Every year, we see lists of the most popular resolutions for the New Year in popular magazines. It’s no surprise to see “Budget money” or “Save more money” on every one of those lists. This year we want to help you tackle this resolution and create a new financial you.
Money Budgeting Tips
Saving money starts with developing a budget, and requires willpower to keep you on track. A helpful tip to reaching your goal is to set an exact amount or goal to save. Many often lose sight or feel like they will never reach their goal if there’s not an exact amount they want to save. So setting a goal at the beginning is the first step to success. Once your goal is set, improving your financial habits is a great step to save.
Improve Financial Habits
Financial habits are hard to break, but here’s a few you should consider
- Reconcile your bank accounts regularly to have a thorough understanding where your money is going. Use bank or third-party software to know what categories you’re spending your money on.
- Keep and review your receipts to make sure returned purchases are placed back on your card, or service tips are taken correctly.
- Price-match for the best purchase price since many of the popular brick and mortar or and online retailers will guarantee the lowest price. There are a number of apps for smartphones that will scan the SKU and find the lowest price for you.
- Set a budget for spending that allows for small indulgences. If you’re too strict too quickly, you’ll lose motivation and cause impulsive binge spending.
Make Money Work for You
A second way to save is to use popular banking trends to make more money:
- Cash Reward cards are king when making free money. Look for a card with an introductory 0% APR rate and the highest percentage of cash back you can find. Some offer incentives if you spend a certain amount in the first few months.
- Trade in your Cash Rewards for added value depending on your cardholder. Some cards allow you to receive an extra bonus each month for redeeming rewards for certain gift cards.
- Take advantage of new Debit or Bank Card reward programs for purchases with certain retailers.
- Use Debit or Bank Cards that round up your purchase and deposit the difference into your savings account – you may be surprised how quickly those cents add up plus you get interest.
- Trade Credit and Debit Cards for a loadable Visa or Mastercard. This way you cannot spend more than your budgeted amount, and you aren’t carrying cash.
It’s a new tax season, but you can expect the same quality service. In our commitment, we want to help you file taxes, but also with life. If you know anyone who may enjoy this information, use the share buttons above or below to spread the word. Don’t be afraid to get social with us using the buttons on the right, following or liking us gets you all sorts of awesome in your timeline or newsfeed all year long!