10 things to do to improve your finances

10 things to do to improve your finances

What’s one thing we all wish we had a little more of?  Time.  It's easy to put financial concerns on the back burner when there are dozens of competing demands on our time. The great thing is this: Many tasks that can help get you closer to managing your money take less than 10 minutes.

With that in mind, here are 10 things you can do in under 10 minutes to help improve your finances.

finances


1. Remove Yourself from Marketing Emails

Unsubscribe from those tempting retail newsletters filled with flashy photos and constant sales. They’re designed to push you into buying things you don’t really need. Once you remove yourself from those lists, you’re far less likely to make emotional or impulsive purchases you might regret later.

2.  Calculate your debt and start paying off the one with the highest interest

Grab a piece of paper, start a spreadsheet, open the Notes app on your phone or use Empower’s free financial dashboard. Begin organizing your debt by the interest rate, followed by your current balance.

While paying off debt, you don't want to get into more debt. To help pad your finances in times of need, consider setting up an emergency fund, which is typically three to six months of living expenses in a readily available account.

Once that is established, you can start paying off your highest interest dept. These are normally any debts with interest above 7%. This is typically credit card debt and sometimes even student loans.


3. Consider applying for a cash-back or travel rewards credit card

A great credit score can be a window to financial opportunity. By using a credit card responsibly (i.e., paying your bills in full on time and utilizing 30% or less of your credit limit), you can begin to increase your credit score and set yourself up for better financial opportunities.

By using a credit card with rewards, you can receive cash and travel points for purchases you'd be making regardless.


4. Negotiate your monthly bills

Depending on who you talk to, this one could take you more than 10 minutes, but it may still be worth it. Simply call your utility companies (perhaps twice every year) to chat with customer service representatives, highlighting your customer loyalty to get better rates.


5. Calculate your net worth

Your net worth is your assets minus your liabilities, basically, anything that’s of value minus your debt. Empower has a free tools for doing this easily and quickly. Knowing your net worth is a great way to see your full financial picture so you can start making moves.


6. Pay yourself first

An easy way to do this is by simply setting up direct deposits so that a portion of your paycheck gets deposited into your savings account, retirement account or a low-cost index fund. This means you are making sure you are always working toward those long-term goals, which will be a way to track when you don’t have to worry about remembering to log in and manually transfer the right amount of money each week or once a month, easier whatever the case may be.


7. Increase your retirement contributions by 1%

You may find that you can live with a slightly lower paycheck more easily than you thought. How do you feel? The confidence you experience in knowing you are taking care of your future self lounging on a beach in Cabo may thank you. If you experience this thrill, consider increasing your contribution by another 1%.


8. Reflect and goal set

One of the best things you can do to improve your finances is to reflect on your current habits and write down specific goals for the future. Start by asking yourself why you want to save, pay off debt and build wealth. After, list out specific goals with time frames for each and calculate how much money you need to save each week (or month) to help you get there.


9. Open a high-yield savings account

At your current bank, you may be earning .01% interest and your money is simply sitting in a traditional savings account. Seriously, ouch.

Your money could be working so much harder for you. By moving your money into a high-yield savings account, you can potentially quadruple your current earnings in less than 10 minutes.


10. Schedule your first money date

Once a month, schedule a time for some good old financial self-care. During this time, you’ll make a note of any mindless purchases and how you can avoid making them in the future. You’ll also spend time canceling unwanted or forgotten subscriptions, look for fraud, check your account balances in full and make sure you are advancing toward your financial goals. By using Empower’s free financial tools, you can see all of your accounts in one place, making your money date faster and more productive.

Consider picking one or two of these and trying them out this month. Notice how they make you feel, ideally more in control of your money and more confident that you’ll reach your financial goals.

 

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