Get Your Financial Self Together

As the New Year begins, many of us start thinking about fresh starts and new intentions. And what better way to feel like you truly have your life together than finally getting to grips with your finances?

But what does that actually look like — and where do you begin?

Well, as an accountant, I’m a big fan of structure and breaking big, overwhelming things into smaller, manageable steps. You know that saying about eating an elephant one bite at a time? That’s exactly how I think it makes sense to approach taking control of your finances.

One of the simplest ways to do that is to use the four pillars of financial wellbeing. Think of them as the foundations that support your financial life — solid, steady and easy to build on.

The four pillars of financial wellbeing are Spending, Saving, Borrowing and Planning.

Each one plays a different role, and together they give you a clear, practical way to understand, and improve, your financial life.

I think it makes sense to consider each pillar in the following order, so let’s explore some simple ways you can start making positive changes.

Spending: Living Within Your Means (Without Feeling Deprived)

Spending is the pillar most people feel first — it’s the day-to-day reality of how you live. At its core, healthy spending simply means you can comfortably afford your lifestyle (this being quite subjective, I know!). But broadly speaking it means you should be able to pay your bills, cover your essentials and still have cash left over for the things that genuinely bring you joy.

But this pillar also comes with a sneaky trap: lifestyle creep. As your income grows, it’s easy for your spending to quietly expand right alongside it — nicer dinners, nicer holidays, nicer everything. Before you know it, things still feel tight, even though you’re earning more than ever.

A few tips to help get comfortable with this pillar:

• Spend intentionally. Make sure your money goes towards things you truly value, not just habits or convenience.
• Build friction into impulse spending. A 24-hour rule, a second thought, or a separate “fun budget” can make a big difference.
• Watch for lifestyle creep. Each time your income rises, consider increasing your savings or investing before increasing your spending.

Saving: The Ability To Handle Shocks

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘saving for a rainy day’ (although now I live in the desert this is possibly less metaphorically relevant for me). But we understand the sentiment; it’s important we have some money set aside for those unfortunate and unexpected events that life has a habit of throwing our way. Sometimes it’s referred to as having an ‘emergency fund’, or as I like to call it a ‘surprise stash’.

Whatever you name it, I really can’t stress enough how valuable it is to have it. It’s genuinely worth its weight in gold to know you’ve got money set aside for life’s inevitable curveballs. We never know what will go wrong, only that something eventually will. It might be a blown tyre, emergency dental work because you’ve chipped a tooth (this happened to me on a soft-shell taco that felt ironic…), or a broken appliance. And sometimes it’s more serious: an unexpected job loss or the ability to leave a relationship that’s no longer right.

As a rule of thumb, you should aim to set aside 3 - 6 months of essential spending. The range depends on things like your specific job circumstances or if you have dependents. And this is why step 1 is important, because you need to know what your financial commitments are in order to make sure you have enough money set aside for them.

A few ways to strengthen this pillar:

• Know your real numbers. Not every purchase needs to be analysed, but knowing exactly what your committed monthly outgoings are can be surprisingly empowering. These days, most banking apps will categorise your spending if you really can’t bear to go through your statements line by line!
• Aim for stages, not perfection. First £500. Then one month’s expenses. Then three. Saving something each month creates momentum and shifts your mindset from “I can’t save” to “I am saving.”.
• Give it a clear purpose. Label it “Emergency Fund” (or something even more motivating). You’re less likely to dip into money that has a job.

Borrowing: Using Debt Wisely, Not Fearfully

Debt isn’t automatically bad - it’s a tool. It’s helpful when it’s used to invest in things that add value to your life which you would struggle to pay for upfront. The obvious examples being a mortgage, a student loan or business loan. These kinds of debts are productive because they are usually assessed relative to your circumstances and the repayments are manageable.

Debt becomes a problem when it’s expensive, difficult to pay back or used to fund the day-to-day — particularly when it reduces flexibility, creates ongoing stress, or stems from a lack of understanding about how money and borrowing really work. Poor financial knowledge leaves many people unprepared to manage credit, increasing the risk of costly mistakes and long-term financial strain; experts argue that strengthening financial education at a systemic level is therefore essential to building resilience and helping individuals make informed borrowing decisions.

Ways to strengthen this pillar:

• Know the difference between productive and unproductive debt. A mortgage or business loan is an investment and may build wealth; funding your existence on a credit card does not!
• Focus on interest rates. We often talk about the power of compounding when it comes to savings and investments — but the same effect works against you with debt. High interest compounds just as relentlessly and making only the minimum repayments can mean it takes decades to clear a balance while costing multiples of the original amount borrowed..
• Don’t borrow for lifestyle upgrades. If you do, be honest about the trade-off you’re making: today’s convenience versus tomorrow’s flexibility and peace of mind.

Planning: Creating a Financial Future You Can Actually Look Forward To

Planning is the long-term pillar — the one that brings everything else together. It’s about making decisions today that your future self will genuinely thank you for.

Without a plan, money decisions tend to be reactive, driven by what’s urgent rather than what’s important. With a plan in place, you gain direction, clarity and the confidence that you’re moving towards something meaningful, not just getting by.

Planning can be as simple as setting money aside for your pension, investing through an ISA, or being clear about what you want your money to do for you over time. It doesn’t need to be perfect or complex — it just needs to exist and evolve as your life does.

Because when you have a plan, money stops feeling like a source of anxiety and starts to feel like a tool for building the future you actually want.

Ways to strengthen this pillar:

• Think about what you want. When was the last time you sat down and actually thought about what you want? Maybe retiring early is something you mention flippantly, but have you ever thought about what it would take to make that happen? You are much more likely to achieve something if you give yourself time to gradually build towards it.
• Get your protection in place. It’s not exciting, but making sure you have suitable insurances, wills and an emergency fund remove unnecessary risks.
• Review once a year. Life changes, and your plan should evolve with it.

Bringing It All Together

The four pillars of financial wellbeing aren’t about perfection or restriction — they’re about clarity, balance and control. When your spending supports your lifestyle, your savings protect you from shocks, your borrowing is intentional, and your planning is aligned with what you want from life, money starts to feel far less overwhelming.

For many people, it’s that final pillar — planning — where things feel hardest to tackle alone. Knowing what you want is one thing; knowing how to structure your finances to get there is another.

That’s where we can help. At Hilbert, we work with clients to turn vague goals into clear, practical financial plans — helping ensure your money is working as hard as you are, both now and in the future. Whether you’re just starting to think longer term or want reassurance that you’re on the right track, having a plan in place can make all the difference.

Because getting your financial self together isn’t about doing everything at once — it’s about building strong foundations and knowing you don’t have to do it alone.