5 ways to stretch your budget further in January

January can be a grim month – not just because of the miserable weather, but also because of most people’s financial situations. Stretching out a battered and bruised December pay packet across the first month of the new year is no easy feat.

Not only will Christmas spending have taken its toll, but many people will have been paid earlier in December, so that they could receive their wages in time for Christmas.

While this was handy at Christmas time, it also means pay packets need to stretch over a longer time period, until the next payday.

To make things a little easier, here are some suggestions for eking out your pay until the January payday comes around:

1. Set a budget

To reduce the risk of going into debt, or taking on more debt, check your bank balance now and factor in any regular payments that will be taken out of your bank account before your next payday. Then work out how much you can afford to spend each week, or even each day, before your pay lands in your bank account.

2. Don’t forget about any buy now, pay later spending

Many people will have made buy now, pay later (BNPL) purchases over Christmas, and while this can be a handy way to spread the costs it could be easy to forget about these additional repayments that will be coming out of your bank account. Go through what you spent over Christmas and jog your memory about any purchases that were made using BNPL.

Some people may find that making BNPL purchases in January can help them to get to the end of the month, but if you’re already financially over-stretched, you could be creating more problems.

3. Cut the cost of your borrowing

If it’s costing you a lot of money just to pay the interest on your debts, have a look to see if you can cut the costs, perhaps by taking out a 0% balance transfer card. Don’t forget to factor in any charges though for comparing the balance. You could see your chances of being accepted for different cards by carrying out a “soft” credit search. This gives you an indication of how likely you are to be accepted before taking the plunge, rather than a “hard” credit search, which will leave a footprint behind on your credit score.

4. Consider a new current account

Does your current account do what you want it to or is there another deal out there which would suit your needs more? Some current accounts offer cashback on spending or have linked savings accounts with high rates of interest. Some also charge more for using overdrafts than others. And many have handy budgeting tools in their apps which may help you manage your finances more easily. Some providers also offer cash to switch – which can also be handy when you’re looking to make your budget go further.

5. Raid your loyalty points

If you’ve got any loyalty cards hanging around with unspent points on them, now could be a great time to dust them off and put them to use, to help plug gaps in your budget.