With a new year comes a great opportunity to protect ourselves as consumers. Currently, we are more dependant on modern conveniences and most of us are self diagnosed tech-addicts. It’s time we put our vast technology resources to use and apply what we know to help us on our money-saving journey.
- Find out your credit score
One of the most important steps in ensuring your financial protection is checking your credit report annually. The website www.annualreport.com allows users to check their score once a year without a fee. This is a good opportunity for us to look for inconsistencies or errors in our credit report. In addition, this is an effective way to guard ourselves against the threat of identity theft. Unfortunately, identity theft is becoming increasingly common in today’s cyber based society.
2. Out with the old
We all keep way too many bank statements on file. It’s important to set a time to dispose of your old statements. Some people recommend shredding them every three years. Expired credit cards should also be disposed of. Try to use a cross-cut shredder, to ensure protection against dumpster divers. Remember, your trash could be their treasure.
3. Protect your online accounts
Out of all of our online accounts, we probably share the most confidential and private information in our email. From credit card information, to old open passwords and social security numbers, we’ve all been guilty of sharing something and not realizing the potential consequences. Even the most seemingly protected email accounts get hacked. If Hillary Clinton can have her emails hacked, so can we. Instead of doing damage control after the important private information is in the wrong hands, it’s time we invest in the preventative side of email security.
Use a service that scans your email and shows vulnerabilities like the Logdog Inbox Detective. It finds any passwords, bank account numbers, or other confidential and sensitive data sitting in your inbox that might be at risk and sends you a report for free. This is an easy-to-read report, helping you delete the vulnerable information and even tells your friend to delete the message thread as well.
- Stick to a budget
Creating and maintaining a budget is laying the foundation of good money management. When was the last time you reviewed your budget? Do you track every single purchase you make? If you tend to solely rely on remembering purchases and tracking them as mental notes, it’s time for you to set a solid budget in 2016. Use a service like Mint to help you, or even an excel spreadsheet. It pulls all your banking information and expenses into one app, helping you organize your spending and manage your budget.
If you cringe at the thought of tracking every purchase you make, I can personally recommend following the “Easiest Budget Ever” plan which has helped me get on track many times.
- Strengthen your 401(k) contribution
More than 48 percent of Americans are planning on living off of their 401(k) account after retiring. With this becoming your main source of money in the future, it’s important to make sure you’re getting the most out of yours. At least 10 to 15 percent of your salary should contribute to these savings.
To reach that percentage, set aside as much as you can toward your company’s 401(k) plan. At the minimum, be sure to contribute at least enough to get a full employer match, which is essentially free money. Another option is asking your HR department about contribution automatic increases. This would mean that your 401(k) deferral is automatically increased by a specific amount (most likely one percent) at regular intervals (annually) until you reach that savings rate.
The key to forming a better relationship with money is to start slow. By making achievable strides, you will garner the confidence you need to make significant changes this year. Do you have any special tricks or tools that help you? Please comment below, I would love to get your feedback!
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