Six Tasks That Can Help You Feel Better About Your Money

Not surprisingly, saving or earning more money was among Americans’ top New Year’s resolutions for 2024, according to a YouGov poll. Most people have probably already broken that by now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still try to save more money this year. And you’re more likely to succeed if you try to make small and gradual changes and find little ways to make big impacts.

For example, try writing down everything you spend every day for a week or a month. You’ll probably find that even something as small as a $3 cup of coffee can add up to a big expense when multiplied across a month or an entire year.

Below are a few tips to consider for helping you save more money this year. They may seem obvious, but they are too often overlooked.

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1. Make a budget.

No matter how simple it is, any set budget can help you save money in your everyday life. Those savings can be used to meet long-term goals like buying a home or paying down debt.

But just setting a budget isn’t enough — you need to put effort into staying on track. In addition to keeping tabs on day-to-day expenses and income, a good budget should also include expenses that can be easily forgotten, such as annual car registration fees, holiday gifts or morning coffee runs.

A good tip for establishing a budget is to use the 50/30/20 rule — 50% for needs (such as housing, automotive and health care expenses), 30% for wants (like entertainment) and 20% for savings, investments and debt repayments. If you can allocate more than 20% of your income to savings and investments, you will be in a better position over the long term.

Writing down your activity in a journal can help you stay on track, and you can also utilize spreadsheets and budgeting apps. In addition, a family member or close friend who is aware of your budgeting goals can help keep you on track by holding you accountable.

2. Contribute to an emergency fund.

Would you be able to cover an unexpected $1,000 medical expense for yourself or your child, or pay for a new water heater when the old one suddenly breaks down? If not, you’re not alone; many Americans would be unable to meet these types of emergency expenses.

That’s why creating an emergency fund is so vital for your financial well-being. A useful rule is to calculate how much money you would need to cover three to six months of household expenses and use that as a target amount for your emergency fund.

3. Make a plan for managing debt.

Debt doesn’t have to be something inherently shameful. It isn’t necessarily your enemy. Just like when dieting, there are good calories and bad calories. Spending money is actually a normal and healthy occurrence, and at the end of the day, not all debt is bad for you. The problem arises when you don’t pay it back on time.

Without a formalized plan for managing debt, you can incur greater expenses by making minimum payments on your credit cards and paying more each month than necessary. Or you may unnecessarily max out your credit cards altogether — hurting your credit score on top of spending more.

A debt consolidation loan through a trusted platform like Prosper can help you pay down high-interest credit card debt by combining the debts into a single loan with a fixed payoff schedule. You may also prefer to start off repaying small balances and then work up to paying off larger ones.

4. Stop paying for subscriptions you don’t use and shop around for those you do.

How many subscriptions do you have? From streaming services to gym memberships, monthly subscriptions can add up quickly. According to Deloitte’s 2023 Digital Media Trends survey, almost half of U.S. consumers believe they pay too much for streaming video on demand services, and about one-third of U.S. consumers plan to reduce the number of such services they use.

Even individual monthly payments of $10 or $20 for services you don’t use that much can add up to hundreds of dollars per year. Check all of your credit card, debit card and spending accounts like Venmo for regular charges. There are also services that can do this for you.

Besides considering whether a subscription service is worth the cost, you can shop around to find a less expensive service. Or, just as you can negotiate directly with creditors on payment schedules, you can also negotiate directly with service providers to find ways to cut their subscription rates.

5. Avoid overusing credit cards.

Credit cards are extremely beneficial tools. If you are new to credit cards, you can build up your credit score and potentially benefit from rewards as you pay off your purchases. But those with high credit limits can encourage you to live beyond your means. Minimum payments generally cover only the interest on credit card bills, and when credit card debt is stacked on top of automotive or student loans, the burden can be very heavy.

Credit cards with low-balance transfer interest rates and strong rewards programs can help you reduce your credit card balances.

If you’re looking to take control of your money, companies like Prosper have credit cards that welcome less-than-perfect credit, with no security deposit required, and offer generous credit lines you can access immediately.

6. Check your credit reports regularly.

Your credit profile can be accessed by lenders, landlords, potential employers and others — and any errors or ugly surprises can cause you to lose out on that dream purchase, a new apartment or the job you’ve always wanted.

You are entitled to free credit reports once a year from the three main credit bureaus (and you can easily request them at www.annualcreditreport.com). Just because everything looked fine last year doesn’t mean you should forget about reviewing your credit report this year. Any errors that you notice must be dealt with as soon as possible.

Just because your New Year’s resolution to save more money and improve your financial well-being this year might have collapsed already, the above tips are easy to adopt to get you back on track, and luckily, they don’t require massive changes to your daily life.

The Prosper Credit Card is an unsecured credit card issued by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard® International.

All personal loans made by WebBank.

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