9 Smart Financial Moves You Should Make This January
The start of a new year brings the chance to improve your financial health. After weeks of spending your hard-earned cash on gifts and holiday decorations, it’s only right that you should start some healthy habits. Set yourself up for 2018 right and watch your finances skyrocket. Here are 9 smart money moves that you should make this January.
1. Check Your Credit Score
By finding out your credit score, you’ll see the bigger picture of your wealth. Knowing your credit score is the first step you can take to improving it, and the best way to find out is by using Credit Sesame. This free service offers credit score tracking and explains exactly how you can improve your credit. You’ll also get $50,000 in identity theft insurance when you sign up for a free account.
2. Quit the Gym
This piece of advice probably wasn’t what you were expecting, right? But let’s face it, those who try to get in shape as part of their New Year’s Resolution probably go to the gym just 3 times in January. Then, only after they’ve bought brand new gym gear, they will decide that they hate it and then get stuck paying $40 per month for the rest of the year.
If this situation sounds familiar, you need to quit the gym. Resist the flattery of the attractive trainers who will try to convince you to stay, and think of all the money you’ll be saving. The average $40 monthly gym membership is actually $480 per year that you are wasting. Once you’ve quit the gym, find a cheaper way to work out like running around the park or YouTube yoga. All this money that you are freeing up can go straight to your saving account, or pay down any debts that you have.
3. Automate Your Savings
The best way to make sure you save money every month is to set up payments that go automatically to your savings account. It takes willpower out of the equation, and you’ll be saving every single month without doing anything. Choose the payment date to come out of your account the day after you get your salary. If you don’t have a separate savings account, open one as soon as you can. If it’s high-yield, even better.
4. Build Up Your Emergency Fund
If you live paycheck to paycheck and are worried about falling into your overdraft, you need to create an emergency fund that you can use if you spend a little too much. This is money that stays in your current account or a separate one if you’re willpower isn’t great. A good amount to keep is roughly one paycheck’s worth of cash. It’ll take a little time to build up your emergency fund, but once you do you won’t have to worry about not having enough money. It’s also a great weapon to use against unforgiving overdraft fees.
