That time of year has arrived again. How will you balance your finances in 2026?
With New Year’s Day falling on a Thursday in 2026, many people will not resume work until Monday 5 January. In theory, that leaves you plenty of time to recover from New Year’s Eve indulgences, if necessary, and contemplate New Year’s resolutions. To help you with the latter, here are half a dozen financial resolutions to ponder:
- Get a will or, if you have one, make sure it is up to date: If you die without a will, the rules of intestacy take over. These may be appropriate if you are a married couple with children, but even then, they may not produce the result you would want. Equally, an out-of-date will could mean your wishes are not met.
- Do not ignore that Christmas credit card debt: Most credit card debt is expensive – even a high street bank card could be charging 25% interest, with store cards often charging more. You cannot earn 5% on your savings, so it will usually be better to pay down the debt than save.
- Have a trawl through your bank statements: You could find that annual subscription that you either forgot you had signed up for, or discover a monthly cash drain triggered by clicking the wrong button when internet shopping.
- Make a note of the renewal dates for your household insurance policies: Insurance companies would prefer that you renew their policies automatically. If you know when renewal is due, you can check the market beforehand and be ready to switch (or haggle).
- Check the interest rate you are earning on your cash savings: Banks and building societies frequently pay a higher interest rate to attract new savers than they offer to loyal customers. The new saver bait can include time-limited bonus rates: you probably need to leave when the bonus expires.
- Consider switching to a fixed rate deal for your energy bills: 1 January will mark the start of a new Ofgem quarterly price cap for gas and electricity prices. If you are still on the standard variable tariff – which most people were after the 2022/23 energy crisis – you could save money and avoid the three-monthly tariff roller-coaster with a fixed rate offer.
To discuss your financial planning, contact our Financial Services team on 01142 664 432 or info@smh.group
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate will writing.
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