7 Tips for Improving Your Financial Health
1. Talk to your parents about their financial history.
Most families have financial history with ups and downs - that’s very normal. Asking your family about their financial past, present, and future is a great way to learn valuable and practical savings tips, and helps to identify short and long-term savings goals.
Pro-tip: Always live below your means. Just because you have the money to spend, doesn’t mean you should. Get your basic needs and payments made and stash the rest away!
2. Take a financial class or workshop.
Financial education is key to understanding how to manage your money. Becoming financially literate helped me with the following:
· Creating a budget.
· Paying off debt.
· Managing school loans.
· Establishing a savings account.
· Making wiser spending decisions.
Pro-tip: Search for financial classes offered by your local community college or complete courses online, or stop by your local credit union to see if they have any resources.
3. Speak with a financial counselor.
You don’t need a big reason to speak with a financial counselor.
Together Investment and Retirement Services offers free consultations with financial advisors for our members to help them develop an initial plan and discuss your future financial goals. You can schedule a free consultation and get started today.
4. Take a deeper dive on your monthly spending.
Budget reviews usually happen when a big milestone moment in your life happens, such as planning for a wedding, moving in with a partner, or getting ready for a new addition in the family to arrive. Just remember that you don’t need to wait for those big moments to go through your monthly expenses and see where you could save more—it’s always a good time to be better financially set.
Pro-tip: Take a look through your financial institution’s mobile app spending from the 1st through the end of the month to see what subscriptions or memberships are being charged to your account. Chances are there are some you don’t use as much anymore or forgot to cancel that can save you money instantly.
5. Shop rates once a year to make sure you’re getting the best deal.
A lot of consumers don’t realize when their credit score improves or they pay down on their loans, that it could mean being eligible for lower rates on items such as home or auto insurance. Even most credit card interest rates can be negotiated.
Shop around on competitor’s websites to see what the current rates are with the credit score you have today, and see if it’s comparable or better than what you have now. If it is, don’t be afraid to call your provider and ask them to be open to negotiating a better deal.
6. Use a debt reduction strategy if you have high-interest debt.
The ‘Snowball Effect,’ as it is more popularly called, is looking at any high-interest debt you may have, like credit cards or personal loans and tackling those first.
Once you have paid off the debts with the highest interest, start moving down the list and take the payments you would have made on your previous debts to the next one to make larger payments.
7. Get curious about investing.
If you have a stable savings plan and have room to try a new way of growing your financial portfolio, consider looking at investment options. There are a lot of opportunities to grow personal wealth, and financial advisors can help with discovering what the best investment strategies are for you.
