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Twelve Months to Financial Fitness
The Money Minute is brought to you by Mary Hurlburt, the Director of Community Outreach.
January 1, 2009
Oh, how boring the New Year’s Resolution has become! So this year, let’s forget the usual hard-to-keep resolutions and instead, try to improve our situations or our “financial fitness” one step, or month, at a time. It normally takes three weeks for something to become a habit. This system allows you four!
None of these suggestions are new. Just try each one for one month and see if you can make it a habit.
January: Know where you stand. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to obtain your free credit report. Correct any errors you find.
February: Write down every penny you spend this month. Now take a hard look at this list to discover your financial pitfalls. Then work on modifying each one, one at a time, until the new money-saving-behavior (such as making coffee at home instead of going out for it) becomes a habit.
March: Establish one or two financial goals and set a due date for each one.
April: Begin building a rainy day fund. Start by saving half your tax refund. Go to www.americasaves.org to learn how to become a serious saver.
May: Plan all the spending you’ll do this month, and then stick to the plan!
June: It’s budget-making time! You now have the tools. Create one!
July: Develop a plan for paying down your credit card debt.
August: Start balancing your checkbook.
September: Concentrate on paying all your bills on time—every time!
October: If you’re carrying balances on your credit cards, stop charging.
November: Plan your holiday spending. Use cash only or buy gift cards with the cash and use them.
December: Think retirement. Sign up for your company’s 401K plan or start an IRA.
If all these become “habit” by the end of the year, we’ll all be in a much better place financially by 2010!
