Spring Clean Your Finances
Get Organized and Make Your Money Work Smarter
Spring cleaning doesn’t just apply to your home. Taking time to evaluate and organize your finances can give a breath of fresh air into your financial wellness. Here are some tips to get started:
UPDATE YOUR BUDGET
One of the best ways to save money is by updating your budget regularly to ensure you are keeping track of any new income, bills, or miscellaneous costs. Review your online accounts and monthly statements to create your list of expenses and credits. Following the 50/30/20 rule, you can adjust your budget to ensure you set aside 50% of your income toward bills and necessities, 30% for your wants such as entertainment or travel, and the remaining 20% for your savings. You can use the budget tool in SLFCU’s mobile banking app to create a budget and track your expenses from your phone.
ORGANIZE YOUR DOCUMENTS
A big part of spring cleaning is sorting through paperwork and organizing your documents to make things easier to locate. You can shred items like receipts you don’t need, bills you’ve already paid, and credit card offers. However, be careful to keep receipts related to business expenses, home renovations, or other paperwork that you may need for tax or recordkeeping purposes.
Records and items you should store for a longer period include tax documents, titles, deeds, and medical records. Other items that should be kept include Social Security cards, birth certificates, marriage licenses, and death certificates. These types of documents should be stored in a secure location like a safe deposit box.
SLFCU is hosting a Shred Event on June 17 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at our Juan Tabo and Cottonwood branches. Appropriate shred items for these events include documents that contain personal information, with a limit of two Bankers Boxes (or similarly sized boxes) of shred material per member. Only paper can be shredded (no folders or media).
CONSOLIDATE CREDIT CARD DEBT
If you have outstanding debts across multiple credit cards, you can save money and reduce your debt by consolidating them into a single payment. With a credit card balance transfer, you can move the amount you owe on high interest rate credit cards to a card with a lower rate. SLFCU’s Visa Platinum® Value credit card offers our lowest credit card rate with no annual or balance transfer fees.
MOVE YOUR MONEY
Having multiple accounts across several credit unions or banks can make it difficult to access your money or pay bills on time. You can make SLFCU your primary financial institution by setting up direct deposit to ensure your money is easily accessible. Additionally, you can enroll in online banking, set up recurring payments, and sign up for eStatements to streamline your finances.
You can also take advantage of SLFCU’s new Power Money Market Account as another way to earn money while saving for a big purchase, such as a down payment on a home or a vacation. Earn up to 3.04% APY (Annual Percentage Yield) on your first $2,500 deposit, and use our financial calculator to see how much you can earn with this new money market account.
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