Managing money and making ends meet when you’re on a low income takes careful organisation. So we’ve pulled together some of the best ways to make sure you’re using all the tricks in the book to help you stay in control when you’re on a tight budget.
The first step to taking control of your money is working out your living costs, including knowing what’s coming in, what’s going out and when.
Making a budget gives you a clear picture of where your money goes and shows you where you might have a chance to save money.
It will also help you see whether you’re living within your means.
It can be difficult to increase the amount of money you have coming in, but you have much more control over what goes out.
Research from Santander says, households spend an average of €3,329 per year, on their:
You can save hundreds of pounds by switching utility providers and shopping around for lots of things, including your groceries and holidays.
It’s easier than you might think to check that you’re getting all the benefits you’re entitled to if you’re on a low income.
Some benefits are one-off payments to help with a particular set of circumstances like cold weather.
Others, such as Income Support, top up your regular income.
Be very careful with other kinds of borrowing.
Things like payday loans, log book loans and doorstep lending can seem an easy solution, but can make a bad situation worse.
They’re often a very expensive way of borrowing, so always try to find other ways.
Ask your family if they can help, or consider joining a credit union.
Credit unions offer banking services to people who would otherwise find them difficult to get.
At Flexiwage our groundbreaking technology lets employees build payday around their life, not their life around payday. We empower employees and employers to make smarter financial decisions. We believe employers care about their employees financial wellbeing and we know that a happy employee is more productive and engaged. If you would like to learn more about our solutions please email; support@flexiwage.com.
