Are you good at saving money?

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Almost 90 per cent of us claim to be on top of our finances but are we as clever as we think?

The Brits are pretty confident about our money saving skills. Some 88 per cent of us claim to be good at handling our finances according to a study by credit card provider Capital One.

However, we might not be the financial experts we seem to believe. More than half of credit card holders haven’t reviewed their monthly repayments or checked their credit report in the past year. Still confident you’re in control?

Even if you’ve never been in debt and pay every bill weeks in advance, there could be room for improvement.

In the past twelve months, have you performed any of these five financial checks?

1. Reviewed your will

Writing a will is the most effective way to make sure your wishes are respected after your death – although you probably knew that if you consider yourself financially savvy.

However, don’t rest on your laurels once the document is complete. Any life events such as a change in your marital status or buying a property could mean you need to update your will.

2. Sought financial help (if you needed it)

This one might not be for everyone but if you’ve remortgaged your property or invested money in the past twelve months, you will probably have gotten a better deal if you sought professional advice.

3. Pondered your pension

If you’re already saving for retirement, congratulations you’re savvier than plenty of other people. But don’t congratulate yourself too much.

Almost a quarter of customers admitted to savings and investments provider Standard Life that they simply don’t care about their pension.

If you fall into this category, can you really complain when your pension pot isn’t as large as you’d hoped?

4. Used your full ISA allowance

Or as much as you could afford? Nobody on top of their personal finances could have missed the news that the ISA allowance increased to £10,200 in April (previously only those over 50 had enjoyed this perk).

Many people will have taken advantage of tax-free savings. Even if you decide an ISA isn’t for you, savvy savers will at least have investigated all their options.

For more information on ISAs, see ‘Q&A: Should I invest in a tax-free ISA?’

5. Checked your credit report

We all know we should keep an eye on our credit report but be honest, did you actually do it? With free 30-day trials from Experian, there really is no excuse.

How did you do?

Five: Top marks. Feel free to brag about your financial knowledge.

Three or four: Could be worse but try harder in the next 12 months.

Zero to two: Shame on you. Study your BeatThatQuote newsletter more carefully in the future!

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