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Forget losing weight, getting more exercise or more sleep.
Your New Year’s resolutions should focus on money.
How you save and how you spend has a huge impact on your life in the long term. Sure, staying healthy matters, but if you can’t support yourself and your family, your money stress will do a job on your health.
You don’t need a full makeover to improve your financial life. Small steps will add up over time.
Here are five financial resolutions for the new year.
If your car breaks down or your roof starts leaking, how are you going to pay for it all?
Putting unexpected expenses on a credit card is a common answer, but it’s a costly one.
Instead, start and maintain an emergency fund.
This fund should be kept in a liquid account that’s not subject to the ups and downs of the stock market. Savings accounts or money market accounts are great options, but try to limit your access to the money so you’re not tempted to raid the account for non-emergency purposes.
If you can, put your contributions on auto-pilot with funds being directed straight from your paycheck or checking account every month. This way you won’t have to think about it or be tempted to come up with an excuse to skip a monthly contribution.
How much should you save? That depends on your personal situation, but financial advisors generally recommend an amount equal to three to six months of your expenses. If your job security isn’t solid, consider saving even more.
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Yes, that’s easier said than done, but paying high-interest credit card debt can take years if you only make minimum payments.
For example, if you have a $5,000 balance on a credit card with 15 percent interest, paying the minimum will cost you $5,729 in interest over 266 months.
That’s even more than you paid for your purchases.
To find extra cash that you can direct to credit card payments, take a look at your budget. Consider cutting out your daily Starbucks (paying $5 per day over 52 weeks adds up to $1,300 a year), limiting your restaurant and other entertainment outings, and reviewing your cable and cell phone bills for ways to cut costs.
And if you get a tax refund or bonus, use it to clean off your card.
While you’re paying it down, just be sure that you don’t add to your balances.
Interest rates are rising, and that could very well mean your borrowing costs will go up, too.
If you do have a balance on your credit cards, shop around on websites like BankRate.com or CreditCards.com for low-rate offers or attractive balance transfer deals.
You can also contact your credit card company and try to negotiate for a better rate. If you’re a good customer with a steady payment history and you threaten to leave, they may offer you a better rate to keep you as a customer.
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Once you get a handle on your debt, it’s time to make sure you’re taking advantage of savings opportunities.
Start with your 401(k) or other workplace retirement plan. You can save up to $19,000 in 2019, and there’s an additional $6,000 catch-up contribution for those over age 50.
Even increasing your contributions by 1 percent will make a big difference in the long run, and it will also lower your taxable income today.
At the very least, you should save enough to take advantage of any company matching funds. Don’t leave free money on the table.
If you already save for retirement, consider saving more. You can learn more about how an IRA might work for you here.
While you have plenty of time to file your tax return, you should consider filing as early as possible.
That’s because tax refund fraud continues to be a giant problem.
Crooks who have somehow stolen your identity – think of all the data breaches we’ve seen – file returns in your name early in the tax filing season, indicating you’re due a big refund. They get the money long before you file your own return, and if you’re expecting a refund, the IRS puts a hold on everything.
The best way to combat tax refund fraud is by beating the scammers to it. File your own return as early as possible, and then if a scammer files one in your name, the IRS will stop it in its tracks.
You can read more about how this fraud works here.
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