Make Becoming Financially Fit Your Goal This Year

HOUSTON, TX — Everyone, it seems, has a goal to become better financial stewards and to start the process of becoming better prepared financially.

In fact, when it comes to New Year’s resolutions and the quest for self improvement, finding financial peace of mind is tops along with losing a few pounds.

Many Americans are concerned about the state of their personal finances, credit scores, and saving enough toward retirement, but all too often aren’t in the habit of making changes to ensure a brighter financial future.

If you’re finances are causing worry going into 2018, a list of 10 Financial Resolutions for 2018 could put you on the path to more financial security.

The Top 10 Financial Resolutions are:

• Monitor your credit: A lot of these are free, and you may find errors that you may not know were there.
• Pay your bills after you get paid: Paying your bills early or on time raises your credit score, and allows you to have the luxuries later.
• Re-Pay 20 percent of your credit card debt: It can get out of control in a hurry.
• Use the Island approach when paying with a credit card: This means you use different accounts for everyday purchases. The most basic example is using a rewards credit card for everyday purchases and a 0% APR card for balances that you’ll carry from month to month.Doing so enables you to get the best possible terms on each card, rather than settling for average terms on a single card.
• Add 1 months pay to your emergency fund: Building up some reserves should be one of the first orders of business for any financial makeover. Ultimately WalletHub recommends having at least a year’s worth of income in a reserve account. This will take time, but it’s always a good idea to start.
• Boost your credit score by 20 points: The best way to improve your credit is to maintain an open credit card account that is in good standing, and pay early.
• Become Wallet Literate: Start 2018 by taking our WalletLiteracy Quiz and getting a baseline score. Then, throughout the year, study the areas where you struggled and periodically re-test yourself to gauge your progress. Your goal should be to get at least an A- by the time 2019 rolls around.
• Get Physically Fit: Yeah, that other resolution is important, too. Not to mention you will feel better and spend less money on doctor visits.
• Make a budget and stick with it: Gather your bills from the past few months and make a list of all your recurring expenses. Then rank them in order of importance, with true necessities such as housing, food and health care obviously taking the top spots. Cut the unnecessary stuff from the bottom.
• Find a better paying job: Trading up career-wise isn’t necessarily as simple as scouring local job postings, though.You might need to consider moving in search of higher wages or a lower cost of living. Or you could go back to school to gain skills that will add to your earning potential.

The financial resolutions can become good habits, and it only takes 30 days for these practices to become good financial habits for a lifetime.

Image: Shutterstock

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