As we get back on schedule after the holidays, it’s time to face 2017 head-on! Here are five tips for 2017 to help you on the path to financial wellness this year.
- Open a separate savings account to force yourself to build an emergency savings fund. Make it separate from your main financial institution, with no ATM card, so you will be forced to go into a branch to withdraw money.
- Educate yourself. Check out some books on personal finance or subscribe to a magazine or personal finance blog.*
- Pull your credit score and report. A good way to start the year is to find out exactly where you stand financially. Download your credit report (one free each year from each of the three main reporting bureaus) at www.annualcreditreport.com.
- Plan ahead. Get in the habit each night of preparing for the next day: Packing lunches, prepping breakfast and dinner. That way you will not be tempted to buy convenience food on the run, because you are rushed.
- Unsubscribe. Remove the temptation of impulse buying online by unsubscribing from retail email. This can take some time, but, ultimately, you will save time and money by not being bombarded with emails “deals”, tempting you to buy.
WEBINAR: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SPENDING
*If one of your goals is to better educate yourself on understanding your spending practices, we have a new webinar available: “The Psychology of Spending – Why We Buy”. Led by GreenPath Education Manager Amy Parten, it’s 25-minutes long and covers advertising, spending habits and social factors, we all encounter, while shopping online or at the mall.
GreenPath Financial Service
GreenPath, A Financial Resource
If you’re interested in building healthy financial habits, paying down debt, or saving for what matters most, take a look at these free financial tools.
