While wage growth in the UK may have increased recently, it continues to lag behind inflation. As a result of this, Brits drew down on their savings for the eighth consecutive month in the run-up to Christmas, with this trend likely to continue in the near-term.
With this in mind, it’s crucial that you focus on taking control of your savings and minimizing your monthly expenditure if you’re to engage in smart financial management practices.
There are two key trends that can drive this in the modern age, namely technology and sustainability. In this post, we’ll ask how you can successfully leverage these to achieve your fiscal goals.
- Utilise Apps to Manage your Finances
The mobile app market will be worth a staggering $188 billion by the year 2020, as this sector continues to diversify and provide targeted solutions to everyday problems.
This is particularly true in the finance sector, with modern apps capable of providing support across an array of activities and also automating the management of your wealth. Tapping into this market enables you to manage your finances more efficiently, while it also eliminates the use of paper and moves your money management practices into the Cloud.
The Chime app offers a relevant case in point, as this enables you to create savings while also stashing these funds in a secure and separate account. Similarly, the Digit app is designed to appraise your current incoming and outgoings and then calculate a fixed percentage that you’re able to save before transferring this to an FDIC-insured Digit account for safe-keeping.
- Seek Out Sustainable Funds and Assets
The notion of social responsibility is prominent in the modern age, among both businesses and households alike. This has created a demand for sustainable assets among investors, which offer opportunities to both build wealth and contribute to the natural (and social) environment.
Not only have sustainable and ethical funds become more popular in recent times, but the top performing options also began to outperform more traditional asset classes during 2017.
In short, there has never been a better time to embrace sustainable funds and build wealth, so long as you do your research and identify the best performing and most relevant options. To help you with this, you could consider liaising with an established financial and wealth planner such as Tilney.
- Reduce your Costs By Becoming More Energy Efficient
Reducing costs is also an important aspect of saving, as this creates a more frugal lifestyle that can be sustained at all times. This is why households are increasingly inclined to be energy efficient in 2018, as such an approach allows you to reduce your monthly spend and minimize the carbon footprint you produce as an individual.
Now, we’ve already touched on how apps can help you to manage your funds, but there’s also a host of modern titles that can contribute to a more energy-efficient lifestyle. Take the Light Bulb Finder app, for example, which lists and identifies that best performing, energy-efficient bulbs and allows customers to calculate their potential savings.
This is one of many apps of this type, and it offers an outstanding opportunity to save money without compromising on the quality of your lifestyle.
