Money is a touchy subject in this household at the moment. Regular readers of the blog will no doubt be aware that we’re in the final stages of having a new, family-friendly kitchen installed.
As is often the case with such projects, we have over-spent. It’s not disastrous, but we are feeling the pain and Mrs Adams and I are wishing we had saved up more money before the works began.
I fear the children are having to go without expensive treats and visits to cafes are being curtailed. This may upset the kids a bit, but I’m not too bothered. I think we were guilty of being a bit too generous to the kids at times (yes, I am Bad Cop in our relationship!).
Recent experiences have focused the mind. Why didn’t we have a better contingency? How quickly can we save the money we need to carry out additional works to the house? How on Earth are we going to afford Christmas this year? I could go on, but you get the picture!
A little help is at hand from life insurance and investment specialist Aviva. The company has just produced a nifty online Financial Personality Tool.
By answering a few multiple choice questions, it will assign you a financial personality and outline what your spending and saving habits are likely to be. You could, if lucky, end up being labelled an ‘Oracle,’ famed for foresight and generosity or maybe a ‘Dark Striver’ renowned for determination and leaving shopping until the end of the month.
Did I have any such luck? Er, no. I am, apparently, a ‘Day Dreamer’ and my financial future “may be in jeopardy”.
This, however, does not surprise me. I am a stay at home father with limited capacity to earn money. Along with my wife, we’ve just spent an absolute fortune on home improvements.
Now is the time for the two of us to regroup, give the future some thought and start planning for it in earnest. I’m not so much a day dreamer as a realist caught in the headlights!
Anyway, the tool doesn’t just give you a personality. It also provides a budget planner. In addition, it provides hints and tips on saving money, be it preparing for a new baby or how to save money on your water bill.
As I say, the outcome of the Financial Personality Test hasn’t surprised me. It has, however, been a call to action.
I recently wrote a blog post about how I’d saved our family £1,440 a year after spending 90 minutes reviewing our outgoings. Spurred on by the Aviva test, I am going to revisit our outgoings and see if I can save us more. I’ll let you know how I get on next week!
Disclosure; this post was produced in association with Aviva.
9 thoughts on “Saving money with Aviva”
Reviewing my outgoings is something I really need to knuckle down and do! It’s so great you managed to save nearly 1.5k in a year!
Yes, I’m going to review my outgoings again in the near future. I’m sure there’s more money to be saved!
Any tips gratefully received…I haven’t quite recovered from Christmas yet!
Ha ha, well Dee, you ma want to read next week’s blog post. That will feature some tips.
It’s a great tool isn’t it? Despite emerging as ‘The Oracle’, it’s always touch and go as to whether I’ll earn enough to pay our bills every month. Just as well I fall into that category or we’d be in trouble! Think I could do with cutting my outgoings like you have. 🙂
Blitz those outgoings Tom! You won’t regret it. I’d personally be very happy to get rid of Sky TV but my wife wouldn’t have it.
I’m the Enlightened One – could do with a bit more money though!
I understand, my bank account could do with some enlightenment! Thanks for commenting.
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