On Wednesday 12 November Laura Williams, The Forshaw Group Finance Assistant (Purchase Ledger) and one of our ESG Champions for Wellbeing, attended the ‘Tinsel, Turkey & Tapped-Out Bank Accounts’ webinar.
Organised by BMR Health & Wellbeing with Rachel Toseland, the webinar covered financial wellbeing and how to feel secure and in control of your finances, as this forms an important part of our wider wellbeing, especially around Christmastime.
Laura shares a few of the financial tips she learned from the webinar:
Festive spending
The average household spends an extra £713 in December, with 26% of people planning to borrow money to cover these costs, taking an average of six months for 47% to repay borrowing.
The webinar discussed how having a spending plan can help to keep you in the driving seat when it comes to festive spending and will help you steer clear of common money pitfalls. The spending plan can be as simple as a notepad, or you can use an app or spreadsheet. However, the most important thing is to be consistent, to help you to keep track of what you spend.
For festive spending, you can start by having a clear budget in mind, consider creating a sinking fund (putting money away each week throughout the month/year) to use towards presents/gifts/shopping.
Remember what gifting is all about
Rachel suggested ideas such as a Family Secret Santa, with each person purchasing a gift for one other person – everyone gives and receives a gift which can relieve the pressure on number of gifts/amount to spend.
Another idea was to ‘brand drop’ – think about the food/drink items you purchase and consider dropping a brand level to a cheaper alternative. This can save money and make a huge difference.
Rachel recommended Step Change Debt Charity www.stepchange.org for anyone requiring support, which since 1993 has offered free debt advice and support services, changing the lives of millions of people in the UK.
Speaking of the webinar, Laura says, “The webinar was both interesting and informative and provided plenty of financial tips and food for thought around festive spending.”
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