Financial fitness: how to take Action

Like physical fitness, financial fitness is a lifestyle choice. Consistent actions that build positive money management habits lead to financial wellness. Below are eight financial management categories. Listed in each category are action items to increase and improve financial fitness in that area. Choose at least one of the suggestions below to take a step toward improving your personal financial fitness.
Example: If I want to improve my credit score, I may choose to work on one of the credit tasks like accessing my free credit report.
CALL TO ACTION: Write down your choice and set a deadline to complete your task within two-weeks. Share your success with someone close to you, work as a team with your spouse if applicable. 

• Budgeting: track your expenses for one month, thoroughly research your next major purchase, set an amount for a personal allowance each month, create a grocery budget, set an entertainment budget and stick to it.
• Emergency Savings: set up a separate account for your emergency savings, set up a monthly, automatic transfer to an emergency savings account, commit to a small amount monthly to go towards emergency savings, set a goal to have $1,000 in your emergency savings by a specific date.
• Debt: make a list of all of your current debt payments and the total amount owed, differentiate between your “good” debt and “bad” debt, set a goal to pay off credit card debt by a certain date, commit to not take on any more debt until one of your current debts is paid off.
• Live Within Your Means: differentiate between your wants and your needs by making a list of each, brainstorm ways to increase your income, review your housing costs-are you overpaying for space you don’t need?, find an area in your monthly spending where you could cut back, practice financial gratitude.
• Retirement Savings: determine what kind of lifestyle you would like to have during retirement, set up a regular, automatic contribution to a retirement plan, take advantage of matching retirement contributions from your employer if available.
• Credit Score: request your free copy of your credit report at annualcreditreport.com, review your credit report and dispute any errors if needed, set a goal to make the minimum payments on all of your debts, on time, stay below 30% of your credit limit on your credit cards.
• Insurance Coverage: evaluate your insurance needs, compare prices for auto insurance to see if you can save money, check to make sure your beneficiary information is current.
• Financial Goals: create a vision board of a financial goal, set a goal for what you want your financial situation to look like in one year, set a long-term financial goal, share a financial goal with a family member or friend who can support you.
• Other: Determine what step you need to take to improve your own financial health.

These categories coincide with the Financial Wellness Wheel, a tool to help you evaluate your current financial health. Read more about the Financial Wellness Wheel here.