{"id":228382,"date":"2026-01-05T11:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T11:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/228382\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T11:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T11:00:09","slug":"the-six-step-plan-to-help-you-get-your-finances-in-order-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/228382\/","title":{"rendered":"The six-step plan to help you get your finances in order this year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Karl Matchett on how you should check in on your budget, savings and more to set yourself up for 2026\n<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more than just about making sure you are earning enough to meet your expected needs, though. Research from MoneySuperMarket suggests up to 15% of people in the UK might run out of money before their January pay day, and it can be tough to recover from that early setback if you don\u2019t have a plan in place.<\/p>\n

A thorough run-through of your money situation can make a big difference, and it doesn\u2019t need you to spend hours poring over receipts, bank accounts and calculators either.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a checklist of six things you should do, some of which can take only a few minutes but give you brilliant peace of mind.<\/p>\n

Update your basic budget<\/p>\n

First things first: you need to know exactly how much you\u2019ve got coming in and going out each month. Bank or finance apps will mostly tell you this pretty quickly now, but you might need to double-check where some expenses are assigned.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s through salary, benefits or other income, make sure you know how much lands in your main account and when. Then, if you\u2019re able, look back over your last few months of spending, tot up whether they are imperative costs (such as for housing and bills), regular expenses (food and other things you need), your discretionary spend (socialising, personal shopping, eating out and so on) or something else like savings.<\/p>\n

First, the income number needs to be higher than the total expenses.<\/p>\n

If it\u2019s not, reduce your outgoings immediately; raise your income if you\u2019re able.<\/p>\n

Once the numbers balance the right way, you can look at where extra money can go. This task might take a little longer than the others, but it\u2019s the foundation of everything that comes after.<\/p>\n

\"2026<\/p>\n

2026 could be the year you finally get your finances under control. Image: Getty<\/p>\n

Paying off your debt<\/p>\n

So, you know how much comes in and how much goes out. The difference between those numbers is what helps you improve your financial resilience: the ability to absorb surprises when they crop up without overstretching or going into debt.<\/p>\n

For those who have some money – even a little – left over after monthly spending, there are a few key things.<\/p>\n

First is any high-interest debt. This could include credit cards for example, or loans that are not mortgages. Always check terms to ensure you won\u2019t be penalised for paying anything off earlier or faster, but the more you can contribute towards paying down any debt you owe, the better you\u2019ll be in the long run as you\u2019ll pay less interest on it.<\/p>\n

Get your savings in order\"Saving<\/p>\n

Saving is a good habit to get into to help your long-term finances (Getty)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to feel like most of your money is gone as soon as it lands in your bank, but it\u2019s vital that people put a little away each month.<\/p>\n

Research from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found a fifth of people in the UK (21%) have less than \u00a31,000 they could get hold of in an emergency, while one in 10 (10%) have nothing saved at all. It\u2019s crucial to build this savings safety buffer first before you do anything else with your spare cash – otherwise it\u2019s more likely you\u2019ll end up spiralling around, never having money to pay sudden expenses, and always feel like you\u2019re playing catch-up.<\/p>\n

Money experts recommend eventually saving at least three months\u2019 worth of costs, and up to six months, depending on circumstances like your job or dependents.<\/p>\n

You want a main easy access savings account first of all, and for many, the best product to use might be a cash ISA. It\u2019s simply a normal savings account, which you will never pay any tax on the interest earnings.<\/p>\n

Other people might want multiple accounts or \u201cpots\u201d to differentiate between emergency savings and cash dedicated toward specific things, like a holiday or house deposit, or even planning for Christmas 2026. Little amounts add up significantly when given consistency and time.<\/p>\n

Check how much you\u2019re already putting away and alter that according to your needs – or divert some towards other things.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re on universal credit, check out Help to Save. It\u2019s a special savings account for people who have a low income and get state benefits.<\/p>\n

It boosts your money by topping up your savings with bonuses from the government.<\/p>\n

These bonuses are far more generous than the interest you might earn from a normal savings account.<\/p>\n

It is designed to help encourage people start regularly saving when previously they might not have done so, thereby building themselves a gradual financial safety buffer.<\/p>\n

Check your pension\"Check<\/p>\n

Check in on your pensions situation once a year (Getty)<\/p>\n

This won\u2019t take long at all: check maybe once a year on your current pension position and ensure you\u2019re on track.<\/p>\n

For the state pension, you can check potential earnings, identify missing years and more on the government website gov.uk\/browse\/working\/state-pension.<\/p>\n

For workplace pensions, track down all your old ones – the forthcoming pension dashboard online service should make this a lot easier if you haven\u2019t already done it. It\u2019s due to launch during 2026.<\/p>\n

Consider whether you can up your current salary sacrifice if you are on that scheme. Even an additional 1% can make a massive difference over decades, especially before the new tax on it comes into effect in 2029.<\/p>\n

If you have personal pensions, check those too, and if you don\u2019t, consider whether you could set aside a little money to begin one this year, even if it\u2019s only a small amount each month. If you\u2019ve still got decades of work ahead of you, there\u2019s time for it to make a big impact in retirement.<\/p>\n

Is it time to invest?<\/p>\n

Investing will once again be a buzzword in 2026, and a big campaign is coming to raise awareness.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the main deal: over the long term, you\u2019re more likely to earn bigger returns through investing in the stock market and other assets than you are through cash savings alone.<\/p>\n

You need to make sure you\u2019ve got that savings plan well underway first, and you can set up automatic investments if you don\u2019t want to have to do anything yourself – very much like a pension, in fact.<\/p>\n

Using a stocks and shares ISA is the most tax-efficient way to invest if you haven\u2019t used up your annual allowance.<\/p>\n

Mortgage check-up<\/p>\n

Finally, if you\u2019re a homeowner, it\u2019s worth checking in on your mortgage. Interest rates have come down significantly over the past year, and around 1.8 million fixed-term deals are expected to come to an end during 2026.<\/p>\n

You can lock in deals ahead of time, usually once you\u2019re in the last six months of a term. Factor in fees, length, whether you can overpay and other details, as well as the headline rate, and get a broker to help you decide the best product whenever possible.<\/p>\n

If your deal is longer-lasting then you can still look into whether you can make any overpayments if yours allows it, and whether you\u2019d be better off doing this or investing, putting spare money into a pension or something else entirely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Karl Matchett on how you should check in on your budget, savings and more to set yourself up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":228383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[72,176,61,60,174,175],"class_list":{"0":"post-228382","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-finance","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-personal-finance","13":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}