Do you plan to make a late New Year’s Resolution?

According to a survey published in the Daily Telegraph in 2008, four in ten of us planned to make New Year’s Resolutions in 2009. And, among these, sixty per cent intended making a resolution relating to their finances, with 48 per cent planning to get out of debt or reduce the cost of their borrowings.

The New Year is a great time to finally organise your finances and to shop around for a better deal.

Spring clean your finances

It’s not unusual to start the New Year in debt. A recent survey from ING Direct found that the average cost of Christmas in Britain was £490 with the average person ending up £380 in debt after the festive season.

So, if you have credit cards, expensive unsecured loans or other hire purchase or finance, it is worth considering consolidating your debts and paying less interest.

Search for the lowest loan rates

Credit card interest can be as high as 15 to 20 per cent while many unsecured loans and hire purchase schemes also charge a high interest rate. However, there are dozens of unsecured loans on the market which charge low rates of interest, potentially saving you hundreds of pounds.

The best place to find the lowest loan rates is on the internet. Many websites allow you to compare personal loans in order to find the best deal for you.

Simplify your finances and reduce your money stress

Another great reason to consider consolidating your various unsecured debts into one personal loan is to simplify your finances. Rather than having lots of small debts, which you have to manage every month, you can simply take one larger loan and repay all of your other borrowings.

You will end up with one creditor, one direct debit and one loan. This will save you an awful lot of time compared to managing lots of small credit cards and unsecured loans.