- Cost
of family holiday biggest cause of concern
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Kate Garraway gives 5 top tips to get family finances on track -
Around eight in ten parents
(82%) of children aged 18 and under are
concerned about what they can afford in the year ahead, with the top worry for
a third of parents being able to afford a family holiday². The research has
been revealed in the new Barclays Your Bank report³,
looking at parents’ attitudes to managing their finances and money management
concerns.
However, while parents’ financial concerns may make them feel like
they need a degree to handle day-to-day household finances, the report reveals
that many are overlooking the fact that they already possess valuable business
nous to run their home. The
Your Bank report reveals that one
solution to help parents better manage their finances is to adopt a business
brain.
Kate Garraway, Ambassador
for Barclays Your Bank report said, “The
Your Bank report found that many, many parents are really worried about their
finances. However it’s clear that the more we bury our heads in the sand, the
more worried we become. It’s not surprising that keeping track of our finances
is not always a priority given our busy lives and in some cases aversion to
financial planning. But the research actually found that our working lives have
taught us a great many skills that when applied in the home, could really help.
With more than 7 million⁴
parents (56 per cent) admitting their family budget is under more strain than
it was in July 2012, the Barclays
Your Bank reports shows that these problems are exacerbated among
parents with more than one child in the household (58%). In addition, parents are still fretting in
the longer term (July 2015 onwards), with parents worried about how they will
send their children to university (28 per cent), save enough into a pension (25
per cent) and pay off their mortgage (22 per cent).
Kate Garraway continues “In addition to our apparent business acumen and
transferable skills, there are a number of great tools and services out there
to help get financial planning firmly back on the family agenda. What’s more,
the nation can now share its ideas on what would make their everyday money
management easier at www.barclays.co.uk/yourbank”.
1. All aboard! Get the family together and assess
your outgoings from the past year and the year ahead. It’s important to
understand the whole family’s needs and ambitions – whether that’s a school trip
or a new family iPad. Taking time out as a family can help you to balance
essentials and luxuries and most importantly – keep everyone happy!
2. Know your budget – It’s all too easy to spend subconsciously but track your income
and expenditure doesn’t have to be a time consuming chore. Find out what free
tools and services your bank has on offer to help you manage a monthly family
budget and before you know it you’ll be able to
spot any unused direct debits and non-essential spend.
3. Get online – Check out what the internet has to offer
to keep on top of family finances from easy to use money saving tools to budget
planners to help you keep track of your spending. Most banks now also offer
free online or mobile banking services so you can quickly access up to date
information on the go. Free text alerts are also a great way to help stay one
step ahead of going into the red, so you no longer have to worry!
4. Market research - collect prices online on your everyday shopping and longer-term
purchases, such as insurance. Retailers
are constantly looking to attract new customers through offers and search
engines, so shop around. To save even more time and money, check out price
comparison sites for the most competitive offers.
5. Get the best deal - assess where your family spends the most money and start making
some essential changes, from switching electricity supplier to moving to PAYG. It’s all about what you actually need and
use. Don’t forget to haggle, there is often room for more savings to be made as
well as ‘price – match’ deals. Why not make it into a playful competition and
give out a prize for the family member who finds the biggest money savings?
The Barclays Your Bank report is published as
Barclays launches a new commitment to listen to customers and make
changes. For more information visit www.barclays.co.uk/yourbank and follow #YourBank on
Twitter for the latest updates.
Here's the link to see the full video with Kate Garraway http://bit.ly/1b5cBXF
Here's the link to see the full video with Kate Garraway http://bit.ly/1b5cBXF
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