Am I spending too much?

With Christmas looming and the inevitable spending on food and gifts that come with it, I took it upon myself recently to review my monthly expenditure to determine whether I still need or use services – something I do periodically anyway.  Gone is my monthly online movie streaming bill, my monthly parking permit when I can park a further five minutes’ walk away from the office and park for free, my online music subscription, my monthly subscription for office applications on my home laptop, my contact lens subscription, my subscription to a heritage organisation and finally I negotiated a cheaper contract with my home broadband and TV package provider.  You may or may not be surprised to learn that I have managed to cut my monthly costs by over £100, that’s over £1,200 per year!

Imagine all the things I can do with the extra money I’m now saving, apart from spending it on Christmas of course! I could pay off a loan quicker, save for a holiday or maybe think a little bit more about my future objectives.  I could contribute to a personal pension plan, save for a rainy day into an ISA or ensure I have adequate life insurance provisions in place should anything ever happen to me.

This train of thought led me to think about when the last time my own financial products were reviewed.  You’ve heard of the plumber who slaves for hours fitting bathrooms and repairing boilers only to never quite get around to sorting his own domestic arrangements? Well yes I’m guilty of this too and more importantly I’ve decided to do something about it!

With this in mind, I asked one of my colleagues to perform a full review of my financial affairs (I’m not a consultant).  Are my pensions and investments working as hard as they should, do I have enough life assurance and can I get it cheaper elsewhere, am I on the best mortgage rate?  Our financial planning consultants have all studied and passed numerous financial planning specific exams and as a company we hold dear the FCA principles of treating customers fairly. This means that as a team we all strive to ensure that our clients get treated in the way we would expect to be treated ourselves and receive the best possible advice and service.

To arrange an appointment with one of our advisers please click here to request a call back.

Written by: Kay Crooke – Practice Manager, Prosser Knowles Associates Limited

Prosser Knowles Associates Limited is Authorised & Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount invested. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate Taxation and Trusts. The information in this document does not constitute advice or a recommendation for any product and you should not make any decisions on the basis of it.  Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.