With the recent election in the UK delivering a hung parliament, and now a right-left Con-Lib coalition, there is a lot of uncertainty about the direction in which the country is headed. The forthcoming emergency budget is unlikely to deliver much good news for anyone with likely tax rises and spending cuts.
On an indivdual level there is little you can do about government financial policy. However, you do have control over your own finances and now would be a good time to review them and get yourself on a good footing so that you can better cope with any financial bad news.
It is very likely that you know how much you earn each month, but do you know how much you spend and where the money is being spent? A good start to a financial review is to get out your past few months bank statements and analyze the transactions.
One-off fixed monthly transactions, such as a mortgage or rent, are easy to spot and keep track of. Other spending areas, such as grocery shopping, which occur several times a month and tend to be different amounts each time, might surprise you when you add up your total spend.
Breakdown each statement for the last 3 months (or 6 months if you have the time) and see where your money is going. Are there any obvious areas in which you could cut back and start saving money?
Think about whether you can impose (and stick to) a monthly budget for items such as shopping. If your monthly spend for shopping is working out at £325 per month, can you work within a budget of £300? Even if you cannot always stay within your monthly budget if you have a figure in mind to aim for it is likely you will start spending less.
You might even find transactions you didn't realise you were paying! Many people who do not check their statements each month don't spot rogue payments and can end up paying them for months.
Once you know exactly how much you are earning and spending hopefully the former exceeds the latter. If not you are likely to be on the slipper slope towards debt problems and all of the misery this can entail. If this is the case seek professional debt help as soon as possible before things get too bad.
If both figures are similar then cutting back a little on your spending will give you a little breathing space, or an opportunity to save/invest for the future.
If you find that you are paying out for lots of high interest borrowing, such as on credit cards, you can either change your card for a low interest one (or low interest balance transfer deal) or think about a debt consolidation loan.
Taking control of your finances will give you peace of mind and make planning for your future easier and more affordable.