Financial decluttering

As we conclude the three-part series of ‘How to declutter your life’, take a step back and remember what you’ve achieved so far. Give yourself a pat on the back! Just one more group to consider: your finances.

We’ve got some helpful hints to get you going:

• Go paperless – thought about moving all your bank statements online? Do it! You can always download and print them off later if you need to. What’s more, you’re helping the environment;
• Budgeting – want to see your spending in black and white and learn how to budget better? Create a budget spreadsheet and monitor your spending. If there are things you can cut back on or cancel, you’ll have that little bit extra in your pocket;
• Combine pension pots – it’s very common to have more than one pension pot due to moving jobs. They can be hard to keep track of so you should consider putting them all in one place. You could save on management fees in the long run; and
• P60s AND payslips – you only need to keep hard copies of these for 22 months from the end of the tax year they relate to. So, as the tax year finishes on 5 April, you'll want to keep your relevant paperwork until at least January 31 two years later. If you have anything older than this, dispose of it (safely!).

Tax tip: if you’re still working from home you can claim tax relief for the WHOLE YEAR – worth £60 or £125. To claim, visit www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home and follow the instructions. You’ll need your Government Gateway ID for this, but if you haven’t got one, you can create one as part of the process.

Navigating the financial world can be tricky, but there’s free, helpful guidance out there if you need it on the following websites: Money Saving Expert and Money Advice Service.