Posted On: March 29, 2022 by Farmers Trust & Savings Bank in: Money Management
Tips to Strengthen Your Finances
Setting financial goals — whether it’s saving more for retirement or paying off a debt that’s been weighing you down — can be one of the most important commitments you can make. Whatever your financial goal is, take some time this month to develop a plan on how you can achieve it.
Following are five tasks you can complete this month that will help you strengthen your financial situation:
- Update your budget. Set aside time to examine your budget and decide what needs to be updated. Look at all debts and expenses, as well as amounts you want to spend for food, entertainment and savings.
- Make a plan to eliminate at least one debt by year-end. Decide on at least one debt that you will pay off by the end of the year, and make a plan to achieve it. If you do not have a debt that you can realistically pay off by the end of the year, make a plan to reduce at least one debt by paying more than the minimum monthly amount.
- Eliminate one expense. Review your budget and decide what you can do without. Choose at least one expense that you can reduce or eliminate completely. If you make daily trips to your local coffee shop, cut out one day per week. If you have a streaming service or magazine subscription you’re not using regularly, cancel it. These small changes can add up quickly.
- Save more. The more you can put away now, the faster it will add up. Taking the coffee shop example from above, rather than spending approximately $4 a day on coffee, consider putting $4 per day into savings.
- Review your credit report. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com to order a free credit report from each of the credit reporting agencies. Review your reports to ensure there are no mistakes in your credit history and to protect yourself from identity theft.
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