Making Cents: Now is the perfect time to tackle the household budget

For many of us, September and the start of the new school year is a better time to assess our lives and start making changes than the new year, writes Grainne McGuinness.

And certainly from a financial point of view, now is much better time to do a health check than after the buzz and spending of Christmas could have left you facing a mountain of debt.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) website — www.consumerhelp.ie— has a budget planner, which is the perfect place to start your financial health check. It’s important to assess your current position to allow you plan for the future. The planner encourages you to list all sources of income for you and your family, including child benefit and any other social welfare. You then list your spending, divided into expenses, paying back debt and savings. Writing it all out allows you to build an overall picture of your financial habits and see where improvements can be made.