How To Put Yourself In The Best Financial Position This Winter

*This is a collaborative post on putting yourself in the best financial position, but all words are my own

The UK is a pretty tough place to be living at the moment, I can’t even bring myself to read the news anymore. And as if overnight it feels like we’ve hit winter. I’m wearing jumpers, joggers and slippers most days now. Yet only a month ago I couldn’t get the house cool enough.

Times are tough at the moment with bills going up and the general cost of living increasing. And while there’s no denying money is going to be tighter for most of us, there are some things you can do. Here are some tips on put yourself in the best financial position this winter.

Make sure your finances are in the right place

Interest rates are pretty low at the moment, and that’s why it’s so important to shop around for rates. Think about what your savings are for, can you afford to look them away and not have access to them. This will be really important when you’re thinking about your future goals. Do you have a financial goal in mind, and if so have you calculated what you need to save?

The longer you put your savings away the more they will grow thanks to compound interest. You can use savings calculators to help estimate how much you’ll make just by saving longer term.

Put yourself in the best financial position by streamlining your regular payments

When ever I’m discussing money saving tips I always say to reevaluate your regular payments. And it’s now even more than ever as all of the little extras add up. Of course you don’t want to cancel every subscription and streaming service you have and be miserable. But really think about what you need at this moment.

Try and pool in with a group of friends or family for streaming services so you’re only paying for one each. Or see if certain platforms have family plans which may work out cheaper split between a group.

It’s also important to think about whether any of your regular payments are due for renewal soon such as insurance policies. Search around and really look into the best deals that may be available for you.

Reduce your gas usage

As it’s starting to get colder we’re all going to be using more gas so that we can heat our houses. But gas is expensive at the moment and energy bills in general are probably the thing most people are worried about. None of us want to be living in a freezing cold house, but there are some things you can do to reduce your gas usage. These things will put you in the best financial position with your energy bills.

• Turn off the radiators in any rooms you don’t use often. There’s no point heating rooms you don’t use every day such as a dining room or a spare bedroom
• Reduce your thermostat by a degree or two. Over a long period of time a few degrees can make a huge difference
• Keep doors closed as this will keep the heat in and avoid losing it into other rooms
• Cover any drafts. There’s no point heating a space if you then lose some of the heat through gaps around windows, under doors or in other spaces

Be in the best financial position by reducing your electricity usage

The government are giving households a bit of support with their energy bills but it’s not going to cover the increase in prices. And with the nights getting darker we all want to be switching on more lights.

There are some things you can do to reduce your electricity usage:

• Turn off devices at the wall when they’re not in use
• Only boil the amount of water you need in your kettle as it uses a lot of energy to heat up
• Try and air dry your hair whenever you can and limit your use of a hairdryer
• Let items defrost naturally by pulling them out of the freezer the night before to stop you having to use the defrost function on the microwave.

What are you doing to put yourself in the best financial position this winter?

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