5 New Year's resolutions for your finances

The New Year is the perfect time to take a fresh look at your finances. Here are 5 ways you can kick start your new year:

1. Start tracking your spending

It doesn’t sound like fun, but if you don’t know where your money goes, it’s impossible to understand your spending patterns and identify habits that are making it harder to achieve your financial goals. With the ability to simply “tap” it often feels like we aren’t parting with our money and we can quickly lose our sense of just how much we are spending and on what. To get started, try the Australian Government’s MoneySmart budget planner – you might just be amazed at where your money goes!

2. Do a subscription audit

Do a review of all your subscriptions – whether it be TV, music, shopping, fitness, food delivery services and more, these subscriptions can creep up on us very quickly. Do a quick check to make sure you are still using all your subscriptions and that they continue to represent good value.

3. Sort your super strategy

Whether you have your super in multiple places, don’t know where your super is, don’t have super at all yet, or you accessed your super during COVID, it’s time to work out your plan going forward. Super is “super important” and it’s vital that you ensure that you are making the most of your super contribution and not having your balance eaten away by fees. Make an appointment with your financial adviser to review your super situation and work out an effective strategy for the future.

4. Review your home loan

2020 saw interest rates drop to a record low, so if you have a home loan and haven’t already done so, make sure you speak to your loan provider about a more competitive interest rate. And if you have no success there, Ed and the team at the Infocus Lending Advisory will be more than happy to assist you.

5. Do a provider review

Are you still getting the best deal from your electricity provider? Or your health insurer or car insurer? It’s easy to fall into the habit of simply paying our renewals and bills without ever asking the question of whether there is something more these providers can do for us. For the sake of a few minutes for each provider, it’s certainly worth asking the question!

We are all about helping you achieve your financial goals so if you have any questions please contact your adviser.

This information and any advice in this website is of a general nature only and does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. It does not represent legal, property, tax, credit or personal financial advice and should not be relied on as such. You should obtain advice relevant to your circumstances before making decisions in relation to any matters discussed. You should obtain and consider the Product Disclosure Statement for any product discussed before making a decision to acquire that product. The case studies are hypothetical, for illustration purposes only and are not based on actual returns. You should seek specialist advice from a tax professional to confirm the impact of any advice on your overall personal tax position. Taxation information is based on our interpretation of the relevant laws as applied at the date of this communication. Nothing in this website represents an offer or solicitation in relation to property, securities, investments, financial services or credit in any jurisdiction. While every care has been taken in the preparation of this information, it may not remain current after the date of publication and Infocus Advisory and its related bodies corporate make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness.

5 New Year’s resolutions for your finances

1. Start tracking your spending

2. Do a subscription audit

3. Sort your super strategy

4. Review your home loan

5. Do a provider review