Do you feel like your finances are out of control and need organising? Looking for time to get back on track? Talk Money Week (7th November – 13th November) could be just what you need to get on top of your financial tasks and achieve complete control of your saving and spending habits.

At Finitas, we have a range of tips to help create financial stability for everyone from blog readers to employees, read on to learn more!

What is Talk Money Week and why does it exist?

‘Talk Money Week encourages people across the UK to open up about their finances in order to improve their physical, mental and financial wellbeing’[i] Comments a writer from The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Similarly to Birthdays and Christmas, Talk Money Week (TMW) also provides people with a symbolic event to make personal economic improvements. TMW helps to spread knowledge and awareness to people who missed out on financial education and prove that finances can be straightforward and manageable. Alongside removing negative stigma surrounding money talk. Statistics from Raisin[ii] show that 25.95% of UK residents have less than £1000 saved in their bank account and a further 6.5% have no savings at all. Which shows how important it is to speak out about finance and eliminate the taboo that surrounds it, saving is important no matter where you begin. TMW is also a reminder to seek out knowledge by reading finance books, blogs (like this one!), or speak to a professional such as a Financial Advisor to find more advice.

What steps can I take?

Think of TMW as your financial New Year, a perfect time to start a new financial project. You may not be able to pull out all the stops this year, but it is important to stop and re-evaluate from time to time to see where you can improve in order to secure the best future possible. Here are some ideas to start your financial journey…

1.       Commit yourself to putting away a small amount of money into your savings every week or month and never touch it. This may seem like a simple and nonchalant task but putting away £10 here and £20 there could soon add up. To put things in perspective, £30 a month adds up to £360 a year. After two years, you’ll have £720, and after three years you’ll have £1,080. 

Nowadays with the benefits of new technology there are many great apps to help you achieve saving goals. Here are some of our favourites;

-          Starling: Starling is free to use, and features include a virtual piggy bank system with customisable saving pots that help you stay on track of your spending.

-          Raisin: Raisin is a free, easy-to-use savings account marketplace that connects you with a range of banks. Once set up, you can open multiple accounts from a wide range of savings accounts.

-          Monzo: Monzo is free to use and offers many of the same benefits as Starling and Raisin, alongside a fixed savings pot that offers up to 2.65 EAR.

2.       Saving accounts can also be great for setting up emergency funds for your health, vet emergencies, or for your loved ones. You never know when an emergency could strike—so having an emergency fund is a must, setting up an account can take as little as 15 minutes and the long-term benefits will be invaluable to you.

3.       ‘Work on becoming debt-free before retirement.’ Recommends Century Support Services ‘Paying for the past is no way to spend your future.’[iii]. Many people have debt either from education, housing, or bills. There are many services available to help you. A great way to manage debt is to set up a debt calculator, consider paying of your largest debt first, or use the snowball method to give yourself a psychological boost by paying off smaller debts first.

4.       A budgeting model such as the 50, 30, 20 rule can significantly help you save money and monitor your spending habits. Thought of as the best budgeting model by N26[iv], this system suggests dividing money into 50% for necessities, 30% for wants, and 20% for paying of debts or saving. Though of course this can be changed to fit your monthly needs and income.

5.       Choose to make small changes to your daily habits. Common tips such as meal prepping, no spend days, and budgeting are fairly repetitive suggestions, but trials prove that you could save over £1200 a year when meal prepping, and over £2000 a year by limiting your spending to essentials only one week a month and having a ‘no spending week’. Simple but effective habits like these will provide you with much better financial awareness and provide you with excess money to save or spend on more beneficial items or experiences.

Overall, Talk Money Week is a fantastic opportunity to check your spending and install beneficial habits to help ensure a secure future. You can choose to implement as little or as many of these tips as you’d like or simply go forward with a new awareness of your spending. Finance doesn’t have to be overwhelming and taking small steps could dramatically change your economic situation now, and in the future.

To learn more about (finances, jobs, recruitment) click here or here to find out more about how to get involved and access employee benefits!

[i] Katy Adalar, Talk Money Week: it's time to normalise conversations about money at work, CIPD https://www.cipd.co.uk/news-views/news-articles/normalise-conversations-money-at-work#gref, 2021

[ii] Marija Petkova, ‘Ten UK Saving Statistics That Won’t Break The Bank’, Don’t Disappoint Me https://dontdisappoint.me.uk/resources/finance/savings-statistics-uk/#:~:text=The%20average%20savings%20per%20person,more%20because%20of%20the%20pandemic., date unknown​

[iii] Century Support Service, National Financial Awareness Day, https://www.centuryss.com/smart-money/national-financial-awareness-day/, 2021

[iv] N26, ‘The 50, 30, 20 Rule: How To Budget Your Money More Efficiently’, N26, https://n26.com/en-eu/blog/50-30-20-rule#:~:text=The%20basic%20rule%20of%20thumb,money%20to%20work%20more%20efficiently, 2021

​

​