Is life too complicated these days? Actually, that’s a daft question, coming from someone who has two bank accounts, two debit cards, three credit cards, three online share dealing accounts and four savings accounts, including my cash ISA. Yes, life is definitely too complicated these days, especially when it comes to managing your finances.
True, I’m a financial journalist, so I pay more attention than most people to these things, but I sometimes feel crushed under the weight of my various financial products. Especially when you throw in my mortgage, my household, motor, travel, life and critical illness insurance, and three or four pension schemes (I’ve lost count). I don’t know how the rest of you cope.
I’ve tried to make life easier by managing most of my financial products online, but this has further burdened me with a confusing jumble of passwords and user names. Plus I have the worry about all this information falling into the wrong hands.
It’s beginning to get out of hand.
I regularly write articles telling people to shop around for the best rates on their savings, mortgage, insurance (not to mention their digital TV, landline, broadband and utility supplier as well), but now I have to admit you can take things too far. You could spend your life hunting through online search engines for the latest top deal in a bid to save a few more pounds, maybe it’s better to stick to one or two providers you trust instead.
So I’ve decided to have a cull. Last month, I let a credit card expire. It’s not much, but it’s a start. I reckon I can also shed at least one savings account, and, um, that’s about it. Perhaps I’m addicted to collecting financial services products.
As anybody who has tried to tidy their house quickly discovers, you often end up creating even more mess. It’s the same with money. I know that I could simplify my pensions by bundling them into something called a self-invested personal pension (Sipp), but that also demands time, attention, and the opening of more online accounts.
Technology was supposed to make all of this easier, but I’m not convinced it has. I spend far more time pampering my computers, software packages, internet servers and personal data than they spend helping me. Technology is supposed to let you take charge of your life, but it usually ends up controlling you.
This is a particularly sore point right now. My laptop crashed last month, and I’ve spent the past month trying to salvage the data (so far without success), choose a new machine, download and upgrade my old software, and decipher my new operating system. I don’t want to be a computer geek, but it seems like I have no choice.
So don’t feel too guilty if you can’t be bothered switching your credit card, insurance, mortgage, and savings every single year. Even I have to admit that there really is more to life than saving money.
Harvey Jones
Tags: credit card, finance, ISA, Money, saving money, sipp
We are all beginning to feel swamped with far too much technology!Pin numbers,code numbers,discount cards,mobiles,hundreds of tv channels,vcr,cd,blu-rays,black wires,too many plugs and links,with a review,video and advert looming in every column inch accompanied by its own personal soundtrack! Simplify your life!!
Thank you for your comment Robert Williams. Don’t forget we’ve got some great money saving tips on our website!
Useful information, many thanks to the author. It is puzzling to me now, but in general, the usefulness and importance is overwhelming. Very much thanks again and best of luck.