Are you looking to improve your financial wellness as we head into winter? Check out our guide to find out how to manage your debt and get control over your situation in the colder months.
What is financial wellness?
Financial wellness is more than just having healthy spending and debt management habits, it also takes into account how you feel about your finances and the effect they’re having on your physical and mental health. If you don’t feel good about your financial situation right now, you’re not alone; in the UK, 39% of adults don’t feel confident about managing their money. But if you can make changes and start to prioritise your financial wellness, you can start to feel more secure and take complete control of your finances.
Manage your debt well
Debt is one of the biggest factors that can influence your financial wellness in the colder months but having different types of credit doesn’t automatically mean your money management is unhealthy. In fact, debt can be essential to helping you achieve worthwhile goals such as taking out a student loan for university or using a mortgage to buy a home. However, if your debts are starting to get out of control or escalating beyond what you can comfortably afford, it could be time to look more closely at how you’re managing your debts.
Make a repayment plan
Having a debt repayment plan in place, especially going into winter, can help you improve your financial wellness over time. Even if getting your debt completely paid off will take some time, simply having an actionable plan in place can help you feel more in control and more positive about your finances. The two most popular ways to approach clearing multiple debts are the snowball and the avalanche methods. With the snowball, you’ll start by putting any spare money towards your smallest debt, while with the avalanche, all your extra funds will go towards paying down the debt with the highest interest rate first.
Review your budget
The start of a new season is always a good time to review your overall finances, budget, and future goals. There’s no need to wait until January; now that the weather is getting cooler, take some time to consider where you are and what you want to achieve. With your financial wellness in mind, identify the things that will bring you joy and try to include these, along with your debt repayments, in your budget. It’s all about balance – a punishing budget that is focused purely on clearing debt with no funds for fun is likely to lead to burnout and will be unsustainable long-term.
Check your energy consumption
Cold weather inevitably means more energy consumption. Darker evenings, low temperatures, and cooking more hot meals can all increase the amount of electricity and gas you use at home. To help your debt management and avoid falling behind with your utility bills, you can take steps to conserve energy during the winter months. Small changes like switching lights to energy efficient bulbs, lowering your thermostat by one or two degrees, and turning off your appliances when they’re not in use can all make a big difference. Not only that, but you might also be eligible for government grants and insulation support.
Get help you’re entitled to
In the UK, you may be entitled to claim certain grants and government payments that are designed to support you through the colder months and help relieve the pressure so you can focus on your debt management. Depending on your age, circumstances, and location you may be eligible for a winter fuel payment (an annual tax-free payment for those aged over 70), a cold weather payment (for those living in extremely cold areas), or a one-off means-tested cost of living payment.
Seek advice
When you’re managing your debt and looking to improve your overall financial wellness, you don’t need to go it alone. Seeking debt advice can help you create a budget, make a repayment plan, or enter a formal or informal debt management solution such as a debt management plan (DMP) or Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA). No matter where you are on your debt management journey, an experienced debt professional can help guide you through the different options available and help you find the right way forward for you.
Looking to improve your financial wellness? Our team of experts is here to help. Give us a call on 0161 8260 585 or send a message here
