Fairness questioned over stop and search numbers

Major revisions are sometimes necessary to improve finances or other aspects of life.

09:36 09 July 2013

Theresa May is campaigning for fair stop and search practices among the police force and has made her desire to see serious revisions very clear. Some areas have rates of only 9% of people arrested out of the total number of those who are stopped. She also didn’t shy away from the numbers indicating that for whatever reason those from minority ethnic groups were seven times more likely to be stopped, and urged proper training and community involvement for the police officers. Like anything in life, our finances can also need a serious revision.

Though the impacts might not seem as important as those being discussed within the police force, the reality is that you can still be affected by financial hurdles or accidental mismanagement. It happens to everyone at some point. Here are a few ideas to help you revise your finances for positive results.

• See it in writing—one of the best ways to try and get an accurate and hopefully unbiased view of your finances is to write it all down. You can get a fancy software programme or just a sheet of paper and write out your actual income and expenses to get a handle on the real financial story. What we think is happening in our budget isn’t always accurate.

 

• Develop a plan—once you’ve investigated the true numbers for your budget, you’re in a better position to analyze your finances and come up with ways to save or use your funds more effectively. You could save a little bit of money by combining trips to reduce petrol use. It might not seem like much, but it can add up during the course of the year.

 

• Create a future—even if you feel as though you have all the time in the world, contemplate your future and type of lifestyle you want, and then make the necessary changes in your finances.