Many people are looking at ways to keep on top of their finances at the moment, with inflation running at 9%. Bills are rising across the board, in particular the cost of heating homes.
But there are things that many people can look at to make budgeting easier and potentially put more disposable cash in their pockets. Peter Komolafe, a personal finance expert, spoke about some of them on the Lorraine show on ITV this morning, reports BirminghamLive.
He said: "If we are at 9% right now, that number is likely to get a lot higher come October. That means we are all going to feel the squeeze much more. It is going to be a big shock to the system.
"There are a few things we can do. On the inflation at 9% right now, the big question is 'what's going to happen with the Bank of England base rate?'
"It has increased to 1%. The first tip is for people who are homeowners. If you are in a tracker or a standard variable rate mortgage right now, it is really important to consider fixing your mortgage.
"That will enable you to be able to budget, otherwise you are going to see that increase in your mortgage rate. Knowing your monthly mortgage rate will not change...will be a nice base to work from."
He went on to outline a second thing people can look into: "People often forget to check if you are entitled to any benefits. Last year, £15 billion went unclaimed in benefits and that's a function of people either not realising they are entitled to a certain benefit, or thinking they earn too much, so really go and check.
"There's a couple of things you can go and do - there's a couple of websites, EntitledTo.co.uk and turntous.org.uk, those are both websites that will help you check what benefits you are entitled to. It takes about five minutes but it will do all the checks and tell you you might be entitled to x, y or z."
Finally, he offered a tip in relation to pensions: "For people who may be running up to state pension right now, the state pension is currently at £185.15 per week. In order to qualify for the full state pension, you have to have made National Insurance contributions for a number of qualifying years.
"Anyone aged between 40 and 70, there is a potential that if you are aware you are not likely going to be eligible for the full state pension that you can buy National Insurance contribution years to give yourself a bit of a boost. There are a couple of hoops to jump over.
"First, you have to be able to see what your state pension forecast is, you can do that on the gov.uk website. Essentially, this means that if you are closer to the state pension age, and you know you are not going to get the full state pension, this could be a no-brainer."
You can phone the Future Pension Centre if you are not at state pension age and the Pension Centre if you are a pensioner.
