Do you not love your financial situation right now? Do you wish you could snap your fingers and improve it?
While we don’t have a magic wand to make things happen, we do have 5 simple ways you can turn things around quickly.
With these five tips, you’ll see the light at the tunnel a lot faster than you thought possible, whether that means getting out of debt, increasing your savings, or funneling your money to other financial milestones in your life.
1. Get rid of unneeded expenses
This isn’t as hard as it sounds. Go through your bank statement (credit card statements too) and notice where you spend. Chances are you have memberships, subscriptions, and other recurring expenses you don’t need.
Cancel them. You may save yourself around $100 a month with this simple tip if you’re the membership/subscription loving type.
2. Save only in high interest accounts
APYs at your local bank are laughable. Don’t waste your time. Look online and you’ll see much higher APYs available, many with no minimum balance required. Online high-yield savings accounts are more common today as more banks jump on board.
Stick to the online-only banks because they offer the best interest rates thanks to their lack of overhead.
3. Automate your payments (and savings)
We all get busy and caught up in the craziness of life. Bills slip past us or we forget to transfer money to savings. We are only human.
Avoid this by setting up automatic bill payment and savings transfers. You’ll avoid late payments, unnecessary interest, and grow your savings account faster.
4. Check your credit report
Everyone has free access to all three credit reports annually. TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian all post different information (some may overlap). Pull each credit report at least once a year and go over it.
Look for errors, large and small. Check account balances, payment history, and even if the accounts belong to you. Mistakes happen all the time. If you don’t catch them, they could hurt your credit score quite a bit.
If you’ve changed your name or gender marker recently, make sure you’ve updated all three credit bureaus with those changes, otherwise you may end up with a partial score and history.
5. Use a rewards credit card
It seems odd to recommend using a credit card, but only do this if you will pay the balance off in full each month.
If you charge only what you’d normally buy and can pay for in cash, apply for a rewards credit card. Choose one that offers rewards you’ll use (i.e., cashback rewards, Amazon gift cards, travel rewards, etc.)
Make your regular purchases and expenditures and get rewarded for doing it!
Take Control of your Finances Today
Taking control of your finances won’t happen overnight, but with these five small changes, you’ll set the wheel in motion. Use the motivation they create to keep going – making other important changes in your financial life until you feel financially secure by having your debts under control, your savings account growing, and a plan set to reach your financial milestone goals, both short and long-term.
