Helping you manage your money

Keeping track of your money is always a good idea, whatever your situation. That way you know where you are with your money and can prevent any problems happening in the future. Here are some hints and tips that could help you make the most of your money and avoid going into your overdraft unnecessarily.

Start with a budget. Probably the best financial advice anyone can give you is how to prepare a budget. This can help you with planning ahead and keeping control of your money. It’s not difficult to do. We have more detailed help and information about preparing a budget in our budget section.

Check your balance and make sure that at the end of any day, you have enough money in your account to cover payments that are due out the next day. The money in your account must be available to withdraw (for example, if you have paid a cheque into your account you must wait for the cheque to clear before the money is available to use).

You can check your balance 24 hours a day through telephone banking or online banking.

Register for online banking

Check your statements and make a list of the dates of your regular payments (for example, mortgage, loan or rent). Keep a list of when all your direct debits and standing orders are due. You can then make sure you have enough money in your account to pay for these when they are due to come out - this should prevent you having to pay any unnecessary higher fees if you happen to go into your unarranged overdraft.

Direct debits and standing orders are a helpful way of managing your money.

A direct debit ensures you pay for your bills on time, helping you avoid having to pay any charges for late payment.

If a direct debit payment date is at a bad time in the month for you (for example, just before you are paid) contact the company involved and ask them if they would collect it at a more convenient time. This helps you know how much money you have left after your commitments to spend each month, which could stop you having to go into your overdraft unnecessarily.

You can use standing orders to move money, for example, from your bank account to a savings account. This can help you to save regular amounts – remember, savings are great to have in case of a 'rainy day'.

Keep a record of any cheques you write and when they have been paid, so that you know how much money is left in your account. Someone can pay a cheque you have written into their account up to six months after you have written it. You don't want the shock of having money leave your account unexpectedly.

Repay any overdraft as soon as you can.

If you're regularly going overdrawn, why not visit your local branch and we'll sit down to talk you through our range of products to get you back on track.

An overdraft is when you spend more money than you have in your account (this is also called being in debit or having a debit balance). If you need an overdraft or to increase an arranged overdraft (when you have asked for an overdraft in advance), it would be in your interest to contact us to discuss this. This is because it will be cheaper for you to have an arranged overdraft rather than occasionally asking us to make payments when there is not enough money in your account (an unarranged overdraft) or a large enough arranged overdraft.

We have a range of current accounts with different overdraft options. Just pick the one that suits your lifestyle.

Not only does our Reward Current Account  give you £5 each month you pay in £1,000, it also offers you simple overdraft fees to make it easy to manage your money. You'll pay fixed daily fees which make it easy for you to work out how much your overdraft will cost you.

Alternatively, for a monthly fee of just £12.50, our Ultimate Reward Current Account offers a fee-free arranged overdraft of up to £300 and a great range of other benefits. For overdrafts over £300, daily fees apply. Overdrafts are subject to status and repayable on demand.

You can arrange an overdraft in one of our branches, by phone or online.

There is further advice available on planning for the future and managing debt in our Managing Your Money section.