If your New Year’s resolution list included a general “sort out finances” and you’re already losing the will to tackle it, hang on in there.
Firstly, you’re not alone – studies tell us that around 80 per cent of resolutions fall by the wayside before the end of January.
When it comes to self motivation, we’ve found that choosing financial deals that have a positive impact on the world as well as on you can act as an extra boost. With that in mind, here’s eight ways to get your financial resolutions back on track.
1. Green your pension
Take a look at our green pension fund options for ways you can save for your retirement while helping to build a better world that’s worthy of your future grandkids growing old on. If you’d like help finding out where your existing pension/s are and how to change them for Good, see our Good Guide to Pensions.
2. Save sustainably
If you have a little money in these tough times to put away, for a holiday, new house, or just for a ‘rainy day’ (and heaven knows we’ve had a few of those!), take a look at our top-paying sustainable savings accounts. The rates might not be earth-shatteringly high, but choosing them won’t shatter the earth either.
3. Borrow responsibly
Credit cards hardly lend themselves to righteousness, but they are also a fact of life. Nationwide, Co-op and Metro are on this list of credit card providers who like to do the right thing with customers’ money. And if you need a new mortgage this year, rates will be key of course but here are five lenders – including Good With Money ‘Good Egg’ Ecology Building Society – that give more than two hoots about society and the environment too.
4. Check your insurance provider
Home insurance, that tedious annual task, can be made so much more enlightening if you pick an insurer that does its bit, like one of these home insurers. The same goes for car insurance – all much of a muchness if you are scrolling down the comparison site picks, but slightly more rewarding if you pick one of these purer providers instead.
5. Get help from an ethical financial adviser
If you’ve got some big decisions to make with lump sums, chances are you’ll need a financial adviser. Pick one from this expert lot and you’ll also be given sustainable options for your investments.
6. Save money (and the planet) at home
As we all grapple with rising energy bills, the good news is that applying money-saving principles in our home lives can also help to mitigate climate change. Check out our Good Guide to Going Green at Home for the easy steps we can take to save money at home while helping save the planet.
7. Get a good ISA
For general hints on funds to pick for greener ISAs and SIPPs, you don’t need to go further than this guide to ISAs.
8. Trust in a Good Egg
Companies that have received a Good Egg from us are also worthy recipients of your hard-earned cash. The mark can only be used by financial services companies that are able to prove they make a positive impact, not just by improving the lives of customers, but by benefiting society and the environment, too.
Find out more about our Good Eggs here.
Finally, check out our directory, for those financial providers who are interested in their impact, as well as their profit margins.
If you’d like to find out more about the above providers, a Which? membership gives you access to in-depth, expert reviews, ‘Best Buys’ and ‘Don’t Buys.’
Good With Money occasionally uses affiliate links to providers or offers, where relevant. This means that if you open an account or buy a service after following the link, Good With Money is paid a small referral fee. We choose our affiliates carefully and in line with the overall mission of the site.
