New Year, New Finances: 4 steps to get your finances organised for 2024 

The new year is a chance to reflect and plan ahead. Just like with other aspects of your life, it’s a good time to organise your finances for the coming year. In this guide, we’ll walk you through 4 easy steps to get your finances ready for 2024.  

1. Set clear financial goals

 Kickstart the new year by setting clear and realistic financial goals. It may help to split your objectives into short, mid and long-term. Short-term wins could be registering to vote to boost your credit score, saving for a holiday, starting to pay off costly debts, or saving enough money to cover three months of expenses in an emergency fund. Mid-term goals could be saving for a house deposit or tackling existing debts. For the long term, consider objectives like building a retirement fund or paying off your mortgage.  

Why do this?

Setting your financial goals around the New Year period can tap into the motivation and reflective feelings you may have during this time. This can help drive you to take action.   

 Setting goals with your money can:  

• help you stay motivated. 

• make you accountable for your financial behaviour. 

• give you a way to measure your progress. 

• provide you with a sense of accomplishment.  

 Clear financial goals can help you be more future focused with your money and guide your spending in a way that positively influences your long-term financial well-being.  

 Check out our guide on how to reach your savings goals for more tips. 

2. Review your budget 

Start the year by reviewing your budget. If you don’t have one, consider creating one now. Use our helpful guide on how to make a budget and stick to it.  A budget gives you a snapshot of your financial situation, showing you how much money is coming in and going out each month. Taking a look at your budget when the year begins helps you adjust it to fit any changes in your life, like getting a new job or moving house.  

Why do this?

Having a budget isn’t all about limiting yourself. Instead, it can help you:  

• take control of your finances by having a complete view of your income and spending. 

• make sure that your money is allocated well, giving priority to essential expenditures (needs) over discretionary spending (wants). 

• keep you on track to reach your financial goals.  

Here are two practical budgeting tips to help you get started:

Weekly check-ins:

Instead of just planning your budget at the start of the month, consider a quick weekly review. Spending some time once a week looking at your budget can help you catch issues early and make necessary tweaks to stay on course to reach your financial goals.  

Check your Direct Debits:

As you review your budget, take a moment to check over your regular payments, specifically your Direct Debits. You might discover Direct Debits for unused or forgotten subscriptions, such as: 

• unused streaming services 

• old dating app subscriptions  

• unused gym memberships 

Cancelling unnecessary Direct Debits could save you money every month. Think about the cost and consider if you could save money by switching to another provider. Just remember to check if you’re permitted to cancel (ask your provider), as some companies may have early cancellation fees. 

3. Check your credit report and score

 As the new year approaches, safeguard your creditworthiness by checking your credit reports and scores from the major agencies – Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.  Making a habit of looking just before the new year can help you remember, and give you a view on how you’ll likely appear to lenders if you apply for credit. This is especially important if you plan on applying for significant credit, like a mortgage, in the coming year.   

Read our guide on why your credit score is important for more details on how credit scoring works.  

Why do this:

It’s important to keep an eye on your credit scores and reports. Doing this helps you see where your credit stands, how you appear to lenders, and can alert you to potential problems so that you can take action.  

Three major benefits of checking these include:

Identify errors on your credit report:

Your credit report contains information about you and your financial behaviour, including your repayment history. However, errors may make their way onto your reports. When reviewing your credit report, watch out for inaccuracies.  

Examples could include: 

• incorrect personal details. 

• closed accounts being reported as open.  

• incorrect balances or credit limits. 

Errors could have an impact on your ability to access credit, and the terms you’re offered. If you spot an error on your credit report, dispute that information with the credit reference agency. TransUnion, Experian and Equifax all have step-by-step guides on how to raise a dispute. You’ll need to raise disputes separately with each agency.  

Spot identity fraud:

A significant drop in your credit score may indicate identity fraud. This is when someone uses your personal information for financial gain, like applying for credit in your name. Checking your credit report can uncover any unfamiliar activity. If you see anything you don’t recognise and suspect identity fraud, it’s important to act as soon as possible. Experian has a helpful guide on what to do next if you’re a victim of identity fraud.  

Take action to improve your credit:

Regularly checking your report can help you areas for improvement. A higher credit score could mean you’re more likely to be accepted for credit and influence the amounts and rates that you’re offered. So improving your score can help you access the better deals. Making repayments on time, not nearing your credit limits and registering to vote are some of the actions that can help boost your score.  

Checking your own credit history will never impact your score, and your search won’t be visible to lenders. You can check your credit report for free from Credit Karma, ClearScore and Experian.  

4. Consider consolidating your debts 

 Tackling debt is a common financial resolution. If you’re finding it difficult to manage multiple, high interest debts, it may be worth consolidating them. A consolidation loan combines various different debts into one.  

 Put simply, it works like this:  

1. Take out a new loan  

2. Use this money to pay off your old debts  

3. Pay off the new loan 

Why do this? 

Consolidating your debts in the new year may offer you a way to organise and simplify your debt repayment.  

 Depending on your individual circumstances, consolidating your debts could:  

• make your debt easier to manage. 

• reduce the amount of repayments you need to make each month. 

• boost your credit score (if you make your repayment on time each month).   

 It could offer a fresh start for a more manageable and streamlined debt repayment in 2024. See our page on debt consolidation loans for more information. 

Remember, debt consolidation is another form of credit, so it may not be suitable for everyone. Carefully consider your own financial situation before taking out a debt consolidation loan.