Michelle Stevens is a deputy editor at Finder, specialising in banking, finance and mortgages. She has a journalism degree from the University of Sheffield and has been a journalist for more than 10 years, writing on topics including fintech, payment systems and retail. Michelle was the editor of business publications FStech and Retail Systems, and prior to that was a senior writer at People Management magazine. She is often quoted in national media on the subject areas of banking and mortgages. In her spare time, Michelle likes to travel, explore new foodie experiences and attempt to improve her own culinary skills.
Expertise
- Banking
- Mortgages
- Fintech
- Payments
- Retail
Experience
- Author of five Finder white papers on business accounts, credit cards, retail trends, children's spending accounts and business loans
- Responsible for the UK awards programme of Customer Satisfaction Awards and Innovation Awards at Finder
- Former editor of the business publications FStech and Retail Systems
- Former chair of the FStech Awards, Retail Systems Awards and Payments Awards
- Over a 12-year journalism career, interviewed key executives across the financial, payments and retail sectors, as well as government ministers and senior public sector figures
- Quoted in the national press as a spokesperson on banking and mortgages
- Highly commended for journalism work at both the Santander Media Awards and Willis Towers Watson Media Awards
Education
- Bachelor of Arts, Journalism Studies | University of Sheffield
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Industry insights from Michelle Stevens
We asked Michelle to share some of her latest money management and banking tips.
How can people budget more effectively?
Many banking apps will now alert you when payments go out of your account and they have tools to keep track of how much you have spent that day, week or month, and on what, giving you an extra layer of insight into your spending habits. Try and set yourself a budget for the week, and you could use either your banking app or a specialist budgeting app like Money Dashboard or Emma to keep on top of that target, by tracking your weekly outgoings or setting up notifications for when you’re about to go over your allocated spending amount for that week.
When is it worth switching your current account and how easy is it to do?
It can be worth switching your current account to a new banking provider to take advantage of any cash switching incentives on offer, or to use any new account features that you think will be beneficial to you, such as cashback on bills. You can easily switch current accounts in the UK using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS). The vast majority of banks are signed up to this scheme. You instruct your new banking provider that you want to switch your current account to them, and then it takes care of the whole process. Your new account is opened, your old account is closed, and any regular incoming payments (such as your salary) and outgoing payments (such as direct debits) are automatically moved over for you, along with your account balance. The service is free and guaranteed to take place within the 7 working days leading up to your chosen switch date.
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