Why you should check out your spending

CAPTION: It is easy to get into the habit of overspending

File photo dated 18/09/12 of money. George Osborne will make a pitch to ordinary working people today when he delivers his penultimate Budget before the general election. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Wednesday March 19, 2014. See PA BUDGET stories. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire PPP-140320-155236001 — CAPTION: It is easy to get into the habit of overspending File photo dated 18/09/12 of money. George Osborne will make a pitch to ordinary working people today when he delivers his penultimate Budget before the general election. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Wednesday March 19, 2014. See PA BUDGET stories. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire PPP-140320-155236001

Sunday trading only came into force in 1994, yet here we are today, now able to shop online 24/7.

With traditional barriers to spending such as 9-5 opening hours now removed, it is significantly easier for us to spend money that we don’t actually have, particularly if we tend to use shopping as a boost, or as reward for ourselves.

According to statistics, one in three of us buy on impulse, only to regret our purchase further down the line.

In order to try and help people to counter this, MoneySavingExpert.com has created an easy to print, wallet-sized Money Mantras Card.

You can pop this card into your purse or wallet, in front of your credit or debit card.

Then, before you get your card out to pay for something, you can consider the following questions:

Do you need it?

Can you afford it?

Will you use it?

Is it worth it?

In any of these cases, one thing to bear in mind is that the same, or similar, product may still be available elsewhere – so make sure you also check the price of the product from other nearby stores.

Here at Citizen’s Advice Havant, we believe that you sould keep a copy close by to any device that you may use to shop with, whether it is your bank card or you use something like Apple Pay on your mobile phone.

Sometimes it can be rather scary if you have lost track of your spending, especially in these first few months of the new year – this is something that can happen to people on quite a regular basis if they are caught up in the Christmas spending

Therefore, keeping an eye on your spending on a daily basis is a good idea.

Please remember that you are always welcome to give us a call if you would like some additional help.

Another thing we would like to mention is that if you are looking to get into work, we have now also teamed up with local community training organisations to deliver money skills sessions on their courses such as Introduction To Childcare, Look To The Future and Feeling Confident.

For more information on these courses you can visit rcsservices.org.uk and cfirst.org.uk.

If you would like to know more about the Money Mantras Cards, e-mail Citizens Advice Havant at [email protected] or call (023) 9274 6013.