Ten top tips to sort your finances

Christmas is over and wallets all over the land are not exactly fat. But now is the season of good intentions, the time for putting past habits behind us and drumming up a new, improved formula for future financial health.

Anyone trying to banish thoughts of festive season splurges could do worse than to focus on some personal finance priorities for 2005 and cling to the hope that this time next year, the concept of a January financial hangover will be a faded memory.

Here is a selection of 10 new year's resolutions to be made and broken over the year ahead.

1Stop fixating on SSIA maturity dates: The most frequent finance-related question around the office and around the pub is: when is the Government's Special Savings Incentive Account (SSIA) scheme over? In other words, when can I get my hands on all that money I have diligently put aside but am now killing to use for the spree of all sprees?

The answer: sometime between May 2006 and May 2007. So some SSIA holders will only have just passed the halfway point of their savings extravaganza and will have over two more years of mental rather than actual spending left to do.

2 Make a will. You never know, death may come before SSIA maturity. And even if it doesn't, it's best to be organised and decide who you want to be your beneficiaries rather than letting an impersonal and potentially awkward legal system dictate who gets your stuff.

Dying without having made a will is called dying intestate and it can be financially messy for the people left behind.

For instance, if you have children under the age of 18, a one-third share of your estate will automatically be divided equally among them and tied up in a trust until they come of age.

3 Be disloyal. Make 2005 the year for switching banks, mortgage lenders, insurance companies and phone operators.

It might mean filling out lots of tedious and confusing forms, but it could save you thousands, especially if you are currently an Eircom customer who banks at AIB, has a home loan on Bank of Ireland's standard variable rate and has never shopped around or bargained down your motor insurance during the full history of your driving career.

4Use what you have paid for. Broadband customers: who needs a free trial if "trial" is the operative word? Ulster Bank U First Gold accountholders: the discounts on offer sound good, but do you really, really need a lifestyle manager to book your dinner reservations?

Finally, the new batch of January private health club applicants: spending €400-€800 a year for just one guilt-induced session on the treadmill is so clearly not a good investment - best to go back at least a second time.

5 Don't buy unnecessary insurance products. The problem with insurance is that you never know whether or not you are going to need it.

If it turns out you do, you instantly feel financially savvy. If it turns out you don't, you might feel it would have been simpler to lift the grate off the drain and shove a wad of notes down yourself, rather than going through the galling process of enhancing insurance company profits.

But a judgment call can nevertheless be made. For example, extended warranties and mobile phone insurance plans are almost always a bad idea. Stick to motor, home, health, travel and life (if you've got dependants or a mortgage) and think very carefully about whether you need the rest.

6Keep comfort shopping to a minimum. Feeling a bit lonely now the party season is over? Didn't quite get the gifts you wanted and feel like cheering yourself up with some sales-inspired retail therapy?

Fine. But remember that indulging without restraint will eventually lead to what can tactfully be described as "cashflow difficulties", thus only exacerbating our winter misery and prompting the urge for a new session at the shops - this time using borrowed money.

7Break the ice. If you are part of the 50 per cent of the credit card-using population that regularly fails to pay off their credit card balance each month, then at least make sure you are on the card with the lowest interest rate.

Overseas, it's black cards and platinum cards that have the highest prestige and the lowest rates, but here it is One Direct's Gold card (10.9 per cent APR) and National Irish Bank's Gold (offering 11.9 per cent APR) that are currently the cheapest. However, all this is set to change from the end of the month when Permanent TSB launches its ICE credit card with a rate of 9.9 per cent APR. And since the last Budget, cardholders will no longer be double-charged Government stamp duty when they switch cards.

8Go online. Some of the best deals on financial products like deposit accounts and travel insurance can be found on the internet.

If you are uncomfortable with entering your credit card details online, you can simply ask questions about personal finance topics at www.askaboutmoney.com, download Government publications at www.revenue.ie and www.welfare.ie or obtain independent financial information on www.itsyourmoney.ie.

And, best of all, you can manage the bulk of your personal financial affairs while at work.

9Go west. The dollar was weak against the euro during 2004 and its fortunes this year are not predicted to be much better. This could be bad news for the economy, as a strong euro may mean lower US demand for Irish exports. But for Irish holidaymakers a weak dollar means favourable currency exchange rates and a euro that will go very far indeed. Book before the St Patrick's Day rush pushes up the flight prices and a cost-efficient trip across the Atlantic could be there for the taking.

10Spend less, save more. It's the foolproof way to improve any bank balance.