The days between the beginning of the new year and the renewal that arrives with springtime often have people thinking about ways they can improve their lives through everyday routines. We have many routines that help us stay on track with our health, schedules, sleep, and much more. Now is also a great time to build healthy habits and support yourself financially.
Here are a few goals and tips to work into your financial routine.
Pay yourself first.
This means making a habit of setting aside money every time you receive income. By paying yourself first, you create a routine that builds savings and helps you reach your short-term and long-term financial goals. Opening a savings account is the first step. From there, you can set up a portion of your direct deposit to distribute automatically to savings.
Watch your spending.
Collect your receipts daily and set them aside to review once each month. This allows you to see how much you spend – and on what. Evaluate what purchases you make, what is being spent on true needs, and how much you spend on things you want. During this process, determine what of your spending can be cut to set aside toward other goals.
Set micro-goals.
Even $6 saved each day by having your coffee at home is a great starting point. Making your lunch to take to work, cooking more, and combining errands to spend less on gas can all benefit your savings long-term.
Review statements.
It may be tempting to toss them aside, but every time you receive a statement, read through it to evaluate balances and check for errors. This is also a great way to catch automatic charges for things you may have forgotten about, such as memberships or subscriptions you may want to cancel.
Pay down debt.
Speaking of goals, here is where your improved financial routines will truly make a difference. Now that you have begun setting aside more savings automatically and are identifying ways to cut spending, it is time to put a dent in any high-interest debt, such as credit card balances. If you have multiple credit cards with balances, choose one and use Bill Pay in online banking to set up automatic payments for more than the minimum. Once that account has been paid off, shift this strategy toward paying off any others. The same applies to other types of debt, such as personal or student loans.
As always, your friends at Magnolia are here to help you create better financial routines, so please let us know how we may help you! Call us at (800) 997-7919 for assistance.