Three ways to organise your finances

How do you feel about your money? Are you concerned about your finances in the year to come? According to ASIC's latest Australian Financial Attitudes and Behaviour Tracker, 58 per cent of people said they were confident when handling their money¹. However, that still leaves nearly half of respondents who couldn't say the same.

If this is you – never fear. There's no time like a new year to set some resolutions and goals and give yourself the opportunity to look at how you can put your finances in order for the rest of the year.

Organise your debts

It's easy to turn a blind eye to your debts. After all, money can be fairly stressful, and around 30 percent of respondents to the ASIC survey agreed that this was the case. The Department of Human Services suggests this step-by-step process for identifying and managing debt:

It's daunting to directly address these issues, but taking a bold step forward and organising exactly how you'll handle debt can prevent it from spiralling out of control.

Keep track of everything

Did you make a 2016 resolution to put more money into your savings account? According to a finder.com.au survey, 25 percent of people who broke their resolutions last year did so because they didn't record their progress².

When it comes to saving, keep a detailed summary of what you've put into savings, and what you will put in. It can help you continually improve, adding more and more until you have enough to reach your goal. To keep you on track, we have a range of savings accounts that will reward you with bonus interest when you deposit every month and don't withdraw your money.

Cut down on the fees and bills

Phone bills, power bills, bank account fees, the household bills can sometimes seem endless. To get yourself in order this year, try working out which regular payments you have that could be cut or made cheaper. For example, you might want to look at switching to a cheaper power provider for a better deal.

When it comes to spending money, you could switch to a transaction account with minimal fees – like the IMB Everyday Unlimited account, where you get unlimited monthly IMB transactions for a monthly fee.*

Research last year from the Australian Communications and Media Authority showed that 27 percent of mobile phone users were experiencing bill shock³. This year, get your finances in line, so you don't have to worry about all those surprise costs.

When you want to plan your finances, look at cheaper bank accounts, consolidate your debts or simply get a health check on your money, the team at IMB is ready to help – contact us today.

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Source:

1. http://www.financialliteracy.gov.au/media/559093/australian-financial-attitudes-and-behaviour-tracker_wave-3.pdf

2. http://www.finder.com.au/press-release-new-years-resolution-statistics-2015-2016

3. http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Telco/Reconnecting-the-customer/TCP-code/mobile-bill-shock-down-a-further-six-percentage-points

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/subjects/managing-your-money-and-debt

_{* Transaction fees apply to international transactions, Australia Post transactions and transactions conducted through non-IMB channels.}