#Collaborative post
We all know about the importance of doing a regular audit on your budget and on your outgoings but how many of us do an audit of our financial products?
I know I don’t do it, in fact, I don’t think I have ever done it. I have been with my bank since I left school and trust me that is a long time ago! The reality is though, we should be keeping a regular track of the financial products we use to make sure we get the best of the deals there are out there.
I’ve said it before but it still stands, there are no customer loyalty rewards anymore and it actually is more beneficial for us to move our suppliers to save money and this goes for our financial services also.
If like me you have never done an audit of your financial products, you are probably wondering where to get started, it can feel a little daunting. The reality is that it isn’t much different to doing any other budget check, it just may take a little longer.
Getting started –
To do any audit of anything, firstly you need to understand just what products you have. Take a little time out to go through all your financial products, it may be useful to use a credit check just to make sure you have all your products, it may be that you have an old credit account that you have forgotten about.
Write yourself a list of them all, their services, costs/interest rates etc. Knowing what each one does will help you ensure that you are getting the best value for money. You may find from this that you have some accounts that are no longer required and you can go through and close these accounts. By doing this will help your credit rating too as your income to credit availability will increase.
As well as credit accounts, you should also look at things such as your bank accounts and investment accounts. If you are unsure of the best products for you sortter.com is a comparison site, similar to that used for booking holidays and hotels etc. It allows you to compare accounts that are relevant to you and help you decide what would work best for you.
Moving forward with your financial products –
Once you have gone through all your products, moved to better deals or closed the accounts your audit does not end there.
Going forward on a regular basis it is worth you spending a little time every quarter just to check where you are at and ensure that everything is running as smooth as it should. Being savvy and saving money isn’t all about getting discounts or earning more money. It is also about ensuring the products you use and have the offer you the best value for money.
Don’t be afraid to switch, just make sure before you do, you do your homework on the company you are moving to. Ensuring you have done the research before making the move will help ensure that you feel confident and happy in your choices.
