2020 brought a lot for us to handle, so we’re hoping 2021 will be the best year yet! Now is the time to start thinking about the changes you want to make with yourself and your habits this year. That’s why Heartland Bank wants to offer our favorite savings resolutions to kickstart the new year.
Improve Your Credit Score
Improving your credit score will allow for a higher credit limit, better rates on loans and so much more! To do this, work on creating a plan to pay off any current debt on your card. Think of what you can afford to pay off each month until you’re at $0 – while also factoring in any other expenses that will be put on the card while you’re paying it off. Once you’ve done this, be sure to set reminders on your phone or app to know when to pay at least the minimum balance on time. Paying late harms your score. Lastly, if you already have one or more credit cards, don’t open any more and/or close a card you no longer use. The length of time you’ve had your newest card plays into your overall credit score as well, so you don’t want more new cards until you have your debt paid off and make payments on time.
Build an Emergency Fund
People may think that they have money in their savings or checking account, so they don’t need an emergency fund. But what if your car were to breakdown or your furnace stopped working? That’s more than a few hundred dollars to fix which will make a large dent in your account. Then, all of sudden, you realize you have very little money in your Savings or Checking account and now need to figure out how to pay for your mortgage and car payment, as well as gas, groceries and utilities. This is why it’s important to have an emergency fund – that way, you know exactly what you have in your other accounts and have specific money set aside for emergencies.
Pay Off Debt
You don’t need to pay off all debt this year, as that’s unrealistic. You do, however, need to start a plan of attack to get on track with your payments on what you owe. When it comes to your mortgage, continue to make your normal payments. For other debts, like credit card debt, student loans, car payments and so on, work on seeing what you can put towards those each month and see if you can increase payments anywhere. Starting with your smallest debt can be a place to begin.
Create a Budget
Once you start writing down what you spend every month on every little thing, you will start to see how much money is going out of your account. By sitting down and going over your expenses, you’ll be able to see what you should cut or begin to limit. Then, you can come up with a realistic budget to work on sticking to each month which will help leave you extra money to spend on paying off your debt or putting in your emergency fund!
These are just a few ways you can start to save this year and help put yourself on the track to financial success. If you need a savings account to store your emergency fund, open one with us today!