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Finance doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. In fact, most of it is fairly simple.
The tasks below will help you improve your finances in less than 30 minutes, so no excuses!
1. Call your credit card companies (if you have revolving debt)
If you have revolving credit card debt (a balance carried from month to month) then it is worth your time to call each credit card company and ask if they can offer a lower interest rate or have any promotions available to you for that card
Ideally, you don’t want revolving credit card debt, but while you’re working on paying it off you can save A LOT of money by reducing your interest rate.
The credit card companies aren’t going to offer it to you themselves because obviously they lose money. Most people don’t realize you can just call and ask.
If you’ve been a long-term customer and paying your debts on time, they should be able to offer your something, at least temporarily.
When I had credit card debt, I did this and 3 out of my 4 cards were able to lower the rate!
ANOTHER option is to ask for a credit limit increase in order to increase your credit score. However, if you do this DO NOT charge more on the card.
If you are able to increase your credit limit and decrease your total owed, your utilization rate will decrease and your score will increase.
Usually you don’t even have to call the company for the second one, you can request it through your online account.
2. Cancel unnecessary subscriptions/services
Do you have a gym membership that you haven’t used in months? Amazon Prime? Phone apps with a monthly fee? Streaming services that you barely use?
Go ahead and cancel them now.
Check your bank statements to see if you may have missed anything and plug that leak.
3. Shop for better rates
When it comes to insurance premiums and other services (cable, phone, wi-fi, etc.) there are dozens of options.
It can be easy to get comfortable with your current provider, but you may be missing out on something better.
Browse the internet for better rates or promo offers for your health, life, vision, dental, car, and home insurance plans. As well as your other services.
Make a list of the best options and then make a plan to cancel and switch.
For example, my family recently switched from Sprint to Verizon. We’re now saving more on our phone plan each month AND we got a $350 rebate per line!
4. Check your credit report
Not just your credit score!
Go to annualcreditreport.com (a government mandated website) and check your report. Your report goes into more detail of each of your accounts that are open AND closed. Plus you’ll see information on who/when your report was pulled.
Scan things through and ensure that things look correct.
5. Set up auto pay/savings
If you’re someone who is forgetful or if you want just one less thing to think about, then set up auto pay on your bills.
Also, go ahead and set up auto savings so that you’re saving a specific dollar amount or percentage each week/month.
Aim to increase your savings rate as time goes!
6. Set money goals for yourself
Setting goals is so fun!
You can think about/plan where you want to be financially in 1 year, 3 years, and even 10 years.
When you set goals, you can then create a plan and this will help you determine what you need to do to get there.
Common money goals:
- Become debt free (or pay off $x,xxx of debt)
- Save $x,xxx for a down payment on a home
- Buy a used car in full
- Max out your Roth IRA or 401K
Setting goals gives you something to work toward that is important to you.
7. Pay off extra debt
If you have some extra cash right now, avoid the temptation to spend it by making an extra debt payment instead.
You can do this in just a couple of minutes and you’ll make instant progress!
Now, I take part in Transfer Tuesday in which I make a debt payment at least once a week. This has been keeping me very motivated because I make progress all the time now.
If you don’t have debt, you could invest instead!
8. Create a debt progress tracker
I LOVE my debt trackers. They’re so motivating and fun to fill in.
I have multiple debt trackers so that I can see them regularly which keeps me motivated and on track.
You can create your own by hand (look for ideas on Pinterest or Google search) or you could print some awesome free ones from DebtFreeCharts.com!
9. Track your spending from last month
Add up all your spending from at least the last month.
If you don’t already track your spending, this will show you where your money is going.
From there you can determine your problem areas and create a budget that works for you.
You may think you’re being wise with your money, but you may not notice how much you’re spending on clothes or food out each month. Once you do this, make a habit of tracking regularly!
10. Educate yourself
Most people were not educated in finance throughout school or by their parents/peers.
Instead of scrolling through social media for 30 minutes, spend that time educating yourself in finance.
There are millions of resources online where you can learn about saving, investing, paying off debt, and more financial tips.
YouTube, blogs, podcasts, and books are all great resources.
What would you add to this list? Do you plan on doing any of these?? Let me know!
