Sara Williams is a debt adviser and blogger at DebtCamel.co.uk. For Talk Money Week Sara has written a blog about doing one simple thing for your finances next year.

One simple thing that can make your finances easier next year is a road map for the year ahead. This is easy to start – you don’t need a fancy financial planning book, just a sheet of paper where you write out the months. And you don’t have to do it all in one go - make a start then fill bits in later.

What goes into a road map?

Everything financial that you know will happen or is very likely to.  This can include insurances or subscriptions that need to be renewed. Some you may want to renegotiate, so look at the market a few weeks before. Some subscriptions you may want to check if the price is increasing, and decide if you want to continue with them.

Some credit contracts ending may mean you’ll have more money - the last payment on a loan or switching to sim only when a mobile phone contract ends.

Others may be a problem if you don’t plan ahead for them, like a 0% credit card offer ending or car finance ending with a balloon payment. In 2024 a fixed rate mortgage ending may be a huge impact on your finances – you can start looking at your options six months before the end of your current fixed rate, so pop that date into the roadmap too.

Inflation can be difficult to predict, but in the UK we know broadband, mobile, council tax bills and water tend to increase in April.

What else will you need to pay for most years - school uniforms in late August? School trips?

Some changes will help your finances – will you become eligible for more free childcare? Also unknown for most people is a possible pay rise. But you may know the likely date?

Planning for the fun stuff

Put in celebrations that tend to be expensive. Christmas for most families! Your partner’s 40th birthday, Mothers Day, Halloween, your friend’s hen do and wedding – what do you need to save up for these?

Do you have a holiday booked? What else would you like to include - trip to visit family, festivals, etc. Does your eldest need a new mobile or a laptop?

How a road map helps

Having a road map helps you plan ahead, putting money aside that you know will be needed. Many banks allow you to open separate accounts or savings pots and give them names – look out for accounts that pay a good rate of interest 

If the year is looking very tough you may not be able to do everything you want. And you may decide to scale back on some plans.

Once you have a road map for one year, it’s easy to start the next year as a lot of the renewal and celebration dates will be the same. So when that “save the date” card arrives for a wedding in 2025, get a new sheet of paper and rough out the 2025 road map.