give up all maths at 16 ‘is against common practice in most industrialised nations and there is an urgent need for change’.

She also claims that children should be taught personal finance to stop them falling into debt when they are older, stating: ‘Without major alterations in maths education quickly, we risk our future prosperity.’
Carol insists her plans will not make maths harder or lessons more gruelling, but will instead make the teaching ‘better’ and the ‘subject matter more suitable.’

Education Secretary Michael Gove said Carol’s report ‘will help.’

At the Financial Fairy Tales we applaud the support for personal finance to be taught in schools, but compulsory maths – just doesn’t add up.

How many times as an adult have you used calculus or trigonometry? Those are topics in the pre-16 GCSE curriculum, so goodness knows what theoretical content would be taught post 16. Of course higher studies of Maths are essential for some careers such as engineers or computer programmers, but making it compulsory for all is a mistake.

Better to make the teaching and learning of maths more relevant and more fun. That way both results and take up rates will improve.

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Lack of Financial Education has cost nearly £250 million

October 1st, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized
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Lack of financial education has cost Brits nearly £250 million in charges and penalties alone, with almost a quarter (24%) having been hit by charges because they don’t understand the terms and conditions of financial products, according to new research from uSwitch.com. Moreover, almost three quarters of Brits (71%) say that a lack of basic personal financial understanding is to blame for debt. And with the level of personal debt already exceeding £1.5 trillion, the Government’s decision to shelve plans to add financial education to the curriculum could be a costly one.

Less than one in ten people (7%) think we are financially educated as a nation. Four in ten people (40%) saywe’re less financially educated than previous generations, while seven in ten (70%) say that personal finance is a lot more complicated today than it was previously. Consumers now face a vast array of products, from bank accounts and credit cards to different mortgages and high interest pay-day loans. But as personal finance has become more sophisticated, our understanding has shrunk, leaving a knowledge gap that is costing people dear.

Despite the fact that consumers can take out financial products such as credit cards and loans as soon as they hit 18, worryingly, on average most people don’t become knowledgeable about personal finance until they are 27 years old. But age offers no guarantees – 16% of Brits didn’t become knowledgeable until at least 35 years old, of these nearly 9% don’t get up to speed until their forties.

The research shows that most people now learn about personal finance the hard way through trial and error. 81% pick up their personal finance knowledge along the way, while just 7% learn from their parents and 4% from banks. With the majority learning as they go and the average age of first time buyers on the rise, this could push the age of financial maturity in Britain even higher.

Consumers are also worried about the future. Less than 5% feel that today’s youth are well informed about basic personal finance and 95% say that personal finance should be taught in schools. Missing the opportunity to educate future consumers could be a costly decision and 89% say that it was wrong of the Government to shelve plans to add financial education to the curriculum.

The Financial Fairy Tales are a series of fun financial education resources for use with younger children wither at home or in primary schools

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer policy at uSwitch.com, says: “Our poor understanding of personal finance is costing us money and now looks to be getting worse with each generation. While our debt is increasing, our knowledge is decreasing – the situation is a ticking time bomb. The Government needs to start taking this seriously and should urgently re-instate plans to get financial education onto the curriculum. It’s not the only one with a large debt issue to overcome – consumers owe £1.5 trillion in personal debt and need the basic knowledge and understanding to get this back under control.

“It’s also vital that those who are beyond school age stay on top of this too. Taking the time to understand any personal finance product you are signing up to will save you money on interest rates and charges that can catch out the un-savvy consumer. By doing this and keeping an eye on your credit rating, you’ll also be better placed to get the best deals on the market on your credit cards and bank account – which could save you over £400 a year.”

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