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September 15, 2014

When was your last financial check-up?

Spring is often the time when we’re most motivated to improve our lives, whether it’s losing those extra winter kilos or finishing that weekend project we started. It’s also a great time to take stock of your financial health with a quick check-up!

Creating budgets and saving money aren’t things we often talk about, but checking in on our financial health every once in a while could mean the difference between reaching our financial goals and being unaware of what our financial goals even are!

Where should you start?

Before you start budgeting, set some financial goals. These could be short-term goals like a weekend vacation, the latest tech gadget or a new car. Also look at the long-term goals, such as owning your home, being debt free, or building a property investment portfolio.

Set a time-frame in which you want to achieve these goals and design your budget accordingly. Having clear, achievable goals will keep you on track to financial freedom and help you live your ideal lifestyle.

A budget is a great way to keep track of all of your expenses and income so that you can monitor your cash flow. It is important to consider all expenses you may incur, remembering to include things like registration, insurance and taxes, which may not be due on a regular basis.

Setting a budget is also a great way to find areas where you might be able to cut back, allowing you to find the extra money needed to achieve your goals. This may be as simple as skipping your afternoon coffee or reducing your gym membership. Every little saving helps you get closer to your financial goals.

Check out our previous post on budgeting for more details and to download our free budget tool.

Getting a better deal!

The next area to consider in your financial health check is your mortgage and personal loans. Are these still working in your favour? Could you be getting a better deal?

You should seek professional advice when it comes to evaluating your loans, as there might be hidden terms and conditions that could limit what you can and can’t do. This could include being locked in to your loan for a certain period of time, break costs or switching fees if you choose to switch your loan.

Never be complacent – let’s face it your bank isn’t going to call you to discuss putting you on a cheaper interest rate, and they’re certainly not going to tell you that one of their competitors has a better deal!

Check out our previous post on debt management to see how you can get the better of debt.

What you need to do…

Get us to professionally assess your situation and uncover what options you have available. In most cases you can expect one of two outcomes;

1. Change Nothing – we find you’ve got the best possible deal and structure for your financial situation and suggest you keep things as they are;

2. Switch & Save – after putting the hard word on our panel of lenders and playing them off against each other we find you a significantly better deal and help you to save thousands of dollars.