Checking Your Finances

Before taking a detailed look at your income and spending, you should first spend some time carrying out some important checks to ensure that you are not losing any of your money unintentionally.

Bank Statements

Carefully check through your bank statement every month. In particular, check that any direct debits have been paid for the right amount, and that they have been deducted only once. Mistakes are often made. If you have cancelled a direct debit, make sure that the bank has stopped paying it. If they haven't, you have a legal right to have it immediately repaid without argument. If you find any mistakes at all, complain and ask for compensation from the bank.

Cash

It is vital to keep the receipts issued by cashpoint machines when you withdraw money, and to check them against your bank statement. This will ensure that no one is using it to make unauthorised withdrawals. This might not be an unknown crook but a friend or member of the family. Even if you don't find any unauthorised withdrawals, keeping a record will make you appreciate how much cash you draw out every month - something that may come as a shock.

Credit Cards

Keep and check all your credit card and store card slips against your monthly statements. Read your statements very carefully to make sure you recognise all the payments, and in particular that none appear twice. It's actually quite common for mistakes to be made by credit card companies, and if you don't notice it and complain, no one else will. If you see something you don't recognise, contact your credit card company immediately.