Best Sites for sorting out your finances

The economic forecast is bleak, the coffers are empty and the taxman is knocking at the door, we’ve over-indulged at Christmas and now January and February stretch ahead, barricading us from the sunny comforts of spring and summer. There is nothing for it but to get our messy finances in order; to start saving, budgeting, counting, investing and re-assessing. Thank heavens there are so many good websites out there to help us.

EXPERIAN
www.experian.co.uk



Find out your credit score using Experian. A good credit rating will make you more attractive towards mobile phone companies, banks and mortgage lenders, meaning you should be offered better services, loans and treatment. Fortunately, a bad credit rating can be improved on quite easily, but the first step to improvement is to find out what it is. Take the plunge.

MONEY BASICS
www.moneybasics.co.uk



Download a 'spendometer' for your mobile phone from Money Basics. This clever tool means you can record everything you spend, as you spend it, straight onto your mobile, which in turn should help you budget better in the future.

USWITCH
www.uswitch.com



A straightforward price comparison site that will help make sure you aren’t paying over the odds for your bills. With a little bit of information, uSwitch will compare prices on a range of products and services including gas & electricity, heating cover, home phone, communications, insurance and personal finance products. A doddle to use, you will be saving money in no time.

MONEY ADVICE SERVICE
www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk 



Learn how to manage your money with this government-backed site. Designed to teach you to take control of your finances, there are lots of useful tools and planners on the site, such as the 'cutback calculator'; type in something you regularly buy, but could live without, and see how much money you would save in a year (like £720 on takeaways).

HM REVENUE & CUSTOMS
www.hmrc.gov.uk



Paying taxes is the fate of all good British citizens – and woebetide anyone who gets their calculations wrong! 31st January is the tax return deadline and we will all feel a lot better once it is done and dusted for another year. The HMRC website does its valiant best to explain the absolute minefield that is filing your tax return, so have a good read of the site beforehand.

THIS IS MONEY
www.thisismoney.co.uk



A well put-together financial magazine that will keep you abreast of all the latest issues in the money world. Here, you can study the markets, read articles and advice, follow links and discover new ideas to help you manage and understand your money.

CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU