Financial Focus: New Year’s financial resolutions you can keep
By Craig Elder on January 21, 2023.
A new year usually brings New Year’s resolutions and most of us keep them only in the short term. When it comes to personal finances the same thing usually occurs. Most resolutions are hard to keep because they are unrealistic or hard to do. So how do you ensure that you keep them? Make them simple. 1. Pay Yourself First With today’s tech it’s really easy to set up automatic payments from your bank account to your investment accounts. We all have bills to pay but the first person you should pay before everyone else is you! Even if it’s $10 bucks a pay check, the priority of paying yourself first can really add up. 2. Pay Bills on Time Paying bills on time is a key element that contributes to your credit score and being more attractive to a lender when you need to borrow funds. It’s not just about paying your credit card bill but also your utility, phone and internet bill. 3. Create a Budget When cash flow gets tight as costs go up it’s helpful to create a budget to really know where your spending is going. By setting up a budget you see what costs are necessary and where you are spending dollars you may not need to spend anymore. 4. Try Not to Carry a Credit Card Balance This may seem like a hard one. It is quite common for individuals to carry credit card debt. But as credit card debt is unsecured debt, so is an unsecured line of credit. The difference in carrying debt on a credit card versus a line of credit is primarily the rate of interest you will pay. If you can qualify for a credit card you can usually qualify for an unsecured line of credit. Again, your credit rating has an impact on being able to qualify. 5. Protect Your Financial Information In today’s online world most of us are using online banking. Many financial institutions now have two factor verification systems to protect access to your information from unauthorized attempts to access. The unfortunate things is many still aren’t using these security protocols to add another layer of protection. If you haven’t set up two factor verification start today. Resolutions can be hard to keep. But if you feel you need to get a better grip on your financial well-being this year. This tips are a good place to start. A. Craig Elder, CFP, FMA, CIM, FCSI, is a Senior Portfolio Manager and Wealth Advisor with Elder & Punko Wealth Advisors of RBC Dominion Securities Inc. in Medicine Hat. Source material provided by RBC Wealth Management. RBC Dominion Securities is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. For more information on this and other financial strategies, contact Craig at craig.elder@rbc.com or 403-504-2723. http://www.elderpunkowealth.ca 16-15
