4 ways to manage your financial health

If your income has been affected – through losing your job, losing business or being offered fewer hours – you may be worried about covering your monthly costs. But support is available.

We're helping customers get through this period in a number of ways. For example, payment holidays, which let customers pause their mortgage, or deferred credit card or personal loan repayments, can provide some breathing space.

We've also set up a range of initiatives to help you manage your finances more effectively, including:

• third party transfer limit increase
• higher purchase limits and daily ATM cash withdrawals
• refunds on cash withdrawals and balance enquiries made using HSBC ATM/debit cards, at non-HSBC ATMs through the UAE and GCC, since 15 March 2020
• Zoom video conferencing with your Premier Relationship manager

Read more about all our initiatives on the Stay Connected page.

We can also offer help with financial planning, including saving for retirement, your children's education, or protection for yourself and your family.

The temporary restrictions on how we live may, for some, mean a significant change to spending habits. 

You may find your outgoings will change during this period. Of course this will be different for everyone, but it could mean a pause in commuting costs, or eating out, for example.

You may find you're saving money in some areas but, if you need to make further changes, there are things you can do to cut back. For example, review existing Direct Debits and standing orders to see if there are any you can pause or cancel during this period. Before you cancel anything, check that it won't cause you to miss any owed payments, under the terms of a contract, for example.   

If you're trying to minimise any further outgoings, ask yourself a few questions before spending money:

• do you need it?
• will you use it?
• can you afford it?
• is it worth it?

If your income has fallen, it may be harder to cover your outgoings even after cutting back. Creating a budget that looks at your income and expenses can help you get a clear picture of your finances.

If you're struggling to cover your short-term outgoings, an overdraft through your current account may help. Keep in mind, you may be charged interest for using an overdraft and you'll need to pay back what you borrow.

If your income has been permanently affected, you might want to speak to your bank about other options.

But if your income has not been impacted and you're able to make savings as a result of changes to your budget, think about where to store any money you put aside. 

You might want to keep it separate from your main account, especially if you're earmarking the money for something in particular. That could be rebooking a holiday when the time comes, building an emergency fund, or saving towards another goal.

Read our guide on how to save money for more on this.

It's important to remember that investing is for the long term.

The rise and fall of financial markets is part and parcel of investing. Fluctuations in the market can happen for a number of reasons, including current events. Although nothing is certain, throughout history, markets which have fallen have had a habit of bouncing back over time.

For more details, visit our Wealth Insights hub. If you have investments with us, you'll be able to access and manage them online.

If you usually do your banking in a branch, there are plenty of ways to look after your money digitally.

With online and mobile banking you can:

• send money
• pay your bills
• check your account balance
• view your transaction history

Online and mobile banking are simple and secure ways to bank, allowing you to manage your money from home.