Creating Budget 'Helps To Prepare For Major Purchasing'

Those struggling to manage their finances should look to create a budget, one industry commentator has advised.

According to Mark Wapshott, spokesperson for St Edmundsbury Financial Services, people who find saving money difficult should plan their monthly income and outgoings. Consequently, he suggested that consumers will be able to get their finances in much better shape when it comes to purchasing "essential items that need saving for" such as holidays, house deposits and putting money into retirement funds. In addition, Mr Wapshott reported that Britons will be able to get a better grip on repaying any debts owed, ranging from credit cards and personal loans to overdrafts and mortgages.

Mr Wapshott said: "People struggling with savings should set up a standing order or direct debit to a savings plan (or just a deposit account to start with) and then prepare a budget and identify where they are currently spending. Most people will be surprised at how much they spend on just enjoying themselves. Then they just have to budget, budget, budget".

"Most people carry too much debt, including their mortgage and should repay as much as possible prior to making any saving decisions."

As a result, the St Edmundsbury representative claimed that consumers should have between three and six months' salary saved in an easily accessible account to help supplement their spending, particularly if they are the victim of unexpected circumstances such as redundancy or illness.

Overall, Mr Wapshott reported that those consumers over the age of 55 tend to be the best in the country when it comes to saving money for essential items. However, it is the 18 to 25-year-old age bracket that were said have the greatest difficulties setting cash aside to make large purchases, which in turn could well see them at greater risk of having large amounts of debt to pay back.

He added that the "main reason" for why many consumers often find that they do not have money set aside when it comes to making large purchases "is that there are too many demands on limited income". The St Edmundsbury spokesperson also purported that "clients tend to spend for today and forget about tomorrow", with a number of people getting themselves into debt via credit cards and personal loans as a result of impulse spending. In addition, he stressed that financial education within schools is in need of improvement.

Another area which could well be putting financial strain on Britons is the festive period. Mr Wapshott claimed that consumers often tend to fund spending over Christmas "from salary not savings", which as a result may leave them with debt difficulties at the start of a new year.

Last month, a Citizens Advice spokesperson claimed that by introducing personal finance classes in secondary schools, more Britons could adopt a responsible attitude towards borrowing and debt. By developing awareness of products such as personal loans and overdrafts, the advisory service's representative suggested that many of the country's debt difficulties could be avoided as the majority of problems are currently caused by a shortfall in monetary understanding.