Financial wellness looks different for everyone, but these steps are a great guide to get you started on your journey to improving your financial wellness. To attain financial wellness, it’s important to develop an understanding of personal finance, including budgeting, saving, credit, etc.
Tracking your expenses and being aware of your spending habits is the first step to improving your Financial Wellness. By writing down your daily/weekly/monthly spending habits, you can get a visual of where your money is going. You can also use our mobile app to get a better understanding of where your money is going on a day-to-day basis. This will enable you to make better financial decisions and avoid overspending.
Write down and design short-term and long-term spending goals. After you get a visual of spending habits you can then create goals you would like to achieve, such as paying off credit card debt, purchasing a new car or going on a relaxing vacation. Having specific goals in mind can help you stay motivated!
After creating your goals, it is also important to create an emergency fund. Unfortunately, things happen when you least expect it, but you can be prepared for those unexpected expenses by depositing money into a separate account. By creating an emergency fund account and setting up automated transfers, you can easily transfer a fixed amount out of your paycheck.
When creating a budget it is good to keep in mind the 50/30/20 Budgeting Rule. This rule recommends putting 50% of your money towards Needs, 30% of your money towards Wants, and 20% of your money towards Savings.
Your budget can be designed to fit your unique financial needs. The 50/30/20 Budgeting Rule is a great guideline to follow when creating your unique budget. See below a list of examples of Needs, Wants and Savings:
Needs can include: Housing, bills, groceries, transportation, utilities, insurance, etc.
Wants can include: Vacations, restaurants, concerts, movies, entertainment, shopping, monthly subscriptions, etc.
Savings can include: Cash savings, emergency funds, retirement, investments, and other savings goals
Understanding your credit is another step you can take to achieve Financial Wellness. There are many factors that go into your credit and a healthy credit history is crucial to your financial wellness. Building your credit is the first step. You can do this by opening a credit card, such as our Premium Rewards Credit Card, and maintaining a responsible relationship with your cards.
Your credit score is an important factor in improving your financial wellness. A credit score ranges from 300 to 850. The higher your score, the better your creditworthiness. Your creditworthiness will be important when you obtain a credit card, finance a car or when you take out a loan for big purchases. You can easily monitor your credit score using Credit Sense found in your mobile app. It is also important to keep an eye on your cards and monitor them against fraudulent or suspicious activity. By guarding your credit cards, you can protect your credit history, and you can easily use our PFCU Protect right from your mobile device!
We are here to support you in your financial journey. That’s why we offer products and services designed to help you achieve your unique goals. Talk to your local MEP today. We look forward to accomplishing your goals – together!
