Financial New Year’s Resolutions
Four Financial New Year's Resolutions for 2024
1. Start an Emergency Fund
Life can be unpredictable, which is why having an emergency fund is so important. It’s often recommended that you have three to six months' worth of expenses saved away in the event of an emergency.
2. Check Your Credit Score
Check your score from each of the three main credit bureaus in 2024 – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You can check your score from each bureau for free once a year. Checking your score can tell you where your credit stands, ensure that your credit information is accurate, allow you to respond to changes quickly, and give insight on how it can be improved.
3. Try the 52-Week Money Challenge
If you often give up on financial resolutions because you’re not seeing immediate results, try the 52-week money challenge. You start by saving away $1.00 during the first week of the year, gradually increasing your savings by a dollar each week throughout 2024. You’ll save away $2.00 during the second week, $3.00 in the third week, and ultimately saving away $52.00 in the last week of the year. By the end of the year, if you complete the challenge, you’ll have saved $1,378.00.
4. Do Your Taxes Early
If you traditionally wait until the last minute to file your taxes, make it a goal to do so earlier. As many people tend to procrastinate, you can get your refund much sooner. Also, filing early can help prevent identity theft. As soon as a criminal gets access to your Social Security Number, they can do a lot of damage. If they file with your Social Security number before you do, the IRS will decline your return since their records show you’ve already been paid. It can take months to clear this up with the IRS. If you can, file your taxes early and prevent the fraudsters from successfully filing a fraudulent return.
Disclaimer: Any reference made in this blog to a specific product, process, or service does not constitute or imply an endorsement by Connected Credit Union of the product, process, or service, or its producer or provider.
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