Before you drift on further into the new year, it’s worth pausing for an annual performance review – of your finances. Taking stock of what went well, what slipped, and what needs improvement means starting 2026 on firmer ground.
A quick new year check-in is your chance to measure progress, confront blind spots, and set the stage for a stronger financial year ahead.
Be like a business
Treat your household like a business, advises Keith Dundon, head of financial services at Sys Financial.
“At the end of every year, a business looks back to review its performance. Individuals and families should do exactly the same,” says Dundon.
“I’d encourage readers to either print off their bank statements for last year, or use their banking app and to go through it line by line,” he says.
First off, look at what money came into your household in 2025 – income, bonus, children’s allowance, or any gifts and inheritances for example.
Then look at what went out, he advises. This can help you identify any expenses that can be cut, or loose spending that can be tightened up.
Netflix, Prime, Disney, Apple – do you really watch them all? A single direct debit of €10.99 a month doesn’t seem like much, but add four of them up and that’s about €500 a year in after-tax income.
Or what about that pricey gym membership? If you’re paying €180 a month and attending only a handful of classes, it’s time to consider a different payment model.
Could you trim €20 a week from your spending? Then you’ll be €1,000 better off this time next year. That could make a nice additional voluntary contribution to your pension.
If you got a pay rise last year, look for signs of lifestyle creep. More frequent coffees, lunches out, convenience purchases and higher-end versions of your usual buys can mean you have little extra wealth despite earning more.
Running costs
Gas, electricity, broadband, phone – household running costs just seem to go up and up. January is the time to put your procurement manager pants on and get tough on value.
If you’re in contract for a utility, check when it expires. Then put a reminder in your phone to shop around before the contract rolls over. At least ask for a discounted retention rate before blindly renewing.
It’s estimated just one in four households switches electricity suppliers in a year. If you have a smart electricity meter, use your usage data to find the cheapest tariff for you – it’s probably not the one you are on.
Utilities regulator the CRU recommends households use free price-comparison websites to find the best rate. It approves sites such as bonkers.ie, switcher.ie, powertoswitch.ie and energyswitch.ie.
There are others from DCU, UCD, Energypal.ie and also kilowatt.ie, which is useful for EV and solar panel users.
Of the several thousand households that have used the DCU comparison tool there was a difference of €1,150 between tariffs for the same electricity usage..
Indeed, there is one tariff that is the cheapest tariff for almost 90 per cent of people, based on their usage according to DCU. Use your smart meter data to check if you can cut your bills.
Is your broadband up for renewal? Ask to speak to the customer retention team to negotiate the best possible rate. A saving of €7 a month on your bill is €84 in your wallet next Christmas.
Housing
If you’re lucky enough to own your own home, your monthly mortgage repayment may be your biggest single overhead. If you were on a fixed rate that ended in 2025, you may have rolled on to a far higher variable rate now.
Rising house values means your home is likely to have increased in value since you bought it, or since you last negotiated your mortgage rate.
House prices in Dublin rose by 5.3 per cent in the 12 months to the end of September, and 9.4 per cent outside the capital according to CSO figures.
The ratio of how much you owe on your mortgage to how much your house is now worth is called the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. If the outstanding balance on your mortgage is less than 80 per cent of the value of your home – that is, if you have more than 20 per cent equity in your home – you may be eligible for a more competitive mortgage rate.
Similarly, those who have increased their building energy rating will be eligible for cheaper “green” mortgage rates.
This January, call your bank to find out your rate and outstanding mortgage balance. Then use the property price register to find out how much properties like yours in your area are selling for. Find your Ber too – by either getting an assessment done or checking the national Ber register.
Armed with this information, use a mortgage comparison website or contact a broker to see if you are eligible for a better mortgage rate. This could save a couple of hundred euro monthly and thousands in interest over the course of your mortgage.
Renters should be sure to claim a tax credit of 20 per cent of their rent payments in 2024 and 2025, up to a maximum of €1,000 for an individual or €2000 for a jointly assessed couple.
This tax credit works by reducing your income tax bill. You can retrospectively claim the credit too – the credit for 2022 and 2023 was €500 or €1,000 for a couple.
Savings
Do you have savings? If your opening balance on January 1st last year was greater than your closing balance on December 31st, it’s worth examining why.
It’s great to have a disciplined monthly savings habit, but if you are regularly raiding this pot, or saving, but leaning on an overdraft or credit card every month, something is amiss.
“Some people coast through the year without realising they are dipping into savings to supplement their income. If you are doing this, if you are saving but your credit debt is increasing, that’s not really saving,” says Teresa Bruen, financial planning consultant at Gallagher.
“If you continue that habit year on year, you are going to find yourself in a situation where your savings account will be gone, and there won’t be a safety net to dip into for the excess spending,” says Bruen.
Being used to spending more than you are earning means it can be a lot harder to build up savings then.
“Be realistic with yourself, are your savings genuine savings, or are you falling more into debt?”
If you have been saving €500 a month, but slipping into overdraft at the end of the month, then go back to baby steps by dropping savings to €100 a month, she says.
Consolidate debt
If you’ve got a car loan, a personal loan or credit card debt, it can feel like they are chasing your debts every month, says Bruen.
Debt consolidation can make sense for some, she says.
“If you find yourself under pressure with your cash flow, that’s not a healthy financial way to work. It can sometimes make sense to consolidate the car loan or credit card debt into the mortgage to give yourself a chance,” she says.
“The interest rate on credit card debt is really high. When you are making monthly repayments, such a small amount coming off the capital, you are paying interest largely. Consolidating loans, or even taking out a personal loan to cover the whole lot and spreading the repayments over a longer term can make it easier.”
A mortgage is one of the cheapest forms of credit because the loan is secured on your home. If you roll all your credit card debt and personal loans, which have higher interest rates, into your mortgage, you will be able to pay off these loans at a much lower interest rate.
Your bank or a mortgage broker can advise if consolidation is possible.
If you are using your mortgage to pay for short-term spending, such as changing your car, make sure you repay the car loan part of the mortgage over a shorter term, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission advises.
A typical car loan is repaid over three to five years, whereas the mortgage term could be 20 years. If you pay for the car over 20 years, it will cost you far more in interest and you’ll be paying for it long after you have got rid of the car, says the CCPC.
Consolidating debt isn’t a get out of jail free card to be used every time you buy a car, warns Bruen, but it can provide breathing room.
Create structure
If you are doing everything from one bank account, it can be difficult to see the wood for the trees. Some people find it easier to keep a handle on their money by splitting things out.
“I have an account from which all my important direct debits go out – mortgage, car loan, insurances, things I have to pay and cannot miss,” says Bruen.
“I know exactly how much has to go into that account every month and I put it in every month as soon as I get paid. It just makes it easier to review what I’m then spending on other things,” she says.
“If you save, budget and spend, all in the one account, it makes it really difficult to keep track. Have one account from which all your direct debits come, one for saving, and one for general spending, allocating money to each,” she says.
Give any savings a specific purpose too, says Dundon. The important thing is to map out some goals.
“Ask yourself, do I want to try to start an emergency fund; pay a bit extra off my mortgage; or reduce my tax bill by contributing to my pension,” he says.
Don’t spend next January wondering where your money went. Putting some structure on your finances now can set you up for a stronger financial year ahead.
You can contact us at OnTheMoney@irishtimes.com with personal finance questions you would like to see us address. If you missed the last newsletter on managing credit card spending by Siobhán Maguire, you can read it here