Kick start your finances for 2023
January 18, 2023
The new year is a great time to start fresh with your finances. To help get you started, we have some of our top tips below to kick start your finances in 2023!
Set a budget
Your first step should be to start a budget for 2023. Look at your income and your planned spending. If you have any big expenses coming up this year (for example a summer holiday), plan to save for it. It’s 24 weeks until July, budgeting to save €50 a week between now and then will give you a €1,200 holiday fund. To help you create a budget you can use our budget planner Money Tool.
Look at your subscriptions
After setting up your budget you should go through it line by line and make sure you’re using everything that you pay for. Is there a streaming service that you don’t use anymore? Are you paying for a premium upgrade to a service where a cheaper option would do?
Top Tip
If you use multiple streaming services you could try cancel all but one. Once you’ve caught up on all your favourite shows then you can cancel this service and subscribe to another. You can only watch one program at a time, so why not only subscribe to one streaming service at a time!
Switch products
Many of us renew policies in January and you should always shop around to see if you can get better value. Car insurance, home insurance and health insurance can all be switched and renegotiated every year. It’s well worth putting aside an afternoon to go online or call a few different providers, or even your current one, and see if you can get a better deal.
You may also be able to make savings by switching your mortgage or credit card. Our independent Money Tools can help you compare the most common financial products to see if you can save.
Claim tax back
If you paid for medical expenses last year, made contributions to a pension, or worked from home, you may be entitled to claim some of your tax back. You can also claim extra tax credits if you work in certain industries such as retail, PR or nursing. Claiming is easily done online and you can receive a tax refund in as little as a week. Read more on how to complete a tax return.
Start a pension
If you’ve already done your 2023 budget, checked you’re getting the best value for your services and claimed your tax back… well done! Why not take the next step and make 2023 the year you start a pension? You can read how pensions work on our Money Hub.
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