Still in my pyjamas, but I’ve made a start on my finances - Sarah Coles

And good for them. We’re all living the best lives we can muster at the moment and if that means you have the energy to run 26-odd miles and come home to feed your sourdough starter, I take my hat off to you.

Of course, I won’t, because I’m not wearing a hat. In fact, if you’re reading this before midday, there’s a good chance I’m still wearing my pyjamas.

As with the first lockdown, I don’t have the time or energy for anything more athletic than dog walking or for culinary arts more involved than using the microwave.

A winter lockdown takes even more out of us because this time it’s that little bit colder, darker and more depressing, so I might resort to eating things I can cook using a kettle.

That doesn’t mean I’ve skipped the lockdown improvement drive. I’ve just opted for something that can change my life from the comfort of the sofa: I’ve started making inroads into my financial to-do list.

We all have one of these – even people who work in finance and think about money every day.

In my case, my Achilles heel is admin: if paperwork-related prevarication was a competitive sport I reckon I’d be picked to represent my country. I’m mostly on top of things but somewhere in the big pile of paper of doom in the study there’s a form to change my name on my current account and the marriage certificate to enable me to do it: I got married five years ago.

I reckon lockdown is my big chance to finally get round to it.

You might already know your biggest weakness and how to tackle it but in many cases it’s hard to spot without a bit of legwork first. It’s worth taking stock of where you stand. This includes things like how much debt you have, how much in savings and what interest you’re making or paying on each of those things.

It also includes bills: how much you’re paying; whether you’re at the end of your contract and whether you let things like insurance roll over. And it should include more long-term things, like your pension. Find out what you have and where it is.

This might pinpoint a couple of key priorities you can crack on with. But if you uncover a tangled web of financial chaos, it can feel overwhelming. So take a break, have a cup of tea and a slice of banana bread, and break it down. Financial planners tend to do this in a specific order.

Essentially you start by putting your spending into an online budget calculator and then working out how much you need to cut back to balance your budget.

Then you need to tackle your spending. The easiest place to start is shopping around for everything from a cheaper mobile phone deal to gas and electricity, media and your insurance.

Then you can consider cutting out the things you don’t get full value from – whether that’s buying specific brands or paying for gym membership. The aim is to free up a bit of cash each month.

If you have expensive debts like an overdraft or credit card the first job for this cash is to start paying these off. If you’re on top of your debts, the priority is building an emergency savings safety net.

For people of working age, a rough rule is three to six months’ worth of essential expenses and for retired people it’s more like one to three years of expenses.

Don’t be put off by the scale of the savings job you have to do, just make a start: something is better than nothing.

It can be tempting to focus on immediate priorities but this is also an opportunity to take stock of your long-term plans.

Check how much you have in your pension and use a pension calculator to discover what this is likely to build to in retirement and whether you’re paying in enough.

Investments are part of this long-term planning too. Once you have a savings safety net, you can look at starting regular payments into investments.

Finally, you need to make sure you avoid ever having to do this again, by setting up systems that mean you do the right thing without trying.

You should have direct debits to pay your bills, pay off debts and pay into a savings account, pension and investment account on pay day.

Put a note in your phone for when things like insurance come to an end – so you can shop around. Even then, you’ll need to set up one admin day each year to take stock again.

Getting to grips with your finances isn’t as Instagramable as more popular lockdown self-improvements.

But you’ll be reaping the rewards of it long after the marathon runners have rediscovered the joy of the sofa and the sourdough makers have realised people were just being polite about the smell.

Set yourself a Christmas budget – and stick to it

We research the cost of Christmas every year and it will come as no surprise to anyone that this year we are planning to tighten our belts for some frugal festivities.

Some parts of the country are doing a better job than others, with the East Midlands, Northern Ireland and Yorkshire and the Humber top of the pile.

Londoners plan to spend 72 per cent more than people in Yorkshire. Shoppers in our region have focused on effective cuts and excelled at skipping the needless extras.

They are spending just over half the national average on the kind of tat that will end up in the bin on Boxing Day or the charity shop by Easter – ranging from expensive crackers to Christmas jumpers.

Yorkshire shoppers have committed to buying for everyone as usual but spending less per person. This can be less of a minefield than cutting people off the Christmas list and works particularly well with people you can agree it in advance with.

If you do agree a budget, avoid busting it at all costs. You might think that by spending a little extra you’re being a bit more generous but you’re upsetting a delicate balance, which can lead to red faces all round.

Sarah Coles is a personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown

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