Remember just a few weeks or even days ago when you were lying on the beach and you thought: I must remember to do this, or I must remember to do that… when I get back.

Well, that time has now come around. The holidays are pretty much over, the kids are going back to school or uni and it’s time to get down to those jobs.

Now it might have been anything you were thinking about – sorting the garden, decorating the spare room, anything. But I bet sorting out your finances was on many people’s list.

This is something I regularly do with my clients but it’s a good thing for anyone to do, and who knows, it might save you some money.

Start with your mortgage. Is your loan on the best rate you can get? Sometimes a fixed-rate period expires and we don’t always sign up for a new deal quickly, so your loan might have gone on to your lender’s standard variable rate. This can be a lot more expensive than other fixed rates that are available and you could be losing money every month. Fixed-rate loans – of any length from two, five, 10 or even 15 years – are a great way of protecting your interest rate during these times of Brexit-led uncertainty.

You might have been thinking about doing some home improvements – is now the right time to borrow some money, whilst interest rates are still low?

I also advise getting out your insurance policies and checking what cover they offer and whether they are still right for your needs.

Things change – you might have become self-employed, for example, and need something more than life insurance – maybe some cover to protect you if you were ill and couldn’t work.

Have you got more gadgets in the house than you had when you first took out your home and contents insurance all those years ago? Your policy might not be providing adequate cover. Being under-insured can be very costly.

Could you be getting the same or better insurance cheaper than your current policy offers? Even if you can’t change it now, at least you’ll know to shop around when it is due.

There are a million different reasons why you should take a look at your finances and now is as good a time as any.

I’m always happy to help people take a fresh look at their financial situation and provide my advice free of charge. Call me for a no obligation discussion on 07767 692653.