With so much speculation at the moment about what the Budget announcement will mean for us all, we asked Eleanor King, Managing Director at Ian King Financial Planning Ltd, to share her thoughts.
Aaahh, the Autumn…a time for standing by the window with a mug of hot chocolate, watching the leaves fall and wondering how many mince pies you can eat before the month of December…or…a time of worrying about how you’re going to afford the kids Christmas presents this year and how long you can manage before you put the heating on.
This year, perhaps, comes with more uncertainty than previous years with the hype surrounding what changes the new Labour Government’s Autumn Budget will bring…how will your parents/grandparents afford to pay for heating if their Winter Fuel Payments are taken away? Will there be further reductions or even increases in State Benefits for those with children? Will the tax-free element of pensions be removed? Will the State Pension become means-tested?
Whilst we do not know what changes the Government will bring, we do know that the best way to manage the changes will be to keep on top of your household budget…monitor the money you have coming in and going out, and look for those areas where you can make savings…knowing what you do or don’t have left at the end of each month is powerful and you can choose what you do about it. Do you need to cut back? Do you have some spare money that you can save for the long term or for your Christmas presents before the December panic?
Here at Ian King Financial Planning Ltd, we have an online budget tool called the Budget Extender that can help you to do just this. If you wish to try it out, all you need to do is visit the Ian King Financial Planning website, go to Contact Us, and send us your name and email address with ‘Help Me to Save’ in the message. We also have a handy video on our YouTube channel that tells you how you should fill in this tool to maximise its use here.
The Autumn Budget is on the 30th October. Look out for the changes, especially those that may affect you. I would however caution you to choose your source of information carefully! Trusted sources like the BBC and the Government website are the best ways to keep up to date. Ignore the other noise.
As quoted by Ned Stark from The Game of Thrones, “Winter is truly coming. And in the winter, we must protect ourselves, look after one another’.
Don’t bury your head in the sand by watching too many box sets this Autumn, keep up to date with the changes and remember the importance of your own household budget.
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