When it comes to your finances, it can be difficult to know what you should be focusing on and when. With the introduction of apps and online logins with nudges and notifications, it can trick us into thinking that we need to constantly be checking all areas of our finances.
So rather than leaving you to try and figure this out, I thought I would write this to give you some useful guidance!
Weekly – Your current account and spending card
It is always good to give yourself a regular ‘check-in’ to understand how you have been spending throughout the month and so a weekly check allows you to review and adjust short term expenditure accordingly.
For people who think that they are fully in control of their expenditure and use their internal calculator this is the one which can get neglected, but as someone who would consider themselves in that situation I would be the first to admit that it is not as accurate as it could be.
Monthly – short term cash levels
Most people receive income payments monthly and so are most regular payments out. Therefore, a quick check of short term cash levels can help to be able to give reassurance that everything is in order and that there will be no shortfalls.
This can be as simple as just checking there is sufficient within the accounts to meet your needs for the next month, that any income which should have come in has done so, and that any outstanding commitments such as credit cards for regular expenditure have had their balances repaid to avoid interest payments.
Bi-annually – Direct debits, Standing orders, regular payments and overall cash deposit levels
Think of this as a regular minor service of your finances. This allows you to keep on top of your regular commitments and ensure that you are getting value for money, as well as ensuring that you have sufficient capital for the coming months to meet regular cashflow, planned capital expenditure and maintaining some funds for unexpected emergencies.
For those who are in the wealth building phase this should also be an opportunity to consider whether contributions can be increased.
Annually – Investments, Pensions, Insurances and ‘Deep Dive’ of plans
This is more what you would be thinking of as your major service. When working with us we take most of the work of doing this away and simply just access for your presence and thoughts. However, for those people who are not this should be the time to assess the performance and positioning of these areas and how they align to the person’s future plans.
Ad hoc – Only for meaningful changes in circumstances
In honesty there are more interesting things that you could be doing with your life than checking on your finances to need or want to do this on an ad hoc basis if already doing the above. However, there are circumstances where this would be a good idea.
This should really be limited to meaningful changes in circumstances such as change of working situation, moving house, changing relationship status or unexpected significant inflow or outflow of capital.
So there you have it, an overview of the frequency things should be reviewed within your personal finances!
The only final suggestion to add is that by being organised and having some form of electronic record can make this much quicker and simpler. If you would like to a copy of something we have available to help with this then just get in contact.
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