5 Money Moves to Make Today
3/23/2023
Are you looking for ways to improve your financial situation? If so, you’ve come to the right place. From creating a budget to consolidating debt, take some time out of your busy day to make some of these money moves to help get your finances on the right track.
1. Consolidate High-Interest Debt
If you have high-interest debt, such as credit cards, the payments can be overwhelming, not to mention unpredictable. Whether you have one bill or several, paying off your high-interest debt with a personal loan or Home Equity Loan may reduce the burden and save you money. With either of these options, it involves taking a new loan to pay off those high-interest debts. Regardless of the one you go with, you’ll enjoy a fixed rate that allows you to repay them over a set amount of time. In other words, your payments will be the same amount each month for the duration of the loan—no surprises like with a credit card. This strategy can also help you get out of debt faster, especially if you’re trying to pay down higher-interest debt with a variable ever-changing rate.
2. Know Your Budget
Another way to reduce your expenses is to have a clear big-picture overview of your budget for the month, you can confidently avoid overspending and build up your savings over time without painstakingly recording every transaction. To help you get started download our simple and free budgeting sheet.
3. Check Your Credit Score
A solid credit history, consistent with on-time payments, and a low debt-to-credit ratio are the keys to a higher credit score. And you’ll need a decent one if you ever want to get a loan to buy a home, rent a house or apartment, get a decent credit card, or even apply for certain jobs. In short, your credit score helps lenders, landlords, and even employers determine if you’re reliable.
A higher credit score can also open the door to the lowest available interest rate when you borrow. To track your credit score and learn ways to improve it, we encourage you to enroll in Credit IQ, a free tool that allows our members to get their daily credit score, monthly credit report, credit monitoring, and more with no impact to their credit score.
4. Save Automatically
Reaching your goals takes time and dedication, but regularly putting money aside—even in small amounts—is the best way to watch your money grow. You could also automate your savings to a set dollar amount, such as $20 a week. Over time, that $20 will add up to $1,060 in a year!
Besides setting up automatic savings transfers, you might want to also Cents to Savings. It’s a free tool we offer to members that makes it easy to make everyday purchases part of your savings plan. Each time you make a purchase with your Arkansas Federal debit card, your transaction is rounded up to the nearest dollar, and the difference is automatically put into your Arkansas Federal share savings account.
5. Take Full Advantage of your Credit Union Membership
These steps are simple, but these aren’t the only way to get on track. As a credit union member, take advantage of our free financial review anytime. We’ll walk alongside you and help you evaluate your unique financial situation. Whether you want to map out a long-term strategy or just find a way to consolidate debt, our experienced team can help get your finances into the best shape possible. Drop by your local branch or call us at 800.456.3000 today for your complimentary financial checkup and tips!
