It’s the start of Talk Money Week, an annual financial awareness campaign run by the Money and Pensions Service which encourages us to start open and honest conversations about money.
Why is Talking About Money Important?
Talk Money Week aims to reduce the stigma around speaking about our finances, by encouraging us to talk openly about our money.
Talking openly about money can help us:
- Navigate any financial concerns we have to help us feel more confident in managing our money
- Increase understanding, opening up a safe space to share any tips or advice
- Reduce stress or shame, as we often don’t realise a lot of people are dealing with the same issues or concerns as us, until we talk to them that is!
- Improve our relationships
Do One Thing
This year’s theme is to Do One Thing to improve your financial wellbeing, and to inspire others to do the same!
So, with that in mind, Red Star Education are here to give you some ideas of what One Thing you could do to improve your financial wellbeing this week…
You could:
Talk to your children about money. Our money habits are largely set by the age of 7. This isn’t to say that we can’t constantly learn and adapt how we view and manage money, but what it does mean is that children are picking up thought processes towards money much earlier than you may have thought. By talking to children about money early on, you can start to instil good money habits into them which they will then take with them into their financial futures
Check your pension(s). Have you nominated someone to receive your pension when you die? Are you happy with the contributions you’re making or would you like to put in a bit extra? Have you been considering consolidating your pensions but been putting off speaking to a financial adviser about it? Are there any pensions you need to track down? When is the last time you checked your pension statement? Is all of your personal information correct?
Update your budget. If you don’t have a budget, or your existing one isn’t quite up to date, accounting for your current expenditures and income, why not update it this week? This can be super quick and easy, as we have a free tool where you can pop in your info and we will do the calculations for you!
Unsubscribe from things you don’t use. It can be easy to forget about subscriptions, especially if they aren’t taking a huge amount out of your account each month, but forgetting to cancel subscriptions we don’t get much use out of can really add up!
Check your address is up to date. When we move addresses, there is so much to think about that it’s easy to forget to update it with your vehicle log book (which failing to do could result in a £1,000 fine), your bank or building society, your employer, your council tax, your pension, the electoral roll, your TV license, your car insurance provider, and more.
These are just some ideas to help get you started with taking important but manageable steps towards achieving financial wellbeing. Whatever you decide, try to Do One Thing this week to get involved with Talk Money Week, and spread the word!