5 ways to prepare your finances

With the New Year having past us by, many of us are starting to think now about our New Year's financial resolutions, one of the major issues that most of us always promise to address it finances. Most of us find that we could make a number of improvements to our finances, whether it is in terms of managing our finances and budgeting more effectively or whether it is in terms of cutting back and streamlining our outgoings.

With 2008 well under way and our Christmas spending hitting home, now is the time to start thinking about improving our finances, so that we can look at starting the New Year on a more positive financial note. Below are some of the top ways in which you can improve your finances for 2008.

1. Streamline your outgoings: It is amazing just how much money we all waste each year, often without even realizing. If you go through your regular outgoings with a fine tooth comb you could well come across things such as unused subscriptions and useless memberships for services that you no longer really use, and you can cancel these and put the money to better use.

2. Cut back on non-necessities: Of course, we all love to splash out from time to time, but many of us tend to live a champagne lifestyle on beer money. Go through your monthly outgoings and try and make cutbacks wherever possible on non-necessities such as going out and spending on clothes. By spending a few extra nights in – perhaps cooking dinner at home for friends instead of going out for meals – and avoiding the temptation of too much retail therapy you could save a small fortune.

3. Take advantage of the sales: Although this may seem as though it is contradicting the above, you can be really thrifty by taking advantage of the sales. Watch out for them, as many shops have sales at different times of the year, and not just january. This doesn't mean you should go out and spend on anything that looks like the price has been knocked down even if you don’t really want or need it. However, try and determine whether you will need things such as clothes for work or for the kids in the coming months, and get them during the sales when you can often get twice as much for your money.

4. Improve your financial management: If you are the type of person that hates to look at their bank balance and does nothing to monitor income and outgoings then now is the time to make a change. Keep a track on everything that goes in and out of your account, and check your balance regularly. This will help you to avoid everything from becoming the victim of fraud or theft to accruing costly bank charges for exceeding overdraft limits.

5. Review your debts: Most of us have a number of debts in one form or another, whether it is credit cards, stores cards, or loans. Take a look at how much you owe and see whether you could save yourself hassle and money each month by consolidating your debts – or in the case of just credit card debts by transferring them onto a 0% balance transfer card.