Lisa Jennings
When you are at a crossroads in your finances, it’s time to rethink the ways you approach some aspects of controlling your money. US News had an article about 10 Ways to Give Your Finances a Facelift. Here are my thoughts on those 10 strategies:
- Choose a better bank. Are you paying ATM or minimum balance fees? Is your bank convenient, whether online or a physical bank? We at BankScoop think finding a new bank is easier said than done. That is why we established this site–a place for you to get honest opinions about banks, rather than ratings that only tell you if the bank is financially sound.
- Upgrade your credit card. Whether you are paying annual fees, have a high interest rate or your rewards program is just okay or nonexistent, you need to find one that matches your needs. And either rarely use it or pay it off every week (or at the least every other week). You do not want to accidentally miss a payment, which is easy to do. Don’t ever make minimum payments!
- Conquer paperwork. Remember when we were told that computers would create a paperless society? Yeah. I think it has done the opposite. But more and more companies are trying to get you to receive digital copies of your statements and nearly everything is available online. Think about what you are comfortable with regarding keeping a paper trail. Personally, I want paper copies of everything to do with retirement savings.
- Stop paying for cable. While I currently do have cable, there were many, many years we went without and were just fine. We have been thinking of getting rid of it again, in order to save money. It really is a waste of both time and money.
- Take a free vacation. We did this one year. Had almost enough airline miles on our credit card to pay for airline tickets for the whole family. It was great! Between credit card rewards, airline miles and hotel memberships there might be enough for you to have a free, or very cheap, vacation.
- Spend less on food. We already have an article on this, Five Simple Ways to Spend Less on Groceries.
- Find your number. There are online calculators to help you figure out how much money you need for retirement, and how much you should be saving each month to reach that number.
- Celebrate frugally. Throwing a party and giving a wedding gift should not hurt you financially. It’s okay to be frugal.
- Get famous. I got nothing to add to this one. You will have to click on the link below to see how to do this. I certainly have no idea!
- Protect yourself online. Don’t use the same password for every site. Come up with a formula to use for everything that incorporates the name of the site. For example: Li49*bankscoop*10sa. My name is incorporated in the first two and last two letters plus random numbers I could always use in every password, with the name of the website in the middle.
That’s my take on their list. I think of them as 10 quick personal management ideas, since some don’t directly deal with finances, but rather with personal management. If you want to see what they say about each of these, click the link below. What do you think of these 10 strategies? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Source: 10 Ways to Give Your Finances a Facelift – US News
