January is often seen as one of the toughest months of the year financially. It usually comes with a longer than normal wait to be paid from your employment due to bank holidays and possibly even being paid early before Christmas. You might have big credit card statements landing on your doorstep due to the overindulgent Christmas food, presents and all those social events for Christmas drinks and meals. It’s certainly know as a depressing month, as people get back into their normal routines with working, the weather isn’t that great, and you even face the possibilities of failing at your new year resolutions because we put too much pressure on ourselves. It doesn’t sound like much fun does it?
But, like many things in life, it doesn’t have to be this way. What January also does is give us a new wave of enthusiasm and motivation because it’s a brand new year. A chance to wipe the slate clean, draw a line in the sand and move forward. While money may be tight and you are worrying about facing those big bills towards the end of the month you could be using January to your advantage and getting yourself back on track financially. Furthermore, doing this in January may not only just help you get through this tough month but it could also carve the way to helping you improve your finances for the rest of the year. After all, after all the weight loss resolutions and the promises of attending a gym each day, improving finances is a big priority for some when it comes to those pesky new year’s resolutions. Which is why I thought I would share with you some of the ways you can boost your income in January. I hope it helps increase your motivation to succeed moving forward.
Take a look at those bills and reduce where you can
One of the first things you can do is take a look at your current outgoings and see if there are any potential savings you can make. Some of the big ones you can start with straight away are things like energy, insurance products and luxury bills. Starting with energy, we can all be quite laid back and let those bills leave our account each month, but actually, these energy providers don’t always give you the best rates once you come out of an offer period, and save their best deals for new customers. So a great tip is two switch energy provider and grab yourself a better deal and pay less each month. Most providers do the switch for you so it’s actually very simple. The same can be said for insurances. By not changing provider each year, you can actually be spending more. Luxury bills often mean things like TV providers and you can sometimes reduce your bills and still not miss out on the programmes you love to watch. Often doing this just on your bills alone can free up quite a bit of money which could be put to better use.
Check your credit score
Monitoring your credit score can help you achieve financial freedom. A credit score really just highlights how good you are with money. The higher the score, the better the rating is. Banks and lenders will check your credit score when you’re applying to borrow money and your score will determine if you get what you want. If you have a good score, you’re more likely to get better interest rates and will likely be able to borrow more compared to if you had poor credit. A lot of things can influence your credit rating, from how much you earn to paying bills and if you pay them on time or not. Frequently missing payments can have a negative impact on your credit score and bring it down. You can fix your credit on your own, but you have to be determined and make sure you pay all your bills on time. As you build a good credit score, lenders will see you as a low-risk applicant and then you’re more likely to get the credit you’re asking for.
Tackle any outstanding debts and get a plan in place
Debt bills are also things we have to pay out for each month, and often taking them on and coming up with a plan to pay them off can help you to become debt free faster, but also helps you to save each month on things like interest payments. Consolidating debts like credit cards and loan payments means that you save on the individual interest charges and often helps you to develop a payment plan that enables you to know when it will all be paid off for good. Which can actually be a real refreshing way to feel about your finances knowing that at some point you could potentially be debt free. But it can be hard to come up with the plan and sometimes the temptation is there to spend once more, but try and restrain yourself and think of the bigger picture. If you have no idea where to start with a financial plan and clearing your debts, you should contact a professional like these Accountants in Windsor to help you.
Declutter your home and make money in the process
There is money to be made in your home, and while you may not be able to see it just now, start off by trying to declutter a room or an area of your home and see how the process will spiral into the rest of your home. While you may not want these items anymore, people may love the opportunity to own it, so using platforms like eBay could help you to raise some essential funds in the january period and beyond. While you get to boost your bank balance, your home is also being organised in the process. Which is an excellent way to begin your year and you get back on track for a brighter financial future. There are some great websites online full of advice, but the first port of call could be to check your current credit rating and see where your situation stands. Many of these websites also help you decide what options could be best for you if you are looking to build your disposable income.
Start something new and exciting like a business or blog from home
Maybe January sees you looking for opportunities to make some extra income in other ways. With a new found motivation to make more of something why not cease upon it and start your own business or even a blog from home. Maybe you already have the ideas in place, or you have passions and skills to share. Starting these sorts of things like a small business or blog is much easier these days thanks to the rise in the digital world. Looking online for advice and checking out this site to help you build your very own website could be all it takes to get you from nothing into something during the month of January. Who knows, this could be the start of a whole new journey for you where this small business or blog rises from being a small hobby like enterprise into your career. This could help you to boost your income in small increments at the beginning but the sky’s the limit when it comes to opportunities like this.
Use your spare time wisely to make a quick profit
We all have time in our days where we may be sat in front of the TV, reading a book or generally relaxing, so you may want to use that spare time and put it to good use. Try your hand at online gambling on domino qq online for example, which is an easy, convenient and fun way to make a little extra income. I have already discussed how you can use your spare time to start a blog or a small business from home which could see you earning some extra money. But you could also do smaller things that can build up to making a nice tidy sum come the end of the month. Firstly, you could consider filling out online surveys. There are some great websites out there that are desperate for people to provide opinions or information in return for a fee. You could also consider things like website testing and mystery shopping.
Start meal planning and reduce one of the biggest bills you have
Finally, there is one bill that I think all families will agree can cost you quite heavily, but thankfully it is a bill that you have complete control over. It’s the food spend each week and month. Families can spend a lot on food each week, but actually by making a few simple changes to your spending habits, you can significantly reduce this bill. Meal planning and writing lists for the food you need rather than spending on duplicate items or things you might end up wasting can save you a big chunk of money each week. Also, changing where you shop could see you significantly saving on those everyday essentials.
I hope some of these tips help you to boost your income in January.
Very nice and informative article.
Thanks for sharing.