How to beat the bulge in 2023

GETTING fit, taking care of your health, making sure you set aside enough family time, volunteering, and gaining new skills and qualifications… there’s plenty to draw on there for a New Year’s resolution.

But one of the big challenges of 2023 will be financial.

And it’s time for everyone to get proactive.

It doesn’t mean we can’t have fun and if the record-breaking $74.5 billion spent in the run-up to Christmas is any indication, there’s still plenty of people feeling confident about the future.

And why not! There’s tons of jobs available and those that have owned their own home for five years or more have booked a terrific increase in equity in recent years.

Farm incomes also remain strong, and the hospitality and tourism sector are showing good signs.

But with several rounds of home loan interest rate increases still to come this year, before we knock the top off inflation, and with power prices, council rates and other utility costs on the march; we need to be on the ball to make savings where we can.

Finding a cheaper energy provider is an obvious one, paying bills early where discounts are offered, taking advantage of low-interest-rate incentives to switch credit card providers and renegotiating your home loan are areas we all need to put some time into.

There’s every indication that inflation will start to come down later in the year, and we’re already seeing that in fuel prices, but the key to success this year will be developing a strategy for cutting back on unnecessary costs. What are you going to do to beat the bulge this year, physically and financially?